NePA ACP Scholarship

Purpose

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

Selection Committee

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

Applicant and Eligibility Requirements

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.

ACP Scholarship Funds

The scholarship may be used to cover only the registration fee for one ACP exam*.

*If you are seeking the Personal Injury designation (or any future NALA-offered multi-course-required designations), the scholarship funds may be used to cover only one line item fee. The scholarship will not cover fees for all of the practice area courses.

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.

Amount of ACP Scholarship

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.

ACP Scholarship Application Procedure

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, employment address and telephone number, 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.

ACP Scholarship Criteria

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.

ACP Scholarship Application Deadline

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

NePA
Attn: ACP Scholarship Committee
PO Box 24943
Omaha, NE 68124

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 March 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.

Notification of the ACP Scholarship Award and Announcement

Announcement of the ACP scholarship award shall be made in writing to the recipient no later than thirty (30) working 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 NePA District Luncheon Meetings immediately following the selection of the recipient, at the NePA Recognition Breakfast, and at one or more of the General Membership Meetings.

Payment of Scholarship

Payment of the scholarship award may be made directly to the National Association of Legal Assistants for payment toward the application fees 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 Scholarship chairperson or the NePA website. Disbursement/reimbursement requests must be made no later than September 15, or the scholarship will be forfeited.

Inability of Winner to Accept ACP Scholarship Award

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

Progress Reports of Recipients

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.

Service to NePA

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

Non-Discriminatory Statement

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