Where does it say in any of the course descriptions that the program at Ulster is a program for certifying ASL fluency??? This is not an ASL fluency program, nor it it an Interpreter Training Program. It is simply a program to start students on a path on being able to understand the needs of Deaf people and to help them to be able to communicate on some level. SEE is Signing Exact English, complete with all the word endings, 1 word/1 sign. Orginally designed to use in a grade school setting to help children who are deaf understand English gramatical rules, etc. This fell flat, to say the least and is usually not used, because #1 the kids had no idea what was being signed, (as it is not their language) and #2 It is impossible to keep up with the speaker if you are trying to sign every single word spoken. Pidgen Signed English uses English word order & ASL concepts without all the added in little words such as "the, is" etc. Manual Signed English fills in all those little extra words and follows more of a SEE model without the word endings, etc.
Sign Language Interpreting
32-33 Credit Certificate Program
http://www.alldeaf.com/sign-language-oralism/64718-debate-over-pse-asl-2.html#post1318067
Program Description
This 32-33-credit certificate program is a response to society's need to accommodate the special requirements of a disadvantaged population. The program will provide students with a basis upon which to build additional interpretation skills. Four classes in Sign Language, together with the Introduction to Deaf Culture and a field placement in sign language interpreting, are the key components of the program. Also required are courses in communications, English, psychology, and early childhood education.
The program can be completed in two semesters; it may also be pursued on a part-time basis. Students who have completed some of the liberal arts classes for another program will qualify for the certificate by taking the additional components of the Sign Language Interpreting program.
This certificate program is designed to fit within SUNY Ulster's Associate in Arts degree program in Liberal Arts and Sciences: Humanities and Social Science. The program can also serve as a foundation for further educational pursuits.
Employment Potential
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders reports that more than 28 million Americans have a hearing loss, and 80% of those affected have irreversible and permanent hearing damage. At least one million children are deaf or have a communication disorder. Many local community agencies and school systems are hiring sign language interpreters or contracting with agencies for interpreters. In addition, the skill of sign language interpreting adds to the credentials of job seekers in a number of fields that involve work with a diverse population.
The program description and employment potential desccription directely from Ulster's website are both worded in such a way as to imply qualification as an interpreter after completion of a 1 year certificate. Programs such as this do a disservice to the deaf/Deaf community as well as to the students enrolled in such a program.
You seem to be conveniently ignoring the fact that unless one is fluent in ASL, one is not qualified as an interpreter. One does not "interpret" into SEE or PSE. One transilerates into SEE or PSE, as SEE is simply a manual mode of English, and PSE is a combination of two languages. In order for "interpretation" to occur, one has to be intepreting from one recognized language into a different recognized language. When one transliterates into SEE or PSE, one is doing nothing more than tranliterating to a different mode of the same language.
Manually Signed English (more appropriately known as MCE, which is Manually Coded English) is a broad category that includes SEE1, SEE2, and CASE. Your last sentence describes CASE, not PSE.