To encourage and assist paralegals in their pursuit to obtain the Advanced Certified Paralegal (ACP) designation.

The Selection Committee shall consist of the CP/ACP Scholarship Committee chairperson, the NePA president and one or more NePA members, including, but not limited to, past CP and/or ACP scholarship recipient(s).

The following criteria must be met in order to apply for the scholarship:

• Applicant must be an Active status member of the NePA at the time of the application;
• Applicant must be a Nebraska or Iowa resident working as a full-time paralegal;
• Applicant must be employed as a paralegal for at least one year prior to making application for the scholarship;
• Applicant must complete the application procedure herein on or before the stated deadline; and
• Applicant must not have received any other ACP Scholarships from NePA.

The scholarship may be used to cover the registration fee for only one ACP exam, no matter if there are several topics under one area.

The scholarship is not retroactive. The applicant will not be reimbursed if the scholarship is awarded after the applicant has already completed the advanced certification process and merely wishes to be reimbursed for their past expenditures.

The scholarship amount shall be recommended annually to the Board of Directors by the Scholarship Committee based on available budgeted funds and submitted to the membership for vote. The amount of the scholarship will not exceed the cost of the registration fee set by NALA, currently $250 for NALA members or $300 for non-NALA members.

Each applicant must complete the following procedures to apply for the scholarship:

• Each applicant shall complete and submit the Advanced Certified Paralegal Scholarship Application Form;
• Each applicant shall submit a professional resume that includes, but is not limited to, the applicant's name, address, telephone number, email, educational background and employment history;
• Each applicant shall submit a separate list of NePA and/or NALA service, extracurricular and/or community activities, a summary of career plans, memberships, honors and accomplishments, if they are not already contained in the professional resume;
• Each applicant shall provide a minimum of one full page, typed, writing sample that describes why the applicant is pursuing the ACP certification and how the applicant believes an ACP certification will help them with their career;
• Each applicant shall provide one letter of recommendation from their employing supervisor, former instructor, employer or community leader. Family members of the applicant may not submit a letter of recommendation for the applicant; and
• A personal interview may be required at the discretion of the CP/ACP Scholarship Committee.

Applications submitted will be judged based on the following criteria:

• Content of essay and recommendation;
• Appearance and proper grammatical use in resume and essay;
• Extent and type of service to NePA and/or NALA, community activities, career plans, honors and accomplishments;
• Adherence to scholarship application requirements; and
• Presentation and delivery of self at the personal interview (if necessary).

Current members of the CP/ACP Scholarship Committee will not be eligible for a scholarship.

The submission of an ACP scholarship application to the CP/ACP Scholarship committee shall be postmarked on or before August 1 of each year and mailed to:

Attn: ACP Scholarship Committee
Nebraska Paralegal Association

4905 Glenmorrie Dr.

Bellevue, NE 68157

Any application postmarked after the scholarship application deadline will be disqualified.

Application materials may be sent via email to nepaacpscholarship@yahoo.com in lieu of hard copies and must be received before midnight on August 1. All email submissions will be acknowledged by a return email.

Once a member has been awarded one scholarship through the ACP Scholarship program of NePA, they will not be eligible for any additional scholarships through the ACP Scholarship program of NePA.

Announcement of the ACP scholarship award shall be made in writing to the recipient no later than thirty (30) business days following the scholarship application deadline. Applicants not awarded a scholarship shall receive written notice of the same no later than thirty (30) days following the scholarship application deadline. Public recognition and announcement of the recipient's name shall be made at the discretion of the CP/ACP Scholarship Committee.

Payment of the scholarship award may be made directly to NALA for payment toward the application fees for 1 ACP exam OR directly to the scholarship recipient with proper verification of expenses (original receipts will be required). The scholarship recipient will submit the request for distribution of scholarship funds to the CP/ACP Scholarship chairperson using the NePA approved reimbursement form, which can be obtained from the chairperson or the NePA website. Disbursement/reimbursement requests must be made no later than September 15 of the year following when the recipient was awarded the scholarship, or the scholarship will be forfeited.

In the event a winner is unable to accept the ACP scholarship award, the scholarship award shall go to the next highest finalist. If there is none, then the funds shall be returned to the treasury of NePA.

The CP/ACP Scholarship Committee Chairperson will present periodic reports on the progress of the ACP scholarship recipient to NePA's Board of Directors. It is recommended that the chairperson continue to maintain personal contact with the scholarship recipient.  In addition, the recipient will be required to give a status update.

The recipient will automatically become a member of the CP/ACP Scholarship Committee in the fiscal year following the awarding of the scholarship.

Selection of scholarship recipient shall be made without regard to race, color, creed, sex, age, national origin or marital status.