HOME STUDY 

Home study offers an excellent option for those students who, for a variety of reasons (geography, work schedules, family circumstances, finances, etc.), cannot avail themselves of a resident program in court reporting.  A student must be at least 18 years of age and have a minimum of a high school diploma or its GED equivalent.  Keyboarding skills (> 25 wpm) and literacy knowledge of proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling are a plus.  The key elements for succeeding in our program are:

  • Desire

  • Aptitude

  • Time available for study and practice

  • Self-discipline to use the time available

During the past 40 years, the Home Study Division of the Stenotype Institute and its successor the StenoMax Institute home study program have had dozens of beginning and transfer students graduate (see Graduates).

  • Almost every one of these students, upon graduation, has gone to work as a court reporter (>95 percent placement).

  • These graduates have had a higher first-time pass rate on the RPR certification exam than the national average for resident students. 

Our home study program is particularly well suited for transfer students, those students who have already mastered an NCRA-approved theory.  The speedbuilding lessons and proctor-mediated tests are presented within a well-defined, comprehensive Assignment Schedule.  This, coupled with the meticulous evaluation and grading of material returned to the school, obviates the need for classroom “readers.”  All of our faculty are former court reporters and/or NCRA-Certified Reporting Instructors (CRIs) and invariably get high marks for their sensitive critiques, encouragement, and practical suggestions for maximizing each student’s progress in the program. 

INDIVIDUALIZED SELF-PACED STUDY 

The entire program is self-paced.  Sequenced materials are sent to each student:

  • Upon request

  • When our database management system indicates that additional material will be needed soon or when supplemental material may be helpful 

Unlike other so-called “self-paced” programs, the StenoMax Institute’s approach is truly self-paced.  Although there is a nominal one-assignment-per-week requirement, there is no additional payment charged for extra time taken to complete a course segment or in submitting several assignments per week. 

Similarly, if a student does not pass a theory or speedbuilding test, an exam may be taken as many times as necessary without any penalty or additional fee. 

Because of varied learning styles, daily schedules, etc., additional materials are available or can be created to help maximize a student’s progress:

  • Extra practice tapes (e.g., more concentration on difficult fingering combinations, emphasis on literary material, or specialized terminology, homonyms, numbers)

  • More tapes at specific speeds

  • Videotapes of four-voice testimony (120 wpm and higher), particularly appropriate for students to practice for the CSR exams in California, Nevada, and Texas 

Due to the benefits of continuous enrollment in a court reporting program, the StenoMax Institute recommends that a student follow the course as scheduled. 

However, the Institute recognizes that circumstances such as long-term illness or severe family problems arise which necessitate brief interruptions in the course of study.  Students requiring a leave for no more than 60 days and who have not taken more than one leave in the last 12 months must specify in writing the reason for the leave and the anticipated return date.   

In exceptional circumstances, a leave for up to one year may be granted.  That leave may be extended at the discretion of the StenoMax President. 

The student incurs no monthly tuition charges during a leave.  If a student does not return within the specified time, the student will be terminated and a refund processed according to the refund policy. 

Instructional Support 

Home study usually implies that you’re working alone, on your own.  To minimize the isolated feeling that can ensue, we try in several ways to foster a virtual classroom:

  • Between students and instructors

  • Between students and court reporters

  • Among students 

We accomplish this by encouraging students to:

  • Communicate with the school by e-mail

  • Ask instructors to call them to discuss specific problems/roadblocks

  • Volunteer to become members of the StenoMax e-mail community

  • Obtain password for access to the StenoMax-specific Yahoo chat room

  • Take advantage of the mentoring program sponsored by the NCRA (www.ncraonline.org) by selecting one of many reporters who have volunteered to work with court reporting students

With the combined 40 years’ experience in home study and training, we think that we provide both the physical materials and psychological environment that will maximize the full potential of each and every student.  

TESTING PROCEDURES

Proctors 

After completing the first four theory lessons, all theory, academic, and speedbuilding tests (with the exception noted below under Notaries) are mediated through proctors selected by the student.  In fact, all theory tests are placed in an envelope marked “Proctor” which is included in the initial package of materials sent to each beginning student.  Subsequently, each student must send us the name and address of the proctor to be used for speedbuilding and academic tests. 

The proctor can be essentially anyone who is convenient to the student at work or home (e.g., librarian, court reporter).  When ready for a test, the StenoMax Institute sends the test material to the proctor who monitors the exam.  The proctor then returns the completed materials with a note to the effect that the student took the test under the conditions stipulated.  For a five-minute speed test, for example, the proctor affirms that the student listened to the take on that tape only once and took no longer than 75 minutes to produce the transcript using the steno notes from the dictated material. 

Notaries 

A notary public is required to proctor the final series of speed tests: 180, 200, and 225 wpm, respectively, for literary, jury charge, and two-voice material.  Many of our students feel that the ideal proctor for these final tests is a court reporter.  In most states, a notary seal is required to work as a reporter. 

Tests 

For academic courses, if a student fails a test, she/he is given only one chance to pass a second test on the same material.  However, it is the average grade of all tests taken in a given course that determines whether or not the student passes; that grade has to be 80 percent or better. 

For theory and speedbuilding lessons, a student may test as many times as necessary to pass each level.  The passing grade for each speedbuilding level is 95 percent accuracy on stenographic notes and 97.5 percent on the accompanying transcript.  Transcripts only are required for speed tests of 100 wpm and higher.


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