Interpreters at universities.

[shezzbeav]

I'm having problems with the interpreters at university at the moment. I have 3 terps. 2 terps I'm happy with and they're NAATI qualified. However, there is one terp which is not qualified, and she is really bad. I barely understand her.

I was wondering if non qualified terps were allowed to terp at universities? Non qualified terps terping in school is fine, but in university, its a bloody different story.

What should I do? I've complained to the disability officer, but nope, nothing, zilch. Stupid disability officer.

 

[Reba]

Each school, state, and country is different. IMO, unqualified terps should not be in universities (or schools) but the laws vary from place to place as to what "qualified" means.

 

[ismi]

Having complained to the disability officer, you're sort of at a sticky point - taking it further puts you in a somewhat adversarial position. That said, if you're not understanding the classes, it's definitely worth pursuing. Most universities have "ombudsmen" - neutral arbitrators - to help in disputes between students and staff/faculty. You could try asking one of them what your options are (phrase it so they'll understand it - maybe start out by saying, "the disability officer is not providing adequate accommodations, and I'm not sure she understands that's the case" rather than "my interpreter is unqualified, and the dis officer won't do anything about it"). Going to your dean may also be useful - like the ombudsman, they may or may not have the authority to get changes made, but they will at least know who does.

 

[Interpretrator]

Having complained to the disability officer, you're sort of at a sticky point - taking it further puts you in a somewhat adversarial position.

That may be true. However, I'm shocked that the person in charge of interpreters hasn't granted shezzbeav's request for a new interpreter. In my opinion taking it further is a totally appropriate next step. Where I work, if a student has problems understanding an interpreter and can't work it out with the terp, the interpreter coordinator will either replace that terp or explain to the student why it isn't possible. (Scheduling difficulties can sometimes prevent this.) The student would never be brushed off; this is a legitimate complaint.

Buuuuut...I don't know how things go down in Australia, so this is just my American viewpoint.

 

[ismi]

That may be true. However, I'm shocked that the person in charge of interpreters hasn't granted shezzbeav's request for a new interpreter. In my opinion taking it further is a totally appropriate next step.

I agree completely. Feathers may be ruffled, but that's life. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

 

[Interpretrator]

I agree completely. Feathers may be ruffled, but that's life. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

No, it's good to know that further action may alienate the disability officer. Which doesn't sound like too much of a loss considering the job he's doing, but probably they will come into contact again and it could have consequences. I definitely wasn't disagreeing with you, just...well, really surprised at how this was handled.