The court reporting program at Five Towns College is dedicated to teaching and helping students develop their stenography machine shorthand skills to create an accurate verbatim transcript.  The program of study includes classes on legal procedures and technology, medical terminology, grammar and punctuation, and training on the industry-leading software for computer-aided transcription, and more.

The Internship portion of the program takes learning out of the classroom and right into a legal setting, giving Five Towns College students the opportunity to work side-by-side with a professional court reporter.  The program at Five Towns had its genesis at the Long Island Business Institute nearly 55 years ago. As such, the College’s approach builds on that half-century of experience.

The College offers both a Certificate and an Associate’s Degree in Court Reporting. Both programs focus on honing your writing and transcriptions skills to achieve the exit speed of 225 words per minute.  For students who previously attended the Long Island Business Institute, they may continue in the program in which they were originally enrolled.  For the Certificate, this is the 54-credit program. For the Associate degree, this is the 65-credit program.  New students first beginning their studies at Five Towns College after January 1, 2024 will be enrolled in the 73-credit associate degree program, unless they already have earned an associate or bachelor’s degree. In that case, they may enroll in either the associate or certificate program.

The Certificate Program (54 credits) includes court reporting theory, five court reporting speedbuilding classes, legal procedures, medical terminology, transcription production, Realtime Writing and internship classes.  Students who have already earned an associate or bachelor’s degree may enter the certificate program.

The Associate’s Degree (65 or 73 credits) includes all of the court reporting classes plus the general education classes of Introduction to Business Communications, English Composition 1 and 2, social science elective, and related coursework in Business.  Students who have not already earned at least an associate degree take the associate degree track.

Court reporting is an evolving field where the opportunities are bright.

Not all court reporters spend their days in the courtroom. Court reporting skills and technology are used to provide captioning for live and prerecorded programs on broadcast TV and the Internet. You can have fun captioning your favorite TV Shows, movies and sporting events – work remotely, set your own schedule. Embark on a career that’s vital, exciting and rewarding with coast-to-coast opportunities at your fingertips.
Graduates of the Five Towns College Court Reporting program may find employment in the following areas:

• Courtrooms
• Court Reporting Agencies
• County, State, and Federal Legislature
• Broadcast Captioning
• CART Provider

Graduates of Court Reporting Programs have also gone on to become entrepreneurs opening court reporting agencies and CART service agencies.

While Five Towns College does recommend that students seek out federal financial aid and aid from the State of New York, the College also offers institutional scholarships and grants to qualified students. Scholarship and grants are awarded on the basis of talent, financial need, and merit. You will automatically be considered for a scholarship from the College when you complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). For information about the FAFSA, or for assistance in completing it, please contact the Five Towns College Financial Aid Office.

If you’re interested in learning more about a career as a Court Reporter and exploring whether Five Towns College is the right fit for you, fill out the form on this page or call (631) 656-2110 to speak with an Admissions Representative.

Candidates for admission to this program meet with court reporting Faculty members who are sea­soned court reporters. The Faculty consider candidates for the program to assure that there are no obstacles preventing the student from successfully completing the program. They will further explain the discipline needed to complete the academic courses as well as the amount of time that must be dedicated to the practice of machine shorthand. The faculty is charged with identifying future academic course of actions, advisement, or retesting if necessary. The faculty also handles appeals from students that have exceeded maximum time frame and wish to continue in the program in a non-matriculated status.

In addition to the regular standards for admission to Five Towns College, Court Reporting applicants must

• Demonstrate through an interview with an admissions representative, an understanding of and interest in a program of study.
• Have earned a high school diploma or a high school equivalency diploma (GED or TASC)
• Effective February 13, 2019, the Next-Generation ACCUPLACER placement exam will be used for the Court Reporting Program. Achieve Next Generation ACCUPLACER Reading (Minimum 236), Writing (Minimum 236) and Arithmetic (Minimum 236).

Applicants that graduated with a United States high school diploma may be exempted from the Next Generation ACCUPLACER Exam if they scored 4 on the SAT Essay section prior to the exam format change or 500 on the reading section of the SAT. As of November 2020, SAT’s critical reading section are named EBRW (Evidence-Based Reading and Writing) new appli­cants may be exempted if they scored a 310 on the EBRW section of the SAT.

