Communication Access E-Forms

Responsibilities for using Sign Language Interpreting, Real-Time Captioning and Cued Speech Transliteration

Priority Registration

Due to the limited availability of interpreters, cued-speech transliterators and captionists, students using this accommodation are given priority registration. Students who do not follow the deadline for schedules and/or submit schedule changes after the due date without prior notification are at risk for beginning classes without these accommodations. This is especially critical after the semester has begun as the pool of service providers dwindles. This also applies to adding an eight-week or six-week class to the existing schedule. All accommodation requests for classes should be made in ARConnect.

Deadlines: If schedules are turned in after the priority registration period, the Accessibility Resource Center cannot guarantee these accommodations for the beginning of the semester but will attempt to accommodate as close to the first day of class as possible on a first-come, first-served basis. We also cannot guarantee the service provider will be consistent throughout the semester with last-minute changes (meaning multiple providers may be used).

Accommodations and Adjustments (including online learning)

Schedule Changes

If students need to make a schedule change (moving to a different section, adding a class, or dropping a class), contact the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) Access Specialist before making the change to ensure the availability of accommodations. Any changes students make to their schedule without prior notification to ARC (Accessibility Resource Center) may result in not having these accommodations available for classes. Students are also expected to change their accommodation requests in ARConnect upon approval from the Access Specialist.

Courses, Accommodations and Online Learning

Students should request accommodations for online (synchronous and asynchronous), as well as face to face courses. Online course content, meetings and media may need to be made accessible. Students will need to work with instructors, service providers, and ARC to determine the appropriate accommodations for all aspects of the online course.

In scenarios where the class is face-to-face but recorded, and the student wishes to watch the recording, Kaltura is available and fairly accurate. However, requests to add professional captioning or interpretation are available upon request. Please reach out to your Access Specialist or email dhhnoshow@uwm.edu to plan.

Changes to Course Structure

If your class structure is different than what appears in PAWS/ARConnect, it is your responsibility to notify your ARC Access Specialist of those changes. Additionally, if the instructor adjusts/changes the course during the semester, those changes need to be communicated to the Access Specialist as soon as possible. The Program Managers will schedule according to class details in ARConnect.

Internship/Practicum/Service Learning/Student Teaching

Students are required to let the DHH Access Specialist know of their participation in any internships, field work, service learning, student teaching or practicums. The UWM (University of Wisconsin Milwaukee) DHH Program also considers internships and fieldwork placements in the same light as regularly scheduled courses at UWM. All the responsibilities and policies regarding use of accommodations remain in effect for all students who earn course credit in field placement and internship programs.

Working with Interpreters and Captionists

Students should share their communication preferences with their interpreter(s) and captioning staff (seating, voicing, etc.). Online learning requires intentional communication between the student and service provider. Communication should include details of plan for platform usage (Collaborate Ultra, Teams, Zoom, etc.).

If you have concerns with your interpreter or captionist that cannot be resolved directly, then please address with DHH Program Managers Amy Hogle (interpreters – hogle@uwm.edu) or Nicole Stelzner (captioning, cued-speech, online – nicolems@uwm.edu).

• UWM Code of Conduct: The University strives to create a positive, safe, and healthy environment for all students, faculty, and staff. Service providers are considered academic staff and are subject to the same policies and procedures for all UWM faculty and staff. Students and staff are always expected to treat each other with respect and professionalism. In the event a conflict occurs between students and their service providers, it is necessary to address the conflict respectfully and professionally. The DHH Program Managers and DHH Access Specialist are available to assist if needed. Any harassment, bullying, disorderly conduct, disruptive behavior, or any other behaviors towards service providers outlined in UWM’s Non-Academic Conduct policy will be reported to the Dean of Student’s office.

• First Day of Class: Students should arrive/log in to the virtual platform a few minutes early the first day of class and meet with the interpreter or captionist regarding specifics of the class.

