dear online student


 

new students - current students

Dear Law Student,

Welcome to your law class with the Paralegal Studies Program at Los Angeles Mission College.

We are a nation of laws, and after completing our law classes, you will be able to analyze law cases, codes, legal forms, pleadings and the like. You will feel empowered to engage in your legal actions and perform your duties as a paralegal without the fears or unknowns that laws create.

A bit about Prof. J and his teaching and passion for the law

I love teaching law. I first became interested in the law when I was in the Peace Corps in Honduras in 1969-1972 organizing credit "cooperativas para campesinos" (cooperatives for farmers) and a fellow peace corps volunteer suggested I would make a "good attorney". That sparked my interest, and I ended up attending Loyola Law School here in Los Angeles passing the bar, practicing law in my own law firm and then a partnership for 21 years in Glendale.

I then became very interested in teaching when a fellow attorney, the former director of the paralegal studies program at Mission suggested I might like teaching a law class. I was enthralled with helping students learn the law, and then when he retired from the job, I was the director of the program, for 20 years and retired in Spring 2017 and contine teaching as an adjunct law professor at Mission.. You can see my bio at  http://lamisssion.edu/~jordandc

 


 

1. Course Basics

Student Responsibility to know
All of our online students are required to carefully and read the following information

1. Welcome Information - http://welcome.pbworks.com
2. Duedates - http://duedates.pbworks.com
3. Dear Online student - http://missionparalegal.pbworks.com/dear-online-student
4. Home Law page - http://lamission.edu/law
5. Home College page - http://lamission.edu
6. Check in Policies
7. Student Information System - http://www.laccd.edu/student_information/sis_logon.asp?websvc=registration&campus=M

8. Orientation - Get Going


 

1.1 When does the class start ?

See the College Academic Calendar  .  

 

GENERAL CALENDAR DATES - click here


After September 8, 2013 please note : This is an earlier and revised deadline. A “W” will appear on your transcript record after this date. This is a new LACCD enrollment limit. The limit is now three times to take a class and includes both substandard grades and withdrawals.
Drop classes with a “W” - Letter grade is required after this date and forward - November 17


If you stop attending a class (or wish to drop a class), YOU MUST DROP THE CLASS YOURSELF ONLINE– OFFICIALLY – on or before November 17, 2013. Failure to do so may result in a grade of “F” in that class.
REGISTRATION INFORMATION Website – http://www.laccd.edu (Student Information System)


Admission Regular Office Hours (Subject to change) Monday and Thursday – 8am-5pm Tuesday and Wednesday – 8am-7pm Friday – 8am-12noon


EFFECTIVE SUMMER 2012, course withdrawal (“W”) or a substandard  grade (“D,” “F,” or “NP”) count as an attempt at a course.  Only three attempts at any one course will be allowed, with some exceptions.  Listed below are the new rules that all students need to know about. 

• Students who drop or are excluded after the last day to drop without a grade of “W” will have a “W” appear on their transcript.  The “W” will count as an attempt for that course. 
• For the Spring semester, November 17th, 2013 is the last day to drop a 16-week semester length class without a “W.”  Students will be  able to drop a class online until this date. Contact the office of Admissions and Records for deadlines on late start, short-term and special program classes.
• A course in a student’s transcript which currently shows a recorded “W” counts as an attempt for that course.   
• Students will not be allowed to register for any course within the LACCD if there are three recorded attempts for that course in any combination of W, D, F, or NP grades.
• Add permits for a course within the LACCD will not be processed if there are three recorded attempts for that course in any combination of W, D, F, or NP grades.
• For courses specifically designated as “repeatable,” students may repeat up to three times (See Title 5 California Code of Regulations sections 55040, 55041, 58161).  
• Where the student’s number of enrollments in a course exceeds the allowable amount, the student may petition for an additional enrollment in cases of extenuating circumstances.  

What students should do: 
• Be sure you are academically ready for classes you enroll in.
• If you must drop a course, drop before the deadline for dropping a class without a grade of “W.”


1.2 When is class work due?
Work is due on Sunday evenings at 11:59 pm. Please print out the duedates at http://duedates.pbworks.com and read all of the information at http://welcome.pbworks.com - also look at our policies on checking in/dropping, and communication.


