This first section refers to Theory for beginning students.  See the bottom of the page for more information on the online speed classes.

The Cerritos College Court Reporting Department currently offers most of its academic courses online.  This is so day, night, weekend and online students can all participate.  Please see the "announcements" page for more detail on our online academics.  We are happy to announce that in the Fall of 2007 we began offering Theory courses ONLINE and it has gone extremely well! 

We began offering speed classes online in Fall 2008!  We are partnering with Stenograph University combining our excellent teaching staff and materials along with the wealth of materials produced by Stenograph U for our students' ultimate success!

As an added value to our on-campus students, they will be allowed to participate in the Stenograph U practice library!  (Stenograph U does charge a semester fee but there is a wealth of practice material available.)  Contact Vykki Morgan  www.cerritos.edu/vmorgan

Stenograph University Access is a books/materials fee and is payable separately, just like buying a textbook.  You can purchase access through the bookstore for the online speed building classes (it is listed under required books); or you can purchase directly through Stenograph via the agreement the Court Reporting Department will provide to students at the beginning of each term.  It is more cost effective to purchase direct.  The bookstore is offering the service only to accommodate those students that need to purchase all their books and supplies through the bookstore for whatever reasons may require that.  For the library only students who want to purchase access (meaning you are not taking an online speed class), you will want to use the form the department provides.  You MUST be a Cerritos College Court Reporting student in order to participate in Stenograph University.

We maintain classes on campus and a fully equipped court reporting lab, so support is always available.  Our court reporting lab has state-of-the-art equipment and computers and is available for student use.  For several of our courses you have the option of purchasing your own equipment and software and working at home, or working in the lab and using ours.   

Our online Theory and Theory Review are totally online and are low tech -- initially.  That means you do NOT have to invest a great sum of money to give it a try and get started.  What you will need is a stenotype machine (rented or purchased) that writes to paper tape (that's the old fashioned way) or a computerized stenotype machine (more expensive) where you can write to paper tape and write to the computer.  (The older manual stenotype machines, which are fine for starting with, run between $100-250, generally.) 

You will also need the Theory books, Computer Shorthand Realtime Theory Third Edition by Roberts, Walsh, Gonzalez, ISBN 0-13-079138-5 (or see bookstore link: ISBN:9780130791382), and the accompanying Read It! Book 1 and Read It! Book 2, which contain steno outlines for all 60 Theory lessons.  And of course you will need a computer and Internet connection to do your online coursework.  Your computer needs to be able to play audio files, CDs and DVDs.  You need a working email address you can access frequently.  You need access to snail mail (the regular post) as you may be sending your notes in regularly for correction during the low-tech portion of your course.  You will be given the option if you have a computerized writer to install a tutorial that you can practice with.  Second semester, you will likely want a computerized writer to use with the tutorial to reinforce your Theory and get ready for realtime translation.

Learning Theory in person is extremely challenging, so this online course introduction to the court reporting stenotype machine is conducted a little differently, which we actually expect will bring about better results.  We will cover the first 30 lessons the first semester, and the second 30 lessons the second semester. (We will get more high-tech the second semester, too.  If you decide to stay with it, that's when you will want to invest in a more expensive writer (stenotype machine - and you'll understand more about exactly what you need) and the second semester coursework will require you to make that move at that time. You will build a solid foundation in stenotype Theory, and that means in the end that you should be able to build speed faster than students who rushed through a shorter Theory course and didn't learn the Theory as well.  Think about it!  We don't think learning the machine keyboard and taking Theory over two semesters will hinder the time you spend in school at all!  The important thing is always learning your Theory well.  It is the foundation for the rest of your schooling and the rest of your court reporting or captioning career.  As a registered student you are also welcome to come into our Court Reporting lab on campus and use our computers, writers and programs in the lab; and your instructor will be available to meet with you as well.

