Wallace Community College is excited to offer Court Reporting in partnership with Gadsden State Community College!
Court Reporting Technology offers training that will lead to an Associate in Applied Science degree or a short-term certificate. Students are admitted into the Court Reporting Program only in the Fall Semester. To receive the associate degree, a student must earn a grade of “C” or higher in all Court Reporting courses and other courses that are required by NCRA’s Council on Approved Student Education. In addition, the student must pass four five-minute tests with 95 percent accuracy at each of the following speeds: 225 words per minute testimony (two-voice), 200 wpm jury charge and 180 wpm literary. The student shall complete at least 50 verified hours of internship, of which a minimum of 40 hours should be actual writing time.
Students focusing on Broadcast Captioning must write three five-minute literary broadcast material takes at 180 wpm (word count) at 96 percent verbatim accuracy. The student must submit unedited captioned translations of three 15-minute programs on varied topics for course evaluation taken from the internship experience. The student is required to complete at least 25 verified hours of actual writing and 15 hours of research and dictionary preparation during the internship experience.
To be licensed as a court reporter, an applicant must pass the Written Knowledge Examination administered by NCRA, and they must pass an Alabama skills examination or provide documentation of having passed the NCRA RPR exam. For more information, visit www.ABCR.alabama.gov.
Important Information
A new class is admitted to Court Reporting Technology every Fall Semester. To qualify for admission to the program, applicants must:
- Earn unconditional admission to Gadsden State. Admission to Gadsden State does not guarantee admission to the Court Reporting Program.
- Be able to read, write, speak and understand the English language.
- Be a citizen of the United States or have declared legal intent to become a citizen.
- Notify the program director of any felony convictions. An application for a Notary Public bond may be denied in light of the nature of the offense.
- Possess a high school graduation diploma or a GED.
- Take the ACCUPLACER Inventory given in the Testing Center. A score of 18 or better on the ACT (or equivalent SAT score) or ACCUPLACER Placement score of 5 or higher is required. If the scores are below those specified, the applicant must complete one or more developmental courses in the area of deficiency prior to starting the Court Reporting Program.
- Complete the application procedure for admission to Gadsden State here.
- Complete the Court Reporting application. Submit to brookedavis@gadsdenstate.edu.
- Submit official high school and college transcripts or official GED scores to the Admissions Office and to brookedavis@gadsdenstate.edu. Download the transcript request form here.
- A minimum of 2.0 cumulative GPA at Gadsden State or institution from which student is transferring if no courses have been completed at GSCC (including high school GPA).
- Submit a resume of work experience, activities and honors to brookedavis@gadsdenstate.edu, if any.
- Complete the ACCUPLACER placement inventory in the testing center and have the results sent to brookedavis@gadsdenstate.edu.
- ACCUPLACER Course Placement Test and/or ACT. Accuplacer score of 5 or higher on the Writing portion or ACT score of 18 or higher on the English portion.
- Complete all admission requirements no later than July 1.
A new class of Court Reporting students are admitted to the program in the Fall Semester only.
All applicants who have completed the Court Reporting admission procedure and who have satisfied Gadsden State admission requirements no later than July 1 will be reviewed by the Court Reporting Admissions Committee prior to Fall Semester registration.
Applicants will be ranked for admission on the basis of the date of the receipt of their application, academic transcripts, examination scores and references. In light of the availability of equipment and space, the number of applicants admitted will be limited. Selection will be based on the ranking of applicants.
All applicants will be notified in writing of their admission status prior to Fall Semester registration.
Applicants who have been notified of their selection for admission to the Court Reporting Program must send to the program technician a letter of acceptance by the specified date indicating the intent to enter the program.
Applicants who do not respond as prescribed above will forfeit their place in the class. If there are vacancies in the new class, they will be filled by acceptable alternate applicants who have met the admission requirements.
Essential Functions are the fundamental job duties and skills associated with a particular position. All students are required to read the Essential Functions identified for Court Reporting Technology and determine if they are capable of performing these functions with or without reasonable accommodation. Students must be able to: *
- Have full use of hands
- Be able to sit long periods of time
- Good auditory skills
- Ability to concentrate for long periods of time
- Word knowledge
- English / grammar skills
- Good hand-eye coordination and manual dexterity to manipulate equipment
- Intermediate computer knowledge
- Good observation techniques
- Be able to collect facts and organize data accurately
- Be able to manage time wisely
- Be able to handle stress
- Not addicted to drugs and/or alcohol
* The Americans with Disabilities Act requires colleges and universities to inform students of all performance expectations related to their job and school performance. In accordance with College policy, when requested, reasonable accommodations may be provided for individuals with disabilities. Requests for reasonable accommodations should be directed to the program director.
Program Information