Find support in the American Sign Language and Deaf Studies Transfer Community
Since its inception, KU Edwards has provided a wide variety of undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs to working professionals. Our classes allow our students to balance work, family, and education. Programs like the American Sign Language & Deaf Studies (ASLD) Transfer Community can help you maintain that balance.
While finishing your associate’s degree, transfer communities will help you transition to KUEC and connect you to career and community events so you can meet other transfer students looking to complete their degree.
KUEC’s transfer communities are also here to help non-traditional students. If you’re a parent with kids, working part-time or full-time jobs, or if you’re the first in your family to go after a degree, you’ll be joining a community of students taking the same leap of faith you are.
Why should I join the ASLD Transfer Community?
The ASLD Transfer Community will connect you to the wider Kansas City ASLD community and give you access to events, programs, and unique learning opportunities. By the time you finish your associate’s degree, you’ll be ready to jump into your bachelor’s work. As a member of a transfer community, you can expect to:
Establish relationships with KUEC faculty and staff before you start classes.
- Develop a plan with milestones to complete your associate’s and bachelor’s degrees.
- Join professional and social events at KUEC and your community college.
- Engage in leadership activities in the KC metro.
Meet your Academic Success Coaches
Whatever your major turns out to be, Academic Success Coaches will help you succeed and guide you through your college career, making a good college experience into a great one. They will help you plan your degree and give you the support you need to accomplish your goal. Meet Nigyar Alves.
What do you do as academic success coach? Why did you choose to become one?
My role as an academic success coach is to recruit and help transfer students navigate KU by being their main point of contact. Once they are at KU, I mentor and advise students through their journey at KU; connect students to their resources at the university; and provide feedback to program leaders so that they can continue to align curriculum to industry and student needs.
I am an Academic Success Coach because I value education in helping people find their passion and strengths in all stages of their college career. Academic advising goes beyond class selection and scheduling. It is an intensive process that takes into account the whole student and their college experience. It is valuable to have a non-judgmental, non-evaluative person in student’s lives throughout their college experience.
As a student at KUEC, you can contact your academic success coaches at any time to discuss:
- Admission requirements
- Career paths
- Class schedules & time commitment
- Curriculum
- Enrollment process
- Financial aid including scholarships, grants, discounts, and loans
About the ASL & Deaf Studies program
There’s a widespread need to break down the communication barriers between the robust Deaf community and the rest of the world. The ASLD program at KUEC focuses on helping you become fluent in ASL before learning about interpreting. Students can then choose to develop their skills along one of four tracks:
- Deaf studies and social justice
- Advanced ASL
- Becoming an interpreter
- Professional interpreting
The bachelor’s degree will prepare you with the valuable skills to complement in-demand jobs and the foundations for ASL fluency. Having a strong foundation in the bachelor’s program and continuing on with the ASL/English Interpreting certificate will help with preparation for the National Interpreter Certification (NIC) exam and allow you to start a high-demand interpreting career. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for interpreters is expected to increase 20% by 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Learn more about the KU Edwards Campus while completing your associate’s degree and complete market-relevant credentials along the way. Explore our Welcome and Success Center webpage for honors program info, connecting with your academic success coach, education options, and our transfer communities.
