Canadian Centre for Verbatim Studies

When the average person hears the term, “court reporter”, they most likely envision a journalist going to the courthouse to write a story about a murder trial. In actuality, Court Reporting is a completely different profession than Journalism.

Court reporters typically create verbatim (word for word) transcripts of speeches, conversations, legal proceedings, meetings, and other events when written accounts of spoken words are necessary for correspondence, records, or legal attestation. Court reporters play a critical role not only in judicial proceedings, but also at every meeting where the spoken word must be preserved as a written transcript. They are responsible for ensuring a complete, accurate, and secure legal record. In addition to preparing and protecting the legal record, many court reporters assist judges and trial attorneys in a variety of ways, such as organizing and searching for information in the official record or making suggestions to judges and attorneys regarding courtroom administration and procedure. Increasingly, court reporters are providing closed-captioning and realtime translation services to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.

No and yes. A court reporter may create a transcript in a number of ways. Some methods, such as steno-mask writers, use the traditional QWERTY keyboard to correct errors in transcription when editing. Steno-mask writers use tailored voice recognition software, repeating every spoken word in a proceeding, so that the software can attempt to translate voice to text.

Voice writing is another form of court reporting that relies on making an audio record of a proceeding, using voice recognition to translate. Voice writing is considered to be in only a fledgling state of development. The only viable realtime court reporting today is done with a stenograph machine, a small, organ-like device that is phonetically based, as opposed to traditional typing, which is spelling based. Because, on a steno-machine, an entire word can be written in one stroke, court reporters can surpass speeds of 225 words per minute, as opposed to a typewriter where, in order to type words correctly, keys must be hit one at a time, and in proper sequence.

Traditionally, because the results are immediate, the most respected and effective method of court reporting is realtime with a steno-machine. Many high profile court cases require “rough drafts” each day with finished transcripts each morning. On a stenography machine, a reporter is finished the rough draft as soon as the proceeding ends for the day, and only needs to edit the rough draft to create the transcript for the following morning. After the actual proceedings have ceased, all other methods of court reporting require as much or more time as the entire proceeding itself to edit the information. The accomplished skills of realtime reporters on steno-machines are also readily transferable to broadcast captioning where their expertise is also in high demand.

Achieving realtime speed when steno-typing requires thousands of hours of dedicated practice, high levels of concentration, manual dexterity, and perseverance. Consider the analogy of traditional typing. Millions of people type, but the percentage of people who can type at 120 words per minute (wpm) is relatively small. To be certified as a realtime reporter, a person must be able to stenotype 5 minutes of Jury Charge at over 200 wpm, 5 minute Q&A at 225 wpm, and 5 minutes of a Literary drill at 180 wpm, all with 95%+ accuracy.

They are excellent. Basically, there is too much work, and too few reporters. At present, there are less than a dozen realtime reporters working in Canada, and many of them are ready to retire, or would have retired already if they were not in such constant demand. Just as other individuals with specialized talents, such as professional writers, actors, and performers, court reporters sign up with agencies, whose role is to secure work for them.

There is still considerable work for people skilled in stenography, which is basically the facility of creating transcripts of taped legal or medical proceedings. A good agency will match your skill set to available jobs.

Upon graduation, court reporters can generate anywhere from $40K to over $100K per annum, depending on their skill, the number of transcription assignments they accept, whether or not they choose to freelance (representing approximately 70% of reporters in Ontario) or work salaried positions only (representing approximately 30% of reporters in Ontario). "Top Gun" Realtime reporters can make as much as $1,400.00 Canadian per day.

Although speed is the cornerstone of realtime, it is not the only prerequisite attribute of an expert court reporter. The calibre of the final transcript is paramount in court reporting. To produce an impeccable transcript, a reporter requires an exemplary command of the English language, including grammar, sentence structure, flawless spelling, punctuation, paragraph usage, and precise formatting skills consistent with one’s company’s expectations. To further ensure success within this challenging, yet rewarding industry, reporters must exhibit a professional demeanour when meeting with clients, flexibility when confronted with unforeseen events, and must possess a wide expanse of general knowledge.

CCVS has an exceptional program, far surpassing the stringent NCRA minimum requirements (pending approval) that other schools only strive to meet. Unlike most other schools, the CCVS curriculum also includes weekly current events discussions, an internship, allowing students to train with some of the best agencies in Southern Ontario, and a Tools for Success class, dedicated to teaching students life skills, such as fostering an optimistic view, practical problem solving, improving communications, interpersonal interactions, and so on. Our mandate is twofold: to send our graduates into the workforce not only, technically, as the best in their field, but trained equally in all “soft skills”. This, we believe, is the true combination for enduring success in today’s highly competitive working environment.

