Ivy Tech State College-Central Indiana District
Project/Course Title
Paralegal Program--Torts and Claims investigation
Project Director
Susan Altman
Campus Address
One West 26th Street, P.O. Box 1763, Indianapolis, IN 46206
Telephone Number/Email Address
317/921-4443 saltman@ivy.tec.in.us
Contracts Contact Person
Susan Mannan
Address
One West 26th Street, P.O. Box 1763, Indianapolis, IN 46206
Telephone Number/Email Address
317/921-4916
smannan@ivy.tec.in.us
Project Start Date: Term when course will first be offered
March, 1998:Fall, 1998
Project End Date
December, 1998
IHETS/IPSE Funds Requested $11,673
Institutional Match $ 4,502
Signature of Project Director: Signature of Authorizing Administrator:
Name: Susan Altman Name: Dr. Meredith Carter
Title: Paralegal Program Chair Title: Vice President/Chancellor
Date: December 12, 1997 Date: December 12, 1997
IHETS Use Only:
Signature of Institutional Representative
Richard B. Tully
ABSTRACT:
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has estimated that jobs for paralegals will grow 58 percent by 2005. To meet this growing demand, Ivy Tech State College wishes to use funds from the Partnership Course Development Grant Program to begin the process of putting its Paralegal Associate Degree Program on-line. $11,673 is requested to prepare LEG106, Torts and Claims Investigation, for Internet delivery. This course was chosen as a first effort to complement the selection of courses already delivered by the College to our campuses around the state over the IHETS video network and to begin the extension of access to the program beyond those campus walls. The core contents and instruction for the course will be delivered using a combination of Web-based and First Class software and will offer a full array of services, including lecture and assignment delivery, e-mail, discussion forum, chat room, links to relevant Internet sites, and testing.
NARRATIVE
Need and Learners To Be Served:
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has estimated that between 1994 and 2005 jobs for paralegals will grow 58 percent, more than four times the national average for the general workforce. This growth rate makes paralegal one of the bureau's 20 fastest-growing occupations according to an article in the National Law Journal, which predicts that pressures will continue to shift work from lawyers to paralegals as a means of lowering costs. Private law firms will continue to be the largest employers of paralegals, but other organizations such as insurance companies, banks, and real estate and title insurance firms also will hire them, and some predict that corporate legal departments may hire more paralegals than lawyers.
In addition to an expanding market, paralegal professional organizations are seeking the expansion of the paralegal role, according to Susan Kligerman, the current National Federation of Paralegal Associations president. And more and more, the typical paralegal's career is evolving into a life-long profession with excellent advancement potential. NFPA's 1995 survey found that the average paralegal had worked in the field for 7 to 10 years (up from 3 to 10 years in 1993). These trends make a paralegal career more attractive and will also contribute to growth in the field. Certainly the high job placement rate of the Indianapolis-based paralegal program at Ivy Tech also indicates a good job market: 100 percent of all graduates seeking jobs gain employment as paralegals.
Thus the market for paralegals is expanding; and because this is an occupation that requires extensive education and training, paralegal educators must prepare themselves to meet this need. Ivy Tech State College currently has full associate degree programs only at its Indianapolis and Fort Wayne campuses to serve students in those regions. Vincennes University and Ball State University have the only other two-year paralegal degree program in the state. Ball State University also offers a bachelor's in paralegal studies. The Indianapolis program is currently working with Ball State University to articulate its associate degree with their four year degree so that Indianapolis graduates can easily go on to obtain a bachelor's degree. The only current effort to reach unserved areas in the state is based at the South Bend Ivy Tech campus, which has been delivering a selection of six video-based paralegal courses over the IHETS video network.
Ivy Tech wants to meet the need for more paralegal education by expanding access to its current paralegal program beyond the walls of its campuses. The Indianapolis campus, having the oldest paralegal program in the College, started in 1987, proposes to take the lead in this effort by developing web-based asynchronous courses that will allow students statewide to earn a paralegal degree over the Internet. Using a web-based technology approach will reach beyond the campuses and into the offices and homes of potential students. Whereas, on campus programs may only be supported in larger urban areas of the state, Internet-based courses will reach into smaller cities and towns and rural areas, places where potential paralegal students would have more difficulty accessing campus-based courses.
An estimated 90 percent of those now working as paralegals are women, and the typical paralegal student in the current program of the College are working mothers. These busy people will find the flexibility of an asynchronous course attractive, and because they are already working, they are more likely to have the computer skills and access needed to pursue Internet-based education. They will certainly need to acquire good computer skills for the paralegal workplace, making a computer-based education system an appropriate training ground. The legal profession has embraced technology as a time saving and cost-effective way to provide legal services. All efforts the College makes to increase a student's knowledge of and facility in technology will benefit a student when it is time to seek employment. See the appendix letter from attorney, Steve Hofer, supporting the appropriateness and usefulness of Internet-based paralegal education and letter from Margaret Siefert, Ivy Tech Madison, supporting the need for paralegal education in southeastern Indiana.
