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2022-2023 Undergraduate Catalog This is not the most recent catalog version; be sure you are viewing the appropriate catalog year.
Paralegal [BS] - Oakland Community College Articulation (2021-2024)
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This major is built off of an articulation agreement, a specialized agreement between a four-year university, in this case, Eastern Michigan University, and a community college. Faculty from both schools collaborated to design an agreement that facilitates the smooth transfer of course credit from a two-year associate’s degree program to a four-year bachelor’s degree program.
This agreement is effective Fall 2021 - Summer 2024. Students have until Summer 2029 to graduate from Eastern Michigan University using this agreement.
The American Bar Association defines a paralegal as: “a person, qualified by education, training or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible. Paralegals may not provide legal services directly to the public, except as permitted by law, and must work directly under the supervision of an attorney.”
Since 1975 the American Bar Association has approved paralegal programs that satisfy rigorous standards. Approved by the American Bar Association, EMU’s Paralegal Program offers both a bachelor’s degree and a second bachelor’s degree.
The American Bar Association approves the Eastern Michigan University Paralegal Program.
Click here to watch a short video about this program.
Learn
A Paralegal major provides professional training that lays the foundation for a career in the legal field.
The Paralegal Program faculty – all of whom are attorneys – are committed to providing students with “real world” skills needed to succeed in today’s legal profession and to work under the supervision of an attorney. Skills students learn to include:
- Proficiency in legal research, writing, and analysis;
- Using computer-based research and office management tools;
- Learning court rules and procedures;
- Learning doctrinal law on topics including tort law, civil procedure, family law, and probate law:
- Drafting legal documents;
- Understanding corporate transactions;
- Interviewing clients and case investigation;
- Preparing for a civil trial; and
- Learning to apply skills to and within the ethical standards of the legal profession and how to avoid the unauthorized practice of law.
Opportunities
Employment opportunities are excellent in law firms, corporations, banks, human resource offices, hospitals, state and federal governments, and court systems. A number of graduates go to law school when they receive their Paralegal degree or after working in the legal field for a few years.
Students participate in an internship during their degree program, enabling them to complete the program with work experience on a resume. EMU Paralegal Program students have the amazing and unique opportunity to work in the Washtenaw County-EMU Legal Resource Center located in Ann Arbor.
For General Education requirements and other Eastern Michigan University requirements, contact College of Engineering & Technology Advising at 734.487.8659 or cet_advising@emich.edu | Make an appointment
For information on Articulation Agreements, see Transfer Agreements . If you have a question about an Articulation Agreement, contact Community College Relations.
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Student Eligibility
A student’s eligibility to graduate from this major is determined by the following.
- Apply and granted admission to Eastern Michigan University (emich.edu/admissions).
- A completed associate degree, certificate, or adequate coursework. Students eligible to follow an articulation agreement typically transfer 60 credit hours to EMU. Eligible students who transferred in less than 60 credit hours had unique circumstances and were granted permission to follow the articulation agreement by the Director of Community College Relations (emich.edu/ccr).
Interested students should meet with their community college advisor for information on following the articulation agreement before transferring to EMU. After transferring to EMU, a student must consult with the Community College Relations Office to confirm eligibility.
Program Admission
Students who wish to pursue this major must apply for admission to the program.
Students may be admitted to the program in the fall or winter terms. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Program admission criteria are:
- Admission to the University as an undergraduate or second bachelor’s degree candidate.
- Completion of WRTG 121 or satisfied by ENG 1520 @ OCC with a grade of “B” or higher.
Students applying for admission to the program as second bachelor’s degree candidates must present evidence of having completed an acceptable college-level English composition course with a grade of “B” or higher. A remedial course is not an acceptable college-level English composition course
Students satisfying these criteria are eligible to apply for admission to the program, but admission is not guaranteed.
Program Retention Policy
In addition to secondary admission requirements, students are required to:
- Complete each program core “LEGL” course with a minimum grade of C.
If a student earns lower than a C in any program core course, the student will be allowed to repeat the course twice. If the student fails to earn a C or better in the repeated courses, the student will be dismissed from the program. Please note LEGL 211 (“B-“) and LEGL 304W (“C+”) require a higher minimum grade
- Maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale (See note below)
- Maintain a GPA within the major of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale (See note below)
A student whose cumulative GPA or cumulative major GPA falls below 2.5 will be placed on program probation for the next succeeding term. If the student fails to raise his or her cumulative GPA, cumulative major GPA or both to 2.5 or higher with the grades earned during the probationary term, the student will be dismissed from the program. For purposes of this policy, a student who is placed on program probation as the result of a deficient GPA at the close of a winter term will have until the close of the next fall term to raise his or her GPA to 2.5 or higher.
- Students must take a minimum of nine credits or the equivalent of legal specialty courses through synchronous instruction.
General Education Requirements:
A student with a Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) endorsement on their transcript only needs to complete the General Education Application Requirements of
To use MTA, a student must have an official community college transcript, with the “MTA Satisfied” endorsement sent to EMU’s Admissions Office. The MTA may be completed after admission to EMU, however, students should inform their advisor or they may be advised to complete additional courses for the general education program.
