Vision
Mission
Philosophy

We aspire to be a diverse and engaged community of learners, nationally recognized for cultivating excellence in pedagogy and scholarship that promote interpreting competence.

Our graduates are equipped with strong metacognitive skills to successfully evaluate their work and are confident in their readiness to work in a range of entry-level settings.

They are known for providing high-quality services and are sought out by deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing consumers.

Our mission is to provide a comprehensive and rigorous ASL-English interpreter preparation program that equips students with the necessary knowledge and skills to become competent interpreters who are committed to lifelong learning and are actively engaged in the deaf and interpreting communities.

We strive to create an inclusive and supportive learning environment that fosters the growth and development of each student's unique potential.

Our program emphasizes cultural competence, linguistic fluency, critical thinking, and ethical decision-making to prepare entry-level interpreters to work in a variety of settings.

1. Theory & Knowledge Competencies:  Students will demonstrate and apply theoretical and knowledge competencies that underpin the work of an interpreter.

2. Human Relations Competencies:  Students will demonstrate culturally appropriate behaviors that foster effective communication and collaboration with peers [other students], instructors, colleagues, deaf consumers, and employers.

3. Language Competencies:  Students will demonstrate the ability to communicate in ASL at the Advanced-Low level and with superior proficiency and flexibility in English.

4.  Interpreting Skills Competencies:  Students will produce accurate, dynamically equivalent, culturally mediated interpretations between ASL and English.

5.   Professionalism Competencies:  Students will exhibit dispositions and demeanors that align with professional standards and practices.

As a Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) program, our philosophy builds upon RIT’s core values.

ASL Centeredness:  We expect everyone to use ASL in our classrooms, offices, and hallways, a reflection of our view of Deaf people as a unique sociolinguistic community. Students who are exposed to this ASL-centric context enhance their mastery of ASL and demonstrate respect for Deaf students, faculty, and staff. We believe that students are more likely to achieve ASL fluency when native users of ASL teach language classes and serve as language models.

Student Centeredness:  We endeavor to provide positive educational and academic advising experiences that empower students to achieve their educational and career goals. We are committed to providing high-quality instruction which employs a variety of teaching/learning strategies and experiential activities that foster student success and a passion for lifelong learning.

Professional Development and Scholarship:  We foster opportunities for personal, intellectual, and professional growth among our faculty, staff, and students. We investigate best practices, innovative uses of technology, and effective approaches to achieve learning outcomes and share what we learn with our colleagues and with the profession. We strive to produce graduates who exhibit professional behaviors and who continuously and intentionally develop their cultural, linguistic, and interpreting competence.

Integrity and Ethics:  We build personal trust and relationships inside and outside the university by conducting ourselves consistent with the highest standards of moral and ethical behavior. Students engage in reflective practice and take responsibility for their decisions and actions.

Respect, Diversity, and Pluralism:   We treat every person with dignity, building an inclusive environment where membership in this community removes barriers that prevent faculty, staff, and students from reaching their fullest potential. As allies of the Deaf community and other under-represented populations, we infuse our curriculum with social justice values that reflect the multicultural society in which we live. We incorporate diverse perspectives within the curricula and encourage students to enhance their linguistic and cultural competencies through regular interaction with a variety of Deaf people and by involvement with university and community events and activities.

Innovation and Flexibility:  In addition to promoting student success, we are passionate about becoming a leader in the fields of ASL and interpreting education. To accomplish these objectives, we conduct ongoing assessment for the purpose of continuously improving our curricular materials, learning activities, and out-of-classroom support systems. We deliver a curriculum that reflects evidence-based best practices related to language learner characteristics, interpreting pedagogy, and emerging technologies.

Teamwork and Collaboration:  We intentionally strive for cross-disciplinary dialogue and collaboration within our department and with faculty members from other departments. We encourage and support each other as together we strive for excellence.