Middle Georgia Technical College

Paralegal program seeks to raise profile

By Jake Jacobs - jjacobs@macon.com

Reposted from The Sun News

Warner Robins - A couple of years ago, Middle Georgia Technical College heeded student requests and filled a need they perceived in the community. Thus the college's paralegal program came into being.

"We had requests from students who were interested in the legal profession but were unable to go to law school," said Gerri Sorrell, vice president for academic affairs at the college. "Also, as the population in this area grew, the number of attorneys in this area increased and we anticipated a need for paralegals to work in their offices."

Paralegal studies are available at other campuses in the technical college system of Georgia, including Central Georgia Tech in Macon, but the local focus is the program's prime selling point, said Janet Kelly, marketing and public relations director at Middle Georgia Tech.

"In the short time that the program has been around, many of our students have been hired, and there is always a demand for more from employers," Kelly said. "Our students go to work for local attorneys and the district attorney's office, as well as the federal courts in Macon."

Two examples of the new program's success are themselves relative newcomers to Middle Georgia - one a teacher, the other a student.

Marion Crombie arrived in Dublin in 2006 from North Carolina, bringing with her advanced degrees in English and business, and experience as a working paralegal in the Tar Heel state.

"After moving here I figured I had to get a job and, well, what do you know? I saw an ad in The Telegraph for this paralegal job at Middle Georgia, applied for it and got it," Crombie said. "I had taught English in college and was a working paralegal and I thought, 'I can do that.' "

Crombie set up the syllabi of 13 courses from the tech system's standard curriculum. Courses are taught year-round, she said. The college's summer quarter began the second week of July, and registration opens in September for the fall quarter, with classes starting in October.

Setting up the syllabi was the easy part, Crombie said. "Recruiting students - that's the big issue with us," she said.

Kelly agreed, saying the paralegal program has a lower profile than some of the others at the college, such as welding or aviation. "But we've been pushing our business-oriented programs more the past six months," she said.

Crombie, who serves on the advisory committee for the program, said area representatives from the district attorney's office and Houston County Commission member Jay Walker, who is an attorney, "give us direction and let us talk to the bar so that they know we're here."

"As we get more graduates, there'll be more word-of-mouth," said Kelly. "I get calls and tell attorneys that we can supply you with paralegals."

Other than word-of-mouth, another resource for raising the program's profile is the Internet. That brought the other newcomer on board.

Shabana Tariq, originally from Arizona, moved to the area because she was newly married to her husband who works at Robins Air Force Base.

"Well, when I got here I asked myself, 'What can I do with my political science degree?' " she said. "I did a search online, found the paralegal program here and I enrolled. It was the best decision in my life."

Tariq said through the program she has learned a lot about the law that beforehand didn't enter her mind.

"I learned about having a child support calculator when you're going through a divorce, or having financial affidavits," Tariq said. "And in real estate law I learned about doing a HUD, or a settlement statement in closing real estate. I can do all that now."

"Shabana is our star student," Crombie said. "She is energetic and dedicated to success."

Tariq earned the Advanced Legal Assistant Technical Certificate of Completion in the spring, Crombie said, and has been working for a law firm in Macon for the past two months.

"While on the job, Shabana has applied many of the skills learned from our courses," she said. "Paralegals must organize mountains of documents in order to help the attorney in the courtroom, and Shabana is an expert at organizing documents."

Tariq said she draws a lot on Crombie's experience as a paralegal, reads extensively and follows her teacher's advice to be observant in the courtroom.

And in other places, such as the records room at the courthouse.

Crombie said she sometimes takes students to arraignments so they can experience the procedure, and to do title searches at the courthouse.

"I found out while doing a title search that the taxes weren't paid on my property," Tariq said. "I never would have known about that without taking the class and doing the title search."

Tariq said she intends to attend law school and become a full-fledged attorney.

"That's my plan," she said. "The program here lets me be hands-on, and I can apply the skills at work I learn in class."

Crombie said the paralegal program now has 33 students, five of them full-time. The program's first two graduates will receive their degrees in the fall.

"Our students range from 18-year-olds with a GED to one person who's 59 and has already worked as a paralegal," she said. "We have people who have advanced degrees but not the job skills to be employed."

Part-time students qualify for HOPE grants of $50 per course toward books, Kelly noted, while full-time students qualify for $100 per course toward books.

"For the HOPE grant, a certain GPA level is not required as it is for the HOPE scholarship," Kelly said. "Many students with degrees come back to a technical college so they can pick up job skills to be employed."

When the program began in October 2006, Crombie said, there were eight students. The program offers certificates for legal assistant, real estate law, civil law and accounting. She teaches up to four courses per quarter.

"We use adjunct instructors for courses," she said. "And if a student needs a certain course to graduate, we'll teach it. We try to align our classes with students' needs."

For more information

To find out more about the paralegal program at Middle Georgia Tech, contact instructor Marion Crombie at 988-6800, extension 5020, or via e-mail at mcrombie@middlegatech.edu. You can also visit the program's Web site at http://www.middlegatech.edu/academics/bustech/paralegal/

Shabana Tariq, left, earned the Advanced Legal Assistant Technical Certificate of Completion from Middle Georgia Technical College. Marion Crombie is one of her professors in the school's paralegal program.