Students who do not have “MTA Satisfied” on their community college transcript, will be required to satisfy EMU’s general education requirements as applied to transfer students. For specific General Education requirements, see General Education or view the General Education Worksheet [PDF] .
Major Requirements: 72 hours
Required Foundational Courses: 6 hours
Satisfy one of the following options.
Required Courses: 33 hours
Business & Information Processing Courses: 15 hours
Restricted Elective Courses: 18 hours
Minor Requirement:
This major does not require a minor.
Program Total:
Students must earn a minimum total of 120 credits at the 100-level or above. If sufficient credits hours are not transferred in, additional EMU credits must be completed to reach the minimum of 120 credit hours required to graduate.
Critical Graduation Information
The Articulation Agreement provides the following exceptions:
University Requirements
- Under this agreement, EMU will waive the 60-hour rule and require that a minimum of 30 credit hours must be completed in EMU courses, with at least 15 hours in the program at the 300-level or above. Of the last 30 hours completed before graduating, a minimum of 10 credit hours must be in courses offered by EMU. A minimum of 120 credit hours, completed in-residence or accepted in transfer, is required for graduation.
Substitutions
- LEGL 211 may be substituted with LEGL 000, satisfied by PLG 2130 Substantive Law (4 hrs) and PLG 2160 Legal Ethics (2 hrs) @ OCC (B- or better in both courses required).
Students are required to satisfy all requirements listed below, not waived or modified above
Each undergraduate student will be responsible for fulfilling the requirements (or their equivalents) of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration at a college or university or a subsequent catalog, including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.
In the event an undergraduate student does not complete the degree requirements within seven years of the date of their original registration at a college or university, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their major/minor in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.
Minimum requirements for all bachelor’s degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University
Some majors and minors require more than the minimum in one or more of the areas below; students are urged to consult this catalog for the requirements of their particular programs.
- Earn a minimum total of 120 credit hours at the 100-level and above.
- Courses numbered below 100 are not counted toward this degree requirement.
- At most, eight credit hours of physical education (PEGN) activity courses are counted toward this requirement.
- Meet the requirements of the General Education program (see information below), including completing a Writing Intensive (GEWI) course in the student’s major.
- Earn a minimum of 60 credits from a four-year college or university; courses taken at community colleges cannot be used to meet this requirement (Some formal program-to-program articulation agreements modify this requirement. See specific agreements for details).
- Earn a minimum of 30 credits from courses taken at EMU.
- Complete 10 of the last 30 hours for the degree from courses taken at EMU.
- Have a minimum of 30 unique credit hours in their major and 20 unique credit hours in their minor for a total of at least 50 unique credit hours between them. Some majors that require 50 or more hours themselves do not require a minor. A double major automatically satisfies the need for a minor unless one of the two majors requires a specific minor. Students should check the requirements of the selected major in the undergraduate catalog to see if a minor is required.
- Earn no more than 60 credit hours in one subject area (prefix). Credits over the 60 maximum will not be counted toward the minimum of 120 credits required for a bachelor’s degree.
- Earn the minimum number of credits in 300-level and above courses in each major and minor as specified below - these credits must be earned in distinct courses; that is, no course can be used to fulfill this requirement in more than one major or minor.
- Earn a minimum of 6 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each minor
- Earn a minimum of 9 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that requires a minor.
- Earn a minimum of 15 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that does not require a minor
- Transfer credit will be awarded for courses taken at colleges and universities that are accredited by one of the recognized regional accrediting bodies only if the courses are college-level (equated to 100-level or above at EMU) and the student earned a “C” (or 2.0 on a 4 point scale) or better. Transfer credit may be awarded on a case-by-case basis for college-level courses in which a “C” (2.0) or better was earned at institutions outside the U.S. or at non-accredited U.S. institutions; individual departments/schools conduct the internal review of such courses within EMU, and additional documentation may be required. Please note: EMU awards only credit for transferred courses; grades are not used to calculate an EMU GPA.
- Earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in courses taken at EMU to graduate. In addition, a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 must be reached in each major and minor. Only courses a student takes at EMU and those applied to their major or minor are used to calculate their major and minor cumulative GPAs. (Note: some programs may require a higher GPA - check with your program advisor.)
General Education Requirements - EMU’s General Education Program requires students to choose from a menu of approved courses in several different areas; do not assume that other courses in the same department or similar names will fulfill these requirements. A detailed description of General Education requirements is available in the General Education section of the catalog.
Students who transferred to EMU may have modified general education requirements based on Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) or articulation agreements; consult your academic advisor for additional information.
Effective Date: January 1, 2022 until August 31, 2024. This is a renewal of an agreement made in August 2004 and renewed in 2007, 2010, 2014, and January 2018. This agreement is consistent with the 2021-2022 catalog. Students have until summer 2029 to graduate from Eastern Michigan University following this agreement. In the event that a student does not complete the program within seven years, they may be required to have their credits reevaluated using the requirements of the current articulation guide.
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