
Program Description:
The Court Reporting program at Trident Technical College is a 30+ month program offered by the Division of Continuing Education at the Main Campus of Trident Technical College. Court reporting courses are currently delivered in a traditional classroom format, and strong emphasis is placed on creating a positive nurturing and encouraging environment for all students seeking this very challenging career. A distance education component for the program is being considered for the future. Where appropriate, instructors may exploit the strengths of a strong blend of distance education technologies (such as the use of webinars or videoconferencing) coupled with live instruction and reviews on-campus to deliver a high quality court reporting program to other students at more remote locations. An objective and goal for the Trident Technical College Court Reporting program is to achieve the National Court Reporting Association (NCRA) program approval status as soon as possible.
Program Objectives:
The mission of the TTC Court Reporting Program is to provide effective, technologically advanced training to its students. Graduates of the TTC program who seek the rewards of this career can enter the workplace with both competence and confidence. The goal or objective for each TTC Court Reporting student is to attain the target machine shorthand speeds of 225 words per minute on testimony, 200 words per minute on jury charge, and 180 words per minute on literary material, thus meeting the standards of the NCRA for certification as a Registered Professional Reporter (RPR). For students wishing to complete a less lengthy program or those who need to find employment within a shorter period of time, a Scopist certificate will be issued for those completing the necessary requirements. Working first as a scopist can be an intermediate step towards eventually becoming a fully qualified court reporter. An enhanced skills certificate in captioning/CART will also be offered.
Program Enrichment:
Enrichment material and events in the form of guest speakers, such as working court reporters, attorneys and court officials are incorporated into the program. Site visits to typical court reporter work sites such as courtrooms are also included to provide realism to the court reporting training.
Employment/Placement:
We do not guarantee employment, but we will post job opportunity advertisements, provide internships that may lead to job opportunities, provide the (NCRA) National Court Reporter’s Association Magazine job opportunity section and furnish a list of freelance firms or courts which may have jobs available.