Information for Interpreters

Terms of Service

Interpreting Services, within the Faculty of Science, requires all freelance interpreters who wish to work with us to agree to the Terms of Service. This document reflects the expectations and standards for the provision of services through Interpreting Services.

The Terms of Service includes information pertaining to:

Necessary qualifications
Booking and invoicing details
Professional fees, suggested
Cancellation information

Terms of Service 8.0 (2023)

Please also complete this brief Google Form to collect your contact information.

Interpreter & Captioner Confidentiality Agreement

Interpreters and captioners working with the Faculty of Science, Interpreting Services team are asked to sign a confidentiality agreement. The purpose of this document is to ensure everyone involved has a common understanding of the expectations surrounding shared information, as well as providing a framework for identifying possible conscious and unconscious breaches of confidentiality.

Before signing the Confidentiality Agreement please take a moment to review this Resource for Interpreters - Confidentiality Agreement Information Sheet .

Please review the Confidentiality Agreement. Once signed return the document to the staff interpreter. Please note that this Agreement can be filled out electronically if preferred.

Interpreter & Captioner Confidentiality Agreement - Fillable

Best Practices

In addition to the Terms of Service, which pertains to contractual operations, there are also Best Practice documents which outline the expected standards for the quality of interpreting services provided by the team. These best practices have been developed based on the experiences of Dr. Campbell and the interpreters who have worked with her.

These best practices may not suit all academic interpreting settings, nor do they outline the only way to approach a given situation. They are provided to show what has been successful to date, and offer a starting point in discussions.

Best Practices	Resources for Interpreters
Best Practice - General Expectations	Resource for Interpreters - Cancelled Assignment Expectations
Best Practice - Interpreting and Walking Simultaneously	Resource for Interpreters - General SMU Safety Information
Best Practice - Interpreting Media Interactions	Resource for Interpreters - Working with Deaf Academic & Researcher
Best Practice - Lab and Field Safety	Resource for Interpreters - Dual VRI Setup
Best Practice - Teaming Strategies
Best Practices - Video Remote Interpreting

Parking Considerations

Parking on site can be challenging during the academic year. please keep this in mind when calculating the travel time needed to arrive on campus, and be ready to work no less than 15 minutes before the start time.

The SMU campus parking map can be found here. Note: there is a pay and display lot on Inglis Street, along with meters available within other parking lots.

There is also street parking available surrounding the university varying from one-hour to all day. Available street parking can be difficult to locate especially during the academic year.

The closest paid high rise parking lot is at the IWK off of University Street.

Resources for ASL- English Interpreters

There is a plethora of resources available online nowadays with varying degrees of quality. The resources compiled here have either been developed in-house or are links to external resources. All the resources are provided to guide interpreters in their preparation and professional development.

Professional Development Resources

This Resource for Interpreters - Professional Development Plan is provided as a resource to you and you do not need to provide your completed form to the staff interpreter. The plan was developed by the Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority and has been edited to suit the needs of the Saint Mary’s University, Faculty of Science Interpreting Services.

Working in this setting includes considerable ASL to English interpretation work. This PD Work Plan - Authoritative Voice provides resources and strategies to improve the voice quality of an English target interpretation.

Dr. Campbell's Research Group

Research Lab Website Dr. Campbell's Twitter account

ASL Resources

ASL Clear ASL STEM ASL Core Atomic Hands Deaf TEC StreetLeverage

English Resources

Zotero Interpreting Services Library: if you would like to be added, please first create a new Zotero account and send the staff interpreter your Zotero user name.

The SMU Patrick Power Library and Interpreting Services have a variety of interpreting related articles and publications available. Resource for Interpreters - Interpreting related publications for more details on the titles available. Resource for Interpreters - How to obtain a library card for informaiton on how to obtain a library card.

Often we are faced with an English word that we are unsure of how to pronounce. Here are a few websites.

Howjsay Author Name Pronunciation Guide Pronunciation of Biological Latin

Pronouncing Scientific Names

Resource for Interpreters - Dictionaries, Encyclopedia's, Glossaries for a compilation of online science dictionaries, encyclopedia’s, and glossaries.

SMU News

Interpreting Services sends out regular newsletters to our roster of interpreters. If you would like to be added to the email distribution list please contact the staff interpreter.