Course and Technology Choice Rationale:
The course the College has selected for an initial effort towards a full degree program is a Torts and Claims Investigation class (LEG106). This course is not part of the video-based set of courses delivered from the South Bend campus, and will thus complement that effort. Additionally, the Torts and Claims Investigation course has several features, which make it desirable for the Internet-based teaching and learning format. The course prepares students to investigate tort claims, and includes units on tort and evidence law, interviewing techniques, information gathering methods and resources, and investigative file preparation. The Internet is a valuable, information-gathering tool in investigative work. Offering this course via the Internet will make the incorporation of the Internet's rich resources natural and easy. Tort law involves a straightforward presentation of substantive material and will be easily presented in the Internet format, and the Internet is an ideal place from which students can upload forms, draft documents, and receive corrections on their work.
As mentioned above, the technology choice for this course and the subsequent courses to be developed in the Paralegal Program is asynchronous delivery over the Internet. The course will use a combination of Web-based delivery and First Class software. This combination will offer a full array of services, including lecture and assignment delivery, e-mail, discussion forum, chat room, links to relevant Internet sites, and testing.
Institutional Commitment:
See appendix letter from Dr. Thomas Cooke, Dean for Instruction.
Instructional Design:
The instructional plan for the course will include textbook reading assignments with accompanying quizzes on-line, class "chat room" sessions, individual e-mail exchanges and phone calls between instructor and students, written projects including creation of pertinent legal documents, and two exams (midterm and final). The weekly classes will consist of written lectures by the instructor, a chat room discussion every two weeks on the covered lecture topics, and study questions to be completed by the subsequent class. These activities will incorporate the use of the links developed on the web page as appropriate.
In the course design process, as course goals and objectives are delineated, careful consideration will be given to appropriate use of the various technology functions, e.g. e-mail, discussion forum, and chat room and which will best enhance course content. Opportunities will be created for appropriate and regular interaction between the students and the instructor and among students. Attention will also be given to clarity of assignments and writing in the lectures, and efforts will be directed to creating a variety of learning experiences to engage the distance student. Strategies will be designed to reinforce students and assess their learning. Other elements of the course design process will address student/technology preparation.
A Student Distance Education Guide will be developed for use with this and other distance courses. Building on other efforts already put forth by the College in this area, this guide will include general information on the College and its policies, what to expect from a distance course, especially in regard to College support, tips for studying and especially for taking distance courses, and information about the technology requirements for the course
Evaluation and Peer Review:
Both quantitative and qualitative data will be gathered during evaluation. The course evaluation plan will include a weekly journal kept by the instructor of each week's strengths and weaknesses. Other formative evaluation will include brief questionnaires to be administered to students during the course of the semester to mark their progress, to ascertain if the course content and delivery process are meeting the objectives of the course, to gather reactions to the delivery mechanism, and to spot problems. At the end of the course, summative evaluation will include testing to see if students achieved the objectives of the course and a questionnaire to give students an opportunity to evaluate the course and experience. Students will also be asked to submit an essay regarding their reactions to the course--its strengths, weaknesses, successes, and failures. And finally, a selected few students will be interviewed.
Each of these evaluative efforts will address the following areas: assignment clarity, presentation pacing and variety, interest level of the format, appropriateness of the technology, ease of use of the technology, level of interactivity, access to the instructor and other students, technology problems, student support quality, and student motivation and interest level. Evaluation will also ask students and faculty to compare the on-line course to traditional in-class courses, especially in terms of interaction, amount of time spent, and effects on motivation and learning.
A questionnaire will be designed to get student input regarding student services and technical support issues such as: workability of getting textbooks and printed class materials, testing, registration, and handling of technical problems. In addition, standard demographic data will be collected for analysis.
An additional evaluation will focus on a comparison of the First Class paralegal course and the Web-based continuing education course in sanitation to answer questions about the merits and drawbacks to each format. This review will explore issues such as: student reaction to each format, ease of use by faculty and students, appropriateness of each to subject matter and course design, and technical problems encountered with one or the other. This information will be used to select the appropriate format for and improve subsequent courses. All evaluative efforts will be compiled for publication through the IPSE project.
Peer review will take two forms: internal and external. The internal peer review will come in the form of an intra-institutional faculty in-service involving faculty who have taught distance courses, faculty who teach the on-campus version of the course (both at the same and other regions of the College), other interested faculty, and the College Statewide Distance Education Committee. At that time, course evaluations will be shared; the course will be reviewed by faculty and questions will be asked regarding design, implementation and results. It will be compared with other on-line courses within the college's system, especially to look at possible differences between courses using the First Class software and web-based non-First Class courses.
