Mar 29, 2024  
2007-2008 VSCC Catalog 
    
2007-2008 VSCC Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Paralegal Studies - University Parallel


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This program has been approved by the American Bar Association. Volunteer State is a member of the American Association for Paralegal Education. The College offers the program to prepare students for work in a legal environment as a paralegal/legal assistant, as well as to provide a general understanding of substantive and procedural legal principles for those planning to transfer to a four-year institution and possibly prepare to attend law school. Note that the American Bar Association defines a legal assistant or a paralegal as “a person qualified by education, training, or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency, or other entity and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible.”  Paralegals may not provide legal services directly to the public, except as permitted by law.

Inasmuch as LAW courses are not universally transferable, a student who wishes to transfer from this program to a baccalaureate program is responsible for information about transferability of course work to a four year institution. Further, this program should be planned only with the assistance of the Paralegal Studies faculty.

Entry and retention standards for this program include: completion of all developmental requirements, except mathematics, which may be taken concurrently with LAW courses; completion of ENGL 1010, LAW 100, and LAW 101 with a final grade of “C” or better as requirement for enrollment in further law courses unless otherwise approved by Paralegal Studies faculty; completion of an interview or attendance at a meeting with Paralegal Studies Faculty; maintenance of satisfactory progress with no grade below “C” in any LAW course; and following of the planned curriculum.

Required General Education Courses


  • HIST - History Credits: (6)
  • Humanities and/or Fine Arts Credits: (9)
    (Must include at least one Lit)
  • Natural Sciences Credits: (8)
  • Social/Behavioral Sciences Credits: (6)

Recommended Area of Emphasis Courses


Courses that are designed primarily for vocational/career programs. A number of these courses are accepted as transfer credit by some colleges and universities, but that decision is made by the receiving institution. These courses are collegiate level work, but they have been developed with a purpose other than being university parallel courses.

Computer Literacy Requirement


See http://www.volstate.edu/ComputerLiteracy/ for Computer Literacy Requirements

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