Course Descriptions
English I & II | top
Reinforces basic English skills for the proper transcription of the proceedings taken verbatim by the student reporter. Areas of study include sentence structure, clauses, punctuation, grammar, mechanics such as plural/singular, apostrophes, and capitalization, and quotations, underlining, and commonly confused words. English II includes advanced skills pertaining to court reporting transcripts.
Introduction to CART/Captioning | top
This class introduces students to the working environment of the captioning reporter and CART providers. This includes the terminology and legislation pertaining to captioning, the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the CART Provider’s Manual, the equipment and office, and how the captioned job looks. Students wishing to pursue this field are required to have further training in practical skills and specialized terminology writing classes currently been made available at the Institute.
Legal Terminology/Legal Research | top
Covers defining, using, pronouncing, spelling, and transcribing over 960 of the most commonly used legal terms utilized in the legal profession. The student will be able to recognize, pronounce, spell, and transcribe hundreds of similar legal terms that are less familiar but patterned on the common words and word parts learned in this class. Introduces students to the Federal and State court systems and appellate procedures. Student will learn the different aspects of civil procedure, civil law and criminal law. They will also learn to conduct research for information that may be required for an accurate transcript, such as titles of legal cases.
Medical Terminology/Anatomy | top
Medical terminology and anatomy covers the terminology used by physicians and others associated with the medical field. This class includes the structure of the human body, skeletal, muscular, cardiovascular, respiratory, lymphatic and immune, digestive, urinary, nervous and endocrine system, eyes and ears, the reproductive system, as well as diagnostic and imaging procedures and general medical terminology.
Office Procedures | top
This class covers the practical skills for most freelance office procedures, such as scheduling depositions in the appointment book, assignment of jobs, the worksheet, assembling the transcripts – both court and deposition – estimating the costs, invoicing and delivery of the transcripts.
Reporting Practice & Procedures | top
Court Reporting Practice & Procedures cover the duties required as a working reporter in the judicial field of reporting. This includes both official and freelance practices and procedures. Some of the areas covered include the working environment in court and depositions, terminology, oaths, speaker identification, parentheticals, motions and objections, marking exhibits, reading back testimony, and production of the transcript. This class also studies professionalism and ethics of court reporting, associations, testing, and continuing education requirements.
Vocabulary | top
Vocabulary consists of over a thousand words to increase the student’s knowledge of the language of many different fields they will encounter as working reporters.
Windows XP I & II | top
The students will learn the basic skills of Windows XP desktop which include: Windows desktop; online help; working with files and folders; the taskbar and start menu; WordPad and paint accessories; control panels.
Steno Lab | top
Students are required to complete and submit 9 lab hours of steno practice per week. CRIL utilizes the latest technology for our students to gain accuracy and speed with Performance Evaluators from Stenograph. Students not only are able to access dication online, but they (as well as instructors) also have the capability to evaluate their writing skills instantly through the use of Performance Evaluators. Instructors can then advise and assist students with regard to their individual needs.
Students also have access to an extensive tape and CD library, containing hundreds of dicatations for practice outside of class. Time spent in practice and study is vital for progression through the court reporting course. Each student must attain the capabilities to concentrate, build dexterity, perform well under testing conditions, absorb new material quickly, and realize progress through their own study program.
Realtime Software Applications | top
Instruction regarding the computer-aided transcription (CAT) software for court reporters in a student version. Students learn the basic skills necessary to utilize the software for realtime writing, while hooked via a cable from the stenotype machine to the computer. It includes download, translation, dictionary, and editing skills for production of the transcript.
Realtime Reporting I through V (Prequisite: RT Theory ) | top
Each category addresses the specific speed level as follows: Realtime Reporting I, 40-60 wpm; Realtime Reporting II, 80-100 wpm; Realtime Reporting III, 120-140 wpm; Realtime Reporting IV, 160-180 wpm; and Realtime Reporting V, 200-230 wpm. These classes are designed to take a student from 40 words per minute up to 230 words per minute in writing skills on the stenotype machine in three areas -- Literary, Jury Charge, and Testimony. These same three areas are the skills portion of both the Louisiana State Certification Exam and the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) Certification Exam.
Realtime Theory I & II | top
32 lessons contained in the Phoenix Theory Student textbooks. The lessons cover learning the keyboard of the stenotype machine, principles and rules of writing realtime phonetic shorthand, and an introduction to abbreviations and phrases to utilize in writing. Assignments are reviewed in live dictation class with the instructor. Evaluations are given at the end of each lesson as well as skill tests for accuracy on the stenotype machine.
Reporting Internship | top
Students in Realtime Reporting V are eligible to begin the Internship portion of the course. The student will complete a 60-hour internship in which they accompany a Certified Court Reporter on depositions, in court, at hearings, and in realtime settings. An Internship record sheet is to be completed at the end of each session attended and signed by the court reporter. A minimum of 20 pages of the proceedings must be transcribed and submitted for review.
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