The course faculty member and the program administrator will also meet with their counterparts at Ball State University, Vincennes University, and any other interested members of the Partnership for an external peer review.
Project Schedule:
Beginning with preliminary planning in late spring semester, 1998, the course will be developed during the summer, 1998 semester for a first offering during the fall, 1998 semester. Promotional activities to alert students will begin with requests to other Ivy Tech campuses to promote the course in their fall schedules. Other promotion efforts over the summer will include mailings to attorneys in the state and announcements in state paralegal association publications. A timetable of activities follows.
|
TIME FRAME |
ACTIVITIES |
|
March-April, 1998 |
Preliminary planning discussions Startup of paralegal home page. |
|
Early May Mid-May - August 1998 |
Intensive planning and course design Course creation (9 units) and piloting Promotional activities |
|
Fall semester, 1998 |
First course offering |
Key Course Development Personnel:
The course will be developed by an instructional development team, whose members bring various knowledge and skills to the project. The lead faculty member will be Susan Altman, Paralegal Program Chair. Susan has been with the College since 1991 and has taught most of the courses in the program, including the one being developed in this project. Prior to being with the College, she worked as an attorney for nine years and taught in a Paralegal program in Florida. Susan will be assisted by Claudia Lappin, an attorney who has taught paralegal courses on a part-time basis for the College for three years. Claudia has been in private practice for nearly 20 years and has recently begun her own national consulting business to set up Internet-based instruction largely in paralegal and business law education. Claudia will be assisting Susan Altman in the design, development, and creation of the course. Assisting the team on a limited and consultative basis will be Krista Hollenberg, a full-time faculty in the Indianapolis Paralegal Program. Krista came to the College from a private law practice in 1992 and will provide a third opinion/approach to the course.
The team will be completed with Susan Mannan, Manager of Information Technology, and Roger Smith, Information Technology Support Specialist. Susan has lead the campus in its exploration of distance education and the application of technology to the teaching and learning process. She is the creator and manager of the campus web site. Susan will act as instructional technology advisor for the team and will manage the administrative details of the project. Roger Smith serves as the campus technical web master and has assisted in technical aspects of project implementation.
Two specialists will be brought into the project at appropriate times. Elaine Bennington, instructional technologist at Ivy Tech South Bend, will consult at the beginning, middle, and end of the project to help address design, technology, and evaluation goals and issues. An outside specialist in web-based instructional course design will also be consulted for technical and design assistance in preparing the web-based portion of the course.
Project Title
Paralegal Program--Torts and Claims Investigation
Institution Project Director
Ivy Tech State College-Central Indiana District Susan Altman
Contracts Contact Person Telephone
Susan Mannan 317/921-4916
Project Start Date-Project End Date
March, 1998-December, 1998
APPENDIX
FACULTY BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE
SUSAN PARKER ALTMAN (Lead Faculty Developer)
Employment Summary:
1991- Program Chair, Paralegal Program, Ivy Tech State College, Central Indiana District
1989-1991 Instructor, Legal Assistant Program, Florida Atlantic University
1990-1991 General Appellate Practice, Law Offices of Susan Parker Altman
1983-1990 Senior Staff Attorney, Fourth District Court of Appeal, Florida
1983-1985 Associate Attorney, Litigation and Real Estate Practice, Levy, Shapiro, Kneen & Kingcade, Florida.
Education:
1982 J.D. University of Louisville School of Law
1981 M.A. in Political Science Eastern Kentucky University
1978 B.A. in Legal Assistance Eastern Kentucky University
Teaching Experience: As Chair of the Ivy Tech Paralegal Program, Susan has developed and taught all 7 of the required paralegal courses several times each. Her work with students and the legal community gives her excellent background and knowledge of what is needed in the workplace. Susan has taught the use of on-line law database using the Westlaw service, and she designed and set up a computer teaching lab in which students could do on-line searching and practice needed computer skills.
CLAUDIA LAPPIN (Co-Developer)
Employment Summary:
Adjunct Instructor, Paralegal Program, Ivy Tech State College, Indianapolis Campus
1991-1992 Adjunct instructor, Business Law, IUPUI Columbus, IN
Sole Practitioner, Claudia Carroll Lappin Law Offices, Bloomington, IN
1978-1988 Partner, Zinman & Carroll Law Offices, Bloomington, IN
Education:
J.D., Indiana University
B.A. in English Literature, Indiana University
Teaching Experience: Claudia has taught 6 of the 7 basic courses in the Ivy Tech Paralegal Program over the last seven years and has also taught business law at IUPUI Columbus. Claudia brings to the project this broad teaching background and professional law experience plus strong interest in Internet-based instruction. She has created her own home page and is taking a Web Page Master Design class this spring to enhance her abilities in this area.
