There are so many variables that affect the length of time, the most important of which is the amount of time available for practice on a weekly basis. If someone can devote 12-15 hours per week, there is a strong likelihood that completion can be accomplished in less than a year.

Any school offering the federally funded financial aid programs incurs many added costs to be able to offer that assistance, plus having to be nationally accredited. Those costs have to be added on to the tuition costs for students. The director of this school operated a degree-granting, fully accredited institution for 16 years, but now chooses to keep tuition costs to the lowest level possible so students aren’t accumulating more debt. Voicewriting students who choose to receive financial aid assistance are obligated to pay that debt whether they gradiate or not, and the payback time can be as much as ten years. Even though the interest rate is low, the total amount of interest paid over that ten years is substantial.

The obvious ones are determination, thus making learning this skill a high priority. Anyone with lazy speech patterns will be discouraged from beginning The software must be able to recognize clearly enunciated words with a minimum of slurred words of phrases that are run together. The voicing technique needed has been described by some as being almost robotic in sound, and not the normal conversational speech pattern. Prospective students are encouraged to have a phone conversation with the director, so the director can make an informal evaluation.

Some successful candidates are those wishing to re-enter the workforce, or someone with the desire to increase their earning potential. Dropout students from traditional steno training schools would likely be able to reach their original goal through this method. Court reporters who suffer from repetitive stress disorder or carpal tunnel syndrome would find learning this skill does not require a lot of keyboard usage that may have caused the problem in the first place. Anyone with a physical disability that doesn't impair their speaking voice could benefit from this; since skill development and employment can be operational from home.

Developing good voicing technique is a learned skill especially since mastery of speeds of 200 wpm and above is needed in these professions. It is different from conversational speech. Some people take longer than others to master the skill of listening, repeating, and enunciating clearly at increasing speeds. The VCI program starts students at about 130-140 wpm allowing them to develop that skill, then push them along as fast as possible when they demonstrate the realtime accuracy of each speed level.

When adding the word “realtime” we are establishing that speech recognition software is being used so the text can be displayed instantly, as opposed to voicewriters or maskwriters who record the spoken words into recorders for later transcription.

Speech recognition software uses artificial intelligence to determine which word is appropriate in the sentence. As each word is translated the software has analyzed the previous two words for context.

The speech engine we prefer is Dragon NaturallySpeaking Premium 11 that has been incorporated into the expanded speech recognition software. It contains almost 300,000 words including all geographic locations, many proper names, and some medical terms. Additional words can be added as needed, especially when encountering foreign names.

It is possible, however, complete transfer is not always assured.

The focus must always be on developing the realtime skills that are needed in most careers. Professional voicewriters have a distinct advantage when producing the end product in realtime. Beginning on SR software actually shortens a student's training time.

The director of VCI has many years of experience in the educational fields of these various fields, thus has many contacts. Once a student has acquired a skill that the director feels is acceptable, assistance will be given for the student to intern with certain companies or individuals, but students are encouraged to develop their own resources in their geographic area. Placement cannot be guaranteed.

It is not likely for several more decades. Humans are needed for instantaneous insertion of punctuation and speaker identification at the appropriate places to attain accurate translation and readability. There will always be speakers that mumble, or do not speak loudly, or clear enough for the microphones and computer to pick up his/her speech and convert it to text accurately, or people who talk over each other. In those scenarios it would be impossible for a speech recognition system to separate out the words or accurately translate the speech.