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The Legal Office Specialist Program at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, Minneapolis, MN[By Judith Earley]

The mission of Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC) is to help students make their dreams realities.

MCTC offers a wide variety of academic programs culminating in certificates, diplomas, and associate degrees. If transferring

to a traditional four-year college is your goal, you can do so through many of its programs.

MCTC is accredited by the Higher Learning

Commission and boasts a student-to-faculty

ratio of 22:�. With an enrollment of �0,880,

93% of the student body is from the state of

Minnesota; the average student age is 27.

54% of the population is female, and 44%

is male. The student population’s ethnic

breakdown is as follows:

White: 52%

Black or African American: 29%

Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander:

7%

Hispanic or Latino: 4%

American Indian or Alaska Native: 3%

Undisclosed: 6%

MCTC offers classes during the day, in the

evening, and online. Full- and part-time

programs are also available. The school’s

most popular programs are those providing

instruction in liberal arts, nursing, business

management, law enforcement, and child

development. However, if you are intrigued

by the world of law and related legal matters

and think you will enjoy expressing yourself

in that environment, the Legal Office

Specialist Program may be just what you are

looking for.

According to Dean Mike McGee, “Legal Office

Specialist is not a paralegal program; it is a

certificate program that prepares individuals

to work in a legal office as a support person.”

This program prepares students for

employment in the legal industry in positions

such as administrative assistant, form

processor, general/legal office assistant,

legal proofreader, legal support specialist,

and legal receptionist.

Upon completion of the program, certificate

holders are able to provide top-notch legal

assistance to corporate legal teams and

internal employees. For example, a legal

office specialist can prepare and maintain

corporate records, systems, and documents;

track and assist in the management of

ongoing legal matters; and maintain

litigation schedules.

“Our program is very unique,” continued

Dean McGee, “in that we worked with a

staff member from the State of Minnesota

Department of Employment and Economic

Development (DEED) who helped us

assemble representatives of the �2 largest

downtown law firms to discuss their specific

needs. We then worked with a subgroup of

the larger assembly to form a curriculum

advisory committee of human resources

experts from these firms and set about

establishing career program outcomes that

would be necessary to meet the workplace

needs of these offices. These outcomes

became the learning objectives that helped

us select both current coursework (from our

business technology program) as well as new

courses that we’d need to

develop.”

The following courses at MCTC equip

students with specific concepts and skills as

well as broader competencies that will help

them to be well rounded in this career area:

BTEC �0�0 - Fundamentals of Business

Computers

BTEC �060 - Keyboarding

BTEC ��60 - Legal Office Procedures

BTEC �800 - Business Culture and

Communication

BTEC �835 - Business English

BTEC �900 - Business/Client Relations

BTEC 2375 - Written Business

Communication

BTEC 2730 - The Professional Office

BTEC 2775 - Power Keyboarding

SPCH �0�0 - Interpersonal Communication

“The program went through a rigorous

internal academic council approval process

and also won approval by our system

office of the Minnesota State Colleges and

Universities (MnSCU). It will be a 28-credit

certificate called Legal Office Specialist.

This award comes from an

institution that is fully accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission, as opposed

to many private ‘colleges’ that offer legal

assistant training but are not accredited,

except within their own sphere of

institutions,” said Dean McGee.

If you are interested in using the MCTC

certificate program as a stepping stone into

a paralegal program, the recipient institution

in a student transfer always makes the final

determination about which courses it will

accept. Some courses will readily transfer,

and other course requirements may be

satisfied by taking exams at the receiving

institution to avoid retaking classes.

PARALEGAL SCHOOL FEATURE

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“I do believe this is great preparation for

a student,” said Dean McGee. “The law

firm representatives were very excited

about the possibility of urban residents,

including candidates of color, becoming

skilled through our program and thus more

available for job opportunities. They also

talked about encouraging these kinds of

employees to consider careers as lawyers.”

Minneapolis Community and Technical

College proudly boasts the most diverse

student body in the state of Minnesota. If

you are seeking a comfortable, welcoming

environment and the opportunity to interact

with people of all cultures and backgrounds,

if you desire to learn from friendly,

experienced faculty members and receive

support from a knowledgeable, helpful staff,

then MCTC is the place for you!

ON THE NET

Minneapolis Community and Technical

College

www.minneapolis.edu

The Higher Learning Commission

www.ncahigherlearningcommission.org

The Minnesota Department of Employment

and Economic Development

www.deed.state.mn.us

PARALEGAL SCHOOL FEATURE