 When do I check in?

Carefully read our policies

Check In/Drop Policy

Only students who are officially enrolled in the class will have access to the online class.  It is your responsibility to complete the registration process at the LAMC Admissions Office.

 

Once you are enrolled, you need to login to your online class at http://etudes.org  and begin participating in the course within three (3) days.

Make sure you carefully read the class syllabus.
 

It is the students sole responsibility to officially withdraw from the class. You do this at  your Student Information System.

 

  ** special thanks to AJ/LASC for developing above set of policies


Late Work  Policy

Read Very Carefully

Students will NOT be able to submit assignments or access quizzes AFTER the due/closing date. Requests to submit late assignments or quizzes must be made PRIOR to the due date and will be discretionary. Generally permission to submit late work is only granted in extreme family or personal circumstances, and not because the student failed to submit the work in a timely fashion.

 

Late postings to discussion forums will NOT be graded, reviewed or given credit. The time to post is 11:59 pm on the given due date (unless posted earlier, check your duedates for  your class). Any postings to discussion forums after 11:59 pm, or as scheduled in your online classroom, will earn NO CREDIT or POINTS. Reason: paralegals must learn to keep strict deadlines when they deal with courts, attorneys, judges, clerks, etc.

All pre-approved late assignments will only be accepted during the LAST week of class. If you send or submit an assignment or quiz via email or otherwise before the last week of class, you will receive NO consideration, nor receive credit. (**special thanks to BM for developing above policy)

Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.


Communication Policy


click on image

Contact our Online Law Faculty

If you have any questions contact your online faculty. They are excellent instructors and are very helpful - http://lamission.edu/law/faculty.html

 

We have excellent Law Faculty who are experts in their respective legal fields and who have taught in our program for many years.  Your online instructor faculty information, biography, phone and email is located at http://lamission.edu/law/lawfaculty.htm. Our online law faculty will attempt to return emails within 72 hours of receipt. Please be patient, and send a second email if you do not receive a response within that period.  If a law faculty does not respond to your second email then please contact Prof. Jordan, the Director of the Program.

1.3 What course managment system is used?

We use a program called Etudes (short for Easy to Use Distance Education Software)  - for a an overview and introductory video tutorial look at http://etudes.pbworks.com
 

1.4  I have never taken an online class and I am a bit nervous about it. What can I do?
Read the Online Study Guide at http://abogado.pbworks.com/study-guide

It will provide a number of resources and information and help you become a successful online student. We also have online tutors who will help you along the way. Read about them at http://paralegaltutors.pbworks.com

1.5 Where is the syllabus?
Read information about the class at - http://lamission.org 

Your specific class syllabus is located in your etudes classroom and also at duedates - http://duedates.pbworks.com


Also look at our excellent home law page at
http://lamission.edu/law

1.6 What textbook do I need for the class?
Check out your textbook at http://lamission.edu/law/textbooks

1.7 How many hours do I need to spend on the class.?
CA Ed Code, Title 5 §55002 - the Carnegie Unit Rule

Guideline for Section 55002.5
In this section, the basic unit of college credit is defined to avoid reference to specific term lengths (previously described in terms of hours/week over a 16-week term). A minimum of 48 hours on the semester system (or 33 hours on the quarter system) of lecture, study, lab work is required for one unit of credit regardless of term length. The section establishes the minimum expected time on task (lecture, study, and or lab work) that is necessary to award one unit of credit. In practice, the number of hours varies among institutions, but is generally within the range of 48-54 hours per unit for colleges on the semester system. For each hour of lecture, it is assumed that students will be required to spend an additional two hours of study outside of class. The number of units awarded for laboratory courses is generally based entirely on the number of hours of laboratory work, presuming that students complete most required work in class.

To determine the estimated number of hours a student will spend on the course per week, divide the total hours by the number of weeks in your term.

For example, a 3 unit online class requiring 144 hours of work will, taught in a 15-week semester term, require roughly 10 hours of student work per week (144/15). 

