When was the NCIEC established?

I noticed that you do not have a project for Educational Interpreting. Is one planned?

Is the NCIEC responding to the increasing demands for more interpreters in Video Relay Services and the continuing shortage of interpreters available for local community services?

Where can I find information about interpreting as a career?

What are you doing to encourage interest in interpreting as a profession?

How will DiscoverInterpreting.com be maintained after 2010?

I've heard that in 2012 any interpreter who wants to sit for national certification will be required to have a Bachelor's degree. Does that mean a Bachelor's degree in interpreting specifically, or ANY bachelor's degree?

How can d/Deaf consumers get involved with the NCIEC?

When was the NCIEC established?

The NCIEC as an organization was established by unanimous vote of the Center Directors in May 2006, eight months after the RSA grants were awarded. Prior to the official establishment of NCIEC the Centers worked to synthesize their original proposals into a cohesive whole, and discuss how a consortium would maximize grant funding to achieve our goals.

I noticed that you do not have a project for Educational Interpreting. Is one planned?

Educational interpreting falls into two categories: K-12, and post-secondary. Our funding specifically prohibits activities focused on K-12 interpreting, because other federally funded projects support that need. For a link to K-12 interpreter resources, click here.

Our funding does direct us to serve the needs of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) clients. Many of these consumers require qualified, competent interpreters as they enter post-secondary settings for job training and educational opportunities, as well as on the multitude of settings they experience as VR consumers. NCIEC activities focus on educational opportunities and activities that promote qualified interpreters who are competent in a variety of interpreting settings, including post-secondary settings.

Is the NCIEC responding to the increasing demands for more interpreters in Video Relay Services and the continuing shortage of interpreters available for local community services?

The NCIEC mission is to increase the number of qualified interpreters using identified effective practices.

The NCIEC Interpreting via Video Work Team has raised awareness of the shortage of interpreters in both VRS and community work.  Their findings and research are available in the recently released report Steps Toward Identifying Effective Practices in VRS Interpreting (NCIEC, 2009).  Specific issues of VRS interpreting and community work may be found under the topic of “Impact on and interactions with the Deaf community.” The findings of this report will be shared with the nation’s Interpreter Education Programs with hopes that strategies for teaching more effective practices will result.

In addition, the Discover Interpreting initiative is reaching out to the next generation of potential interpreters; introducing the field of sign interpretation to those entering college (Discoverinterpreting.com).

Where can I find information about interpreting as a career?

DiscoverInterpreting.com is a website developed by the NCIEC expressly for people interested in finding out about interpreting as a career. It provides information on: what interpreting is, what it takes to become an interpreter, where interpreters work, specialty areas of interpreting, and where to find interpreting education programs.

What are you doing to encourage interest in interpreting as a profession?

Discover Interpreting, the NCIEC’s interpreter recruitment initiative, was created to address this need, and particularly to encourage the consideration of interpreting as a career by men and individuals from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Discover Interpreting offers the following resources to promote Interpreting as a profession:

• A program-neutral website <http://www.discoverinterpreting.com> supported by Google Ads and social networking opportunities such as Facebook <http://www.discoverinterpreting.com/?facebook>.
• Program-neutral Discover Interpreting brochures, printed in English and Spanish, disseminated annually to interpreting education programs and high school programs that house ASL classes and/or have a Deaf student presence, and upon request. Over 50,000 brochures have been distributed.
• An Ambassador program <http://www.discoverinterpreting.com/?page=be_involved> - a grassroots effort to reach out to diverse constituencies including high schools, community colleges, and community groups.
• An earned media campaign including press releases and public service announcements to be sent to various media outlets.

How will DiscoverInterpreting.com be maintained after 2010?

The NCIEC has built a strong network of national, regional, and local partners through our work. Our plan, should federal funding for the discoverinterpreting.com website cease, is to work with one or more of our partners to ensure that the website is sustained.

I've heard that in 2012 any interpreter who wants to sit for national certification will be required to have a Bachelor's degree. Does that mean a Bachelor's degree in interpreting specifically, or ANY bachelor's degree?

The RID 2012 mandate specifies only a Bachelor's degree. It does not have to be in interpreting.

Over the past 30 months, the NCIEC AA-BA Partnership Workteam has led a national conversation around the current issues in AA-BA transition, potential barriers to articulation and change. For more information, we encourage you to visit the AA-BA page of this website!

How can d/Deaf consumers get involved with the NCIEC?

Contact any of the work teams you are interested in for specific opportunities to be involved.