The Paralegal Program is an American Bar Association approved program designed to train students for careers as paralegals (legal assistants) in law firms, governmental agencies, public service organizations and corporate legal departments. Paralegals work under the supervision of attorneys to provide nonclerical professional support in the delivery of legal services to clients and the community. Paralegals are not licensed to practice law.
Computer Skills and Traditional/On-Campus Course Requirement To graduate from the program, all students are required to obtain and demonstrate certain minimum computer skills and take 15 paralegal credits in traditional, on campus (face-to-face) courses. Students must have the Paralegal Program Computer Skills and Traditional/On-Campus Course(s) Verification Form signed by their faculty adviser and submitted to the Enrollment Services prior to or at the time of applying for graduation.
Transfer of Credits Non-legal credits will transfer from any accredited college to satisfy some or all of the 45 non-legal credit requirement. A Bachelor degree or an Associate of Arts/Sciences degree will satisfy all non-paralegal requirements including ENGL& 101 .
Legal credits from any other ABA approved paralegal program may transfer to satisfy some of the 45 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. Any paralegal course transfer approval must be in writing and signed by your Paralegal Program full-time faculty adviser. To transfer any credits, enrolled students must request an evaluation of their college transcripts through Enrollment Services. This should be done during the student’s first quarter at the college. See your adviser if you have any questions about the transfer of credits.
Credit/Grade Requirements This ATA degree requires successful completion of a minimum of 90 credits as outlined. A minimum of 30 credits or one-third of the required credits, whichever is less, must be earned at Edmonds Community College. A minimum of 25 of these 30 credits must be earned in the Paralegal Program at Edmonds. A minimum of 15 legal credits must be taken in traditional, on campus classroom instruction. 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 LEGAL 200 , 205 , 210 , and 240 .
Cultural Diversity Requirement All students earning degrees and certificates of 45 credits or more must meet a cultural diversity (CD) requirement by completing courses marked as “CD” on the requirement sheet and/or “Meets Cultural Diversity Requirement” in the quarterly class schedule. Those courses may also be used to fulfill other requirements of the degree or certificate.
Graduation Application A completed Graduation Application form must be submitted to Enrollment Services by the 10th day of the quarter in which the student expects to graduate. Forms are available online or at Enrollment Services located in Lynnwood Hall.
Students are advised to:
- Plan their schedule several quarters in advance in order to accommodate courses that are offered only once or twice a year. Students who are new to the college or with little college experience are recommended to take one quarter of non-legal courses prior to starting legal classes;
- Review the college catalog for required course prerequisites and include these in schedule planning; and
- Communicate with a faculty adviser.
| Advisers |
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| William Covington |
wcovingt@edcc.edu | 425.640.1522 |
| Michael Fitch |
mfitch@edcc.edu | 425.640.1617 |
| Anne Kastle |
akastle@edcc.edu | 425.640.1688 |
| Clark Silliman |
csillima@edcc.edu | 425.640.1431 |
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Department website
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www.edcc.edu/legal |
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Note: This requirement planning sheet is not a substitute for meeting with an academic adviser. Meeting the requirements to graduate with an Edmonds Community College degree or certificate is ultimately the responsibility of the student.
PGM Code – 586T
Effective summer 2011 | Rev: 02/11
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