At CCVS, we teach students the Phoenix Theory, a conflict-free realtime theory, offering both maximum computer and operator compatibility. Because of its attributes, the Phoenix Theory is considered, by both the presidents of the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) and Chartered Shorthand Reporters' Association of Ontario (CSRAO), to be one of the pre-eminent tools today in facilitating the success of industry graduates.

CCVS also has a Board of Advisors comprised of some of the most highly respected court reporters in the field. Further, we consult directly with the NCRA for best practices, and have studied extensively the success and failure of other court reporting colleges in our efforts to streamline a system that we believe to be proficient, effective and successful.

You will find us at 10 St Mary Street (at Yonge Street), Toronto Ontario, Canada, just a 5-minute walk south of Bloor Street.

We will be offering a variety of program delivery modes to accommodate any lifestyle or learning style. Commencing January 7, 2008, we will begin our fulltime day class, Monday to Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., including breaks and a full hour for lunch.

Our part-time classes are scheduled to take place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Distance classes will not normally have class hours scheduled, but distance students can visit the school, on an appointment basis, and participate in class, should space permit. (We will update this FAQ when we have more news about the approval).

The full-time program is 2 years in duration (2 terms, 44 weeks each with a total of 88 weeks of classes, plus internship). The Part-time program is 3 years in duration (3 terms, 44 weeks each with a total of 132 weeks, plus internship).

Successful graduates will receive a Diploma in Realtime Court Reporting, and be permitted to take ownership of the steno machine they have used throughout their training period. Class will break for 2 weeks during the Christmas/New Years' season, for 1 week during March Break, and for 4-5 weeks during August.

Students who successfully pass all courses, with the exception of the realtime testing, by the end of the program, will receive a Certificate of Court Reporting, which can be turned in and exchanged for a Realtime Court Reporting Diploma when the student returns for retesting and passes the prerequisite realtime test.

In accordance with the Private Career Colleges Act, PCCs are not permitted, nor authorized to guarantee employment. However, insiders agree that there are not enough reporters and captioners in comparison to the existing and ever-growing amount of work available. Further, through CCVS’s practicum portion of the program, students will work with only the most highly-respected firms in Ontario, which will, in turn, afford each one, just prior to graduation, the advantageous opportunity to showcase their skills to prospective employers.

Absolutely, there is a significant discount for students who can pay each term in advance, and even more savings for those who can pay the entire two years at the beginning of the program.

In general, after submitting, in writing, that you wish to withdraw from the program, you would receive a refund based on the amount of the program that was not delivered to you, less the cost of equipment, software, et cetera. All PCCs must give refunds consistent with the guidelines set out by the Private Career Colleges Act.

At this point, CCVS is not listed as a school that qualifies for OSAP subsidy until such time as we are approved for funding by the Ministry.

Only prospective students who meet the following criteria are eligible to attend the school:

Please email us at info@verbatimstudies.com. We will be happy to answer any questions that you may have regarding the program.



