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CASElines
A newsletter exclusively for Court Reporting Educators
Issue 1 2006
National Court Reporters Association • 8224 Old Courthouse Road • Vienna, VA 22182 • 703-556-6272 • 800-272-6272 • email [email protected]
Reporting in the 49th State
WANTED!
By Carolee Freer, AA, BA, MBA, CRI
CASElines wants YOUR. . .
Alaska was admitted for statehood in
1959 and is the largest state in the Union,
occupying 570,374 square miles or about
365,039,104 acres of land, making it about
one-fifth the size of the lower 48 states.
You would think with all of that land mass,
there would be an abundance of court
reporters. But, Alaska’s total population is
about 640,000 residents, the size of some
larger cities in the Continental United
States, making reporting opportunities
scarce, at best.
The following interviews with Joseph
P. Kolasinski, Electronic Court Reporter,
of Computer Matrix Court Reporters,
LLC, and Lynda Batchelor Barker, RDR,
may provide some valuable information
for reporters thinking of relocating to our
49th state.
What are the requirements for a
court reporter to work in court in the
state of Alaska?
Lynda:There are no live court
reporters in state courts in Alaska. The
court system went to tape recording at
statehood in 1959. It is now FTR digital
recording. Transcription of court proceedings can be done by anyone, but often is
done by court reporters as an additional
source of revenue. Our Federal courts are
also now digitally recorded.
Joseph: I believe they just have to pass
the normal tests for typing and administrative work and then become a notary.
What are the requirements to work as a
deposition reporter in the state of Alaska?
Lynda: There are no requirements
beyond being a Notary Public.
Joseph: Become a Notary Public and
know how to work the equipment.
What is the average salary of a
court reporter taking depositions?
Lynda: Court reporters in Alaska are
independent contractors. Full-time
reporters average between $50,000 to
$75,000.
Joseph: I would say between $25,000
to $35,000 a year.
Carolee: Salaries are very dependent
on where the reporter lives because Alaska
is such a large state.
In This Issue
Alphabet Soup for Dinner — What Does It All Mean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Court Reporting Students Assigned to Apply for Scholarships . . . . . . . . . 3
“What Is An Error?” Gaining an Edge in Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
NCRA Calendar of Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1
Special Projects
Manuscripts
Dictation Material
Innovative Ideas
Questions • Articles
Teaching Materials and Tips
. . . or anything else!
This is your chance to share
information with other
educators across the nation!
Please send or e-mail information to:
Carolee Freer, Editor
CASElines
NCRA
8224 Old Courthouse Road
Vienna, VA 22182
[email protected]
Are there any training schools for
court reporting in Alaska?
Lynda: No. There are court reporting
students in Alaska who attend on-line
schools, though.
Are there opportunities to do captioning and/or CART work in Alaska?
Lynda: Yes, there are many opportunities for CART here. It is standard for
board meetings; for instance, those meetings that include participants with disabilities. Also, it is an accommodation funded
by the University of Alaska and some
school districts, as well as the court systems and many government agencies.
Captioning opportunities are also available.
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How many court reporters are
there in the state of Alaska?
Lynda: There are about 25 machine
shorthand reporters. There are also ER
reporters here; and, in fact, they were here
first. Machine shorthand reporters are the
new kids on the block in many ways, and
we compete effectively with realtime technology and the quality of our work.
I was the first machine shorthand
reporter in Southeast Alaska when I
moved here in 1980 and am currently the
only one. The other machine shorthand
reporters live in Fairbanks, Kenai, and in
the Anchorage area.
Joseph: Looking in the attorney directory, there are about 80 listed. They are
split about 60/40 with 40 percent being
electronic court reporters (including
myself). The court system uses electronic
court reporters and have the FTR system
installed in all of the courtrooms. Upon
occasion, a steno writer has been requested to be in the courtroom for special cases,
but the electronically recorded record is
the one the court relies on.
Are you a reporter, and if so, how
long have you been reporting?
Lynda: I have been reporting for 31
years and still love it!
Joseph: I learned on the job about 15
years ago and worked for a firm for five
years and then started my own business.
What other reporting opportunities are available in the state of Alaska?
Joseph: There are numerous meetings
which get recorded, and most of them are
put out for bids. There are scoping meet-
All teachers: If you have not yet joined
the ListServe just for teachers, and you
think you may benefit from the discussions, you can still do so by sending
your email address to dgaede@
ncrahq.org and ask to be placed on the
ListServe for teachers.
