One of the problems facing many postsecondary institutions is the lack of qualified sign
language interpreters to meet the rising demand of deaf and hard of hearing students. Citing legal
precedence, Jeanne Kincaid, a nationally recognized disability rights attorney, noted that the Office
of Civil Rights (1993; 1991) recognized that there is a "critical shortage of qualified interpreters to
meet the societal needs of the deaf population nation-wide" (p. 9). Establishing an interpreter
mentorship program can help train new interpreters and community interpreters to become
qualified postsecondary interpreters as well as provide many other benefits for postsecondary
institutions. In an interpreter mentorship program, a mentee interpreter is paired with an experienced
and qualified mentor interpreter in order to improve the skills of the mentee. Mentorship can be a
cost-effective way to train new interpreters and provide a means for more experienced interpreters
to share their knowledge. Thus, a mentorship program can be beneficial to postsecondary
institutions as well as the mentees and mentors.