THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 8, 1994 TAG: 9408080039
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
College of Albemarle hopes to make local lawyers' lives easier in the coming years by training waves of skilled legal assistants.
Fall registration at the community college system starts today, and students will find a new ``paralegal technology'' program among the offerings.
Also new will be a ``criminal justice-protective service technology'' curriculum, an extension of COA's existing basic law enforcement training.
``I'm really excited about our new programs,'' said COA President Larry Donnithorne. ``We think those are going to be very popular. Already, the interest in them is very gratifying.''
Many students have changed their major to one of the two fields, Donnithorne said. About 100 have already applied for the two programs, and 75 more have asked about them.
The new paralegal program fits well with the school's role, Donnithorne said.
``In a sense, this is a logical community college effort in legal training,'' he said. ``Its bailiwick is that middle ground between the professional and the unskilled worker.''
Students in the three-year night program will learn legal basics and how to perform tasks such as legal research and litigation preparation.
``They really do free up the lawyer to do a lot of things on a case that perhaps requires more expertise,'' said Donald Prentiss, a lawyer with Hornthal, Riley, Ellis and Maland in Elizabeth City. ``You've got to have somebody who's pretty sharp and has been trained.''
Harry Rosenblatt, who teaches computer and business management courses at COA, is coordinating the paralegal program. He and paralegal Jerrie Edgerton will teach the introductory class together this fall.
The two-year criminal justice program offers study options in corrections, law enforcement and security services. Graduates will be trained for jobs in every level of government and with private security companies.
COA officials were careful to make sure that the community college program complements and doesn't compete with a similar curriculum at Elizabeth City State University, Donnithorne said.
The fall session comes at the end of a trying budgeting process for Donnithorne, who is entering his second full year at the helm.
New state rules provided COA more money than it had originally expected but also ordered how much of that money will be spent, Donnithorne said.
``The good news is we will get to increase faculty salaries,'' he said. ``The bad news is we'll be really tight in everything else.''
The faculty will get an across-the-board 4 percent raise, and a few will get up to 20 or 30 percent increases as they are restored to full-year statusafter being reduced a few years ago to 10-month workers.
The spending mandate means COA will have to hold off on raises for non-faculty employees, most of whom are being paid less than target salaries established by a consultant earlier this year, Donnithorne said.
Also this year, COA will continue expansion plans for the Elizabeth City and Dare County campuses.
The larger project will be a new instruction building on the Elizabeth City campus that should include child-care facilities and updated multimedia and telecommunications technology. No target dates have been set for groundbreaking or completion, Donnithorne said.
The Dare project at the Manteo campus includes building expansion and additional parking. ILLUSTRATION: COA REGISTRATION
Fall registration begins today at each of College of Albemarle's
three campuses. For more information call:
Elizabeth City: 335-0821, ext. 290
Edenton: 482-7900
Manteo: 473-2264
KEYWORDS: COLLEGE OF ALBEMARLE
by CNB