Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Many questions about captioning related to definition of terms.  Some of the most commonly used terms are defined below:

Qualified student in a class

When there is a student registered with Disability Services for Students who has requested captioning accommodations, the teacher should contact DSS (243-2243) for updated information and captioning coordination.

Subtitles vs. captions

Traditional captioning of TV and DVDs occurred in a separate video channel. What is often produced now in high definition situations or through desktop tools is technically subtitles. However, these subtitles can function almost the same as true captions.

Closed vs. open captions

Another point of clarification is whether something is closed captioned (which means the captioning can be opened and closed) or open captioned (which means the captioning is always visible).

Descriptive Video Services

Descriptive Video involves trained professionals who use the pauses in dialogue to describe the scene. The primary users of descriptive video services are individuals with vision limitations.