Policy For Hiring Sign Language Interpreters

UND's position on hiring sign language interpreters is to follow national professional guidelines to define qualified personnel. This may or may not include certification with a national certifying organization. Guidelines have been developed from national organizations that address the issue of who is qualified to provide interpreter services. The Registry of Interpreters of the Deaf (RID) and the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) publish standard practice papers to serve as guidelines, based on ADA, for hiring interpreters.

In addition to these national guidelines, UND has added a component of evaluation and monitoring which is reflected in the statement that accompanies our list of available interpreters. This statement is meant to be an endorsement of the capabilities of those on the list. The statement is: "This list represents interpreters who have successfully completed a screening process with a professional interpreter evaluator and are engaged in ongoing professional development. The screening process includes an evaluation of technical skills, and knowledge base, i.e. Deaf culture, language, ethics and evidence of ongoing professional development. This screening process is a quality assurance process, not a certification process."