Community Spanish Facilitator Certificate

The Community Spanish Facilitator Certificate is an 18-credit-hour certificate that prepares its graduates as paraprofessional translators and interpreters in the community. The program was designed to meet the needs of our increasingly international community and our Latino students, who were eager to use their bilingual skills to improve the access of Latinos to basic services (i.e., hospitals, community agencies, legal). 

The program has partnered with several community organizations and local businesses in order to provide the students with the opportunity to gain further practical knowledge of translation and interpreting, to gain related work experience, and to perform community service. Each student in the certificate program also has a bilingual advisor and a faculty mentor.  The program director participates in ongoing college, high school, and middle school fairs to promote the certificate among bilingual students and their parents. The program director conducts bilingual monthly information sessions about the Certificate plan of study, course offerings, and advanced career options.