@ New Westminster Campus, David Lam Campus & Thomas Haney Campus

A very sound system

A new listening system at
Douglas College offers
greater clarity for the
hearing impaired.

The infrared assistive
listening system allows
people with hearing
disabilities to hear clearly in
meetings, often for the first
time. The system is
composed of infrared
panels mounted on the
walls, receivers worn by
listeners, wireless
microphones and a rolling
cart of mixers and
equalizers.

“It's a pleasure, and a relief,
to be able to hear everyone
at a large meeting,” says
Susan Ashcroft, College
Librarian and Board
member who is hard of
hearing. “I believe Douglas
College stands alone in
providing this level of
accessibility to employees.”

To use the system,
participants with hearing
disabilities wear a receiver
(similar in size to a
stopwatch) ona cord
around their necks.

 

Wireless microphones are
placed on each table, and
the equipment in the cart is
plugged in and turned on.
For those with hearing aids,
the aid is turned on and
the receiver picks up
sounds from the
microphones, transmitting
them to the hearing aid.
For others who do not wear
hearing aids, regular
earphones can be plugged
into the receivers.

Bruce Clarke, Media
Maintenance Technician in
Distributed Learning
Services (DLS), who
researched available
systems, says the system's
flexibility is in more than
it’s ability to be moved
from place to place.

“Every person wearing a
receiver can adjust their
own volume and tone
control to suit their
personal needs,” says
Clarke. “And with the
infrared panels, there’s no
retrofitting involved if
there’s an existing PA
system. You simply place
the panels next to the

system, hook them up and
that’s it. We can make
rooms accessible to hard of
hearing people quite
simply and cheaply by
adding on to what’s already
there.”

“The infrared transmitters
are the standard system
used for hearing impaired
people — the Orpheum,
Queen Elizabeth Theatre
and Vancouver City Hall
use them,” says Clarke.
“I’m familiar with the
system, and it was relatively
easy to install. Finding
good wireless microphones
that have an accurate
frequency was much
harder, but I found one
company who would stand
behind their product —
Audio Technica. They do
rock and Broadway shows,
so it was no problem for
them to come up with a
design that suited us.”

The system was originally
designed for permanent
installation in the
Boardroom at the New

Westminster Campus, but
DLS decided to make it

Cd
S i ; e October 2001

The Douglas College Newsletter

   

IN

Douglas College

 

Gail Freeman, Departmental Assistant in the Library, gets a lesson from

DLS's Bruce Clarke on using the new infrared assistive listening system in
the Boardroom. The Library plans to use the system for meetings, allowing
all members to participate equally.

portable so it could be used
at all Campuses. A custom-
made case similar to those
used by rock groups to
hold electronic equipment
was designed locally to
Clarke’s specifications,
producing a portable unit
that holds all parts of the
system.

Two areas at the New
Westminster Campus only
— room 2217 and the
Boardroom — are

equipped with infrared
panels. The panels can be
removed from the walls
and moved to another
location if necessary, with
the cart being brought
along to complete the

system.

“Tam very appreciative of
the efforts made to fund
this equipment and I think

Bruce should be
congratulated for the

Demand for classes outstrips availability

Students are trying to register for courses at Douglas
College in record numbers, but to no avail.

There just aren't enough classes to meet the need.

positions. General Nursing saw the highest demand, with

994 applicants for 66 seats.

excellent work he has done
in configuring the system,”
says Ashcroft. “DLS
personnel have gone to
great lengths to make this a
portable unit, so we'll have
the added flexibility of
using the technology in
other locations.”

For more information on
using the infrared assistive
listening system, call Bruce
Clarke at 604-527-5268.

Ridge-Pitt Meadows fueling the demand, different
campuses face different challenges. “Our New
Westminster Campus is full to the rafters,” says Witter,

“There are 400 more students at the college this fall than
last year, but many of them can’t get the courses they
need,” says College President Susan Witter.

First year university-transfer classes such as Biology,
Criminology and English are feeling the pressure.
Recently released registration statistics for the 10 most
sought-after courses show an average of seven registration
attempts for every seat filled.

Enrolment figures for Douglas College career programs
also exemplify the need for additional classes. In
Computer Information Systems, the ratio of applicants to
available seats was six to one. The Community Social
Service Worker program saw 208 people apply for 27

“Our newest career program, the Youth Justice Worker
Program, had a full complement of students when it
started,” says Witter. “It’s rare for a brand new program to
fill completely the first time around. It underlines the high
numbers of people seeking programs in specific labour
market areas.”

The College’s total number of student applications
increased by 823 this fall. Douglas College serves over
12,000 credit students per year and the number of people
applying to get in is up more than 17 percent from two
years ago, says Witter.

With population growth in the college’s region of
Burnaby, New Westminster, the Tri-Cities and Maple

noting that funding freezes have led to postponements in
building much-needed fifth and sixth floors at the Royal
Avenue site. Rooms designed for 22 students now hold
35. Classes are used continually from 8am to 10pm
weekdays, while weekends are busy with continuing
education classes and community activities.

But funding for courses is the main issue at the David
Lam Campus in Coquitlam.

“We were fortunate last year to receive funding to open
the summer semester for the first time ever at our David
Lam Campus,” says Witter. “Demand is so great that we
filled all of our classes there before registration had even
closed. To deal with the continued growth in population,
we'll need funding for 300 additional full-time students
for that campus each year for the next four years.”

 

Quote of the Month

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience,
but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968), Strength to Love, 1963