American Sign Language Interpretation, SCERT

Associate of Applied Science Degree: (AAS-ASL)
Short-Term Certificate: (SCERT-ASL)

About the Program

The American Sign Language Interpretation Associate of Applied Science Degree and Short-Term College Certificate program provides language training and cultural enrichment for people who wish to learn American Sign Language and the uniqueness of deaf culture. This program is a complement to other degrees and is particularly useful for parents of deaf children and students pursuing careers such as allied health, nursing, early childhood education and teaching, where clients may be deaf.

This Program Offers:

• Associate of Applied Science: 60 credit hours
• Short-Term Certificate: 28 credit hours

Program Goals

• To teach students the style and semantic concepts of ASL allowing for effective communication with deaf persons in informal settings, human services, health care and other corporate or non-profit sectors
• Enhance the credentials of current ASL professionals for advanced employment opportunities that assign value to skills in ASL and knowledge of the deaf culture
• To prepare students to enter an interpreter training program and successfully pass the ASL certification exam, sponsored by the national licensing association, with a proficiency score of 70% or higher

Program Outcomes

• Describe the structures of ASL to include phonology, morphology syntax and semantics at a 75% proficiency level or higher
• Apply basic language skills to produce American Sign Language in a variety of ways to communicate effectively with deaf adults and children who depend on visual presentations of English for communication
• Demonstrate the appropriate use of classifiers through directionality, word signs, noun placement and non-manual signs with a 75% proficiency level or higher
• Exhibit an awareness, support and respect for ASL as the visual language of the deaf community

Certificate Goals

• To teach students the style and semantic concepts of ASL to allow for effective communication with deaf persons in informal settings, human services, health care and other corporate or non-profit sectors
• Enhance the credentials of current ASL professionals for advanced employment opportunities that assign value to skills in ASL and knowledge of the deaf culture
• To prepare students to enter an interpreter training program and successfully pass the ASL certification exam, sponsored by the national licensing association, with a proficiency score of 70% or higher

Certificate Outcomes

• Describe the structures of ASL to include phonology, morphology syntax and semantics at a 75% proficiency level or higher
• Apply basic language skills to produce American Sign Language in a variety of ways in order to communicate effectively with deaf adults and children who depend on visual presentations of English for communication
• Demonstrate the appropriate use of classifiers through directionality, word signs, noun placement and non-manual signs with a 75% proficiency level or higher
• Exhibit an awareness, support and respect for ASL as the visual language of the deaf community

Admission Requirements

Students are required to do the following:

• Fulfill all WCCCD admission requirements
• Fulfill course placement requirements based on the ACCUPLACER^® assessment
• Declare intent to enter the American Sign Language Interpretation Program
• Students must complete a WCCCD Program Application and submit to the Campus President/CAO