“Constructing new models of partnership requires much time and daring to build creatively outside the box, and perhaps outside one’s comfort zone. Collaboration is hard work…. voluntary collaboration is even harder.”
David Longanecker
Collaboration: The act of creating new value together
What constitutes readiness to work as an interpreter? How does a student attain that readiness? Since the field’s inception in the late sixties, the field has wrestled with these questions. Interpreter education history chronicles an overarching teaching strategy that began with six-week intensive interpreting programs and evolved to the current long-standing presence of two-year programs and a growing number of four-year/graduate degree programs. Irrespective of history and personal perspective, with RID’s 2012 certification mandate, today’s answer must include attainment of a bachelor’s degree.
Approximately 50% of today’s post-secondary students attend a community college. While 42% of these students declare their intention to achieve the baccalaureate, only 26% will actually transfer to a four-year institution (American Association of Community Colleges, 2004). Of those students, 58% will graduate with a bachelor’s degree (National Center for Educational Statistics 2009). Simply stated, for every 100 students matriculating in a community college, fifteen will eventually enter the work force with a bachelor’s degree.
With a nation-wide concern regarding future four-year institutional supply and demand challenges, along with changing economics, student demographics and educational delivery systems, it is not surprising to find more and more community colleges active in the delivery of baccalaureate education. Yet, a common question within academic circles is: “Is there a need or place for community colleges to be involved in baccalaureate education?” Most certainly the answer depends upon the respondent. Current trends in educational attainment and student aspiration, though, suggest the answer to be “yes” because it addresses, among others, issues of commuting, affordability, and availability (Floyd 2005), each recognized barriers to baccalaureate access.
Yes, the field of interpreter education is in the midst of a major paradigm shift. As of 2012, a minimum of a bachelor’s degree is a requirement to sit for RID certification. Today approximately seventy-five percent (75%) of the 145 identified interpreter education programs are offered at the associate degree level and housed in two-year institutions. While the RID certification mandate will result in a new approach to interpreter education, it is recognized that two-year programs will not simply vanish on July 1, 2012.
During a four-year time span, the NCIEC AA~BA Partnership work team, interpreter educators, andexpert consultants worked together to further the baccalaureate goal and the impending degree requirement. To this end, they a) illuminated the climate surrounding interpreter education as it relates to the RID mandate; b) identified critical components of effective partnerships and c) identified and described promising AA~BA partnership models. This work is a completely new endeavor for the fields of interpretation and interpreter education. No scholarly work existed around this topic, there was no snapshot of current partnership practices, and programs had not been asked about future partnership plans. The only known was that “2012” was looming.
The AA~BA work team relied on surveys sent to 141 interpreter education programs, expert consultants’ research reports, literature searches, interpreter educator forums and summits, and numerous interviews with successful partnership programs. Each endeavor identified a number of agreed-upon themes that should guide the field’s future actions and goals. Foremost is the belief that today’s “normal” will not be tomorrow’s “normal.” Change is inevitable even though education does not always “do change” well.
These web pages share a snapshot of the work and key findings of the AA~BA work team over a four year period. The in-depth details and outcomes of their work are further chronicled in two primary publications: Toward Effective Practices: A National Dialogue on AA~BA Partnerships (2008) and AA~BA Partnerships: Creating New Value for Interpreter Education Programs (2010). Please see Resources in this section for more information.
For more information about the NCIEC AA~BA initiative, please contact Linda Stauffer or Pauline Annarino.