Closed-Captioning

All closed-captioning services must be arranged through the UIS Office of Disability Services. Faculty members who require closed-captioning for a film, video or web video must contact the Office of Disability Services at 217-206-6666 or by email ods@uis.edu preferably at least 6-8 weeks in advance.

Faculty members may submit their own requests to the Office of Disability Services at any time during the semester; however it can take up to 6-8 weeks to complete a film of average 1-2 hours in length. Before making a request for a captioned copy to be made of a film, faculty should confirm that a captioned version of the videotape does not exist.

Videotapes that are captioned by University of Illinois Springfield are only to be used to support and meet the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) requirements by fulfilling the needs of students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. All tapes that are captioned by University of Illinois Springfield are considered a supplement to the original videotape and should not be thought of as a second copy of the original. These supplemental, closed-captioned videotapes are only circulated for use by and for students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.

Student Information for Closed Captioning Requests

  1. Register for classes as soon as possible by asking your Disability Specialist about priority registration.
  2. Email your professors and ask if they will be using any videos during the semester. Request what you will need for an accommodation. Include your Disability Specialist in the email request. If your professor is using videos, ask them to contact your Disability Specialist. If your professor is not using videos, ask that they contact you if they decide to use videos so that they may be captioned.
  3. If there is no professor listed for the class, or if your professors do not reply to your email within 1 week, contact your Disability Specialist.

All closed-captioning services must be arranged through the UIS Office of Disability Services. Students requesting Closed-captioning for a film, video or web video must contact the Office of Disability Services at 217-206-6666 or by email ods@uis.edu  at least 6-8 weeks in advance.

For All Faculty and Staff

Federal law mandates that all instructors, as agents of the University of Illinois Springfield, are required to make all classroom materials available to students with disabilities at the same time that it is made available to all other students. You are responsible for checking all video material to determine if it is closed captioned. Please follow the instructions below regarding showing videos in your class.

Ensure your videos are captioned. Videos checked out from the library will indicate on the library website whether the video is closed captioned. If the video is online, play the video to check for captioning.

If your videos are not captioned, here are some options: Check the library for a copy of the video already captioned. If there is a library copy not captioned, check it out, and contact ODS. Videos taped from television cannot be closed captioned due to copyright restrictions. Check the library or rent or purchase a copy already captioned. Request that the library purchase the video. If the video is captioned, check it out. If the video is not captioned, but can be purchased ask that the library purchase it. Contact ODS.

If you personally own the video, ODS can caption it, as long as there is not a version already captioned available for purchase. Only one version of the video can be in circulation according to copyright restrictions. The captioned and uncaptioned videos cannot both be provided. ODS must keep the original copy.

Copyright approval from copyright holders must be obtained before videos can be captioned. This may take 6-8 weeks, so keep this time frame in mind when considering videos and plan ahead. Please contact ODS if you find a video during the semester that you want to show in class. Showing uncaptioned videos in a class with a self-identified student with a hearing impairment could put the university at risk for a federal complaint. ODS will work with professors.

Questions and Material can be sent to Chrisa Pottast-Leezer and Kimberly Rutherford at ods@uis.edu or HRB 80.  We can also be reached at 217-206-8555

Showing videos in the classroom when there is an identified student in the classroom who is deaf or has a hearing impairment is not only bad practice, but could put the university at risk for a federal complaint.  We will work with professors to come up with a possible solution.