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Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services

Services and Equipment

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The following services and equipment may be available for students who qualify.
  • (For those who qualify)

    Interpretation

    Sign Language Interpreters are employees of the university who’ve been trained and legally certified to provide this service. They are assigned to attend student’s classes and listen to the lecture and class discussions—converting spoken English to sign language and what you sign to spoken English. You may, alternatively, speak for yourself if that is more comfortable for you.

    We understand that your needs and preferences vary greatly with this regard and may also fluctuate between classes, with specific class settings, or even within specific activities. Be sure to communicate your preferences with your Interpreter(s).

    Transcription/Live Captioning

     Captionists and Transcribers (we often call them by either title, Transcribers or Captionists interchangeably) are employees of the university. They have been trained to use specialized software and equipment to provide live speech-to-text captioning. They are assigned to attend student’s classes and listen to the lecture and class discussions, converting what they hear to text which you are able to read on a laptop or mobile device through a live-stream. You may use this system to speak through the Transcriber or Captionist for communicating in class. You may, alternatively, speak for yourself if that is more comfortable for you.

    We understand that your needs and preferences vary greatly with this regard and may also fluctuate between classes, with specific class settings, or even within specific activities. Be sure to communicate your preferences with your Transcriber(s).

    Note Takers

    To enable Deaf or Hard of Hearing students to focus on communication, the UAC can recruit volunteers from the student's classmates to share their class notes as a supplement to the Deaf or Hard of Hearing student's own notes.

  • Personal FM or Bluetooth Systems


    Some students with hearing disabilities may benefit from the use of direct communication technology found in a personal FM system or personal bluetooth system. This is a set of devices consisting of a microphone which the instructor wears along with a transmitter. The student uses a receiver that either connects to earbuds or connects wirelessly to hearing aids/processors using Telecoil or bluetooth.