Court Reporting provides tuition-free, career-focused education and training in the specialized field of court reporting, as practiced in courtroom proceedings and deposition settings. This comprehensive program is designed to prepare students for the California Certified Shorthand Reporter (CSR) Examination as well as the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) certifications.
Court reporters, licensed by the State of California, play a vital role in the legal system by producing accurate, verbatim transcripts of legal proceedings. The program offers a rigorous academic foundation and practical skill development, leading to high-demand, well-compensated careers in computerized reporting and related fields.
Court Reporting programs typically require a minimum commitment of two and a half years. Students are responsible for providing their own stenographic machines and necessary supplies. In addition to court reporting, students may explore related career paths within the broader field of legal and real-time transcription services.
Court Reporting Courses
CORT 005 Court Reporting Orientation (0.0 Units)
Court Reporting Orientation will cover the characteristics that make a successful court reporting student and future court reporter. Students will learn about the court reporting program and time commitment expectations, including costs associated with equipment and software necessary for the program. Different avenues of employment opportunities will be discussed, and students will see a live stenography demonstration. Finally, students will also have an opportunity to write on a steno machine.
Lecture Hours: 4.5
Transfer: Not transferable
CORT 011 Machine Shorthand Theory 2 (0.0 Units)
Machine Shorthand Theory 2 is the second of two machine shorthand theory classes in the VVC Court Reporting Program. This course introduces briefs, phrases, numbers, and introduction to speed building. This course also includes an introduction to two-voice testimony.
Lecture Hours: 54.0
Transfer: Not transferable
CORT 015 Machine Shorthand Lab Theory to 120 WPM (0.0 Units)
This course is to fulfill the Court Reporter's Board requirements for court reporting students receiving instruction in theory to 120 words per minute. This course promotes further development of speed and accuracy in taking dictation on the machine. The student will review theory and develop skills to take new material dictation for a minimum of three minutes with 97.5% accuracy.
Lab Hours: 54.0
Transfer: Not transferable
CORT 016 Machine Shorthand Lab 120 WPM to 160 WPM (0.0 Units)
This course is to fulfill the Court Reporter's Board requirements for court reporting students receiving instruction in theory from 120 to 160 words per minute. This course promotes further development of speed and accuracy in taking dictation on the machine. The student will review techniques of writing and develop sufficient skills to take new material dictation for five minutes with 97.5% accuracy. Students must complete 10 hours of observation in court.
Lab Hours: 54.0
Transfer: Not transferable
CORT 017 Machine Shorthand Lab 160 WPM to 220 WPM (0.0 Units)
This course is to fulfill the Court Reporter's Board requirements for court reporting students receiving instruction in theory from 160 to 220 words per minute. This course promotes further development of speed and accuracy in taking dictation on the machine. The student will review theory and develop skills to take new material dictation for a minimum of ten minutes with 97.5% accuracy.
Lab Hours: 54.0
Transfer: Not transferable
CORT 018 Shorthand Practice Lab 1 (0.0 Units)
This course is to fulfill the Court Reporter's Board requirements for court reporter students to receive the required machine shorthand hours. This course promotes further development of speed and accuracy in taking dictation on the machine. The student will practice shorthand machine skill using the appropriate skill-building software.
Lab Hours: 216.0
Transfer: Not transferable
CORT 019 Shorthand Practice Lab 2 (0.0 Units)
This course is to fulfill the Court Reporter's Board requirements for court reporter students to receive the required machine shorthand hours. This course promotes further development of speed and accuracy in taking dictation on the machine. The student will practice shorthand machine skill using the appropriate skill-building software.
Lab Hours: 135.0
Transfer: Not transferable
CORT 020 English for Court Reporters 1 (0.0 Units)
This is the first of three English courses in the court reporting program. English for Court Reporters 1 will focus on sentence structure, parts of speech, phrases, clauses, and appositives. Simple, compound, and complex sentence structures are explored, as well as paragraph length, coherence, and transitions between sentences.
Lecture Hours: 54.0
Transfer: Not transferable
CORT 030 Medical Terminology 1 for Court Reporters (0.0 Units)
This is the first of three medical terminology courses in the court reporting program. This course will cover medical terminology including, but not limited to, combining forms, word parts, common abbreviations, proper usage, spelling and pronunciation of medical terminology.
Lecture Hours: 54.0
Transfer: Not transferable
CORT 031 Medical Terminology 2 for Court Reporters (0.0 Units)
This is the second of three courses in the court reporting program. This course will cover clinical procedures, laboratory tests, operative reports, case studies, presented in practical application formats, field sobriety tests, and common terms.
Lecture Hours: 54.0
Transfer: Not transferable
CORT 032 Medical Terminology 3 for Court Reporters (0.0 Units)
This is the third of three medical terminology courses in the court reporting program. This course will cover basic human anatomy and physiology of the human body systems and structure, including respiratory, circulatory, lymphatic and immune, musculoskeletal, integumentary, and sense organs, as well as radiology, pharmacology, and psychiatric medicine.
Lecture Hours: 54.0
Transfer: Not transferable
CORT 040 Legal Terminology 1 for Court Reporters (0.0 Units)
This is the first of two legal terminology courses in the Court Reporting program. This course will introduce legal phrases and Latin terms used the legal field. This course also includes an introduction to the court systems and jurisdictions, general concepts of the law.
Lecture Hours: 54.0
Transfer: Not transferable
CORT 041 Legal Terminology 2 for Court Reporters (0.0 Units)
This is the second Legal Terminology course in the Court Reporting program. This course will cover the ethical and professional duties of a court reporter as outlined in The Professional Standards of Practice. Students will learn about the CSR Board and its regulating duties. Also the responsibilities of a court reporter, including record management, will be included.
Lecture Hours: 54.0
Transfer: Not transferable
CORT 050 Technology 1 for Court Reporters (0.0 Units)
This is the first of two technology courses in the court reporting program. Students will learn basic computer functions and terminology such as deleting, moving, renaming files, and creating files such as pdf and ASCII. Students will learn how to access resource materials on the Internet such as citations, codes, street atlases, and dictionaries. This course will introduce students to the use of computer-aided transcript (CAT) software. Students will learn how to prepare transcripts and the fundamentals of realtime translation.
Lecture Hours: 54.0
Transfer: Not transferable
CORT 051 Technology 2 for Court Reporters (0.0 Units)
This is the second of two techonlogy courses in the court reporting program. Students will learn advanced CAT (computer-aided translation) software techniques to help aid in the production of transcripts in a timely manner. Students will learn how to connect to a second computer to provide interactive realtime translation.
Lecture Hours: 54.0
Transfer: Not transferable
CORT 060 Transcript Preparation (0.0 Units)
This course will teach students how to format a transcript using the Minimum Transcript Guidelines. Students will learn how to format cover pages, appearance pages, indices, speaker identifications, and court reporter certificates. Students will be using proofreading skills learned to produce an accurate, verbatim transcript.
Lecture Hours: 54.0
Transfer: Not transferable
CORT 070 CSR Preparation (0.0 Units)
This course helps students prepare for the California Certified Shorthand Reporter (CSR) exam. Students will practice test-taking techniques specific to the CSR exam. This class will also include extensive review of vocabulary, spelling, grammar, medical and legal terminology, and CSR law. The process and requirements to apply to the CSR Board for testing will be covered as well.
Lecture Hours: 54.0
Transfer: Not transferable