End-to-end accessibility services for the University of New Hampshire- IOD

The Institute on Disability (IOD) is a research university that undertakes innovative, academic, and dissemination initiatives to promote full access, equal opportunities, and participation for all persons in local, state, and national capacities by strengthening communities by promising practices, education and research. According to the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire, approximately 12.1% of New Hampshire residents, or about 1 in 8 people, report having a disability. This statistic underscores the importance of IOD’s mission to improve knowledge, policies, and practices related to the lives of people with disabilities and their families.

The Institute is also the lead agency for New Hampshire’s statewide Assistive Technology Act program. Its center on inclusive education is a leader in the transformation of schools whose students with all abilities are successfully learning in their home schools within the general education settings. Thus, the IOD is a federally designated center authorized by the Developmental Disabilities Act. 

It all started when Janie Poncelet, the PCORI Research assistant in the Institute on Disability, reached CaptioningStar to support their events with real-time captioning services for about 11 hours in two sessions and they also needed transcripts for the events. The conversation made us understand that the need of their hour was marketing their events. They were preparing brochures, forms, and flyers in English to highlight the importance of their group discussions but later realized that most of their target audience were Spanish speakers. Thus their brochures needed to be translated into Spanish to cover a broader spectrum of audiences. 

Considering their requirement, we associated with them even before the live event to provide translations for their documents. There were about 19 different documents in line for translation.  Apart from brochures and flyers, we were asked to translate their consent forms from English into Spanish as well. Each document was about 2 to 5 pages long, and we had to translate 15 different consent forms. Other documents had roughly 150 to 2000 words each. This was our cup of tea.

Our ability to provide closed captioning services New Hampshire was another critical aspect of the project. Live captioning ensured that their events were accessible to participants with hearing impairments and supported a more inclusive environment overall.

We employed bilingual translators to translate their forms from English to Spanish. We ensured to work on the files as early as possible because we know that the success of each event mainly depends on the number of participants. Thus upon confirmation, each file was translated into Spanish with the shortest turnaround time. 

Additionally, our closed captioning services New Hampshire allowed the Institute to deliver high-quality, real-time captions during their live events. This service not only ensured accessibility compliance but also enhanced the participant experience by providing accurate and clear communication.

Immediately after document translations, the live sessions were confirmed by Mila Bohlin, the Business Manager at IOD. As a part of their research study, they were to conduct a series of Zoom discussions on focus groups throughout the year. The agenda had back-to-back sessions for three consecutive days. They had planned to conduct them on May- July 2022 and August- November 2022. Thus, with around 250 participants, the event was trouble-free.  They understood that with live captions, everyone felt included. 

Our team is proud to deliver closed captioning services New Hampshire relies on. We walked them through our automated scheduling application iSchedule to enable easy scheduling of their events. Our Events Calendar gave them a clear idea of their events in order with the time. 

Our automated scheduling application, iSchedule, helped simplify their event management process. This platform allowed them to plan efficiently and ensured all focus group sessions ran smoothly. CaptioningStar’s ability to deliver closed captioning services New Hampshire needs on time contributed significantly to the event’s success.

The research university completely entrusted us with the end-to-end captioning and translating needs for their qualitative research discussion. They required captioning in English. They also needed transcriptions and caption files. We always provide free transcripts for each session in .txt format and the caption files were delivered in .srt format. All the files were uploaded to dropbox in the shortest turnaround time.

With CaptioningStar’s expertise in providing closed captioning services New Hampshire institutions like the IOD value, every part of the event went seamlessly.

We take pride in working with the University of New Hampshire in the transformation of the life of people with disabilities. The University was extremely pleased with our translation and captioning service. We are currently working on their next set of documents and translating them into Spanish.

Looking ahead, we aim to continue delivering top-tier closed captioning services New Hampshire organizations can depend on. Accessibility remains at the forefront of our mission, and we are excited to support their focus group discussions scheduled from August-November 2022.

Our partnership with the University of New Hampshire showcases our commitment to providing high-quality closed captioning services New Hampshire communities benefit from. These services make a tangible difference in ensuring inclusivity for all participants, regardless of language or hearing ability.

By aligning our efforts with the IOD’s goals, we are helping build a more inclusive future. With each event, we strive to refine our services further, ensuring that closed captioning services New Hampshire institutions require meet and exceed expectations.

Through our dedication, the University of New Hampshire continues to trust CaptioningStar to deliver efficient, accurate, and accessible solutions. Whether it’s document translation or live captioning, our expertise guarantees a seamless experience every step of the way.