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Lakewood University

Criminal Justice and Paralegal Certificate

Program Highlights
  • 52 Week Program
  • Accredited
  • Instructor Assistance
  • Your Own Success Coach
  • Books Included in Tuition
Overview

As this is one of our combination programs, you will find that there are two different course descriptions; one for each portion of the program:

Criminal Justice:
The Criminal Justice program provides a comprehensive understanding of the American justice system and its occupations. This program contains many topics regarding traditional justice issues such as effective policing, courts, causes of crime, prisons, sentencing, probation, and the types of crime. Legal standards and current events are used to explain ethical conduct, the usage of various criminal policing tools, and the challenges of balancing security against liberty. Learner’s study: the prevalence of DNA technology & electronic surveillance, U.S. citizens’ constitutional protections, non-traditional occupations, and Social Media Career Tips. Participants determine where their skills and interests are best suited for acquiring professional job satisfaction and career success. With 24-hour access to course materials, many innovative tools encourage active learning. Videos, miniessays, and short lessons test further knowledge. Class Discussions keep learners connected and participatory. Freedom of choice among some coursework allows students to focus on their areas of interest. Each student is easily able to monitor their course completion status. By the end of the course, many of the assignments and discussions become resourceful tools for local employment searching, protections against cybercrime, and blatant professional misconduct avoidance.

Paralegal:
This course is the core of the Paralegal Associate program. Students will learn the paralegal profession’s past, present, and future, including the paralegal defined, educational options, techniques for marketing skills, and career opportunities. Instructions on ethics and professional responsibility, the organizational structure of the legal workplace, and office culture and politics will prepare students for the challenges of today’s paralegal. Students receive a formal introduction to the law by examining sources of American law, the court system, alternative dispute resolution, substantive law in its various forms, administrative law, and government regulation. Legal procedures and advanced skills involving civil litigation and trial procedures, criminal law, conducting interviews and investigations, using primary and secondary sources for legal research, and the emerging technology of computed assisted legal research, in addition to legal analysis and writing, provide valuable insight and a solid foundation for the future legal assistant.

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    Program Outcomes
    Program Outline
    What You Receive
    Career Outlook
    Program Cost
    Program Outcomes
    • Identify the impact of crime on victims and society as a whole. 
    • Formulate elements of a crime from statutes 
    • Describe the role of law enforcement officers, effective policing strategies, and constitutional issues that arise in policing. 
    • Explain the pretrial and trial process, the purpose of each stage, and the role of judges. 
    • Discuss the potential criminal sentencing options available for adults and juveniles, including incarceration and probation. 
    • Review the conditions and purposes of prisons and jails. 
    • Demonstrate how technology is used to commit and investigate crime. 
    • Discuss the role of paralegals in the legal system and their basic duties, including skills like legal drafting, client billing, and conducting interviews. 
    • Identify how technology tools, including legal databases and libraries, electronic discovery, and case management software, are utilized by paralegals. 
    • Describe how the U.S. courts are structured, what the sources of U.S. law are, and how these laws are used to conduct effective legal research. 
    • Demonstrate how to initiate civil litigation and the role paralegals play in the civil trial process. 
    • State the rights criminal defendants have and the procedures used to protect those rights. 
    • Identify ethical rules in the legal system and how they apply to paralegals’ conduct. 
    Program Outline
    Lesson 1: Criminal Justice Today and Causes of Crime »

    Lesson 2: The Crime Picture »

    Lesson 3: Inside Criminal Law »

    Lesson 4: Law Enforcement Today »

    Lesson 5: Problems and Solutions »

    Lesson 6: Police and Constitution »

    Lesson 7: Courts and the Quest for Justice »

    Lesson 8: Pretrial Procedures »

    Lesson 9: The Criminal Trial »

    Lesson 10: Punishment and Sentencing »

    Lesson 11: Probation, Parole, and Intermediate Sanctions »

    Lesson 12: Prisons and Jails »

    Lesson 13: The Prison Experience and Prisoner Reentry »

    Lesson 14: The Juvenile Justice System »

    Lesson 15: Today’s Challenges »

    Lesson 16: Final Exam and Projects »

    Lesson 17: The Paralegal Profession »

    Lesson 18: Computers in Law Offices »

    Lesson 19: Sources of American Law and the Court System »

    Lesson 20: Paralegal Ethics »

    Lesson 21: The Inner Workings of the Law Office »

    Lesson 22: Legal Timekeeping and Billing »

    Lesson 23: Managing Cases and Client Data »

    Lesson 24: Legal Research »

    Lesson 25: Online Legal Research »

    Lesson 26: Legal Writing »

    Lesson 27: Civil Litigation: Pre-trial »

    Lesson 28: Investigations and Interviews »

    Lesson 29: Litigation Support Software »

    Lesson 30: Civil Trial Procedures »

    Lesson 31: Criminal Law and Procedures »

    Lesson 32: Technology and the Courtroom »

    Lesson 33: The United States Constitution »

    Lesson 34: Performing Case Research »

    Lesson 35: Final Examination »

    What You Receive

    Lakewood University provides everything you need for the Criminal Justice Professional. You will receive,

    • Comprehensive Criminal Justice text & study guides
    • Career search & time management guides
    • Open-book, online exams
    • Instructor guidance and unlimited tutoring
    • Your own Student Success Coach!
    • Access to our online library!
    • Networking with Lakewood’s active student and alumni social community
    Career Outlook

    As the economy continues to move upward, many law enforcement and corrections agencies are hiring. Add in the numbers of baby boomer senior officers who are reaching retirement and there will be a big demand for highly-qualified applicants to fill the void. Let’s examine anticipated career opportunities within the criminal justice field.

    Employment of police and detectives is projected to grow 5 percent from 2018 to 2028, about as fast as the average for all occupations. The continued need for public safety is expected to lead to new openings for officers, although demand may vary by location.

    The median annual wage for police and detectives was $65,170 in May 2019.

    Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Police and Detectives, on the Internet at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/protective-service/police-and-detectives.htm (visited August 09, 2020).

    Program Cost
    Payment Plan Total Tuition Enroll
    Pay in full
    Payment in full: $17,400.00    		 Tuition: $17,400.00

    Lakewood University provides all textbooks, study guides, supplemental materials, achievement exams, and instructional support at no cost to the student.

    This is a 1500-clock-hour program with a tuition cost of $11.60 per clock hour (1500 clock hours X $11.60 per clock hour = $14,400.00 in tuition).

    Administrative Fees (in addition to the tuition above)

    Application Fee- $75 for degree programs; $0 for vocational programs

    Registration Fee – $200 for degree programs; $125 for vocational programs

    Library Fee – $100 per degree semester; $250 per vocational program term

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