Welcome to the web site for
Kent State University's
Bachelor of Arts Program
in
American Sign Language!
RE: REGISTRATION AND SCHEDULING FOR SPRING 2010!
It's been interesting so far.
First, classes at the main campus have filled FAST! If you are still looking for a seat in an ASL class, you might consider one of the regional campuses because seats at the main campus are becoming scarce. BUT...if you need MAIN campus:
IF YOU HAVE BEEN CLOSED OUT
OF THE ASL COURSE THAT YOU NEED,
EMAIL ME BEFORE NOVEMBER 30!!
Secondly, students coming in to schedule have been asking interesting questions about rumors being discussed and passed around in the halls of Satterfield.
I'd like to clear up two of them:
1. Is there going to be a 7th semester of ASL added to the sequence?
No.
2. Are the requirements for the NIC (National Interpreting test - a three part test for certification, supported by RID and NAD) changing and now no one is going to be able to take it???!
No.
As of winter, 2008, yes, changes were started regarding the requirements to sit for all three parts of the NIC. The new requirement as of 2012 is that, if you are a hearing person, you must have a Bachelor degree to take the performance and interview sections:
"Beginning in 2008, interpreters taking the National Interpreter Certification (NIC) evaluation will be required to have an associate’s degree or higher. Beginning in 2012, at least a bachelor’s degree will be required."
- Signals Newsletter, Interpreting and Sign Language Resources, Ohio School for the Deaf
"In 2008, persons who are hearing that wish to take the NIC Interview and Performance Test must have a minimum of an associate’s degree. In 2012, the minimum requirement will be a bachelor’s degree for persons who are hearing. Also in 2012, persons who are deaf that wish to take the NIC Interview and Performance Test must have a minimum of an associate’s degree. In 2016, the minimum requirement will be a bachelor’s degree for persons who are deaf. "
-Sacremento Valley RID chapter
Calm down. Breathe, breathe. 
The ASL major at KSU results in a Bachelor of Arts degree upon graduation. The Ed terp major at KSU results in a Bachelor of Science upon graduation.
BOTH ARE BACHELOR DEGREES, smile. You're safe.
WHENEVER you want to confirm or deny something that you've heard, ASK. And seek out resources who can give you the information you need. To help you with this, there's now a page with resources related to interpreting information on this website. See the index on the left.
3. I wanted to PASS ALONG a comment that was told to me. Recently a woman from the Kent Stater came and told me that she was amazed by the feeling of community and support that she saw in the ASL program at KSU. She was surprised by seeing how students help each other, and how everyone really seems connected and caring.
She's RIGHT!
And I am SO PROUD of you all!
NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER!!
It's the END OF THE SEMESTER!! With SpotLight, Fall Festival, Trumbull Halloween, midterms, Silent Weekend, and the Lit Showcase, the semester has really zipped by!
LARRY NEHRING'S ASL LIT CLASS DID A GREAT JOB WITH THE LIT SHOWCASE NIGHT NOV 10th!!
The crowd begins to gather....more than 50 people were there by 7 pm!
Students from Sheila's ASL 19201 class.
Doors open and the audience waits for Showcase to start...
Showcase begins!
Larry Nehring, ASL LIT's instructor, and the director/producer and teacher for the evening!
Larry got the crowd involved with impromptu audience participation related to the Three Little Pigs!
Then it was time for student presentations! Students presented personal short stories, original poems, and poems from famous Deaf poets like Lentz.
BRENDA BROWN
The attentive audience!
RUTH HOWARD
JUSTIN PIPER
ERIK CUNNIGHAM
JASMINE JEFFERSON
FINISHED!
BIG SMILE AND WAVING HANDS IN APPLAUSE FOR THE GREAT JOB DONE BY THE ASL LIT CLASS!!!!
FANTASTIC!
ASL at KSU was also visible at the Ohio Association of the Deaf's DEAFair!
THANK YOU BRENDA FOR THE PIX!
All the ASL classes at the regional campuses and main campus have been busy too!
KSU ASL at Twinsburg have been working hard, learning about Deaf Culture and about numbers!
They are the FASTEST with number recognition and number production that I've seen!!! They do numbers up to a TRILLION!
GREAT WORK TWINSBURG!!
Students in Linguistics I have also been hard at work as they leave phonology and start to explore morphology:
Megan is adamant in asserting there are only two morphemes in a sign being discussed.
Jennifer, Jessica and Amber discussing fully inflectional verbs.
Chelsea, Amber, Dru and Ashley trying out CLASS classifiers.....
Kelly, Mallory, Bethany, Jessica B. and Megan working on figure and ground.
The clothes hmmmm...linguistics might be really hard but it's not usually boring!
Sheila O's ASL 19201 classes have been hard at work, too!
ASL 19201 students practicing a conversation assignment, before going into class.
Sheila with Taisha and Taisja. Taisja Jones is not only an ASL 19201 student...she's also on the Basketball Honor Roll! As a Junior Forward, she's averaged 22 pts. per game!
Sheila's very proud of all her students!
Geauga students have been really enthusiastic about their studies, too!
ASL 29201, Kent State at Geauga Campus. David Stewart is going to miss them when he leaves teaching for KSU this spring, in order to focus on his graduate studies!
While Brenda has been working the Kent State at Ashtabula campus lab and main lab, Jasmine has been working lab at KSU Main AND at KSU at Geauga!
Jasmine will be graduating this December, and going on to graduate school in library science! GOOD LUCK JASMINE!
Talking about labs, the Main campus lab has been busy....
Practicing skills for classes and for modules,
Preparing for the spring SLPI's,
Fall semester is coming to an end! Good luck on finals and the last of the fall modules, and BEST WISHES TO ALL OUR GRADUATES THIS DECEMBER!
Speaking of graduates,
Heidi (Fleischman) Nardi wrote in November:
"hello! i am doing well! actually michael and I are expecting our first little baby here in about 2 weeks! it's a boy and his name is alexander michael nardi! we are super excited and a little nervous! .... everything is going really well! life is good and we couldn't be happier!
It's GREAT to hear from students who have graduated, and bittersweet to say goodbye to those who are graduating this December.
We're also going to be sad to bid farewell to Theresa Cassese, one of the fantastic mentors in the main campus ASL lab. We wish her well as she follows the sunshine to a warmer western climate! We will MISS YOU Theresa!
We're also saying goodbye, at least for now, to David Stewart and Larry Nehring. Their teaching has added a great deal to main, Ashtabula, Geauga, Twinsburg, and Stark campuses!
Good luck to everyone with finals, and best wishes for a happy, safe winter break!
See you in Satterfield in January 2010...when we'll start getting ready for the annual ASL Academic Challenge!
