Ohio Governor John Kasich and Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor signed a Proclamation declaring Ohio National Court Reporting and Captioning Week February 15-21.

“Court reporting in Ohio has been a valued industry for many, many years,” said Robyn Hennigan, Realtime Court Reporting program coordinator and assistant professor at Clark State. “To have support from our Governor and Lieutenant Governor instills in the individuals in the profession, as well as Ohioans who rely on our services, that court reporting and captioning is an honored and noble profession worthy of recognition and praise.”

Clark State’s Realtime Court Reporting program has two options: Judicial Reporting and Closed Captioning/CART. Students earn an associate's degree upon completion.

“It entails learning to write a realtime theory on a stenographic writing machine at speeds of 225 words per minute (wpm) in testimony (two-voice) dictation, 200 wpm in literary dictation and 180 wpm in jury charge dictation at a minimum of 95 percent accuracy to provide instantaneous translation of the spoken word,” explained Hennigan.

Students are trained toward obtaining the National Court Reporters Association's (NCRA) Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) certification upon graduation with encouragement of obtaining NCRA's Certified Realtime Reporter certification after obtaining their RPR.

“The field of realtime reporting is an exciting, vital and rewarding career field offering a multitude of varying opportunities to employ realtime skills, from taking a verbatim record in the courtroom, in depositions and in hearings, to closed captioning local, state and national news; sporting events like the Super Bowl, World Series and the Olympics; and many other live programming options,” said Hennigan.

“It's a high-paying IT career option where opportunities are abundant and life-long learning is at the forefront.”