The American Bar Association (ABA) is an independent organization in the United States which grants peer-reviewed accreditation to the most qualified college and university law schools. Due to its rigorous restrictions and demands, the ABA does not grant accreditation to fully online graduate law programs. There are, however, a few ABA-accredited programs which offer online paralegal degree and certification programs.
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine, offers an ABA-accredited paralegal certification program which is fully online. Students in the program are required to take 30 units of instruction, which total 300 hours of instruction, in courses which focus on the following areas: legal writing, contracts, court procedures, legal research and criminal law.
Online courses are delivered via a centralized online platform and are set on an asynchronous schedule, giving students the flexibility to log in and learn whenever it is most convenient for them. Students have access online to assignments, electronic readings and student support services. Additionally, students have the option of taking classes individually, disconnected from the program, if they so choose.
University of California, Irvine
UC Irvine Extension
unex.uci.edu/certificates/business_mgmt/paralegal
Inver Hills Community College
Inver Hills Community College, situated in Minneapolis, Minnesota, offers an ABA-accredited associate degree paralegal program with a partial online option. This option offers the majority of its paralegal courses online, with a requirement that students attend an on-campus class once every two weeks. Courses in the program, while completely online, are not self-paced, as students must keep up with the normative academic schedule. Courses are set on an asynchronous schedule, allowing students to log in and view lectures whenever and wherever they choose. Students are required to take courses which total 60 credits hours, and which focus on the following areas: law and contracts, trials and litigation, legal research and legal writing.
Inver Hills Community College
depts.inverhills.edu/paralegal/online-paralegal-program.htm
MTI College of Business and Technology
MTI, located in Sacramento, California, offers an ABA-accredited paralegal associate partial online program which it calls OnlinePlus. This program, which is one year in length, is designed for students who have already earned a college degree, and mirrors the second year of the on-campus associate degree program. Students train to become professional paralegals by taking courses in the following core areas: litigation, court proceedings, legal research, legal writing and law and contracts. Students in the online program take courses on an asynchronous schedule, allowing them to learn whenever it is most convenient, and have access to assignments, learning materials and lectures. Additionally, students must take a weekly class on-campus to supplement the online learning.
MTI College of Business and Technology
mticollege.edu/legal_plus.html
Tags: asynchronous schedule, California Irvine, Community College, Hills Community, Hills Community College