CSRNation
Welcome to CSR Nation
All About West Valley College
The purpose of this thread is for everyone to share information and viewpoints about West Valley College. I'll post my perspective, as a student in 180 WPM class, who has attended for three years. If you a prospective student, directly contact our program director, Linda Lawson, at her e-mail, linda_lawson@westvalley.edu -- She will get you pointed in the right direction and someone will contact you back!
For all you prospective students out there, I hope you realize one thing right off the bat. Court reporting school is very self-paced, but is usually a 3 to 5 year program. It is not a 1 year or a 2 year, unless you are amazingly gifted, and some of you are. That's one thing I like about West Valley College. They are always upfront and honest about things with you whereas other schools will make false promises to try to get a higher enrollment. You need to know what you're getting into and our teachers tell you! Don't be scared, though. While court reporting is not for everyone, you never know until you try. You can do it! And West Valley College is the PERFECT place to find out.
West Valley is located in Saratoga, CA, very close to San Jose. The website of the college is http://www.westvalley.edu/
I feel extremely lucky to have such a great school so close to my house. Many students do not have a school close to their house and have to study online. Studying in-person with so many people to help you is so much easier. Also, West Valley's fees are only $20 per unit. Some students pay thousands of dollars per year. Not us! But we still get top-notch education!
Our program director is Linda Lawson. She teaches your first class, theory. In theory, you will learn the basics of how to write stenography, or "steno" as we call it. There is a computer lab with steno machines that are there for your use. You won't have to by one immediately. You will learn one of the better realtime-compatible theories out there, Sten Ed.
By the end of theory, you will be able to write every word in the English language on your machine! Linda works tirelessly day and night to help all the beginning students along and she is one of the biggest reasons that many students make it out of theory and go on to become court reporters. There is also a great student body willing to help you if you have questions and several more great teachers, which I will get to shortly.
After theory, you will probably do "Bridge" for a short while. Here is where you will learn very, very helpful steno phrases to make writing easier, and prepare for the transition to your first speed class, 80 words per minute. That 80 WPM class is tough, let me tell you. When I first got there, I was barely capable of writing 40 WPM and it seemed way too fast to even comprehend. However, with the expert tutelage I received, I was writing 80 within a month or two! I am sure you will be too. Pat Tchang, Marge Throndson, and Eric Van Dorn teach the 80-140 speeds, depending whether you go at day or night. They are all great teachers who will always help you with whatever you need, and they also have great personalities and senses of humor, as everyone here does. We need it in a tough career and world!
You have to pass speeds from 80 to 200 WPM in increments of 20 WPM. You do this by passing a 5-minute speed test in each category at each speed. At 80, 100 and 120, you have to pass three categories: Literary , Jury Charge, and Q+A. Literary can be anything under the sun and is often read from books or magazines. Jury charge is the instructions the judge will give the jury before they deliberate. Q+A is with one attorney questioning and one witness answering. Literary is the hardest, so it is always done at 20 WPM slower. For the 80 class for example, you have to pass Lit at 60 WPM.
At 140, life gets a bit tougher. You now have to pass a 4-Voice test at each speed level. 4-V is where there are two attorneys (plaintiff and defense unless it's a deposition), the judge, and the witness. This is very tough at first but is where life really gets fun. All those voices talking in sequence is hard at first but will prepare you for anything. At 140, it is done with lights on a board to represent the different people talking.
From 160 to 200 and beyond, you will have live 4-V dictation with four readers instead of one. Sue Coleman will be your main teacher on 4-V days. We have a number of great readers who read the other parts. To Mary, Maggie, Mitchell and all the other people who read, thank you! On days of the other categories, you will usually again have either Eric Van Dorn and Marge Throndson conducting class. Each of them make the classes interesting and unique and do their very best to help you.
When you pass your Mock (4-V at 200 WPM for 10 minutes), you will qualify to take the CSR. Then you will pass the CSR and become a working reporter! Good luck!
Sincerely,
Keith Rowan II
180 student
For all you prospective students out there, I hope you realize one thing right off the bat. Court reporting school is very self-paced, but is usually a 3 to 5 year program. It is not a 1 year or a 2 year, unless you are amazingly gifted, and some of you are. That's one thing I like about West Valley College. They are always upfront and honest about things with you whereas other schools will make false promises to try to get a higher enrollment. You need to know what you're getting into and our teachers tell you! Don't be scared, though. While court reporting is not for everyone, you never know until you try. You can do it! And West Valley College is the PERFECT place to find out.