1.8  Is this class completely online?
Yes. There is no requirement to attend campus meetings. All work is done through or on the internet.
We do have some classes which are hybrid (half on campus and half online). There are deadlines however. We have a firm "no late" policy. Please read it carefully at http://profj.us/late

1.9 Who should I contact if I cannot login to my etudes class ?
Call the Help Desk at 818-415-2015. That actually is my cell phone. I am the Help Desk for Etudes classes at Mission.  You can also email the Help Desk at onlinemission@gmail.com (that email comes directly to me).

1.10  Where do I seek support if I need special accommodations?
Reasonable Accommodations:  If you are a student with a disability and require online class accommodations, please send your online instructor an email to discuss arrangements.  The sooner we are aware that you are eligible for accommodations, the quicker we will be able to provide them.  If you have not done so already, you may also wish to contact the DSP&S Office in Instructional Building 1018 (phone 818/364-7732 TTD 818/364-7861). There website and resources are located at http://www.lamission.edu/dsps/

For students requiring accommodations, the DSP&S Office at Mission College provides special assistance in areas like: registering for courses, specialized tutoring, note-taking, mobility assistance, special instruction, testing assistance, special equipment, special materials, instructor communications, community referrals and job placement. 

1.11   How can I be a successful online student ?

Tips to Be a Successful Online Student
 
1. Read all of the information on the class home page, the online program home page, and the instructor’s home page to find answers before contacting the instructor to ask questions that are already answered on those pages.
 
2. Keep your email ID listed in the Student Information System current. That is one way your instructor has to contact you.
 
3. Check your junk email folder a few days prior to the start of a new class and for at least one week thereafter. The email sent by your instructor might go into your junk mail folder and you would believe the instructor never tried to reach you.
 
4. Take responsibility for contacting your instructor when you don’t understand what is required of you.
 
5. Don’t assume your first email or phone call reached your instructor and was read by him or her. If you don’t get a response, contact your instructor again and politely ask for assistance. Give at least 24-48 hours for your instructor to respond. He/she will probably be receiving hundreds of emails and calls each week. He/she is trying to help everyone, but sometimes that task is impossible.
 
Therefore, be understanding and continue to try to reach him/her in multiple ways to get the help you need. You might not get a response to a Welcome Form. The instructor might just take that information and store it for later contact when needed.

1.12 How do I know if I am ready to take an online class?
Take this short, informative quiz to find out. You may be surprised with the results. see https://www.waol.org/prospective_students/isonlineforme.aspx

1.13 What are my responsibilities as an online student in the paralegal program, and what can I expect?
 
Student Responsibility: Our online law program requires a comprehensive and complete understanding of a number of details, procedures and information. Students are assumed to have carefully read all of our procedures and policies located at our "Welcome Message" at http://welcome.pbworks.com - which is a comprehensive collection of materials for our program. Students are held fully responsible for information contained at this central location.  Online Students must login to their online class and post their introduction and first set of assignments within a week from the start of the semester or session or they may be excluded and dropped from class, and not permitted to enter the etudes classroom.
 
Course Assignments:  The assignments for each class and the due dates are located at duedates for each class. If there is a "conflict" between the due dates and the etudes class assignments, quizzes, forums, text and materials, the  etudes materials will "over rule" if there are differences with the duedates.
 
Email: Check your instructor's email at our Law Faculty email.  Instructors will attempt to respond to all email within 36 hours (72 hours over the weekend or holidays).  You can also use the "private message" feature in etudes. (click here for a video tutorial)
 
Curriculum for our Program:   Our Paralegal Certificate contains 12 (twelve) law classes
 
Passing Grade for our classes:  The passing grade for our law classes is C or above.
 
Course Description: see http://www.lamission.edu/disciplines/law.html
 
Class Location/Times/Equipment Requirements: Check http://lamission.edu/law to see whether your class is entirely online or on campus/hybrid.    Certain time/date deadlines are expected to be met as the course progresses, so you must have access to a reliable computer and reliable internet connection.  The course "classroom" can be found online at 

http://etudes.org  

 
Office Hours:  By email, appointment,  or contact your instructor at the phone provided under  Law Faculty email 
 
Textbook:   see our program textbooks at http://lamission.edu/law/textbooks - prices vary, along with editions.
 
Carefully read How to Take an Online class
 
Student Learning Outcomes: see http://missionparalegal.pbwiki.com/slo  for Student Learning Outcomes for each Law Class in our Paralegal Program.
 
