2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Paralegal - Associate in Applied Science-T Degree
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Program Description The Paralegal Associate in Applied Science-Transfer Degree is approved by the American Bar Association and is designed for students who seek advancement in their careers and/or wish to pursue a two- or four-year degree. This degree requires successful completion of a minimum of 93 credits as outlined.
The Paralegal Associate in Applied Science-Transfer Degree is designed to provide quality paralegal education to students who have not earned a bachelor’s degree, or who will not earn a bachelor’s degree while enrolled in this degree program. The legal coursework for this degree is equivalent to the legal coursework required for the Associate of Technical Arts degree. Paralegals are not licensed to practice law and may not offer legal advice or perform any duty specifically reserved for licensed attorneys.
| Advising Note This program requirement sheet is not a substitute for meeting with an academic advisor. Meeting the requirements to graduate with an Edmonds CC certificate or degree is ultimately the responsibility of the student. |
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General Education Requirements (20 credits)
*General Education Requirements Note Communication Skills (15 credits)
OUTCOME: Communicate and interact effectively through a variety of methods appropriate to audience, context, purpose, and field/discipline. Quantitative Analysis/Symbolic Reasoning Skills (5 credits)
OUTCOME: Reason clearly using academic or professional modes of inquiry; using quantitative or symbolic reasoning; and/or using other discipline/field specific methods to explore and create ideas; identify information needs; process, evaluate, and use information; and recognize, analyze, and solve problems. Cultural Diversity Skills
OUTCOME: Explore and apply multiple perspectives in order to examine cultural differences and influences; maintain effective professional/working relationships; and/or interact effectively in multicultural settings. Cultural Diversity Course List ____Cultural Diversity requirement met. Distribution Requirements (20 credits)
**See Distribution Requirements Notes Humanities (5 - 10 credits)
OUTCOME: Use humanities-based methods to reason, communicate, make meaning, solve problems, and/or create or perform cultural works for diverse audiences and purposes. Natural Sciences and Mathematics (5 - 10 credits)
OUTCOME: Use scientific and mathematical methods, modes of inquiry, and terminology to demonstrate knowledge, comprehension, and application of science concepts and insights. Social Sciences (5 - 10 credits)
OUTCOME: Use social science theories and methods to reason, communicate, apply insights, solve problems, and to develop a critical understanding of the diversity and interdependence of peoples and cultures. Program Requirements (25 credits)
OUTCOMES: - Demonstrate and apply legal knowledge and practical skills necessary to perform substantive legal work under the direction of an attorney.
- Identify and apply the procedural rules and practical skills necessary to perform tasks, under the direction of an attorney, in preparation of judicial, administrative, and alternative dispute resolution proceedings.
- Demonstrate the ability to use a variety of print and electronic resources to research and update primary and secondary legal authority.
- Apply effective writing, speaking, and listening skills to work collaboratively with others involved in the delivery of legal services to the public.
- Prepare legal correspondence, legal memoranda, transactional and operative documents, and litigation-related documents in appropriate format and tone to effectively communicate the necessary information.
- Demonstrate the ability to use computers and technology necessary to perform paralegal tasks.
- Demonstrate an awareness of legal ethics; the Rules of Professional Conduct; the role of paralegals in the delivery of legal services to the public; and how social, economic, cultural, and ethnic factors affect equal access to the justice system.
- Career Management: Demonstrate the ability to research employment opportunities, prepare an effective employment package, and present oneself positively in a job interview.
Career and College Success (3 credits)
OUTCOME: Develop professional and academic skills and strategies for career and college success. ____Career and College Success Requirement met Note: The Career and College Success course should be completed within the first two quarters. Students who transfer in 30 or more college-level credits with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher may be exempt from the Career and College Success course; see faculty advisor. Program Electives (to complete a minimum of 25 credits)
****See Program Electives Notes Program Notes
The program code for this degree is LAPPAAAS. For financial aid, advising, and other reasons, students should work with their advisor to ensure that this code is properly recorded on their academic record.
Advising Due to the complex requirements of this degree, all Paralegal Associate in Applied Science-Transfer Degree students are required to meet with an advisor to design their educational plan.
- This AAS-T degree is a professional-technical degree with a core of general education courses commonly accepted in transfer. This degree will articulate to some four-year colleges and universities that have specific bachelor’s degree programs, such as Central Washington University’s BAS-ITAM and CLJ degree. Other programs that accept the AAS-T degree include: Evergreen State College, Antioch University, Seattle Pacific University, University of Phoenix, City University, and California University of Pennsylvania BA in Jurisprudence.
