Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Policy

It is the policy of Northern Arizona University, to the extent required by law, to ensure that our programs and activities, normally provided in English, are accessible to Limited English Proficiency (LEP) persons and thus do not violate the Title VI prohibition against discrimination on the basis of national origin. Consistent with the law, upon request, the university will provide appropriate alternative non-English formats for persons with limited proficiency in English.

Requests for alternative language format should be made to the Equity and Access Office, Northern Arizona University, P.O. Box 4083, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-4083, (928) 523-3312, Old Main, Room 113 or equityandaccess@nau.edu.

Any LEP person who believes they have been denied meaningful access under this policy may file a complaint online or in writing, with the Associate Vice President, Equity and Access Office, Northern Arizona University, P.O. Box 4083, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-4083, (928) 523-3312, Old Main, Room 113 or equityandaccess@nau.edu. The following information must be provided in the complaint: name; address; best phone number for contact of the complainant; a general description of the person(s) or class of persons injured by the alleged failure; and a description of alleged failure.

Retaliation of any kind against a person who has made a complaint, and/or assisted in any way with the investigation of the complaint is prohibited.

Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Resources

Contact the Equity and Access Office at (928) 523-7855 or equityandaccess@nau.edu for contact information for bilingual staff and faculty who have volunteered to assist with interpreting.

“I Speak Cards”

Download “I Speak Cards,” available in 38 languages to assist LEP individuals to identify the language they speak.

Online Translation Tools

These translation tools should be used only as a quick first step in translating simple sentences, words, and concepts. They should not be the only means of providing assistance and should be reviewed and corrected by a speaker of the target language. Most of these are free, but watch for fee-based extra services.

• Free Translation and Professional Translation Services from SDL – Translation available between English and 42 other languages including: Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Chinese.
• Free Online Translation Service – Translation available between English and: French, German, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, and Korean. This site also offers a text to speech option.
• Babel Fish Text Translation – Translation available between English and: Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Portuguese, and Spanish.
• WorldLingo Translator – Translation available between English and 32 other languages. This site can also translate text, documents, websites, and emails up to 500 words for free.
• Signing Savvy – Signing Savvy is a sign language dictionary containing several thousand high resolution videos of American Sign Language (ASL) signs, fingerspelled words, and other common signs used within the United States and Canada.
• Translation Services USA – Provides a number of translation services in over 100 languages.
• Word2Word – Directory of translation services.
• imTranslator – Translation of text in 60 different languages.
• Google Translate – Text or document translation in 80 different languages.
• Babylon – Translation of text in 30 different languages.
• Handspeak – Provides online videos of American sign language words.

Fee Based Interpreting Services

• AT&T Traveler Support
• Allsprachendienst Esperanto GmbH
• DT Interpreting
• InSync Interpreting Service
• Purple – ASL interpreters online with an iPhone/iPad app available.
• Language Line Solutions – ASL interpreters over the phone, on demand video remote, and on-site interpretation, and document, website, and multimedia translation in over 200 languages.
• Deaf Services Unlimited – Deaf Services Unlimited gives you easy access to American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting and captioning services.

Multi-lingual Glossaries

• Spanish Language Style Guide and Glossaries – a resource on language use and terminology for Web managers dealing with websites in Spanish and/or Spanish language contractors.
• UNESCO – Thesaurus – a resource for terminology in a number of fields including education, refugee work, and science.