NWACC program gets bar approval
Posted on Tuesday, August 19, 2008
BENTONVILLE - The paralegal program at Northwest Arkansas Community College was approved Aug. 12 at the annual American Bar Association meeting in New York City.
NWACC, the only program receiving initial approval by the Board of Delegates, joins an elite group of college programs that have attained such status, program director Mary Hatfield Lowe said.
Fewer than 25 percent of the 1, 000 paralegal programs in the country are granted ABA approval, she said.
"This is truly a mark of distinction," Lowe said. "It shows that NWACC and the program have undergone a strict review of the faculty, student achievement, curriculum and overall college services. It usually takes at least five years to be granted approval, and a number of programs do not receive it on the first try."
The approval status is recognition by ABA that NWACC's program is broad based, and that it is taught by qualified faculty, primarily attorneys who have additional training or experience with teaching.
"Obviously," NWACC President Becky Paneitz said," it certifies what we already knew, that our paralegal is a high-quality program and we have high-quality instructors. This should attract students because of this stamp of approva."
NWACC had to show ABA effective admission and placement programs, access to a law library and online legal databases, and that the program has an active advisory committee, Lowe said.
"The advisory committee has been great," Lowe said. "This group recognized the need to increase training options for legal support staff."
Committee members include judges, government attorneys, top attorneys and paralegals from large corporate firms and small law firms. The committee started meeting six years ago to bring an ABA-approved paralegal program to NWACC.
The committee also has high-school teachers, University of Arkansas Law School faculty and public members who have worked at setting up the program, marketing it to incoming students and keeping it in connected with the legal community.
Advisory committee member Nick Arnold, an attorney with Keith, Miller, Butler, Schneider & Pawlik, PLLC, in Rogers, said a strong, ABA-approved paralegal program is an asset to the community and the state.
"In fact, our law firm recently hired a current student in the NWACC paralegal program," Arnold said. "The program works well for those who need to work while getting their training because many of the program classes are available in the evenings."
Graduates of NWACC's program receive an Associate of Applied Science degree in paralegal studies. Students can apply a number of courses toward a bachelor's degree at many colleges. At least five former NWACC students are continuing their education, including one student who recently finished law school, Lowe said.
"The classes are structured to meet the needs of working adults and are offered at night, during the day and in both Fayetteville and Bentonville," she said. "Students are encouraged to start working full or part time in a legal setting after their first semester as the curriculum combines practical skills with legal theory."
Lowe has been pleased with the employment record and opportunities for NWACC's graduates.
"Our graduates are in demand and are employed by a number of companies and business," she said. "About a third work at Wal-Mart corporate offices; the rest are with private law firms, local businesses and governmental agencies."
Of her 23 graduates, 22 are either working or continuing their education, she said.
"Fortunately, because of the tremendous growth in the area, jobs have been plentiful," Lowe said. "Every semester, I have more jobs than graduates or students to fill them."
For more information, call NWACC at 1 (800 ) 995-6922, visit www. nwacc. edu, e-mail Lowe at mlowe @ nwacc. edu or stop by the NWACC admissions office at 1 College Drive in Bentonville.
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