• Cancellations and delays: Students should use dhhnoshow@uwm.edu to let the office know if they are planning to arrive later than 10 or 15 minutes or not attending class at all. The interpreter or captionist will wait 10 minutes for a 50-minute class and 15 minutes for classes longer than an hour. The same timelines apply for virtual classes. The assigned provider will leave/log out if the student does not arrive at class within these timelines. Students are to use the dhhnoshow@uwm.edu to let the office know if they are planning to arrive later than 10 or 15 minutes or not attending class at all.

• Interpreter/Captionist Not in Class: Email dhhnoshow@uwm.edu if the interpreter or captionist does not show-up for class. We will investigate and send a service provider as quickly as possible. Should a provider be unavailable, we will work with the student and instructor to make up for missing material.

Accommodation Requests Outside of Regular Class Time

All academic related requests will be coordinated through the ARC office. If students need accommodations for any academic-related meeting outside of class (Advising or office hours), lecture, or class related activity, students must complete the campus request form in ARConnect. Log into ARConnect , scroll to “communication access” in the left margin, and the request form in the upper right corner. Please use the appropriate form for campus or academic requests.

All extra-curricular (unrelated to a class activity) requests should be made to the department or organization hosting the activity or event. Please refer the department to the ARC Website for information on how to obtain interpreting or captioning services.

Questions about Class Information

Students need to communicate with their course instructors and/or teaching assistants for any questions related to the class. The interpreter, transliterator or captionist is there to assist with communication as requested. It can be beneficial to meet with the instructor outside of class time, either during the instructor’s office hours or by making an appointment with the instructor. Students can ask if the interpreter, transliterator or captionist before or after class to meet with the instructor or teaching assistant. For appointments longer than 10-15 minutes, please fill out the Student Services Request Form in ARConnect.

Academic Advisor

It is the students’ responsibility to establish an on-going relationship with an academic advisor. This should be done during the first semester at the university to access information for appropriate course selection during the students’ academic career at UWM. The DHH Counselor will assist students with accommodation-related issues but will not assist with choosing classes. To schedule a meeting with the academic advisor, students will need to plan to complete the Student Services Request Form in ARConnect.

Visual Information

Interpreters or captionists are not note takers and will not record written information presented non-verbally. Students are encouraged to obtain notetakers for each class to assist with summarizing the instructor’s message and to capture information displayed on the blackboard, etc.

Transportation Policy

Some courses or course assignments may be held off-campus (i.e., not on UWM’s main campus, such as for internships, field placements, group meetings, courses and other placements that may occur off-campus). UWM provides a shuttle to some off-campus sites. If a shuttle is not available, students are responsible for arranging their own transportation to and from the off-campus site. DHH Program staff and LTE interpreters, transliterators and/or captionists do not provide transportation for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students to or from campus or other sites.

Classroom Observations

Student interns and/or staff members learning interpreting, speech-to-text or cued speech may also be observing other interpreters, transliterators and/or captionists in classes. DHH Program staff members are required to ask the student and instructor prior to class if a student or staff member can observe. Only DHH Program staff may ask if student interns, or staff members can observe a class. If students receive requests from other UWM students or community members, the Interpreting or Speech-to-Text Coordinators should be informed. If a problem develops, inform the DHH Program staff member working with the intern so that the situation can be resolved.

Confidentiality

Interpreters, transliterators and captionists may at times need to share classroom accommodation related issues with other campus staff on a “need to know” basis. On a regular basis, the DHH staff adopts a team approach in the collaboration and sharing of work-related information. As a result, there will be times when DHH Program staff share typically confidential information about students and work experiences/challenges for the purpose of improving the quality of the UWM DHH Program services.

Professionalism

Interpreters and captionists hired by UWM (whether they are staff or LTE’s) are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the professional standards of their professional organization highlighted below.

For students using interpreters:

UWM sign language interpreters are expected to adhere to the Registry of Interpreters of the Deaf (RID (Registry of Interpreters of the Deaf)) Code of Professional Conduct Tenet 1.0: Interpreters adhere to standards of confidential communication. Illustrative behaviors 1.1 states, share assignment-related information only on a confidential and “as-needed basis” (e.g., supervisors, interpreter team members, members of the educational team, hiring entities.)

