RISE Students

Student Criteria

The RISE Project will recruit 12 non-credentialed ASL-English practitioners to become students.

Applications are open to practitioners who live in or are interested in working in rural communities in Colorado. Interested individuals must:

The project is designed to support practitioners who are currently functioning as sign language communications facilitators but do not have the required credentials to work as sign language interpreters with deaf consumers in the community. However, if an individual has qualifying signing skills and commits to working toward future interpreting in rural areas of the state, then their application would be considered.

• Student Commitment

  Additionally, individuals selected as RISE students must commit to:

  • Attending a face-to-face intensive training at the end of June 2022;
  • Completing the entire training and apprenticeship;
  • Completing a pre- and post- interpreting diagnostic assessment;
  • Completing a 40-hour apprenticeship immediately following the training;
  • Completing a 40-hour work payback post-certification;
  • Becoming available for Rural Axillary Services interpreting assignments upon receiving state-accepted certification, i.e., Registry of Interpreters (RID) National Interpreter Certification (NIC), Texas Board of Evaluation (BEI) Certification; and
  • Allowing progress reports to be shared with CCDHHDB.
• Get Certified

  The goal of the RISE Project is to prepare uncertified interpreters to provide quality interpreting services in rural Colorado communities. With that, to interpret for deaf adult consumers, RID NIC or Texas BEI are the professional certifications recognized by the state of Colorado.

  

  RISE students who complete all 8 courses in good standing and complete the required 40-hour apprenticeship will have their certification testing fees covered by the RISE Project.

  In order to take a certification exam, a RISE students must either:

  • hold a 4-year degree to sit for RID NIC test or
  • have 60 credit hours of post-secondary coursework to sit for the Texas BEI test. 

  If a RISE student is accepted into the program without a minimum of 60 credit hours of post-secondary education, the RISE Project Director will work with the student to put a plan in place to complete this requirement and meet the academic requirements to sit for the Texas BEI exam.

Curriculum

The RISE Project curriculum is a series of eight, eight-week courses and will run from July 2022 through November 2023. Each course is offered sequentially and builds on prior learning. Interpreting specialists will facilitate online learning while Deaf language specialists will provide distance mentoring in tandem with coursework. There will be 2-week breaks between courses. 

• Course Topics

  Non-Manual Markers

  Semantic Awareness

  Spatial Mapping

  Message Coherence

  Discourse Mapping

  Structuring Space

  Discourse Analysis

  Demand Control Schema

  Ethical Decision Making

  Business Practices

   MORE!

• Course Design

  Each course is designed to meet the learning needs of working adults. Therefore, courses are structured independent studies. Students will complete their learning online and asynchronous, completing work on their own time. Course lessons must be completed within a specific time frame (usually 6 days). Each lesson includes engagement with the instructor and other students via discussion boards as well as the submission of a lesson assignment. Students will produce interpreting samples each week and will receive feedback from the course instructor. 

• Distance Mentoring

  As additional support to skills development, Deaf language and interpreting specialists will be integrated into each course and provide distance mentoring. Individual and small group mentoring sessions will be scheduled and conducted via videoconferencing. The work focused on during the mentoring sessions will align with course content (i.e., fingerspelling, special referencing, prosody).

• Time Commitment

  The time commitment required to complete each week’s lesson often depends on the RISE student’s foundational knowledge, skill, and comfort level with the content.

  6-8 hours per week
  

  Average time commitment needed to complete the various activities associated with each lesson, based on feedback from Cohort I students. 

The RISE Project curriculum has been designed for the working adult, with participant progress and success a fundamental goal. The RISE Project coursework will provide both knowledge and skills content. When an individual has completed the RISE Project, a certificate of completion will be offered through the CCDHHDB and UNC ASLIS department. This curriculum is non credit-bearing, however, RID CEUs will be available. 

Delivery

To provide students with foundational content needed to be successful in the RISE Project, a multi-day face-to-face training at the end of June 2022 will be held on the UNC Greeley campus. For the face-to-face training, accommodations and meals will be covered by the RISE Project. All RISE students and staff will be required to comply with UNC COVID Policies.

Online coursework will follow directly after the face-to-face training. The RISE Project will utilize the learning management system Canvas for the online delivery of coursework. RISE students will have access to module content, discussion boards, and video conferencing capability.

• Technology Requirements

  The RISE Project is delivered as an online training. RISE students must have access to a computer, a web camera, and high-speed internet service. Basic computer skills, including use of Microsoft Word, are necessary to participate in the RISE coursework.

• Engagement

  RISE students will also be encouraged to participate in community-engaged learning and service activities with members of their local Deaf community. This will enhance ASL skill development and contribute to the engagement of each student’s respective Deaf community.

Cost

The Colorado Commission for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind Rural Auxiliary Services (RAS) sponsors the RISE Project.

There is no monetary cost to RISE students.

However, all RISE students are required to complete a 40-hour apprenticeship immediately following the training, and a 40-hour work payback post-certification.

Apprenticeship & Work Payback Requirement

The RISE Project is designed to train practitioners to become certified community interpreters who will work with adult consumers in rural areas. In exchange for a no-cost training, RISE students must complete:

Completing these hours may be challenging for RISE students who work as full-time educational interpreters or hold full or part-time work outside of interpreting. 

Application Information

Another Interpreter Training Option