Memo
To:
IPSE Grant ProgramFrom:
Dr. Thomas Cooke, Dean for InstructionIvy Tech State College-Central Indiana
Date:
12/12/97Re:
Support for Paralegal Course ProposalIvy Tech State College, Central Indiana, is eager to begin the process of offering its Paralegal program over the Internet and looks forward to receiving funding help to do so. The need demonstrated in our proposal has guided our choice of the Paralegal program, and we believe that the course we have selected to begin our efforts, Torts and Claims Investigation, is an appropriate choice to compliment the current video-delivered distance education efforts of the College. It will allow students who have already begun their paralegal study via distance education to continue towards completion of the degree.
The College intends to continue the work of preparing the remaining courses needed for degree granting on a course by course basis. We will also be applying to the Commission for Higher Education for authorization to offer the Paralegal degree by distance education.
(This is a reproduction of the original letter, which is included in the printed packet that has been submitted.)
CONSUMER LAW OFFICE OF STEVE HOFER
4475 ALLISONVILLE ROAD, SUITE 200
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA 46205-2466
(317) 545-5753
Fax (317) 545-5852 Steven R. Hofer
E-Mail (Internet) Conslaw@aol.com Attorney at Law
Susan Altman
Krista Hollenberg
Ivy Tech State College Via Fax 921-4355
Re: Distance Learning in the Paralegal Program
Dear Krista and Susan:
You asked me for my opinion concerning whether the paralegal program would lend itself to distance learning instruction over the Internet. I would like to share my comments.
Like any distance learning project, there is a learning curve for the students, instructors, and institutions. If such a program is begun, it should begin with the acceptance of initial mistakes and inefficiencies as learning experiences.
When I taught part-time at Ivy Tech 3-5 years ago (yes, it’s been that long – hard to believe, huh?), the worldwide web hardly existed and few people had e-mail. Now more than 10% of the population has direct access to the Internet, almost all public libraries and schools are wired (sometimes with fast connections), and we can safely say that the Internet is more accessible than the Ivy tech campus system for the majority of the persons in the state. Many of the people that Ivy Tech wants to reach live in rural areas and can’t drive to campus for various reasons. These people often have the greatest need of the job skills that Ivy Tech can provide.
While something might be lost in the lack of classroom instruction, there are offsetting gains that Internet access can provide. Computer skills are essential in the modern law office. It is more important for a paralegal to be able to attack a computer problem and solve it on his/her own that to have memorized certain word processing commands. A paralegal student will have to learn new software programs in order to partake in distance learning. As an employer, I would look favorably upon any student who completed even one Internet course, because I know that the student could not even complete the course without confidence in his/her ability to get real work done on a computer independently. To me, the ability to attack and solve problems is more important than the knowledge of any substantive subject (with the possible exception of general writing skills).
In summary, I believe Ivy Tech should start a distance learning project in the paralegal department. You should consider it to be a long term project. It could very well be five years before it starts catching on, but it also took that long to learn how to do it right. Distance learning is crucial if Ivy Tech is to truly serve the entire state as the state’s primary vocational education university.
Very truly your,
Steve Hofer
Sh/vw
______________________________________
Cost is not the least of the reasons. A fully functional computer with printer can be purchased for $1,400. Assuming a student has 200 instructional days and it costs $.30 per mile to drive to campus, that student would find buying a computer cheaper that a 23 mile round trip – without any allowance for the value of the students time, availability at scheduled class times or allowance for disabilities.
(This is a reproduction of the original memo, which is included in the printed packet that has been submitted.)
590 Ivy Tech Drive
Madison, Indiana 47250
812-265-2580
Fax Ext. 4135
DATE: December 3, 1997
TO: Grant Review Committee
FROM: Margaret Seifert
Coordinator, Libraries and Distance Education
Region II, Ivy Tech Southeast
RE: Paralegal Program
Citizens of southeast Indiana have, in increasing numbers over the last five years, exhibited interest in pursing a paralegal degree program. Some citizens on the Ohio side of the region have gone to Cincinnati to obtain the degree. Others in the region have opted to start the certificate program but would prefer to continue on to a full degree program.
Although interest appears to be growing in our area, it is not yet large enough to warrant establishing a paralegal program in this Ivy Tech region. Therefore, one way to respond to the five to ten persons interested would be via distance education.
Therefore, I am writing for these interested citizens to support the joint effect represented by the joint grant proposal.
Margaret Seifert