We think all the court reporting schools are good and can help you get to where you want to go.  Of course we think we have the best program overall :-) and the difference between our online Theory classes and most of the other schools that are available online is that most of them are private schools that charge a great deal more money.  Our courses are $36 per unit, so Theory and Theory Review (CRCC 140a and CRCC 141a) will cost you approximately $200 with student body and student health fee (approx. $26) for an entire semester!!!  (Out of state non-resident tuition fees are approx. $200 per unit and International Student fees are subject to the non-resident fee and a per unit capital outlay fee in addition (see current schedule of classes) -- still less than the private schools!)*see Cerritos Schedule of Classes for complete fee information*

So for just a bit more information about the courses:  
Theory is CRCC 140a, and Theory Review is CRCC 141a.

Theory (CRCC 140a) is 4 hours a week (plus homework and practice!)  
Theory Review (CRCC 141a) - (which must be taken concurrently with Theory) is 4 hours a week (plus homework and practice!)
So you need to plan to spend 8 hours a week "attending class" and learning and practicing your lessons, and of course you want to learn those lessons, so you want to spend as much time as you are able practicing and reinforcing those lessons.  Plan approximately 20 hours a week.

Think of it along these lines:  If you wanted to be a concert pianist and you practiced 1 hour a week, it would take you MUCH longer than the student that practiced 1 hour every day; and it would take that student much longer than the student who practiced 2-3 hours every day.  It is in your hands!  Nobody else but you can take the credit for your success when you reach your goal!

Online Speed Building Classes:

After students are introduced to the machine and the theory of computerized machine shorthand (and learn their theory very well!) they then proceed on to speed building.  Speed building classes start at 60 words per minute and go up in 10 word per minute increments to and past 200 words per minute.  You do not need to stay in one speed an entire semester.  You will transition to the new classes by passing skills tests and completing a level change to the new level (Level Change is a campus form to accomplish a class change, if necessary.  We also update your speed internally through our program and sometimes level changes are not required; however that process is available.)
We use Stenograph University for our speed building online program.  The classes are numbered 162abcd (60-90 wpm)  and 164abcd (100-200wpm) (and these numbers may alternate with some other numbers but we will direct you to your speed.)  There are no pre- or co-requisites.  We work on building and reinforcing your speed, while providing trail, goal and push speed material.

Stenograph University charges approx. $120 per semester per student per semester, which fees must be paid by the student in addition to tuition.  It is a book fee, so to speak, providing online access to the material. They also offer a summer library access so you can keep practicing through the summer.  You get more than your money's worth of practice material!  Your online instructor uses test materials on the Stenograph site as well.  The students who began our online speed building classes really seem to love the program overall.  For those motivated to put in the work, the rewards are great.

So all students take Theory and then proceed through speed building, and while taking speed building they take their academic classes as well.  That is pretty much how all court reporting schools are set up whether they meet on campus or offer online courses.  At Cerritos our academics are offered online as well.  Yes, you can go through the whole program online as an RPR based program.  As recently as October 2011, new legislation now allows online schools to offer online qualifiers, but Cerritos will not be participating in this, so our online students will be using the online program to either get to the RPR examination given by the National Court Reporters Association, or following one of the other options below. There are three ways you can get to the CSR exam if you are unable to attend campus at any time during your studies to complete "qualifiers" on campus (the school exam that qualifies you to attend the state exam): 
You can take the state exam if: 

1. you first pass the National Court Reporters RPR (Registered Professional Reporter) examination;
2. if you work as a non-certified reporter for a one year period (without a license) prior to applying; or
3. If you pass a qualifying (one the California Court Reporters Board approves of) out-of-state exam.
4. You also have the option of transferring into the on-campus program and completing all of your Court Reporters Board requirements and sitting in the Qualifier class to pass a Qualifier to "qualify" you to attend the state exam.

Our online speed building classes are created to help get you to and through the RPR examination so that that can be your route to the state exam.  Until recently, no school in California could qualify students to take the state exam as "qualifiers" had to be administered in person.  That language has been changed and online qualifiers will now be offered at schools choosing to do so. Cerritos will NOT be offering online qualifiers because we don't have the funding or resources to do so at this time. So just be aware that we are an RPR based program, and that gives you the option to get to the state exam by any of the three methods listed above.

*Of course, you can also transfer into the on-campus program at approximately 180 words per minute and complete your qualifier-entry and internship requirements, sit in qualifiers, pass a qualifier, and then be sent to the exam from the school.

For more information on the online speed classes, please go to www.cerritos.edu/vmorgan