It’s Here!
A web site designed for teachers by
teachers. You can find it by going to
www.NCRAonline.org, and click on
Communities and select Teachers, or
key in the following web address:
http://www.ncraonline.org/teach
ers/index.shtml. If you have teaching
tips, interesting articles, or other information you feel you want to share with
others, please contact me at dgaede@
ncrahq.org.
ings and environmental impact statements
that come along on a pretty regular basis.
For qualified transcribers, there is also
medical transcription work available.
Is there a state licensing program?
Lynda: No. Our state association has
never pushed for one as we would be
required to include the ER reporters as
well. We have chosen instead to pursue
our NCRA certifications as a measure of
our professionalism.
Joseph: You only need a business
license if you own your own business or
are a private contractor. To be a court
reporter, you must be a notary.
Is there a state association for court
reporters for students to gain more information about job opportunities in the state
of Alaska?
Lynda: Yes. The Alaska Shorthand
Reporters Association. We kept the term
“shorthand” in our name to distinguish
ourselves from the ER reporters.
Information about job opportunities
can be obtained from ASRA’s president
Sandra Mierop, RPR, CRR, CCP at san
[email protected]. Other contacts are Lynda
Batchelor Barker, RDR, at glaciersteno
@gci.net, Lenny DiPaolo, RPR at
[email protected], and Carol McCue,
RMR, at [email protected].
Carolee: In summary, you can see that
the reporter opportunities in the 49th state
are varied and interesting. Please contact
Lynda or any one of the other ASRA
members listed above for more information on employment opportunities in
steno reporting, and Joseph Kolasinski at
[email protected] for opportunities in electronic reporting.
2
Alphabet Soup
for Dinner —
What Does It
all Mean?
By Vykki Ruvalcava Morgan, CSR, RPR,
RMR, RDR
(counted in 20 word groups for dictation)
It’s confusing enough to enter the
wonderful world of court reporting, but
every now and then, you hear something
like, // “She’s a CSR who got her RPR
from NCRA; and then she finished // her
CRR after her RMR; and, now, she’s
thinking about trying for the RDR //
through NCRA because CCRA (California Court Reporter’s Association) doesn’t
have that test.”
Huh? What // did you say? Allow me to
explain.
The CSR (Certified Shorthand
Reporter) is an exam given in most //
states in order to work as a court and/or
deposition reporter. The CSR examinations given in each // state are individualized examinations which vary from state
to state.
Although many states do not have their
own CSR, // they do recognize the RPR
(Registered Professional Reporter) examination given by NCRA (National Court
// Reporters Association) as a valid testing
and certification procedure.
The Association administers the test
twice yearly at regional sites. The // test
includes a WKT (Written Knowledge
Test) covering English grammar, punctuation, spelling, medical terminology, legal
terminology, court and // deposition procedures, Federal rules, and professional
practice. There are 100 questions.
The machine portion includes the following dictation: 180 // wpm (words per
minute) for five minutes of literary, 200
wpm for five // minutes of jury charge,
and 220 wpm for five minutes of question
and answer. Each test // is scored at 95 percent accuracy.
When a reporter passes all parts of the
test, they are granted RPR // status, which
must be maintained by participating in
CE (continuing education) credits. The
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RPR denotes // a higher level of proficiency than the CSR.
The next test up is called the RMR, //
which stands for Registered Merit
Reporter. In order to take the RMR, one
must have their RPR. // The RMR consists of the following parts: 200 wpm for
five minutes of literary // dictation, 240
wpm for five minutes of jury charge dictation, and 260 wpm // for five minutes of
question and answer dictation. There is
also a WKT, which consists of 100 // questions. The machine portions must be
passed with 95 percent accuracy.
If you are successful in passing the //
RMR, you might want to try the RDR
(Registered Diplomate Reporter). This
test is a WKT // only. So, when you see,
“Suzy Jones, CSR, RPR, RMR, RDR,” //
you’ll know what it means.
Then there are several other tests that
you can aspire toward. There is the // CRR
(Certified Realtime Reporter), which is
the realtime test given at 180 wpm for five
// minutes with 96 percent accuracy. In
many jurisdictions, court reporters receive
an added bonus on their paycheck for
holding // the CRR.
