Important Forms and Documents
Policy for Transfer of Legal Specialty Courses
In order to transfer legal specialty courses from
another institution, the following policy will be observed:
Students who desire to receive credit for coursework completed at an institution other than Santa Ana College must file a petition with the Chair of Legal Studies for substitution of the non-Santa Ana College legal specialty courses. The course work completed will be evaluated by the Legal Studies Department and the student will be informed which coursework, if any, may be applied toward the Paralegal Certificate and/or Degree, the Law office Technitian or Legal Interpreting certificates.
Students must meet the following requirements for the Paralegal degree and or certificate, which will not be waived as they are requirements of the American Bar Association (ABA) and/or approved as part of the approval process with the American Bar Association:
Students must meet the ABA requirement for 18 units of general education. See the policy on the Paralegal Program General Education Requirements.
Students must meet the total unit requirements of 60 units for the Paralegal Certificate.
Students must meet the general education requirements of the ABA and the AA degree requirements of the current Santa Ana College catalog for the Paralegal AA Degree.
Students must complete at least 18 units of Legal Speciality Courses.
Students may only transfer in a maximum of 10 units of Legal Speciality Courses from another institution.
Students must complete 12 units of legal specialty course work at Santa Ana College, including PARA 101, PARA 120, PARA 297, and at least one of the following classes: PARA 145, PARA 146 or PARA 150.
Nine units of legal specialty course work must be completed in a synchronous instruction format as required by the ABA guidelines. The department ensures compliance with this through the scheduling process.
Students must submit a completed 
TRANSFER COURSE POLICY CHECK LIST.pdf and the Santa Ana College Petition to Waive or Substitute Major Requirements.pdf form; along with the
course syllabus from the instructor at the other institution, a copy of the
course description at the other institution, and a copy of the
student’s transcript showing a grade of C or better (a certified copy may be required by admissions and records) A credit/no credit or pass/fail grade will
not be accepted.
The
Department Chair shall review the submitted material and any other
material available to determine if the coursework meets the same rigor and
preparation as the Santa Ana course work.
The
decision of the Department Chair shall be final.
Students are not allowed to test out of or waive legal specialty courses
with the following exception: students
who are experienced in the use of legal application software may test out of
Computers in the Law Office (PARA 120). However, they are required to take Adobe Acrobat (BA 163), Introduction to Microsoft Office (BA 179), and/or successfully complete the Microsoft Office Specialist Exam in either Word, Excel, or PowerPoint in order to receive an approval of the
waiver petition.
If a student feels they
will not benefit from an elective course due to their experience, they are
advised to take a different elective.
.
Students must complete 12 units of legal specialty course work at Santa Ana College, including PARA 101, PARA 120, PARA 297, and at least one of the following classes: PARA 145, PARA 146 or PARA 150.
All applicants for the Paralegal Degree and the
Paralegal Certificate must certify through the graduation department that they
have met the American Bar Association requirement that they complete a
minimum of 10 semester units of Legal Specialty courses through sycronous
classroom instruction.
PARA 101, 121, and 297 are only offered online
and do not meet this requirement. PARA 120 Computers in the Law Office, PARA 145 Civil Litigation, PARA 150 Legal Transactions, and PARA 146 Torts and ADR all meet the ABA
requirement of sycronous classroom instruction. In the event a course is transferred from
another institution and the student plans to use said course to meet this
requirement, the student will need to certify through the Paralegal Department Chair that the course meets the ABA requirements. On the petition for substitution of the
course, the student will need to indicate that said course was offered in a sycronous format and provide evidence satisfactory to the Paralegal Department Chair.
Students must petition the Paralegal Department
Chair for consideration for credit of legal specialty courses and must
provide relevant transcripts and course descriptions.
The Paralegal Department Chair, in
consultation with the Dean, will approve or deny the form and forward to the Graduation Office. The decision of the
Department Chair shall be final.
