Distance Learning - College of Court Reporting

THE FIRST ONLINE COURT REPORTING PROGRAM APPROVED BY NCRA

CCR’s Online Program Became the Nation’s First Approved by NCRA - The College of Court Reporting’s online court reporting program has just become the first online program to be approved by the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA). The college applied to NCRA for approval of its online program in the fall of 2005. After a rigorous evaluation process, NCRA informed the college in June 2006 that the online court reporting meets or exceeds NCRA’s education and curriculum requirements.

NCRA is a national organization serving the educational and professional needs of court reporting students; court reporters; broadcast captioners; communication access realtime translation (CART) reporters, who provide services to the Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities; and realtime writers. Professionals in this industry capture the spoken word verbatim and provide them as readable text.

This approval by NCRA adds to the College of Court Reporting’s list of national recognition. The college’s online court reporting program was accredited in 2002 by the Accrediting Council of Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) a national accrediting body recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. The college’s online court reporting program was also chosen in 2003 by the U.S. Department of Education to participate in the department’s Distance Education Demonstration Program. The college was one of fewer than 30 universities and colleges nationwide participating in the program, which was developed to determine the effectiveness of online distance education.

Effective DISTANCE EDUCATION

Without exception, effective distance education programs begin with careful planning and a focused understanding of course requirements and student needs. Appropriate technology can only be selected once these elements are understood in detail. There is no mystery to the way effective distance education programs develop. They don't happen spontaneously; they evolve through the hard work and dedicated efforts of many individuals and organizations. In fact, successful distance education programs rely on the consistent and integrated efforts of students, faculty, support staff, and administrators. CCR believes in this philosophy and continues to be the leader in online court reporting instruction.

An Accredited Online Education With An Accredited Online Degree

Accreditation is the number one verification of the quality of a distance education provider. As a wise consumer, you must be aware that not all accreditors are equal or recognized, says Peter Ewell, Senior Associate at the National Center For Higher Education Management in Boulder, Colorado. Accrediting agencies number in the hundreds, and the list grows longer as unscrupulous institutions create their own accreditors to get past consumers who look no further than the institution's Website. College of Court Reporting is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) and is approved by the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA). CCR has also met NCRA's Council on Approved Student Education's General Requirements and Minimum Standards (GRMS), which may be found by selecting the following link: http://www.ncraonline.org/education/schools/standards/GenReq.pdf.

There are a number of ways to check on the legitimacy of accreditors. The U.S. Department of Education (www.ed.gov) has a list of verified accreditors as does the Council For Higher Education Accreditation (www.chea.org). The Distance Education Training Council (www.detc.org) also can help you verify accreditors. "Check to see if the institution is properly licensed and approved in the state where it's located," urges Lambert, because some states have very lax regulations.

FACULTY AND ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

The success of any distance education program rests squarely on the shoulders of the faculty and administrative staff. In a traditional classroom setting, the instructor's responsibility includes assembling course content and developing an understanding of student needs. Special challenges confront those developing and teaching at a distance. For example, the instructors and administrative staff at CCR:

Develop an understanding of the characteristics and needs of distant students with little first-hand experience and limited, if any, face-to-face contact.
Adapt teaching styles taking into consideration the needs and expectations of multiple, often diverse, audiences.
Develop a working understanding of delivery technology, while remaining focused on their teaching role.
Function effectively as a skilled facilitator as well as content provider.

STUDENTS

Meeting the instructional needs of students is the cornerstone of every effective distance education program, and the test by which all efforts in the field are judged. Regardless of the educational context, the primary role of the student is to learn. CCR understands this to be a daunting task under the best of circumstances, requiring motivation, planning, and an ability to analyze and apply the instructional content being taught. When instruction is delivered at a distance, additional challenges result because students are often separated from others sharing their backgrounds and interests, have few if any opportunities to interact with teachers outside of class, and must rely on technical linkages to bridge the gap separating class participants. Through this understanding CCR believes it is the best choice for online court reporting education and skill development.