The CBC (Certified Broadcast Captioner) exam is a two-part test consisting
of a // WKT and a machine portion. The
machine portion is identical to the
requirement for the CRR. //
The CCP (Certified CART Provider)
is also a two-part test consisting of a WKT
and // a machine portion. The CCP
machine portion is identical to the CRR
test.
NCRA // also gives the CLVS (Certified Licensed Video Specialist) examination. This test consists of three steps
which // include the following: attendance
at an NCRA seminar, a WKT of 100 questions, and // a production test. The WKT
test must be passed with a score of 70 or
higher.
See, that // wasn’t so bad. Now, you just
need to find out what those letters are that
appear after your teacher’s name. //
Court Reporting Students
Assigned to Apply
for Scholarships
By Micki Kincaide and Kim Strube
There are numerous resources to help
pay for a college education.
To prove it, Alvin Community College
Court Reporting instructor Micki Kincaide now requires her students to apply
for scholarships as part of their graded
assignments during the semester.
“I know there are lots of funds available that people aren’t aware of,” she said.
According to Dora Sims, director of
Student Financial Aid at ACC, many students also feel it’s too time consuming,
not worth the effort or they won’t qualify.
Sims is often asked to talk to students,
including those in Kincaide’s classes,
about financial aid to dispel the myths and
misconceptions.
“I tell them that many times they will
be the only ones who apply for a (particular) scholarship,” Sims said. “It’s free
money.”
Kincaide took the approach one step
further by making it a requirement to
apply for at least one scholarship.
“When it’s an assignment, they are
more likely to follow through with the
application process,” she said. “Now,
those students will know where to go and
what to do - and they will possibly reapply.”
The assignment paid off the first time it
was tried last semester.
“I was ecstatic that one of my students
got an ACC Alumni Association scholarship,” Kincaide mentioned. “To me, that’s
pretty successful for the first try.”
She’s hoping more students will be
awarded scholarships this semester.
“This program is very demanding,”
Kincaide said of court reporting. “I want
to do whatever I can to help them finish.”
“If some financial aid can relieve some
of their stress, then it’s worth it,” she
added.
3
Some of her students drive over 40
miles to get to ACC daily, primarily
because of the program’s reputation.
“The quality is what really brought me
over here,” Jonathan Lott, a Court
Reporting student from Houston, said. “It
takes me 45 minutes to an hour to get here
every day.”
When Kincaide assigned the project on
November 29, Lott was one of several students who asked numerous questions,
even asking could he apply for more than
one scholarship.
“They were excited (about the opportunity) once they started thinking about
it,” Kincaide said of her students. “Once
they get started, they will find the people
in the financial aid office are very knowledge and helpful.”
The assignment helps students develop
research skills that are needed in their
career, as well, she added.
Kincaide, a 1983 ACC Court Reporting graduate, has been teaching at ACC
since 1999. She spent approximately 16
years working in the Houston area as a
court reporter before turning to teaching.
“I never imagined being in this field
(teaching),” she said. “This has been the
most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.”
Due to her experience as a court
reporter, she has brought in numerous
guest motivational speakers, such as
lawyers, hearing-impaired professionals,
professional court reporters, massage
therapists and more, to help accent her
training and inspire students.
For more information about scholarships and financial aid, contact the ACC
Financial Aid Office at (281) 756-3524.
For more information about the Court
Reporting program, call (281) 756-3757.
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“What is an Error?”
Gaining an Edge in Testing
By Teresa A. Kordick, FAPR, RDR, CRR, CCP, CBC, CRI, CPE
It’s almost test time! And while in
reporting programs there are many “test”
times, THE test I’m talking about is the
pot of gold at the end of the rainbow...the
summit atop the mountain...the Olympic
gold...yes, the coveted goal of students and
new reporters everywhere: The RPR!
You have prepared your high-speed
students well. There have been extra practice sessions. Perhaps you have given them
little hints about getting plenty of sleep,
arriving early, and how to overcome test
nerves. But one area that is often overlooked in test preparation is a thorough
understanding of the “What is an Error?”
grading guidelines.
In previous test administrations, these
guidelines were sent to test candidates
along with their registration materials.
Beginning with the May 2006 tests, however, confirmation will be e-mailed to candidates after registering. This e-mail will
contain links to other test information
such as rules and regulations, guidelines
for candidates, and the “What is an Error?”
grading guidelines. Go to www.NCRAon
line.org/testing/index.shtml for a sneak
preview. Those who do not have an e-mail
address listed with NCRA will receive a
hard copy of the materials in the mail.
