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www.augie.edu

January 26, 2006

Augustana Adds Sign Language Interpreting Major to Curriculum

SIOUX FALLS – Augustana College and Communication Services for the Deaf (CSD) today announced the addition of a Sign Language Interpreting major to the curriculum at Augustana beginning with the 2006-2007 academic year.

Dr. Monica Soukup, assistant professor of Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at Augustana, suggested the program be launched in response to new certification requirements being written for American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters at the national level. For qualified interpreters, an Associate of Arts degree will be required by 2008, and a Bachelor of Arts degree by 2012.

“Augustana has a long history of working with the deaf community,” said Dr. Robert Kiner, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College. “It’s part of the college’s core values, which include Service and Community. We want to partner with CSD to provide significant services to the deaf community.”

CSD was established in 1975 primarily to provide sign language interpreting services to deaf and hard of hearing adults in South Dakota. Today, CSD employs over 3,000 individuals in offices across the nation, providing a broad continuum of social and human services programs, as well as telecommunications relay services.

CSD will assist with the start-up costs related to a new major at Augustana, including a 12-station American Sign Language (ASL) lab, and will also provide adjunct faculty.

“We believe this is an excellent opportunity to add a new major at Augustana,” Dr. Kiner said. “Preliminary analysis shows we can expect 8-15 new majors annually.”

Dr. Soukup and Melissa Dragnac-Hawk, assistant professor of Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, developed the curriculum that will lead students to a major in Sign Language Interpreting. The program will incorporate five courses currently taught in Augustana’s Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing program, and additional courses necessary for ASL certification and a bachelor’s degree.

Augustana’s primary goal for the Sign Language Interpreting program is to prepare individuals to become qualified interpreters in a variety of settings – educational, medical, professional, etc. The current program in Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing prepares individuals to become teachers of the deaf, who may also work in a variety of settings – residential programs, private charter school programs, self-contained classes within regular school settings, resource rooms, and mainstreamed settings.

Sign language has been used in America since the early 1800s. ASL was recognized as a language in the 1960s and currently is the fourth most commonly used language in the United States. ASL is a visual language with its own grammatical rules and syntax and uses hands, face, and upper body movements. ASL is the driving force behind the deaf community and deaf culture in the United States and in parts of Canada.

There is a shortage of interpreters for the deaf in this region as well as nationally. According to Baily and Straub (1992), there should be one interpreter for every 12 deaf persons, or 25,000 interpreters in the United States to satisfy the demand for interpreting services. The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf estimates there are only 13,000 interpreters in the United States.

Due to its proximity to the South Dakota School for the Deaf, Augustana became the first Lutheran school to offer a major in deaf education. The four-year program was begun in 1953. The demand was great for people trained in this field, and eventually the program had one of the largest numbers of majors in the college.

Augustana currently has 24 students majoring in Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.