Thursday, March 15, 2007

UVSC adds three new bachelor degrees

Utah's Board of Regents recently approved three new degrees for UVSC's fall 2007 semester. Here is the press release that College Marketing put out:


UVSC adds Three New Bachelor Degrees
Beginning fall semester 2007, Utah Valley State College will offer three new bachelor degrees, two in the Foreign Languages Department and one in the Computer and Networking Sciences Department. The new four-year degrees include a Bachelor of Arts in American Sign Language and Deaf Education, a Bachelor of Arts in Deaf Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering. With the addition of these new degrees, UVSC now offers 54 bachelor degrees.

The American Sign Language and deaf education degree is a secondary education teaching program that will prepare graduates to teach in middle schools and high schools as well as prepare them to serve the deaf community. The deaf studies degree aims at serving the students and community and will offer an emphasis in general deaf studies and an emphasis in interpreting.

“There is a huge new surge in the market for signers because of Sorenson Communications in Salt Lake City, a service that helps the deaf use the telephone. We are responding to the need,” said Karl Worthington, interim vice president for academic affairs. “Deaf studies is a unique major and this degree proposal has been well received by other institutions and the deaf community. Many students, hearing and non hearing, will be involved in learning how to sign as well as teach.”

In addition to these two new degrees, software engineering is making the transition from an emphasis to a stand alone degree. “This will greatly assist students in the job market,” said Worthington. “Employers are specifically looking for those who have received a higher education in software engineering.”

2 comments:

The Pipeline said...

College Marketing just released this item that concerns the ASL program at UVSC:

Deaf Tennessee High School Seniors Visit UVSC on National Tour

Twelve deaf Tennessee high school seniors are visiting Utah Valley State College today and tomorrow as part of a tour to four U.S. institutions of higher learning known for having excellent programs for deaf students.

The tour is part of a program to increase the number of deaf students who attend colleges and universities and is partly subsidized by the Accessibility Services Department and the UVSC-sponsored Deaf Studies Today! conference.

“While here, the students will see the services and facilities UVSC provides for deaf students, meet with UVSC deaf students and interpreters and attend an ASL grammar class taught by a deaf professor,” said Bryan K. Eldredge, associate professor of foreign languages and program coordinator for ASL and Deaf Studies. “They will see that UVSC is a deaf-friendly place and a place they can feel welcome.”

Eldredge said there are 60 deaf students currently attending UVSC, an uncommonly high number for a four-year college. He also estimates there are 350 students on campus taking ASL or deaf studies classes. UVSC recently approved bachelors degree programs in American Sign Language and Deaf Education and Deaf Studies and will continue to offer a degree in integrated studies with an ASL emphasis and a minor in deaf studies.

On the tour, the high school students will also visit Gallaudet University in Washington D.C., a university for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology and California State University at Northridge.

“UVSC’s attention to deaf students and studies has really put us on the map nationally,” said Eldredge. “Deaf students bring diversity and a unique perspective to campus. We want to help these students succeed, so we have gone the extra mile to make UVSC attractive to them. That’s why deaf people find UVSC such a friendly institution.”

Vegor said...

BYU's Daily Universe just did a story on the three new degree offerings at UVSC.