Choose A Good Court Reporting School

 

               

 

A good court reporting school teaches its students about the full range of aspects involved in a court reporting career.  Though learning the skill of stenography is certainly a vital part of court reporting, there are many lesser known but still very important details involved in the job.  When choosing a court reporting school, be sure the program includes the variety of courses you will need to be fully prepared to begin working as a court reporter.
 
Many of the best court reporting schools, including some of the great online programs, offer job placement help after graduation.  Types of jobs that require court reporting skills include judicial court reporting, closed-captioning reporting, and webcast reporting.  The majority of these types of jobs require the skills to operate a stenotype machine.  A stenographer is trained to write machine shorthand using a small blank keyboard consisting of 22 keys.  Stenographers stroke multiple keys simultaneously to produce stenotype, which is then converted into phrases and words.  Advancements in technology now allow the stenotype machine to be interfaced with a computer.  Court reporting software on the computer instantly converts the stenotype strokes into English that can be immediately viewed on a monitor.

Some court reporting jobs allow alternative methods of capturing the record.  One of those methods is electronic, or digital, court reporting.  In this type of job, a court reporter uses audio recording equipment to preserve the proceedings.  The court reporter is responsible for monitoring the equipment throughout the proceeding to ensure a proper recording is being made.  Another method of court reporting is voice writing.  The court reporter utilizes a special noise-reducing mask to verbally repeat everything that happens in a proceeding, including the emotional reactions and the words spoken by the participants.  Though all of these techniques may not be taught at every school, a good court reporting school will introduce its students to these alternative methods.
 
The National Court Reporters Association has long been the recognized authority on court reporting standards.  At this time, the NCRA only certifies programs offering stenographic training, though there are discussions being had regarding possibly certifying alternative methods of court reporting in the future.  Though the NCRA is not an accrediting agency, “all NCRA-certified programs are accredited by agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education”.  This is an important distinction as it applies to federal financial aid.  Because court reporter training requires that a student have access to a stenotype machine, it is important to know that some form of federal financial aid may be available to help offset some of the initial expenses associated with court reporter training.  A complete list of NCRA-certified programs is available on the NCRA website.