tion services, public and private day schools having classes and other services for deaf children, rehabilitation facilities offering services for the deaf, speech and hearing clinics, other postsecondary programs, and other interested groups, organizations or individuals likely to have contact with the deaf. REPORT ON WORK PERFORMANCE/FORMER STUDENTS Mr. CONTE. How much feedback do you get from employers who have hired your former students? Dr. FRISINA. NTID receives longitudinal information about the success of our graduates from employers at 1-, 5-, and 10-year intervals. This is in addition to preliminary information received at earlier intervals. The preliminary information includes the employee's job title and salary as well as readings of such things as performance, attendance, punctuality, safety awareness, work attitudes and peer relations. The purpose served by obtaining this information is to determine the technical, communications, personal, and social competencies of our graduates. This in turn is used to modify our programs. Since NTID is not yet fully operational, the majority of our graduates have only recently been placed. Thus, the bulk of our information to date is preliminary with more detailed and comprehensive information scheduled for compilation during fiscal year 1978. NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION Mr. CONTE. How many of your students go on to institutions of higher education? Dr. FRISINA. To date, approximately 110 NTID students, or 16 percent of all those who have left, have gone on to other institutions of higher education. SOCIAL AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT Mr. CONTE. In your opening statement you mentioned that the average deaf student is 4 vears behind his hearing peer in personal and social development. What does your program do to correct this? Dr. FRISINA. Each student is assisted by a career development counselor in the development of a personal career development plan. This plan concentrates on three areas of competence; technical, communications, and personal/social. Based on that plan a special program is developed to meet the student's individual needs. For technical competence, extensive educational support is marshaled, resulting in graduates who compare favorably in academic achievement with their hearing peers. For personal and social competence, special programs in career decisionmaking, interpersonal communications, interviewing, and personal finance result in graduates who display enhanced interpersonal and leadership abilities. For communications competence, a number of special programs in speech, hearing and language are developed, and as an overall indication of our success in this area, students' average reading levels at NTID have increased 1.2 mean grade equivalent levels in 1 year in contrast to their previous history of 0.65 grade equivalent levels. ADDITIONAL FACULTY Mr. CONTE. What will the additional faculty be utilized for? Dr. FRISINA. The additional faculty are related solely to the increase in students with particular emphasis on technical education and personal/social development. 5-YEAR POPULATION Mr. CONTE. What do you estimate will be the size of the population you serve in the next 5 years? Dr. FRISINA. During the next 5 years, NTID is projected to admit approximately 1,500 new students. EMPLOYMENT IN DECLINING INDUSTRIES Mr. CONTE. What is the cause of deaf citizens holding jobs in declining industries to a greater extent than hearing citizens? Dr. FRISINA. Deaf persons have traditionally been concentrated in goods-producing industries because the levels of education and communication skills required for those jobs are not as great as those required for skilled and service-producing jobs. It is for this reason that NTID regards as highly significant its accomplishments to date in placing deaf graduates in service and skilled employment. By continuing to target our programs and students in this manner, we hope to reduce this trend of deaf employment in declining industries. Mr. FLOOD. Thank you very much. JUSTIFICATION OF THE BUDGET ESTIMATES Appropriation Language NATIONAL TECHNICAL INSTITUTE FOR THE DEAF For carrying out the National Technical Institute for the Deaf Act (20 U.S.C. 681, et seq.) [$9,836,000] $12,675,000. |