Paralegal
Degree Policy on General Education Requirements
The Paralegal Program at Santa Ana
College is approved by the American Bar Association (ABA). The ABA has specific guidelines the program must meet in order to be in
compliance with the guidelines and to maintain the program approval. Students who graduate with a degree in Paralegal Studies or who meet the
qualifications for a Paralegal Certificate must meet the following general
education criteria:
The
student must satisfy the general education requirements under either Plan A,B, or C as set forth in the College Catalog. These units may be used to
satisfy Section 2 below.
The
student is required to have a minimum of 18 semester units of general
education that meet the criteria of the American Bar Association as set forth
below:
A general education course is an
academic, college-level course designed to give students a broadly based liberal
arts education. This definition of general education may differ from the
definition adopted by a particular institution or a particular accrediting
agency
- A general education course
ordinarily provides the students with critical reasoning and writing skills.
- Such courses are usually in the
areas of social and behavioral science, English composition and literature,
foreign language, mathematics, humanities, natural science, and the fine arts.
- Courses specifically designed to
develop professional, vocational, and technical skills or that are remedial in
nature are not classified as general education.
- Examples of courses that are not
classified as general education include, but are not limited to, physical
education, performing arts, accounting, computers, technical writing, business
mathematics, business English, keyboarding, and business law.
Within the requirement for 18
semester credits or the equivalent of general education course work, students
must take courses in at least three disciplines, such as: social sciences,
natural sciences, mathematics, humanities, foreign language, and English.
The student shall be required to
certify with the graduation department completion of courses that meet the ABA
definition of general education. Any general education courses passed by credit by examination may not be used to satisfy the 18 units of general education required by the American Bar Association.
Paralegal Certificate General Education Requirements.pdf
Santa
Ana Paralegal Department Policy on Credit by Examination and Pass/Fail
No paralegal course may be taken by
credit by examination with the following exception:
The department chair at his/her sole
discretion may allow a substitution for the PARA 120 Computers in the Law
Office course. If a student is able to demonstrate to the Department Chair’s satisfaction that the student has the skill
sets being taught in the class, then the student may enter into an education
plan to satisfy that requirement. The education plan will include Adobe Acrobat (BA 163), Introduction to Microsoft Office (BA 179), and/or the successful completion of the Microsoft Office Specialist Exam in either Word, Excel, or PowerPoint as an substitution for PARA 120. The student must submit a completedPetition to Substitute or Wave Major Requirements.pdf to the Chair in A-107-13. The student must include their email address on the petition. All supporting documentation must be included with the petition.
The catalog states:
"All courses must be passed with a C or better with the exception of
PARA 297, which is pass/no pass." In order for a paralegal course (with the exception of PARA 297 which is a pass/no pass class) to be counted as a required course or a legal elective, the course must be passed with a C or better. Any paralegal course taken as pass/no pass, other than PARA 297, can only be counted as non-paralegal elective units toward the total unit requirement.
Policy
on Course Substitution/Waiver Petitions
It is the departmental policy to
deny Petitions to Waive or to Substitute Program Requirements. The course
work that is outlined in the program is approved by the advisory committee and the
department, division, and college curriculum councils. All students are expected
to complete the entire course of study in order to be properly prepared to
obtain gainful employment in the legal profession.
In the event a student has a degree
from an accredited institution that is not generally accepted by Santa Ana
College, then the department will review the petition
on a case by case basis and determine if the student has met the 18 units of general education required
for the certificate.
PRODEDURE: The student shall submit the Petition to Substitute or Waive Major Requirements for Degrees and Certificates to the Department Chair. Included with the petition shall be a copy of the official
transcript. The student shall supply the department with a list of all courses that meet the general education requirements of the American Bar
Association, a copy of the catalog entry for each course, and a copy of the
course syllabus. The student shall add their email address to the
petition. Once the department has reviewed the petition the student will
be informed via email of the department’s decision.
Policy on Online Education/Distance Education Courses
In accordance with ABA Guideline G-302.J.3 which states, “Programs must provide and students must be required to take at least nine semester credits or the equivalent of legal specialty courses through synchronous instruction." Santa Ana College ensures that students attend twelve units of Legal Specialty courses through synchronous instructions using remote synchronous instruction. This is noted in the posted schedule of classes.
