Hobart, IN--Last fall, College of Court Reporting (CCR) was one of four colleges in the nation to receive a U.S. Department of Education's "Training for Realtime Writers" grant. CCR will use grant funds to train and place students in the field to help meet the national demand for qualified court reporters and realtime writers. In addition, CCR will also grant 14 scholarships for students with disabilities to use in order to purchase specialized software and equipment.
The scholarships amounts are up to $5,000 for each blind student to use to purchase specialized software and equipment. Earlier this year, CCR awarded $5,000 to one of its qualified students. In total, up to $75,000 will be awarded to qualified students. Because people with disabilities have an extremely low employment rate and live at or below poverty levels in comparison to people without disabilities, we are very proud to offer this award to assist these students. Many people with disabilities cannot afford specialized software and equipment. By providing seed money to help them enroll, CCR expects to enroll and place more students with disabilities.
A student who is blind must purchase screen-reading software, equipment to “display” Braille, and software that converts books and electronic text into digitally-produced speech. The approximate cost of the additional software and equipment for a blind student is $4,700. The availability of financial assistance to help defray the additional costs will increase the number of prospective students with disabilities who can enroll due to a reduction in their financial burden. This will help a group that has 35 percent employment and 26 percent poverty rates.
Qualified students should contact Jay T. Vettickal, executive director, by email at jay.vettickal@ccr.edu or by calling 866-294-3974 x228.
College of Court Reporting was the first online program in the country to be certified by the National Court Reporters Association. With the help of CCR’s innovative minute-by-minute evaluation method, the College is now on track to produce more graduates this year than any other court reporting school in the country. For more information on furthering your education, contact Nicky at 866-294-3974.