Reading Assignments:  See http://duedates.pbwiki.com for reading assignments for each Law Class in our Paralegal Program.
 
Quizzes:    Quizzes can only be submitted one time and you have 60 minutes to complete your quizzes (law 1,2,10 and 19). They are multiple choice. This differs with other of our online classes. (see each class for how quizzes are administered).  
 
Written Assignments:   Generally these will be related to your textbook or class subject. Sometime you will be asked to generate a word document and upload it to the site. Normally you can just post your text in a box for each assignment. You will be able to see the date and time you submitted your assgnments by clicking on "assignments" on the left side of your moodle page. It is recommended that you go to your assignments, and copy the materials, questions, resources, references, cases, and then "log off", word process your answers to each question, case, assignment, etc. and then "log in" again and "copy and paste" from your word processor on your computer over to the moodle posting "box" which appears under each assignment in moodle. Please carefully read about "save changes" in the moodle classroom, and do not use it as your word processor.

Case Briefs

 

 
Below is our grading rubric with our expectations of what we look for in grading your case briefs in class

CASE BRIEF

GRADING RUBRIC

**above adopted from case grading rubric - AAFPE.org website

 


 
Discussions:   (Forums)  - these are open ended questions that are posted on a forum. They are in the nature of a "classroom discussion". Your participation is required, and you will receive a total of 15% of your grade for your participation in these forum discussions (which will only be entered by your online instructor at the end of the session).    Please be courteous in any of your postings and responses to other students. "Reasonable Minds" can differ, but please be polite.  - Please note that Law 2 - Prof. Morinaka differs in his use of the Discussion Forums so carefully read the instructions in his class.

See below information on "posting to forums"

 

Posting your Introduction to class and other forums
 

At the beginning of each or our law classes (except Law 2) we ask students to read the following law articles.   

The Articles to Read are as follows:

How to Study Law

Good Legal Writing

Read Like a Lawyer

The Uses of Argument

Analytic Thinking

Six Pillars of Character
10 Hour Law School

Recognizing Plagiarism

  


Posting to Discussion Forums 

Once you post to the first week's forum (see above)  you will be required to post your original thoughts by  Wednesday, and respond (or comment upon) to two other students by Sunday.   (a total of three (3) posts to each forum). 

 

Discussion Forums  are open ended questions that are posted on a forum. They are your  "classroom discussion". Your participation is required, and you receive a total of 15% of your grade for your participation in these forum discussions (which is entered by your online instructor at the end of the session or semester).

It is essential that all students fully participate in the class forums. This is what makes the class "interactive" and gives it the "feel of being in an on campus class" which is important to ensure learning is occurring at a "distance".

Please be courteous in any of your postings and responses to other students. "Reasonable Minds" can differ, but please be polite.

Which types of student responses are good and which ones are fair or poor?

Please see the below rubric which details the differences in types of responses or comments in your class discussion forums:

 

 

Quality

Relevance

Contribution

Bigger Picture

Quote 

Excellent

 

 

Appropriate comments: thoughtful, reflective,

and respectful of other student's postings.

 

Clear reference to assignment or prior posting being discussed

 

Furthers the discussion with questions, or statements that encourage others to respond.

 

Clearly connects the posting to text or reference points from previous readings, activities, and discussions.

 

Appropriate comments: thoughtful, reflective, and respectful of other student's postings.

Fair

 

 

Appropriate comments and responds respectfully to other student's postings.

 

Some reference but taken out of context, the reader would not understand.

 

Participates, but does not post anything that encourages others to respond to the posting.

 

Vague or possible connection to reference points from previous readings, activities, and discussions.

 

Appropriate comments and responds respectfully to other student's postings.

  Poor

 

 

Responds, but with minimum effort or detail. (i.e. "I agree with the statement")

 

Posting is attached to the right discussion board, but does not clearly reflect the assignment.

 

Less than required number of postings. Does not further any discussions.

 

Mentions the videos,

text or previous activity without logical link to topic.

 

Responds, but with minimum effort (i.e. "I agree with Bob").

