Paralegal Studies (Online Program): Associate of Applied Science Degree
Indianapolis, IN Campus

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Objectives

The purpose of this program is to help students prepare for entry-level positions as paralegals. Areas of study include ethics, legal research and writing, law office technology, and specific areas of the law, such as criminal law, corporate law and litigation, among others. The program is also intended to help the student develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

Career Opportunities

Graduates of this program may begin their career in a variety of entry-level positions corporate paralegal, paralegal real estate, litigation paralegal, and court paralegal.

Admission Requirements

Refer to the Admission section of this catalog for information relating to Admission Requirements and Procedures for this program.

Equipment

The student is responsible, at his or her expense, for providing all supplies and equipment for the students use in the online courses in the program, including, without limitation, a computer (and the associated accessories and peripheral equipment, including without limitation, a monitor, keyboard and printer), software and Internet service.

Online Courses

All of the courses offered at the school in this program are distance education courses and are taught online over the Internet, rather than in residence at the school. Each course will be taught over a period of either (a) six weeks or (b) 12 weeks, as determined by the school from time to time in its discretion. Courses are delivered through an asynchronous learning network. There is a prescribed completion schedule for the activities in each course. Support materials for each course will be sent to the student. These materials may include a course syllabus, a textbook(s), a CD-ROM(s) and other printed documents required for the course. Students will be assigned to a class for each course. Students in each course will interact with their classmates and the instructor through discussion board and e-mail systems.

Online Student Preparation - Prior to starting any of the online courses in this program, the student is encouraged to complete the online course student preparation, which describes the protocols that the student must follow when taking an online course.

Computer, Software Requirements and Specifications and Internet Service

The student must have access to a computer (and the associated accessories and peripheral equipment), software and Internet service that satisfy the following specifications:

Minimum Requirements for Computer: Pentium III or equivalent PC-compatible (MacIntosh or Unix-based machines are not supported), 256MB RAM (512MB preferred), CD-ROM, 2GB free space (5GB preferred) on master hard drive.

Minimum Requirements for Software: Windows XP or 2000 (or higher), Microsoft Office Professional 2003 (or higher), Internet Explorer 6.0 (or higher), and functional e-mail address with file attachment capabilities. The student will be required to obtain any software tools, plug-ins and/or applications identified in the course syllabus for any course in the program of study.

Minimum Requirements for Internet Service: 56Kb modem (Cable or DSL connection strongly preferred).

The student is obligated for any expense associated with obtaining access to the above specified computer equipment, software and Internet service. No school-owned computer equipment, software or Internet service will be accessible to the student.

Class Size

Classes generally range in size from 15 to 25 students. Depending on the course subject matter, certain classes may contain a greater or lesser number of students.

Program Outline

Course Number	Course	Credit Hours
Program Total		96
Core Courses Subtotal 60 BU222 Business Law and Regulation+ 4 CJ123 Criminal Law+ 4 CJ333 Constitutional Law+ 4 PL101 Introduction to Paralegal Studies+ 4 PL102 Ethics for Paralegals+ 4 PL103 Technology in the Law Office+ 4 PL104 Wills, Trusts and Estates+ 4 PL105 Real Estate Law+ 4 PL106 Legal Research and Writing I+ 4 PL201 Family Law+ 4 PL202 Civil Litigation+ 4 PL206 Legal Research and Writing II+ 4 PL207 Contract Law+ 4 PL208 Tort Law+ 4 PL299 Paralegal Capstone+ 4
General Education Courses Subtotal 24 GE117 Composition I+ 4 GE127 College Mathematics I+ 4 GE150 Survey of the Sciences+ 4 GE175 American Government+ 4 GE217 Composition II+ 4 GE375 Psychology+ 4
Technical Basic Courses Subtotal 12 TB139A Strategies for Learning in a Technical Environment+ 4 TB141 Introduction to Productivity Software+ 4 TB150 Computing and Productivity Software+ 4

+In this program, this course is a distance education course that is taught online over the Internet, rather than in residence at the school. Refer to the Online Course Information section of this catalog for additional information relating to these courses.

NOTE: The course descriptions for the courses in this program are in the Course Descriptions section of this catalog. The school may, at any time in its discretion, vary the offering and/or sequence of courses in this program, revise the curriculum content of the program or any course in the program and change the number of credit hours in the program or in any program course.