	FAQ 1. What is Court Reporting? 2. Is a Court Reporter a typist? 3. What method of Court Reporting is best? 4. If realtime is the best, why aren’t all Court Reporters realtime reporters? 5. How are the career aspects for Court Reporters? 6. What about reporters who are not realtime? 7. What kind of money do Court Reporters make? 8. Is realtime reporting all about speed? 9. Why is the Canadian Centre For Verbatim Studies the best place for me to train as a Court Reporter? 10. Where are you located? 11. What is your contact information? 12. What courses are offered at the Canadian Centre For Verbatim Studies? 13. What is the class schedule? 14. How long is the program and what do I get when I graduate? 15. What if I pass everything but the realtime test? Do I still get a diploma? 16. What guarantees can you give me regarding employment? 17. What is the tuition fee at the Canadian Centre For Verbatim Studies? 18. Is there a discount if I pay the money in advance? 19. What if I decide that court reporting is not for me and I’ve paid the full tuition: Can I get my money back? 20. Can I apply for OSAP? 21. Can anyone attend the college? (Admission Requirements) 22. What if I have more questions? 1. What is Court Reporting? When the average person hears the term, “court reporter”, they most likely envision a journalist going to the courthouse to write a story about a murder trial. In actuality, Court Reporting is a completely different profession than Journalism. Court reporters typically create verbatim (word for word) transcripts of speeches, conversations, legal proceedings, meetings, and other events when written accounts of spoken words are necessary for correspondence, records, or legal attestation. Court reporters play a critical role not only in judicial proceedings, but also at every meeting where the spoken word must be preserved as a written transcript. They are responsible for ensuring a complete, accurate, and secure legal record. In addition to preparing and protecting the legal record, many court reporters assist judges and trial attorneys in a variety of ways, such as organizing and searching for information in the official record or making suggestions to judges and attorneys regarding courtroom administration and procedure. Increasingly, court reporters are providing closed-captioning and realtime translation services to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. For more information, follow these links: Canadian National Occupational Classification US Department of Labor 2. Is a Court Reporter a typist? No and yes. A court reporter may create a transcript in a number of ways. Some methods, such as steno-mask writers, use the traditional QWERTY keyboard to correct errors in transcription when editing. Steno-mask writers use tailored voice recognition software, repeating every spoken word in a proceeding, so that the software can attempt to translate voice to text. Voice writing is another form of court reporting that relies on making an audio record of a proceeding, using voice recognition to translate. Voice writing is considered to be in only a fledgling state of development. The only viable realtime court reporting today is done with a stenograph machine, a small, organ-like device that is phonetically based, as opposed to traditional typing, which is spelling based. Because, on a steno-machine, an entire word can be written in one stroke, court reporters can surpass speeds of 225 words per minute, as opposed to a typewriter where, in order to type words correctly, keys must be hit one at a time, and in proper sequence. 3. What method of Court Reporting is best? Traditionally, because the results are immediate, the most respected and effective method of court reporting is realtime with a steno-machine. Many high profile court cases require “rough drafts” each day with finished transcripts each morning. On a stenography machine, a reporter is finished the rough draft as soon as the proceeding ends for the day, and only needs to edit the rough draft to create the transcript for the following morning. After the actual proceedings have ceased, all other methods of court reporting require as much or more time as the entire proceeding itself to edit the information. The accomplished skills of realtime reporters on steno-machines are also readily transferable to broadcast captioning where their expertise is also in high demand. 4. If realtime is the best, why aren’t all Court Reporters realtime reporters? Achieving realtime speed when steno-typing requires thousands of hours of dedicated practice, high levels of concentration, manual dexterity, and perseverance. Consider the analogy of traditional typing. Millions of people type, but the percentage of people who can type at 120 words per minute (wpm) is relatively small. To be certified as a realtime reporter, a person must be able to stenotype 5 minutes of Jury Charge at over 200 wpm, 5 minute Q&A at 225 wpm, and 5 minutes of a Literary drill at 180 wpm, all with 95%+ accuracy. 5. How are the career opportunities for Court Reporters? They are excellent. Basically, there is too much work, and too few reporters. At present, there are less than a dozen realtime reporters working in Canada, and many of them are ready to retire, or would have retired already if they were not in such constant demand. Just as other individuals with specialized talents, such as professional writers, actors, and performers, court reporters sign up with agencies, whose role is to secure work for them. 6. What about reporters who are not realtime? There is still considerable work for people skilled in stenography, which is basically the facility of creating transcripts of taped legal or medical proceedings. A good agency will match your skill set to available jobs. 7. What kind of money do Court Reporters make? Upon graduation, court reporters can generate anywhere from $40K to over $100K per annum, depending on their skill, the number of transcription assignments they accept, whether or not they choose to freelance (representing approximately 70% of reporters in Ontario) or work salaried positions only (representing approximately 30% of reporters in Ontario). "Top Gun" Realtime reporters can make as much as $1,400.00 Canadian per day. 8. Is realtime reporting all about speed? Although speed is the cornerstone of realtime, it is not the only prerequisite attribute of an expert court reporter. The calibre of the final transcript is paramount in court reporting. To produce an impeccable transcript, a reporter requires an exemplary command of the English language, including grammar, sentence structure, flawless spelling, punctuation, paragraph usage, and precise formatting skills consistent with one’s company’s expectations. To further ensure success within this challenging, yet rewarding industry, reporters must exhibit a professional demeanour when meeting with clients, flexibility when confronted with unforeseen events, and must possess a wide expanse of general knowledge. 