Applicants who hold a minimum of an associate degree from an accredited United States col­lege or applicants who have taken college level English and mathematics may be exempted from the placement exam. Official college transcripts of prior coursework must be submitted prior to the beginning of the first semester showing earned grades of B- or above from an ac­credited United States college. Students wishing to apply for an exemption must ensure that official sealed transcripts are submitted to the Registrar for consideration of exemption.

All students enrolled in the Court Reporting Program must come to class each day with a steno machine.

Students can procure a steno machine in the following ways:

1. Renting a steno machine:

Students many rent a steno machine from the College, if they are available. There are a limited number of steno machines available each semester for students to rent through the College. Students who rent a steno machine from the College will be charged a rental fee per semester. The rental fee is $325 per semester. Students who decide to return the rental machine after the first two weeks of the semester will be charged a prorated fee.

Should the student leave the College for any reason, e.g., withdrawal, leave of absence, dis­missal, et cetera, the rented steno machine must be returned to the Bursar’s Office to avoid incurring additional fees. If the machine is not returned, the student will be charged the price of replacement of the machine. In the event the rented steno machine is lost or stolen, the student will be responsible for the total cost of the replacement of the steno machine.

2. Purchasing a used machine:

If a student is interested in purchasing a steno machine, new or used, the student will be re­ferred to the Court Reporting Department Chair, who will assist them in this endeavor.

Five Towns College has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Long Island Business Institute, and will provide an opportunity to any former LIBI student who was enrolled there at any time during 2023 and who left in good academic standing, provided they resume their studies at Five Towns College by the Fall 2024 semester. Students who were not in attendance during 2023, who left LIBI not in good academic standing, or who seek to resume their studies after the Fall 2024 semester, may apply for admission to Five Towns College under the terms and conditions in effect at the time of application.

Court Reporting students who wish to resume their studies after a break of any length, must be prepared to register for the speedbuilding course that follows the one in which they received the last passing grade. If the student wishes to re­apply for a speedbuilding course in which the grade of IP at LIBI was earned, that student must demonstrate proficiency in the speedbuilding course that was the prerequisite for this course.

As explained above, former students who cannot demonstrate proficiency in the speedbuilding course as explained will be denied re-entry into the program. At this point, the student will be given the opportunity to register as a non-matriculated student taking the appropriate speedbuilding course as determined by the Department Chair. The student is only permitted to enroll in that specific speed­building course for two semesters. Following completion of the course, the student will be assessed by a proficiency examination for consideration for re-entry.

Students dismissed from the program and seeking re-entry must enroll in the course(s) in which a fail­ing grade was received and earn a passing grade before being considered for re-entry into the program. The student will be enrolled as a non-matriculated student during this period of time.

If a student demonstrates the ability to successfully complete a speedbuilding course at a higher level than the speedbuilding course following the one in which a passing grade was earned, it will be nec­essary to demonstrate the ability to pass the required speed tests through a proficiency examination.

All Court Reporting students, regardless of the program track they are on, or when they entered Five Towns College, must:

• Complete a mock interview with the Career Services Office, separate from those being held in INT203.
• Submit an acceptable current resume to Career Services Office.
• Have completed 10 Adult Education Units (AEUs) through LIBI or the equivalent at Five Towns College.
• Submit a 40-page salable transcript, 45-hours interning and a two-page internship narrative.
• Complete an exit interview.

• Students must complete ten (10) Adult Education Units (AEUs) to graduate. Students, who do not complete their ten (10) AEUs before the com­mencement ceremony they are slated to attend, will not be permitted to participate.
• AEUs consist of workshops and presentations on topics instrumental to professional and per­sonal growth and development.
• A monthly calendar is published indicating when workshops are offered.
• One (1) AEU is equivalent to a 1-hour workshop/seminar/webinar.
• When on campus, information regarding upcoming AEU workshops is available in the Career Services Office and through postings on campus-wide bulletin boards. A monthly AEU calendar is posted on the college LMS, and a community email is sent to all active students.

[1] Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners (bls.gov)