1. College Residency Requirements - Limits on Transfer Credit
In order to earn a degree or certificate from College of DuPage, students must comply with college residency requirements. In the case of a degree, students must complete at least 20 credit hours of their coursework at College of DuPage. In the case of a certificate, students must complete at least one-half (currently 18) of the required credit hours at College of DuPage.
2. Legal Specialty Courses Defined
Courses transferred into College of DuPage may fulfill requirements of general education, legal specialty courses, or non-legal specialty courses. Legal specialty courses are courses designed for paralegal students and emphasize the development of practical paralegal skills. At College of DuPage, legal specialty courses are designated with a “PLGL” prefix.
3. Transfer of Non-Legal Specialty Coursework from Other Institutions
Except as noted in Section 5 below, transfer credit evaluation of general education courses and non-legal specialty courses is handled in accordance with college policies, including the residency policy noted above.
4. Transfer of Legal Specialty Coursework
A maximum of 9 credit hours of legal specialty coursework may be transferred into the program from regionally accredited, ABA-approved, American Association for Paralegal Education (AAfPE) – affiliated Legal Studies Programs. A maximum of 3 credit hours of legal specialty courses in traditional classroom format may be transferred into the program from non-ABA- approved paralegal studies programs. These courses must have been taken within seven (7) years of the request for transfer, must be substantially similar to an existing College of DuPage Legal Studies course, and the awarding of this credit must be pre-approved by a faculty advisor in the PLGL program or the Legal Studies program coordinator. No transfer credit will be given for online courses taken at non-ABA approved institutions. Exceptions may be granted, in the faculty advisor’s or coordinator’s discretion, for students who have been working in the field related to the class for which the transfer credit is sought, for a minimum of one year, prior to program application.
5. Limitation on Transfer of Online Courses
Per ABA Guidelines, a minimum of nine semester credits of legal specialty coursework must be completed through traditional classroom instruction or by real-time, synchronous online learning (referred to as "virtual class meeting" or "VCM"). Students will not be allowed to transfer in, or receive credit for, asynchronous online legal specialty coursework, when, if combined with online coursework completed at College of DuPage (either before or subsequent to the transfer) it would result in the student earning less than nine credit hours of traditional classroom instruction in legal specialty coursework.
6. Transfer of Other Coursework – OFTI 1200
In addition to meeting the requirements above, students wishing to receive transfer credit for OFTI 1200 – MS Office for the Professional, must have completed the course within five (5) years of the date of program application. Courses completed more than five (5) years prior to program application are not eligible for transfer credit. An exception may be granted for students who have been working in an office environment and using MS Office programs since completing OFT 1200. Credit by demonstrated proficiency is available for this class.
7. Credit by Examination or Competency
No credit by examination or competency for legal specialty classes will be awarded. Credit by proficiency examination is available for OFTI 1200.
(Policy revised and adopted on October 24, 2018 at the College of DuPage Paralegal Advisory Council meeting, pursuant to ABA Guideline G-302.I.6 of the American Bar Association Guidelines for Paralegal Education; updated March 11, 2020; with technical revisions made upon notice to the College of DuPage Paralegal Advisory Council on September 11, 2023, pursuant to ABA Guideline G-302.I.7 of the American Bar Association Guidelines for Paralegal Education; updated January 1, 2023)
Contact Information
Annie Knight, Program Chair
Berg Instructional Center (BIC), Room 1441
(630) 942-2502
Email: knighta@cod.edu
Bev Carlson, Program Support Specialist
Berg Instructional Center (BIC), Room 1436B
(630) 942-2140
Email: carlsonb@cod.edu
Anika Collins, Program Advising
Berg Instructional Center (BIC), Room 1454D
(630) 942-3961
Email: collinsa555@cod.edu
Business and Applied Technology Division
Technical Education Center (TEC), Room 1034, (630) 942-2592