 

 

 

You are required to post an entry to the class forum by Wednesday of each week and you must respond to at least 2 of your class mates by Sunday of each week. Your grade on discussions and your 2 responses to each forum discussion is based upon the following: - "avoid responses like "me too" or a response that is irrelevant or adds nothing to the discussion, or does not provide support for your position expressed, and shows minimal reflection. Your positions taken in your responses to other students should be articulated with good support and demonstrate reflection.

How are you Graded on Your Forum Participation

Active participation in each forum is required. Your grade in forums will not be posted until the end of the session. It is 15% of your final grade, so it can make
a difference between an A and a B, etc. grade if you do not post at least 3 times to each forum, an original post on Thursday and two comments to other students by Sunday evening.. (note: Law 2 forums may differ from the above.)

                                                                                                              Grading Rubric

Quality of Posting
Grade (out of 100%)
Number of posts
Nominal
20-40%
mostly missed forums or single posts
Marginal
40-60% 
mostly single posts with a few double or triple posts
Poor
60-69%
many single and some double or triple posts
Good
70-79%
mostly double, some triple posts, maybe a few single posts- but no missed forums
Very Good 
80-89%
mostly triple posts, maybe a few double posts, no single or missed posts
Excellent
90-100%
all forums posted to with triple posts

 

 

 

Removing "student posts" from forums 

The purpose of the discussion forums and "Question" Forums in our online classes is to inquire about "content" questions, or clarify primarily content questions about the class such as clarification of assignments, or questions on cases, the law, etc. Students are requested to use the same "etiquette they would use in an on campus classroom. It is not a "forum" or place to complain about how the class is run, or complain about how the website is constructed, or complain about other students. Also we encourage "robust" debate in our forums. Reasonable minds differ, and we ask that you show tolerance to other students' opinions. However, again students should use reasonable and appropriate language in their forum postings, and should show respect to their fellow/sister students. Students are encouraged to read apply the "Six Pillars of Character" when they post their work.

 

Our online law faculty may, in their discretion, remove "student posts",or even remove the entire forum (with all of the student posts), if in their sole discretion, a student or students are behaving badly, acting inappropriately, failing to show proper respect to other students or the classroom as a whole, and abusing the privilege of expressing their opinions in the forums. 


Late work  Read our "Late Work" Policy - http://profj.us/late
 
Grading:  
 
A = 90% or above
B = 80-89
C = 70-79
D = Below 70
F - Below 60
 
A grade of C or greater is required to pass the class
 
Incomplete: It is the students sole responsibility to "drop" the class. Please make sure that you are aware of the Important Dates.  If you require a grade of "incomplete," you must advise your instructor as soon as possible and discuss the terms of its removal.
 
Academic Honesty:  (cited from Prof. Morinaka)  -  Academic honesty is highly valued at Los Angeles Mission College, just as it is at all colleges and universities. A student must always submit work that represents his or her original words or ideas. If any words or ideas are used that do not represent the student's original words or ideas, the student must cite all relevant sources. The student should also make it clear to what extent such sources was used. Words or ideas that require citations include, but are not limited to, all hard copy or electronic publications, whether copyrighted or not, and all verbal or visual communications when the content of such communications clearly originates from an identifiable source. All submissions to any public meeting or private mailbox fall within the scope of words and ideas that require citations if used by someone other than the original author. 
 
Plagiarism - If you are unclear about how to use text citations properly, check out the following Web Sites.
 
http://missionparalegal.pbwiki.com/plagiarism
  
Additional Information, Questions and/or problems: Additional information for our program is located at our main law page located at http://lamission.edu/law - Please raise any questions or problems as soon you identify them in this syllabus.

1.14  How do I contact you ?

My preferred email is abogado@pacbell.net

abogado by the way is attorney in spanish

my preferred phone is my cell phone 818-415-2015

Have a wonderful online class. Enjoy it. Work hard.  Contact me our your paralegal tutors if you have any questions, or need any assistance.

Welcome aboard and nice having you all as students.
--
 
David Jordan, Esq. - Attorney at Law -  Director Los Angeles Mission College Paralegal Studies Program - 13356 Eldridge Ave, Sylmar, Ca 91342-3200 - cell phone = 818-415-2015, school = 818-364-7720- home law page - http://lamission.edu/law Chair of Distance Education Committee - http://lamission.edu/de  

updated  1/7/20