As classes transition between online and offline environments it is easy to overlook the impact that these changes can have on students who are deaf and hard of hearing. Since the start of the pandemic, the Office of Accessibility Services has seen an unprecedented 900% increase in the number of closed captioning requests received by the unit.
As many faculty know, WVU maintains an in-house team of seven professional transcribers and sign language interpreters who work to make the classroom more accessible for students registered with the Office of Accessibility Services. What you may not know is that this team is also one of the oldest and most accomplished in the country, boasting an annual student satisfaction rating of 99%.
WVU’s transcribers and interpreters are supported by the Office of Accessibility Services’ new Work-Study Captioning Program, which provides WVU students with a unique opportunity to earn financial aid while providing caption editing for videos shown in WVU courses. Over the past year, 21 students have earned almost $30,000 in federal financial aid through this program while learning practical skills toward developing their resumes.
This program will be expanding operations this fall, providing more opportunities for eligible work-study students and community service volunteers, with the eventual goal being to offer free media captioning services for all videos shown in WVU classrooms. Faculty and advisors are encouraged to share this opportunity with eligible students, particularly those students who have strong writing, editing, and communication skills.
Additionally, when preparing media for use in the classroom, there are a few steps that faculty can follow to help ensure that their classroom is accessible for students who are deaf and hard of hearing.
Use Closed Captioning: Captions benefit everyone. Studies show that more than 80% of students who use closed captioning are notdeaf and hard of hearing. For students who are deaf and hard of hearing, nearly half of the media shown in the classroom is incomprehensible without closed captioning.
Use Quality Captioning: Machine-generated captions, such as those generated automatically by YouTube do not meet the standard necessary for accommodation. The Office of Accessibility Services can help provide you with high-quality media captioning at no charge.
Reuse Captions: When teaching courses where the curriculum remains constant from semester to semester, consider reusing existing media that has been captioned. When creating your own videos, design them so that they are topical and not semester specific, when possible, thereby extending their lifespan.
Reach Out: The OAS Captioning and Interpreting Team is available for consultation when evaluating videos for use in the classroom, designing your own videos for classroom use, or considering new media platforms. Don’t hesitate to reach out.
For questions about captioning or for more information about the Office of Accessibility Services Captioning and Interpreting Team, go to accessibilityservices.wvu.edu or call 304-293-0458.