9. Why is the Canadian Centre For Verbatim Studies the best place for me to train as a Court Reporter? CCVS has an exceptional program, far surpassing the stringent NCRA minimum requirements (pending approval) that other schools only strive to meet. Unlike most other schools, the CCVS curriculum also includes weekly current events discussions, an internship, allowing students to train with some of the best agencies in Southern Ontario, and a Tools for Success class, dedicated to teaching students life skills, such as fostering an optimistic view, practical problem solving, improving communications, interpersonal interactions, and so on. Our mandate is twofold: to send our graduates into the workforce not only, technically, as the best in their field, but trained equally in all “soft skills”. This, we believe, is the true combination for enduring success in today’s highly competitive working environment. At CCVS, we teach students the Phoenix Theory, a conflict-free realtime theory, offering both maximum computer and operator compatibility. Because of its attributes, the Phoenix Theory is considered, by both the presidents of the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) and Chartered Shorthand Reporters' Association of Ontario (CSRAO), to be one of the pre-eminent tools today in facilitating the success of industry graduates. CCVS also has a Board of Advisors comprised of some of the most highly respected court reporters in the field. Further, we consult directly with the NCRA for best practices, and have studied extensively the success and failure of other court reporting colleges in our efforts to streamline a system that we believe to be proficient, effective and successful. 10. Where are you located? You will find us at 10 St Mary Street (at Yonge Street), Toronto Ontario, Canada, just a 5-minute walk south of Bloor Street. 11. What is your contact information? Office Hours: Monday –Friday 8:30am-5pm Phone numbers: (416) 960-2287, 1-877-377-2287 E-mail: info@verbatimstudies.com 12. What courses are offered at the Canadian Centre For Verbatim Studies? Our Program has 13 courses: Phoenix Theory Tools for Success Current Events English for Court Reporters Reporting Procedures Steno-Machine Speed Building Computer-Aided Transcription Machine Shorthand Dictation Transcription Production Introduction to Law Legal and Medical Terminology Professional Development, and One-on-One Practical Training (in the field) [our Internship Program] 13. What is the class schedule? We will be offering a variety of program delivery modes to accommodate any lifestyle or learning style. Commencing January 7, 2008, we will begin our fulltime day class, Monday to Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., including breaks and a full hour for lunch. Our part-time classes are scheduled to take place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Distance classes will not normally have class hours scheduled, but distance students can visit the school, on an appointment basis, and participate in class, should space permit. (We will update this FAQ when we have more news about the approval). 14. How long is the program and what do I get when I graduate? The full-time program is 2 years in duration (2 terms, 44 weeks each with a total of 88 weeks of classes, plus internship). The Part-time program is 3 years in duration (3 terms, 44 weeks each with a total of 132 weeks, plus internship). Successful graduates will receive a Diploma in Realtime Court Reporting, and be permitted to take ownership of the steno machine they have used throughout their training period. Class will break for 2 weeks during the Christmas/New Years' season, for 1 week during March Break, and for 4-5 weeks during August. 15. What if I pass everything but the realtime test? Do I still get a diploma? Students who successfully pass all courses, with the exception of the realtime testing, by the end of the program, will receive a Certificate of Court Reporting, which can be turned in and exchanged for a Realtime Court Reporting Diploma when the student returns for retesting and passes the prerequisite realtime test. 16. What guarantees can you give me regarding employment? In accordance with the Private Career Colleges Act, PCCs are not permitted, nor authorized to guarantee employment. However, insiders agree that there are not enough reporters and captioners in comparison to the existing and ever-growing amount of work available. Further, through CCVS’s practicum portion of the program, students will work with only the most highly-respected firms in Ontario, which will, in turn, afford each one, just prior to graduation, the advantageous opportunity to showcase their skills to prospective employers. 17. What is the tuition fee at the Canadian Centre For Verbatim Studies? Please Contact us for more information on our tuition fee. 18. Is there a discount if I pay the money in advance? Absolutely, there is a significant discount for students who can pay each term in advance, and even more savings for those who can pay the entire two years at the beginning of the program. 19. What if I decide that court reporting is not for me and I’ve paid the full tuition: Can I get my money back? In general, after submitting, in writing, that you wish to withdraw from the program, you would receive a refund based on the amount of the program that was not delivered to you, less the cost of equipment, software, et cetera. All PCCs must give refunds consistent with the guidelines set out by the Private Career Colleges Act. http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/DBLaws/Statutes/English/05p28_e.htm 20. Can I apply for OSAP? At this point, CCVS is not listed as a school that qualifies for OSAP subsidy until such time as we are approved for funding by the Ministry. 21. Can anyone attend the college? Only prospective students who meet the following criteria are eligible to attend the school: £ Have an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent; £ Be at least 18 years of age; and £ Obtain 80% or higher on the CCVS Admission Test which includes c Myers-Briggs Indicator, c minimum 30 wpm typing speed, c reading comprehension questions, c essay writing, c attentive listening comprehension questions (which also tests hearing and concentration), c a spelling test and c homonym distinctions. 22. What if I have more questions? Please email us at info@verbatimstudies.com. We will be happy to answer any questions that you may have regarding the program.		Canadian Centre for Verbatim Studies: Home Important Dates About Us Photo Gallery Media Room FAQ What is Court Reporting? Is Court Reporting Right for Me? Why choose CCVS? Courses Careers for our Graduates Downloads Contact us LINKS: National Court Reporters’ Association Chartered Shorthand Reporters’ Association A.S.A.P. Reporting Services


	Canadian Centre For Verbatim Studies 10 St Mary St, Suite 504 (at Yonge Street) Toronto, Ontario Canada Phone # 416-960-2287, or 1-877-337-2287