Degree-Completion Agreement with Elgin Community College (ECC): Legal Studies

Memorandum of Degree Completion Agreement Between Elgin Community College (ECC) and Dominican University (DU) in Legal Studies

Introduction

This Degree Completion Agreement is simultaneously entered into by ECC and DU in order to create a smooth and seamless process by which eligible ECC students will ultimately be able to complete a Bachelor of Professional Studies (BPS) degree in Legal Studies at DU. This agreement requires the completion of a Paralegal-Basic Vocational Specialist (BVS) Certificate at ECC. Moreover, completion of this certificate at ECC also requires the completion of an Associate in Arts degree (AA) before acceptance is granted into the Paralegal-BVS Certificate Program.

As part of this Degree Completion Agreement, DU will automatically accept, in its entirety, a Paralegal-BVS Certificate earned at ECC as well as the pertinent core classes earned within the AA degree, not to exceed sixty-eight (68) hours in transfer. Completing the aforementioned certificate at ECC is required for students to enter DU under the terms of this agreement. For more specific information concerning the bachelor’s degree requirements, participating ECC students may contact the Director of Transfer Admission at DU. The duly appointed representatives from the aforementioned parties will also govern all policies and procedures of this Degree Completion Agreement.

Student Eligibility

Students may apply to DU at any time during their attendance at ECC; it is recommended that students apply for admission to DU at least one semester prior to completing the certificate at ECC. Students must meet all applicable admission requirements at DU to remain eligible for this degree completion program; a minimum GPA of 2.5/4.0 is required for admission. Students’ eligibility for continued study at either ECC or DU will be governed by each institution’s policies on enrollment of probationary, dismissed, and re-entering students. At any time before the completion of the aforementioned certificate at ECC, students may officially rescind the stipulations of the Degree Completion Agreement and transfer to DU, or any other institution of higher education, under the usual procedures.

Student Enrollment

Under this agreement, a student is exclusively enrolled at DU once the student has completed the aforementioned certificate at ECC and has been accepted to DU via the admission criteria above. After matriculation at DU, the student’s subsequent progress toward the bachelor’s degree is governed solely by DU’s academic standards. Participating ECC students must request a final, official transcript to be sent to DU after completing the aforementioned certificate at ECC for verification.

Correspondence and Advising

The College of Applied Social Sciences (CASS) at DU will provide participating students with the advising materials, including model plans of recommended study and coursework specific to the Legal Studies degree at DU. The articulated coursework in the Addendum of this Degree Completion Agreement will be reviewed and updated annually. The Director of Transfer Admission at DU will inform ECC of any changes to the Legal Studies core or major curricula that may affect the integrity of this agreement. Moreover, ECC will also inform DU of curricular changes that would alter the nature of this agreement.

ADDENDUM

Program Requirements

The details of this agreement between the Paralegal-BVS Certificate at ECC and the Bachelor of Professional Studies in Legal Studies at DU are as follows:

BPS in Legal Studies: Upon completion of the aforementioned certificate at ECC, the entire thirty (30) hour program would transfer from ECC to DU. Therefore, the thirty (30) hours of the Paralegal-BVS Certificate at ECC will be applied to the major requirements for the Legal Studies degree at DU. Thus, students would need to complete twenty-one (21) additional hours specifically in the Legal Studies major at DU.

ECC students can transfer in a maximum of forty-one (41) hours of general education courses (see III below) and be waived from the majority of the BPS core requirements. Thus, ECC students would need an additional six (6) hours of general education courses, twenty-one (21) hours of BPS major requirements, as well as an additional twenty-one (21) hours of electives to complete the BPS in Legal Studies at DU.

I. Required Curriculum for the Paralegal-BVS Certificate at ECC

First Semester

PAR 101 Introduction to Law (3)

PAR 201 Civil Litigation (3)

PAR 204 Legal Research (3)

CIS 241 Word Processing Applications (2)

CIS 242 Spreadsheet Applications (2)

Second Semester

PAR 206 Legal Writing (3)

PAR 235 Internship (1)

PAR 239 Paralegal Capstone (1)

Paralegal Electives (6)

Paralegal Electives (choose two)

PAR 108 Family Law (3)
PAR 203 Real Property Law (3)
PAR 205 Wills, Trusts, and Probate (3)
PAR 207 Criminal Law Procedure (3)
PAR 223 Business Entity Formation (3)
PAR 237 Paralegal Special Topics (3)

30 Hours

II. Remaining Major Courses for the BPS in Legal Studies at DU

LS 300 The American Legal System (3)

LS 306 Basic Legal Training (3)

LS 320 Religion and the Law (3)

LS 321 Law and Economics (3)

LS 322 Philosophical Basis of the Law (3)

Choose any two of the following courses:

LS 351 Criminal Law and Procedure (3)

LS 353 Family Law (3)

LS 354 Estate Planning (3)

LS 359 Immigration Law (3)

21 Hours

III. Recommended (*) Core Classes to Transfer from ECC and their DU Equivalencies

General Education Courses at ECC: to be completed as part of the AA degree	General Education Equivalencies at DU
ENG 101, ENG 102 and CMS 101 (9)	Fulfills EN 101 and EN 102 (English Composition I and II; Speech = elective)
HUM 206 Ethics* and two (2) additional courses including one GECC Fine Arts and one GECC course of either Humanities or Fine Arts (9)	Fulfills Entire Humanities Requirement
MAT 120 Statistics I or MAT 104 Gen. Ed. Mathematics or higher (3-6)	Fulfills the Math Requirement
POS 150 American Govt.: National* *and* POS 151 American Govt.: State and Local* plus one (1) more GECC Behavioral Science course (9)	Fulfills Entire Social Science Requirement
Physical and Life Sciences: two courses (7-8 hours)	Fulfills Entire Natural Science Requirement
	Remaining core to be completed at DU:
	SPCS 200 Adult Learning Seminar (3)
	SPCS 306 Adult Spiritual Life & Growth or other Theology course (3)
Total hours: 37–41	Hours: 6

General Education Courses at ECC: to be completed as part of the AS degree	General Education Equivalencies at DU
ENG 101, ENG 102 and CMS 101 (9)	Fulfills EN 101 and EN 102 (English Composition I and II; Speech = elective)
HUM 206 Ethics* plus one (1) more GECC Fine Arts course (6)	Fulfills Entire Humanities Requirement
MAT 120 Statistics I *and* MAT 104 Gen. Ed. Mathematics or higher (6–9)	Fulfills the Math Requirement
POS 150 American Govt.: National Politics* *and* POS 151 American Govt.: State and Local* plus one (1) more GECC Behavioral Science course (9)	Fulfills Entire Social Science Requirement
Physical and Life Sciences: 2-3 courses (10–11 hours)	Fulfills Entire Natural Science Requirement
	Remaining core to be completed at DU:
	SPCS 200 Adult Learning Seminar (3)
	SPCS 306 Adult Spiritual Life & Growth or other Theology course (3)
Total hours: 31–35	6 hours

ACCELERATED DEGREE OPTIONS

Bachelor of Professional Studies/Master of Arts in Mediation and Conflict Resolution

High-achieving undergraduates can apply for the bachelor of professional studies/master of arts in mediation and conflict resolution (MMCR) accelerated degree option. Students admitted to this option can enroll in MCR courses before completing the baccalaureate degree and have up to nine (9) MCR credit hours apply to both their undergraduate and graduate degrees. Additional information is available through the CASS advising office.