West Valley is located in Saratoga, CA, very close to San Jose. The website of the college is http://www.westvalley.edu/
I feel extremely lucky to have such a great school so close to my house. Many students do not have a school close to their house and have to study online. Studying in-person with so many people to help you is so much easier. Also, West Valley's fees are only $20 per unit. Some students pay thousands of dollars per year. Not us! But we still get top-notch education!
Our program director is Linda Lawson. She teaches your first class, theory. In theory, you will learn the basics of how to write stenography, or "steno" as we call it. There is a computer lab with steno machines that are there for your use. You won't have to by one immediately. You will learn one of the better realtime-compatible theories out there, Sten Ed.
By the end of theory, you will be able to write every word in the English language on your machine! Linda works tirelessly day and night to help all the beginning students along and she is one of the biggest reasons that many students make it out of theory and go on to become court reporters. There is also a great student body willing to help you if you have questions and several more great teachers, which I will get to shortly.
After theory, you will probably do "Bridge" for a short while. Here is where you will learn very, very helpful steno phrases to make writing easier, and prepare for the transition to your first speed class, 80 words per minute. That 80 WPM class is tough, let me tell you. When I first got there, I was barely capable of writing 40 WPM and it seemed way too fast to even comprehend. However, with the expert tutelage I received, I was writing 80 within a month or two! I am sure you will be too. Pat Tchang, Marge Throndson, and Eric Van Dorn teach the 80-140 speeds, depending whether you go at day or night. They are all great teachers who will always help you with whatever you need, and they also have great personalities and senses of humor, as everyone here does. We need it in a tough career and world!
You have to pass speeds from 80 to 200 WPM in increments of 20 WPM. You do this by passing a 5-minute speed test in each category at each speed. At 80, 100 and 120, you have to pass three categories: Literary , Jury Charge, and Q+A. Literary can be anything under the sun and is often read from books or magazines. Jury charge is the instructions the judge will give the jury before they deliberate. Q+A is with one attorney questioning and one witness answering. Literary is the hardest, so it is always done at 20 WPM slower. For the 80 class for example, you have to pass Lit at 60 WPM.
At 140, life gets a bit tougher. You now have to pass a 4-Voice test at each speed level. 4-V is where there are two attorneys (plaintiff and defense unless it's a deposition), the judge, and the witness. This is very tough at first but is where life really gets fun. All those voices talking in sequence is hard at first but will prepare you for anything. At 140, it is done with lights on a board to represent the different people talking.
From 160 to 200 and beyond, you will have live 4-V dictation with four readers instead of one. Sue Coleman will be your main teacher on 4-V days. We have a number of great readers who read the other parts. To Mary, Maggie, Mitchell and all the other people who read, thank you! On days of the other categories, you will usually again have either Eric Van Dorn and Marge Throndson conducting class. Each of them make the classes interesting and unique and do their very best to help you.
When you pass your Mock (4-V at 200 WPM for 10 minutes), you will qualify to take the CSR. Then you will pass the CSR and become a working reporter! Good luck!
Sincerely,
Keith Rowan II
180 student
Views: 183
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by C Cipolla on
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Agree to everything Keith said... plus, my additions are:
West Valley College has a beautiful campus. It's like being in a park with rolling hills, beautiful lawns, and cozy looking brown wood-paneled buildings. Plenty of benches to sit on around campus, and new renovations are underway to make the cafeteria and student center area state-of-the-art!
The teachers are very caring people, which is the best part.
carilyn -
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Permalink Reply by Diane Carre on
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Hi Keith,
Is there a section on this CSRNation website where we find out what the lab hours are during the break? Thnx. :)diane -
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Permalink Reply by Keith Rowan II on
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Hi, Diane!
It actually has been posted in another section. We will be moving it over here soon. Here is Linda's posting. The lab is open today!
Dear Court Reporting Students,
The CTR lab will be open today, Monday, August 3, from 12:30-4:00, and Wednesday, August 5, from 11:00-3:00. Might be a good idea to call to confirm (if no one arrives, I may leave early): 408-499-6862.
I will not be available to open the lab between August 10 - August 24. Hours for the week of August 24 will be announced.
Remember to register for the fall semester if you haven't already done so. The new semester begins on Monday, August 31. In the meantime, try to get in some writing time every day! -
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Permalink Reply by CARLEY JOANNE BAGATELOS on
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So glad you two started this group!
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