I had a thought the other day about schools and how difficult it must be for students who are hearing impaired to attend normal college classes. After asking around, I heard about a school that is deigned just to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students.
An Act of Congress founded Gallaudet University, the world’s only university of its kind, in 1864 and President Abraham Lincoln signed its charter. This university allows students to choose from 39 majors from B.A.’s to B.S’s. Undergraduate students also have the option of designing their own “self-directed majors.” They can take courses offered at 13 other institutions of higher learning that are members of the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area, along with classes at Gallaudet, in order to fulfill their own approved design.
Graduate programs include a Master of Arts or a Master of Science degree, specialist degree, certificates, and doctoral degrees in a variety of fields involving professional service provision to deaf and hard of hearing people.
I think that this University is revolutionary. I distinctly remember the students in my college lecture classes who had sign language interpreter’s sitting next to them. Not only did it ostracize these students from the rest of the class, but it also required them to either hire their own costly interpreter, or go through the school’s process of providing one, which can be a lot of paper work and hassle. Have any of you heard of this school? Maybe someone has attended and can tell me more about your experience? Or if anyone had to get an interpreter to help them through college courses, I’d be interested in hearing how you handled that.