The grading guidelines serve a twofold
purpose: First, they promote consistency
in the way tests are graded. While there
can be slight variations in format, grammar, and punctuation rules in different
regions and reporting programs, these
guidelines serve to pull all sites together in
an effort to ensure that test candidates at
one site are not judged more harshly than
those at another site. Second, the guidelines can be an invaluable tool in giving
test candidates an edge when preparing for
the tests.
The “What is an Error?” guidelines
were developed by NCRA’s testing committees. Occasional revisions have been
made. For example, in the past a test
would have been considered an automatic
fail if there was no paragraphing. However, the latest revisions do not require para-
graphing. It is important for candidates to
be aware of the most current rules. Following is a brief summary of the guidelines listed on “What Is An Error?”:
• Automatic fails include single-spaced
transcripts, the use of all capitals or all
lowercase, and handwritten transcripts.
• One error is counted for every wrong
or misspelled word and for every typographical mistake.
• One error is also counted for each
improper plural or singular word and
each word transcribed in the incorrect
tense (such as “acted” instead of “act”).
• Each added word is an error, and each
dropped word is an error.
• Each word that is transposed into
another part of the sentence is an error.
• Punctuation errors can include omitted
commas or periods that are mandatory,
and each wrongly placed or omitted Q
and A symbol will be counted.
• A contraction transcribed as two words
(and vice versa) counts as one error.
• Each incorrect number or money figure represented by a word will add an
error to the tally. The year 1951, for
example, transcribed as 1815 would
count as three errors.
Just as it is important for students to be
familiar with what constitutes an error, it
is beneficial for students to read the last
section of the grading guidelines. Items
that will not be counted as errors include
certain misplaced commas, some capitalization, punctuation that was part of a
drop, missing hyphens, et cetera. I
remember when I first took the CRR
examination, I thought I had to put in
every hyphen. Very early in the dictation
there were a few phrases (though at the
time I could have sworn there were
dozens) that screamed for hyphens, and I
froze and was seized by test nerves. The
next time I was more prepared and knew I
didn’t have to put in every little bit of
punctuation! Again, knowing which
errors to watch out for is important.
I am often surprised by proofreading
errors. There have been many occasions
4
where a series of proofreading errors
caused a candidate to fail. And, sadly, in
some instances these were unnecessary
errors which could have been prevented
by being familiar with “What is an Error?”
Even with these grading guidelines in
place, there can still be some disparity in
grading from test sites around the country.
Some errors may be subjective. Guideline
No. 7 states that, “each omitted period or
comma that is required by the rules of
punctuation” is an error. One grader’s
understanding of what is required by the
rules of punctuation could differ from that
of another. Fortunately, all papers that fall
within ten below or ten above the pass
point are rechecked by NCRA’s verification committee. Again, this helps ensure a
fair and consistent test at all test sites.
So give your students a little bit of an
edge. Add a review of “What is an Error?”
to your test preparation arsenal. You just
might be rewarded with a big smile when
test results are posted!
Teresa A. Kordick, of Des Moines, Iowa, is a
long-time chief examiner for the RPR/RMR
examinations and for the CRR examination at
both the state and national levels. She is the past
chair of NCRA’s Test Advisory Committee and
currently serves on CAPR.
Scholarships
Don’t forget the deadline for CASE’s
Scholarships is April 1, 2006. That date
is quickly on its way, and you want to
make sure your students have the
opportunity to win $1500, $1000, or
$500 to help defray the cost of education. You can submit up to two nominees from your approved program.
This year’s essay topic is “Based on
Your Research, What does the Future
hold for the Reporting Professions?”
Educator of the Year
It is not too late to nominate that
favorite teacher of yours. The deadline
is April 1, 2006. CASE will review all
nominations at its June meeting.
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Calendar
TT = Teletraining Seminar
March
16
23
31–April 2
Improving Your Collections TT
Successful Collection Calls TT
Midyear, Nashville, Tenn. Join the Teachers’ COI discussion group
on Saturday afternoon.
April
18
25
Are You Out of Whack? Bring Balance to Your Life TT
Difficult Personalities…Let the Solutions Begin with You TT
May
18
25
Moving from Good to Great TT
The Science of Speed Writing TT
August
3-6
October
19-22
Convention in New York, NY
CRI Orientation
Teachers’ Workshop, Dallas, Texas
5