Clark State/Stark State court reporter program to offer new certificates

The joint Clark State College/Stark State College digital reporting program will add new certificates and new software to their current curriculum.

Beginning in January, the online program will add a digital reporting certificate program with two short-term certificate tracks (professional digital reporter or professional digital editor) to their current judicial court reporting degree program. The new certificate programs will educate students on Stenograph’s digital court reporting software MAXScribe using material from the Stenograph Digital Reporting Academy.

“Both certificates are recognized by Ohio’s initiative for short-term certificates for in-demand careers, and both are eligible for financial aid assistance,” said Rene Eneix, department chair of administrative services and office applications at Stark State. “Our shared curriculum will provide students with technical training and understanding of the digital court reporting software, legal proceedings and ethical standards to capture and preserve the verbatim records digitally.”

The field of realtime reporting, Eneix said, is an exciting, vital and rewarding IT career field, offering a multitude of career opportunities to employ realtime skills – from taking a verbatim record in the courtroom and in depositions and hearings, to captioning local, state and national news and sporting events such as the Super Bowl, the World Series and the Olympics, along with many other live programming options.

Robyn Hennigan, program coordinator/senior technical instructor of judicial court reporting at Clark State, said the two digital certificate programs are important.

“They will help fill an overwhelming need for reporters across the country and allow students to get a short-term certificate (16 weeks) that provides American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers certification opportunities and employment opportunities upon achieving the certificate,” she said.

The combined Stark State/Clark State judicial court reporting program, approved by the National Court Reporters Association, maintains a 100-percent job placement rate.

“Stenograph is invested in building partnerships with schools to build a workforce of proficient MAXScribe users that are CER, CET and CDR certified,” said Janet Harris, vice president of enterprise sales at Stenograph. “This is a great career opportunity for students of all ages to enter the court reporting field and our customers are hiring graduates upon completion of Stark State/Clark State’s programs.”

Stenograph has been the leading supplier of productivity tools for the court reporting profession for more than 80 years. As the industry leader, Stenograph offers writers and software for each customer, including professional court reporters, CART reporters, Case CATalyst users, scopists, and students.

Clark State and Stark State joined forces in 2015 to provide shared programming and a unique opportunity for excellence in teaching and learning.

Clark/Stark students learn to write realtime using a computerized machine and to prepare transcripts using computer-aided (CAT) software.  Students’ writing skills are perfected by utilizing a realtime learning practice and testing web environment along with many additional specialized drills, and students have access to an on-campus mock courtroom, as well as on-campus realtime labs.  Students are required to complete a significant internship prior to graduating, providing exposure to the judicial court reporting field in a real-world environment.

To learn more about the Stark State-Clark State’s judicial court reporting program, visit starkstate.edu and/or clarkstate.edu or contact Rene Eneix at reneix@starkstate.edu or Robyn Hennigan at henniganr@clarkstate.edu.

For more information on Stenograph’s Education Network: enterprise@stenograph.com.