Department of Social Justice

Interpreting Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

The Office of Disability Services coordinates interpreting services for students who are deaf or hard of hearing and formally registered with the office. Sign language interpreting is available for classroom and lab requirements as well as any other required class activity. Documentation of deafness or hearing impairment must be provided to the Disability Counselor as well as completion of an initial interview, before interpreting services will be provided for any academic settings.

Students should continue to provide the Disability Counselor with each semester's schedule as soon as they have registered using the priority pre-registration system. This will ensure consistent services and contribute to each student's continuous academic success. If students adhere to all of the following guidelines, interpreting services can be consistently provided during enrollment at WVU Tech and/or the C&T at WVU Tech. All requests for an interpreter must be approved by the Disability Counselor.

All of West Virginia University Institute of Technology and the Community and Technical College at WVU Tech interpreters are interviewed by the Disability Counselor and are selected based on an assessment of interpreter/transliterating skills and experience in a post-secondary setting. WVU Tech and the C&T at WVU Tech employ qualified interpreters both with and without certification however RID certification is always encouraged.

Planning Interpreters for a WVU Event

WVU Tech and the C&T at WVU Tech's Office of Disability Services provide contracted services for sign language interpreters. If you are a faculty or staff member of WVU Tech or the C&T at WVU Tech and have a request for an interpreter or an auxiliary aid for a presentation, meeting, event, or social gathering you can schedule an interpreter through the Office of Disability Services calling (304) 981-6210.

Requests for an interpreter are processed on a first-come, first-serve basis with a priority given to currently enrolled students. The need for interpreters for academic classes always takes priority over nonacademic activities, however the Disability Counselor will make every effort to work with you to ensure that your interpreting needs are met. Various institutional departments are financially responsible for providing their own interpreter services for the general public, however they should be contracted through the West Virginia University Institute of Technology / the Community and Technical College at WVU Tech Office of Disability Services. This includes nonacademic credit and/or fee-based programs, lectures, classes, workshops, conferences, and activities.

The Office of Disability Services employs certified and non-certified interpreters although Registry of Interpreters of the Deaf (RID) certification is encouraged. WVU Tech's and the C&T at WVU Tech's interpreters are paid. When scheduling an interpreter, you will want to discuss your needs with the Disability Counselor to best determine the needed skill level of the interpreter as well as the number of interpreters needed. Again, you can schedule an interpreter for various needs by calling the Office of Disability Services at (304) 981-6210.

Receiving Interpreting Services

Students should provide the Disability Counselor with their schedule each semester as soon as they have registered using the priority pre-registration system. This will ensure consistent services and contribute to each student's continuous academic success. If students adhere to all of the following guidelines, interpreting services can be consistently provided during enrollment at WVU Tech and/or the C&T at WVU Tech:

All students must register with the Office of Disability Services and provide appropriate documentation of their hearing loss.
Each semester, students must meet with the Disability Counselor to discuss specific interpreting needs with regard to classes and/or tutoring sessions. The need for specific meetings or tutorial sessions will be a changing and ongoing process so students should express their needs to the Disability Counselor as soon as possible to ensure services can be provided.
In the event that interpreter services are needed to fulfill class requirements outside of the classroom, requests need to be made at least five working days in advance. Attempts will be made to honor requests made on shorter notice, with the understanding that interpreters may not be available on such notice. This is also true for requests for interpreter services in advisement situations etc.
In order to achieve the highest level of success, students must provide the Office of Disability Services with their pre-registered class schedule as soon as possible. This will allow plenty of time for scheduling appropriate interpreters. The longer the delay in requesting services the greater the possibility that interpreters will be unavailable.
When a student adds or drops classes in their previously confirmed schedule they need to notify the Disability Counselor as soon as possible. Adherence to this practice will ensure consistent and appropriate services. This is especially true for any changes made to schedules during the first week of classes so that an interpreter can be scheduled as soon as possible.
When a student would like to cancel interpreting services for any reason the student must inform the Office of Disability Services as soon as possible so the interpreter can be cancelled. If a student fails to notify the Disability Counselor when services are not needed, after three such instances, services will not be provided for the scheduled time in question until a meeting with the Disability Counselor is held.
Students need to inform the Disability Counselor when he/she will be arriving late for a scheduled time with an interpreter so that the interpreter(s) can be forewarned. In the event that the Disability Counselor is not notified, the interpreter(s) will wait twenty (20) minutes before leaving.
Interpreters are provided for interpreting services only and will not provide aid in any other capacity that does not meet the definition of interpreting services under the ethical standards of practice under the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. For example, interpreters should not be asked to retrieve notes for a student for a class which they missed.
If a student encounters a conflict with an interpreter, the matter needs to be brought to the attention of the Disability Counselor as soon as possible to ensure a resolution will be initiated and successfully concluded.
If a student believes that an interpreter is not following ethical standards of practice or providing adequate services, the matter needs to be brought to the attention of the Disability Counselor as soon as possible to ensure satisfactory and consistent services as well as ongoing academic success.

Any questions should be directed to the Office of Disability Services.