College of Arts and Sciences Home

Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies

Information For:

Programs in American Sign Language

Important notice regarding Elementary and Intermediate ASL:

UPDATED February 28, 2012

As a result of budgetary and staffing issues in MCLS, the department has reduced the number of available sections in Elementary ASL I through Intermediate ASL II. Starting in Fall 2011, all American Sign Language courses at the Kent campus will be subject to priority registration for students enrolled in an ASL major or minor, Deaf Education major, Educational Interpreting major, or Moderate/Intensive Special Ed major (students in those majors, contact your own advisors for permission; advisors must notify MCLS). Offerings of ASL at the other seven KSU campuses will not use priority registration. Registration priority and approvals will be issued in the following order:

Majors and minors with priority registration (e.g., Honors, athletes)
Majors
Minors
All other students.

A waiting list has been established for non-majors/minors who wish to obtain a seat. To be added to this list, please contact the Assistant Chairperson, Prof. Geoff Koby (gkoby@kent.edu). Provide your Banner ID and the course number of the desired ASL course. Students on this list will be notified of the availability of seats according to the priority registration dates shown below. Because very few seats for non-majors/minors will be available at the Kent campus, students who wish to pursue American Sign Language to fulfill the foreign language requirement are encouraged to (1) enroll in a section on one of the regional campuses or (2) explore whether taking a minor in ASL at the Kent campus would be an appropriate program choice. Note that students beginning ASL at a regional campus must continue at the regional campus.

PLEASE NOTE: Kent campus students who have already completed an Elementary ASL course will have the opportunity to complete the foreign language requirement at the Kent campus. Current ASL students needing assistance in enrolling in a section for Summer 2012 or Fall 2012 should contact Prof. Koby (gkoby@kent.edu). Provide your Banner ID and the course number of the desired ASL course.

Priority Registration Dates:

All students interested in ASL must contact the MCLS department for a "special approval" or to be placed on a waiting list. Provide your Banner ID, the course number of the desired ASL course, and whether you are an ASL major or minor.

Priority registration for Fall 2012 will proceed in the following order:

Honors students and athletes majoring or minoring in ASL, Deaf Education, Educational Interpreting, Moderate/Intensive Special Ed (ongoing)
Majors in ASL, Deaf Education, Educational Interpreting, Moderate/Intensive Special Ed (ongoing)
Minors in ASL (starting April 23, 2012, special approvals will be issued and students will be contacted, until capacity is reached).
Language Requirement students (starting April 30, 2012, special approvals will be issued and students will be contacted, until capacity is reached)

As one of the largest ASL programs in the nation, within one of the larger Deaf communities, we recognize our responsibility to our students, the Deaf community, and our students' future employers (both hearing and Deaf).

American Sign Language at Kent State University: The Mission Statement

Residing within KSU’s Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies, the ASL program’s primary goal is presenting American Sign Language as a diglossic language, which is based in a culture and a community, and is in interaction with other world languages.

Through immersion and bilingual-bicultural comparison classes, community interaction, individual and small group research, extra-curricular activities, lab activities, modeling, active learning and use of digital video technology, the ASL program at KSU works to ensure that students gain documented proficiency in ASL, validity within the Deaf community, and networking within the professional community.

Student progress is closely monitored through a multifaceted data-tracking system, to ensure adequate progress and the high level of skills, self-awareness, and ethics needed for direct employment (in fields such as education, advocacy, nonprofit administration, mental health, media, and performing arts), or successful application for further study (in areas such as psychology, anthropology, linguistics, medicine, law, social services, rehabilitation and linguistics).