For students using captioning services:

UWM captionists are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the professional standards set by the National Court Reporting Association (NCRA) or the C-Print standards established by the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (i.e., maintain confidentiality, relay the message faithfully, refrain from interjecting individual opinions, and function in a manner appropriate to the situation.)

For students using cued-speech transliterators:

The role of the cued-speech transliterator requires study and practice to obtain the nationally recognized standards set forth in the Code of Conduct (Fleetwood and Metzger, 1989) and the Code of Professional Conduct (The National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, 2005). These include: Demonstrate and implement ongoing reverence for the preservation and promotion of complete and equal access and adhere to the ethical standards of transliterating for deaf/hard-of-hearing consumers.

Unreported No-Show/Excessive Absenteeism

If students do not plan to attend their scheduled class, students must email dhhnoshow@uwm.edu. Please include the name of the class, the section, interpreters and/or captionist’s name(s) and if accommodations should be cancelled for part of or for the entire day. This is necessary for ARC to continue to provide quality, consistent student accommodations while controlling costs.

Unreported No-Shows

An unreported no-show is when the interpreter or captionist attends class, but the student did not email dhhnoshow@uwm.edu. The procedure is as follows:

• First unreported no-show – students will receive an email from the DHH Access Specialist alerting them that the first no-show has occurred.
• Second unreported no-show – After two no-shows per class/per semester, students will receive a second email from the DHH Access Specialist indicating the assigned accommodations are suspended until the student meets with the DHH Access Specialist. After the meeting, accommodations will be reinstated.
• If students do not make their no-show appointment, ARC will cancel the assigned accommodation until the student meets with the DHH Access Specialist.

Excessive Absenteeism

In rare situations with a pattern of excessive absences, students are required to meet virtually with their ARC Access Specialist. Depending on the situation, the accommodations plan may be changed at the discretion of ARC.

Responsible Use of Services

UWM has a responsibility to use campus resources appropriately. Students who begin using services in one modality may need to change to a different modality based on their current situation/need and should communicate these changes with their Access Specialist. However, these changes should be made with the understanding that they are infrequent and necessary. Due to limitations in our resources, we cannot always accommodate repeated modality changes and may need to discuss other options with the student.

Using Real-Time Captioning Services

Responsibilities for Students Using Real-Time (Synchronous and a F2F) Captioning Services

Students are expected to maintain their device’s (laptop/tablet) connection with their captionist. The captionist will cease captioning if the student is not actively connected, and will continue captioning once the student returns. If there is a connectivity issue, please immediately reach out to your captionist to troubleshoot.

1. Connectivity with C-Print Software: To connect virtually, students will need to connect to UWM’s Global Protect. This will allow students to connect with the captionist as if they are in the same location. C-Print will not work properly without taking this step.
2. Laptop and/or Tablet Usage: The captionist will stream captioning to the student’s personal electronic device through the process discussed above. Students who do not have access to a laptop, computer, or electronic device for personal use should contact their Access Specialist, Jason Anderson, at anders96@uwm.edu to discuss options.
3. If you are unable to connect: Please contact the captionist through email or another established means. In the event connection fails on the students end, the captionist will continue to transcribe the event.
4. Transcript: In the virtual environment, transcripts can be downloaded and saved by the student on their personal device. In the event the transcript is not available to download, students should request the captionist upload their transcript to ARConnect prior to disconnecting the session. Transcripts are not intended to replace notetaking. Students using speech-to-text services are strongly encouraged to take their own notes or use notetakers. Captionists will upload transcripts to ARConnect within 24 hours after class has ended. It is the students’ responsibility log into ARConnect to download the transcript. The class transcript is for the student’s eyes only. Transcripts are not to be shared with any other persons without prior approval from the DHH Access Specialist or Program Managers. Captionists will not re-share the transcript from previous classes without prior approval from the DHH Access Specialist.