“To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time.”
Leonard Bernstein
The reality is that the field of interpreting is changing rapidly, and changes in the profession are driving changes in interpreter education. Addressing the challenges of meeting the certification requirements of a B.A. degree by 2012 affords interpreter education programs the opportunity to affect change in the field and interpreter education delivery for the benefit of students, future professionals, consumers, and stakeholders. In order to do that, AA and BA educators must collaborate to define and implement effective partnership models.
There is much to be learned about working together in new and creative ways. Based on the productivity and related outcomes of the AA-BA Work team’s endeavors, there is no question that 2012 and the need for partnerships is on everyone’s mind. Below are a number of their observations and recommendations.
Observations
Whatever the chosen partnership or articulation path to the baccalaureate, the minimum degree must reflect a bachelor’s degree in interpretation.
The changing academic qualifications reflected in the interpreting field mirror the changes of a large number of other professional fields that require a strong union of theory and technical skill (e.g., nursing, early childhood education, health education and therapies, etc.).
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.
In order to foster quality interpreter education, stronger links must be forged between two- and four-year Interpreter Education programs and the institutions in which they reside.
All interpreter programs will not look the same in terms of partnering and evolving, and that is good.
AA and BA program directors must dialogue with program faculty in order foster “buy-in” of collaborative endeavors.
Two-year/four-year partnerships are forward thinking and possible within our field of interpreter education.
Higher Education
The lines of distinction between two-year and four-year institutions of higher education and applied and academic degrees are becoming increasingly more blurred. Partnership is slowly becoming an accepted and internalized approach to higher education.
The nature of the classroom and how education is delivered is changing.
Flexibility in educational delivery systems aids partnership opportunities.
Economics
The economic reality of life is that a four-year degree is necessary for upward mobility and career advancement.
The current economy is playing havoc with education. Partnerships maximize financial, academic and student resources at a time of economic uncertainty.
Unfortunately, the marketplace continues to recognize the two-year technical degree, and will continue to do so as long as the more attractive (to employers) two-year salaries exist and the field permits it.
Interpreter Education
- The ASL and English skills of students matriculating from AA into BA programs vary from program to program. There is growing recognition among many educators of the need to promulgate ACTFL-based ASL Standardsfor sequenced courses so that students enter programs with skills commensurate with established standards.
- Two-year interpreting education programs are not easily defined. They lead to a variety of degree outcomes: AA, AAS, and certificate. They are housed in a variety of institutions: two-year colleges, four-year universities, public institutions, and private institutions. This variety presents challenges to articulation and partnership that must be addressed.
- Interpreting education programs vary in their focus – emphasizing community interpreting, educational interpreting, or Deaf studies.
- All interpreting education programs must work collaboratively to ensure a seamless four-year continuum for student learning. It behooves institutions to work hand-in-hand when developing any collaborative.
- Very experienced and dedicated, the majority of faculty members are also aging. These individuals will be retiring in large numbers in the next decade. The challenge will be to continue to meet the demands for qualified faculty.
- Many interpreting education program faculty members are personally working toward a higher degree, not only modeling lifelong education for their students, but also setting the bar higher for themselves as the field sets the bar higher for students.
- Some AA and BA programs have already established partnerships, formal to informal, with success rates ranging from minimal to outstanding.
- Programs need additional resources for, as well as better understanding from, their administrators.
- All programs are facing:
- changing student and consumer demographics;
- increasingly limited resources with ever increasing demands on time and programs;
- fiscal restraints beyond programmatic control; and
- the challenge of determining what to “become” in the next few years.
- Interpreting is not the first profession to face increased credentialing requirements. Thankfully there are partnership models in other professions. It is beneficial to step outside the interpreting profession and listen to other perspectives (e.g., higher education) regarding collaboration and articulation. It is equally enlightening to learn from other professions that have faced increased educational requirements for credentialing (e.g., Nursing, Early Childhood Studies, Rehabilitation Counseling, Respiratory Therapy).
Paradigm Shift
- A successful partnership is one that is planned and purposeful and provides a seamless path to a baccalaureate.
- Successful partnerships talk about students in terms of “ours” rather than “yours” and “mine.” They “keep students first” throughout the planning and delivery process.
- The very real paradigm shift in interpreting affords the field an excellent opportunity to re-tool interpreter education through the use of partnership.
Partnerships-Administration
- Interpreter educators and their administrators should take advantage of the partnership momentum being generated within higher education.
- Initial administrative support is paramount.
- To move a partnership along there needs to be a champion in the administration.
Partnership-Programs
- For a successful partnership to occur, each institution must bring a strong program “to the table.”
- Each program has to recognize its own institutional and programmatic value in the partnership. Both programs must see mutual need.
- The success of partnerships highlighted in this monograph resulted from the passion of the initial key players at both institutions.
Partnership-Faculty
- The bulk of the work will fall to the faculty. The faculty; therefore, must be involved at all levels of the development of the partnership.
- Trust and mutual respect are key. Turf issues don’t work here.
Evaluation
- Until the number of bachelor’s degree interpreter education programs increases significantly, and more programs can demonstrate competence through accreditation, opportunities for partnership will be restricted.
- Partnerships will bring new challenges to interpreter education accreditation.
- Accreditation plays a critical role in moving partnerships forward.
- How will CCIE evaluate partnerships that jointly share academic programming, teaching and student outcomes?
Final Thoughts
- Creating a partnership always takes longer than anticipated. Expect two to three years to develop and implement a partnership.
- Partnerships need to be clarified in written MOUs or formal agreements. All case studies in this monograph demonstrated programmatic agreements as opposed to standardized articulation agreements.
- There are recognized critical components that underpin any successful two year/four year partnership.
Recommendations
1 ) Developed partnerships should be a joint venture between two and four-year interpreter education programs. Ongoing conversation and collaboration are essential for effective partnerships.
2 ) Develop partnership models that ensure a seamless one-to-four year continuum for student learning with “buy-in” from all faculty.
3 ) Develop language standards for ASL sequenced courses.
4 ) Establish a national communication structure for dialogue between interpreter education programs.
5 ) Promote programmatic accreditation as critical underpinning for educational success for interpreting students.
6 ) Create mechanisms for a continued national dialogue between AA and BA interpreter educators to address common issues.
7 ) Continue empirically-based research to define, describe, and evaluate effective partnership models in interpreter education.
8 ) Advocate for financial resources for programs to meet the critical challenges of changing student populations.
9 ) Develop product-based tools to support faculty in their dialogue with and education of administrators, or those in a position to affect change, about program needs and barriers to programmatic change (e.g., classroom size, restricted degree hours, instructor credentials, financial resources), as well as the importance of engaging in AA-BA partnerships, adopting CIT standards, and CCIE accreditation.
10 ) Use RID’s mandate of a bachelor’s degree to sit for certification testing to influence a paradigm shift in interpreter education.
11 ) Develop materials to support programs in engaging administrators in dialogue regarding changing standards and programmatic needs.