- 93 Credit Requirement The Paralegal Associate of Applied Science-Transfer Degree program requires a minimum of 93 credits for completion. Specifically, this program requires 53 credits of legal courses (28 credits required and 25 credits as electives) and 40 credits of non-legal courses (of which 30 credits must be from Liberal Arts courses).
- Transfer of Credits
- Non-legal credits will transfer from any accredited college to satisfy some or all of the 40 non-legal credit requirements. An associate in arts/sciences transfer degree (DTA) will satisfy all non-paralegal requirements including ENGL& 101.
- Any paralegal course transfer approval must be in writing and signed by a paralegal program faculty advisor. Requests for evaluation of transfer of credits may be completed in the GATE system. This should be done during the student’s first quarter at the college. See an advisor if you have any questions about the transfer of credits.
- Legal credits from any other American Bar Association (ABA) approved paralegal program may be transferred to satisfy some of the 53 legal credits required. Up to 20 legal credits may be transferred from other ABA-approved paralegal programs. Legal courses from schools or departments that are not part of an ABA-approved paralegal program will not be accepted as legal credits under the requirements of this degree.
- Credit/Grade Requirements A minimum of 30 credits or one-third of the required credits, whichever is less, must be earned at Edmonds College. A minimum of 25 of these 30 credits must be earned in the Paralegal Program at Edmonds College. Students are required to maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 in all college level courses, and must have a minimum 2.0 grade in each of LEGAL 100, LEGAL 200, LEGAL 205, LEGAL 210, LEGAL 228, and LEGAL 240.
LEGAL 100 Grade: ______
LEGAL 200 Grade: ______
LEGAL 205 Grade: ______
LEGAL 210 Grade: ______
LEGAL 228 Grade: ______
LEGAL 240 Grade: ______
- Technology Skills Requirement As an American Bar Association approved paralegal program, students must demonstrate proficient technology skills prior to graduating. This requirement is met by completing LEGAL 228 with a minimum grade of 2.0. Alternatively, a student may request a course substitution for LEGAL 228 by obtaining written approval from a faculty advisor that the course adequately demonstrates equivalence in all of LEGAL 228’s course-level learning objectives.
- On-Campus Requirement As an American Bar Association approved paralegal program, students are required to complete a minimum of 15 legal credits taught in a traditional on-campus classroom at Edmonds College or in a course taught in a synchronous format. All on-campus legal courses count toward this requirement, except for LEGAL 291, LEGAL 299, and one-credit hybrid courses. A five-credit hybrid course counts as four traditional on-campus credits; a three-credit hybrid course counts as two traditional on-campus credits; and a two-credit hybrid course counts as one traditional on-campus credit. Online courses do not count toward this requirement but courses taught in a synchronous format meet this requirement. The paralegal program’s on-campus requirement will be verified by the paralegal department prior to graduation.
On-Campus Course Taken:_______________ Credits: ______
On-Campus Course Taken: ______________ Credits: ______
On-Campus Course Taken: ______________ Credits: ______
The advisors for this program are:
Scott Haddock | scott.haddock@edcc.edu | 425.640.1185
Theresa Pouley | theresa.pouley@edcc.edu | 425.640.1688
Department website:
Paralegal | edcc.edu/legal
*General Education Requirements Notes
- ENGL& 101 and 102, CMST& 210 and 220, MATH& 107 (or higher level math course), and PHIL& 120 count toward the 40-credit General Education Requirement.
**Distribution Requirements Notes
- Students in this program must complete at least 20 credits of approved liberal arts courses with at least 5 credits from each of the following disciplines: Humanities, Natural Science and Mathematics, and Social Sciences.
- ABA Requirement: ABA Guidelines require that students select courses from at least three (3) disciplines (departments).
***Non-Legal Electives Notes
- Additional credits necessary to a total of 40 non-legal credits may be selected from any college-level, non-legal course(s) of your choice, provided that requirements in General Education and Liberal Arts sections are also met.
- Legal Electives: A maximum of five (5) credits may be earned in each of these classes: LEGAL 291, 296, and 299 with a total combined limit of 10 credits that can be earned in all of these courses cumulatively.
- Professional Development: To gain valuable work experience students are strongly encouraged to consider taking LEGAL 291 as an elective. This is particularly true for students who are not currently or have not recently worked in a legal setting. Students may take up to five (5) credits of Legal Internship (LEGAL 291) and are encouraged to complete a legal internship prior to graduation. For more information on legal internships students should meet with a faculty advisor.
Internal Coding
PLAN/STACK - LAPPAAAS
TC - 93
CIP - 220302
Last revised - 2021/05/18
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