The National Court Reporters Association, or NCRA, is a US organization for the advancement of the profession of the

court reporter A court reporter, court stenographer, or shorthand reporter is a person whose occupation is to capture the live testimony in proceedings using a stenographic machine or a stenomask, thereby transforming the proceedings into an official certif ...

, closed captioner, and realtime writer. The association holds annual conventions,

seminars A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some part ...

and forums, speed and real-time contests, and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

workshops Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...

to assist court reporters. Reporters can join NCRA for a

fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in contrad ...

that varies depending on whether the applicant is a

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject. In the United Kingdom and most The Commonwealth, commonwealth countries, a "student" attends ...

, or reporter.

Membership Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

allows a reporter to take the certifications, get discounts on conventions, attend

conferences A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

, and have access to a

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

of other

professionals A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

in the

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

History

NCRA was established in 1899 in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, United States as the National Shorthand Reporters Association (NSRA). They created standardization of

ethical codes Ethical codes are adopted by organizations to assist members in understanding the difference between right and wrong and in applying that understanding to their decisions. An ethical code generally implies documents at three levels: codes of bus ...

, transcript rates, and information for all

shorthand Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to Cursive, longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Gr ...

reporters. They published "The Shorthand Writer" and started the National Speed Contest, which is still held today. NCRA developed the first

standardized test A standardized test is a Test (assessment), test that is administered and scored in a consistent or standard manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored ...

for court reporters to gauge their proficiency. Called the Certificate of Proficiency, it was replaced by the Registered Professional Reporter.

Membership

NCRA supports individuals through education and certification, promotion of the stenographic profession throughout the legal industry, and defense of the industry in government. NCRA provides news and information to its members through email newsletters and its JCR magazine, as well as on its website.

NCRA Certifications

One of NCRA's primary objectives is to set national certification standards and assist states seeking to establish certification or licensing requirements. To that end, NCRA has administered its nationally recognized certification program for court reporters since 1937. In addition, many states currently accept or use the RPR in the place of the state certification or licensing exam.

NCRA-approved court reporting programs

The court reporter programs offered at the following institutions have met the General Requirements and Minimum Standards established by the Council on Approved Student Education] (CASE) of the National Court Reporters Association, earning the right to describe themselves as NCRA-approved. In order to achieve and maintain certification, these programs agree to periodic review by CASE to verify their continued adherence to the GRMS. All NCRA-approved court reporting programs are accredited by agencies recognized by the United States Department of Education, U.S. Department of Education. Alabama * Gadsden State Community College California * South Coast College Florida * Atlantic Technical College Illinois * Generations College (formerly MacCormac College) * South Suburban College Iowa *

Des Moines Area Community College Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) is a Public college, public Community colleges in the United States, community college in central Iowa. The college served 35,488 credit students and 29,021 noncredit students in 200 programs in 2019. Hi ...

Michigan *

Macomb Community College Macomb Community College is a multi-campus community college in Warren, Michigan. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The college's offerings include university transfer, early college, professional certification, workfo ...

Minnesota *

Anoka Technical College Anoka Technical College is a public two-year technical college in Anoka, Minnesota, founded in 1967. The school is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. History Beginning July 2011, Anoka Technical College and Anoka-R ...

New York *

Alfred State College Alfred State College (ASC, SUNY Alfred, SUNY Alfred State) is a public college in Alfred, New York, United States. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. The college offers bachelor's and associate degree programs. It ...

* Plaza College Ohio *

Clark State College Clark State College is a public community college in Springfield, Ohio.It opened in 1962 as Springfield and Clark County Technical Education Program. It has additional locations in Beavercreek, Bellefontaine, and Xenia. History The Springf ...

Cuyahoga Community College Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) is a Public college, public Community colleges in the United States, community college in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Founded in 1963, it is the oldest and largest public community college within the state. Not unti ...

* Stark State College Pennsylvania *

Community College of Allegheny County Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) is a public community college in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. With four campuses and four centers, the college offers associate degrees, certificates, and diplomas. History The Pennsylvania legisl ...

Texas * San Antonio College Washington *

Green River College Green River College is a public community college in Auburn, Washington, United States. It has a student body of over 13,000 and has satellite campuses in nearby cities of Kent and Enumclaw, Washington. The college primarily awards associates de ...

Wisconsin *

Lakeshore Technical College Lakeshore College is a Public college, public community college in Cleveland, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, Cleveland, Wisconsin. It is part of the Wisconsin Technical College System. The college offers associate degree and technical diploma progr ...

Canada *

Northern Alberta Institute of Technology The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) is a public polytechnic and applied sciences institute in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. NAIT offers approximately 120 credit programs leading to degrees, applied degrees, diplomas, and certifica ...

References

{{Authority control Professional associations based in the United States Court reporting