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WRIEC: Past, Present, & Future:

Innovative approaches and positive changes

Western Oregon University (WOU) and El Camino College (ECC) have been providing professional development services to Sign Language interpreters and educators throughout the Western United States since the early 1990's. Now, after more than twenty-five combined years of working independently for a common goal of Sign Language interpreter excellence, the two institutions are working in formal collaboration through the establishment of the Western Region Interpreter Education Center (WRIEC).

 

With five-year funding (October 2005) from the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration, WRIEC has been tasked with a set of activities that signify a major departure from its previous programming and original plan of action. Today, WRIEC is now part of a larger collaborative, the National Consortium of Interpreter Education Centers (NCIEC). This model represents a significant shift in philosophy, structure, approaches and timelines.

 

While almost all of the initiatives appear to be national in scope, WRIEC is committed to its established local partner networks and works to involve individuals and institutions throughout the Region. WRIEC is further committed to ensuring that the specific needs of our Western United States region are reflected in the programming and products developed through the collaborative efforts of NCIEC.

 

WRIEC and NCIEC offers direct services and educational products that expand and enhance professional development opportunities for hearing and deaf interpreters of all abilities and backgrounds. For more information, go to www.nciec.org.

 

They include, but are not limited to:

• Broad-based interpreter education of significant scope and sequence in a variety of topic areas, including: Deaf interpreting, medical, mental health, VR, VRS and VRI, legal, deaf-blind and multilingual settings;
• Full-service mentoring programs, including diagnostics, for interpreters and interpreter educators;
• Comprehensive national data base of information including events, interpreters, mentors, post-secondary interpreter preparation programs, educational opportunities, and materials; and
• Resources and information regarding effective practices for meeting the pending requirement for a Bachelors degree for certification, and assistance to post-secondary programs preparing to meet the requirement.