Fri. Mar 29th, 2024
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A recent series of messages has led to confusion and turmoil concerning the American Sign Language Interpreting and Deaf Studies program at the University of South Florida, one of two schools in the state to offer a four-year degree in that field.

Nathan Maxfield, interim chairperson in USF’s Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, sent out an email on Feb. 11 saying he was sorry to announce the program would be closing.

“The decision was based on a combination of factors, which I will not attempt to summarize here,” he wrote, adding that the move would have a “significant negative impact on the deaf community in addition to impacting our colleagues.”

His message said little other information was known but that current students would be able to finish the program.

The email led to a widely circulated Facebook post, an online petition that received more 13,000 signatures from people across the world and an emotional four-hour protest last week on the Tampa campus.

The program’s dean and associate dean fielded heated questions and listened to testimonials from members of the deaf, hard of hearing and interpreter communities about the importance of interpreters. The crowd of more than 100 included the president of a statewide association for the deaf, a Clearwater family with a deaf child and 4 million TikTok followers, and dozens of alumni, students and faculty members.

University officials responded, saying a recommendation had been made to cancel the major and make those courses part of another program, but that it has not been approved yet. The statement did not comfort students, alumni and others who said it appeared the changes under consideration would water down USF’s offerings in the field.

The chain of events echoed the messaging that occurred in 2020 when USF announced plans to phase out undergraduate programs in the College of Education, a decision that drew widespread backlash and later was reversed.

Maxfield, the interim chairperson who sent out the original email, did not respond to requests for comment, and the university later said the message was inaccurate.

The university released a statement attributed to Julie Serovich, dean of the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences.

“As part of USF’s annual process to review the productivity of all majors and degree programs, the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences planned to recommend discontinuing the major, in part because a bachelor’s degree in the field is not a necessary credential to become a certified interpreter,” the statement said. “However, the college’s proposal was not submitted to or reviewed by university leadership, who would have to approve of terminating a major.”

Discussions about the change started because of an error in the way the major was coded in the USF system, Serovich said in an …….

Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/amphtml/usf-faces-angry-reaction-rumored-220400992.html