Legal Studies
| goals | admission requirements |
| objectives | consumer information |
Legal Studies students are given the opportunity to explore the field of law through a wide variety of courses. From basics, like Criminal Law and Tort Law, to more advanced areas, such as Constitutional Law and Bankruptcy Law, students are provided extensive knowledge of the law and legal theory. Students are taught to research and analyze the law, and to communicate their findings in formal legal documents. Professional responsibility and legal ethics are taught separately and as part of all other law courses. Law office management and litigation management include the use of software and other current technology, as well as the structure of a law office and the flow of litigation. Legal education is founded in core courses, like science and composition that provide students with the skills necessary to study and analyze law.
The graduates of this program will be prepared for employment as paralegals or may apply to law schools to continue their education. The baccalaureate degree is approved by the American Bar Association and is a North Carolina Bar Qualified Paralegal Studies program. After successful completion of a state examination, students become North Carolina Bar Certified Paralegals. Paralegals may not provide legal services directly to the public, except as permitted by law.
- To prepare students for employment as a paralegal in law-related occupations, including; public and private law practice and/or corporate or government law-related activities; and
- To provide students the opportunity to pursue higher academic and career achievement with advanced studies in law, business, or government.
- Students will demonstrate critical thinking skills by recognizing relevant facts in a given scenario, identifying the area of law that applies, applying law from a recognized legal authority, and using legal analysis to resolve a legal issue.
- Students will demonstrate effective legal research skills by creating a research plan, using both print and electronic resources to find primary sources of law, and applying them to issues requiring legal analysis.
- Students will apply subject-specific legal knowledge to concrete scenarios to produce litigation and non-litigation legal documents using correct grammar, correct citations, proper format, and content appropriate to the specific document.
- Students will identify responsibilities of a legal professional and the basic rules of legal ethics, and identify and resolve ethical dilemmas confronted in the workplace.
- Students will demonstrate basic legal knowledge and draft basic documents or forms used in the areas of criminal law, tort law, domestic law, real property law, wills and estate law, and contract law.
- Students will demonstrate knowledge of basics of law office management and litigation management, including the effective use of technology and organizational skills critical to those environments.
- Students will demonstrate knowledge of the flow of civil litigation by creating a trial notebook that includes discovery documents, a complaint or answer, motions, and evidence to be used at trial.
- Students will address current issues in legal ethics through memoranda of law or research papers using critical thinking skills and following the rules of proper legal drafting.
- Students will demonstrate basic knowledge and draft basic documents or forms used in advanced law courses.
- Students will demonstrate knowledge of Constitutional Law, its origins and application to government today; and address issues of civil rights through memoranda of law or research papers.
- Students will demonstrate knowledge of the rules of criminal and civil procedure and apply them in litigation situations.
Program Admission Requirements
Complete the general admission procedures outlined in the South College-Asheville catalog and call and set up an appointment with an admission representative at (828) 398-2500. General admission includes the completion of the application to the college and all required forms, payment of an application fee, and completion of a personal interview with an admission representative.
| Cost of Program | |||
| Tuition & Fees | $71,600 |
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| Books & Supplies | $5012 |
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| On-Time Graduation Rate | 100% |
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Reasons for students not completing on-time (i.e. 2 years for Associate degree programs, 4 years for Baccalaureate degree programs):
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| An institution calculates an on‐time graduation rate for each program by: * Determining the number of students who completed the program during the most recently completed award year, * From the total students identified in step one, determining the number of students that completed the program within normal time, regardless of whether the student transferred into the program or changed programs at the institution, and * Dividing the number of students who completed the program within normal time, as determined in step two, by the total number of students who completed the program, as determined in step one, and multiplying the result by 100. |
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| Placement Rate - July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010 | |||
Number of Graduates |
Number placed in Field or Related Field |
Number Continuing Education |
Placement Percentage |
2 |
1 |
0 |
50% |
| Median Loan Debt - Year Ended June 30th, 2011 | |||
| Federal Education Loans | $49,404 |
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| Institutional Loans | $0 |
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| Private Education Loans | $0 |
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| Employment | |||
| 23-1022.00 - Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators | |||
| 23-2011.00 - Paralegals and Legal Assistant | |||
| 23-2093.00 - Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Seachers | |||
| 23-2099.00 - Legal Support Workers, All Others | |||
