NePA CP Scholarship

Purpose

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

Selection Committee

The Selection Committee shall consist of the CP/ACP Scholarship Committee Chairperson ("Chairperson"), the Nebraska Paralegal Association (herein "NePA") president and one or more NePA members, including, but not limited to, the 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 member of NePA at the time of the application;
Applicant must be residing in Nebraska or Iowa;
Applicant must meet the NALA Certified Paralegal examination eligibility requirements;
Applicant must complete the application procedure herein on or before the stated deadline; and
Applicant must not have received any other CP Scholarship from NePA.

CP Scholarship Funds

The scholarship may be used to cover only the following approved expenses, up to the amount of the available scholarship:

Courses, workshops, and materials related to the CP exam offered by NePA
NALA On-Demand Webinars
NALA Self-Study Courses
NALA Live Webinars
NALA Live Courses
NALA Manual for Paralegals
Certified Paralegal Review Manual: A Practical Guide to CP Exam Preparation (currently authored by Virginia Koerselman Newman)
CP Study Guide and Mock Examination (currently authored by NALA members and material contributed)
The Elements of Style, Strunk & White
NALA Practice Tests
NALA Testing Fees
Testing Center Fees

In the event that the recipient needs to retake a section of the Exam, remaining awarded scholarship funds may be used to pay for those retake session fees provided the expenses are incurred and requested prior to the end of the fiscal year of the scholarship award (currently August 31).

In the event that additional materials or courses that are not listed above are needed, a formal request for approval must be submitted for review by the Committee prior to any reimbursement request submissions.

The scholarship is not retroactive. The applicant will not be reimbursed for the above items if the scholarship is awarded after the applicant has already completed the certification exam and merely wishes to be reimbursed for their past expenditures. Any unused scholarship funds are uncollectable and will remain in the treasury of NePA.

Amount of CP 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, and as of October 2014, is $925.

CP Scholarship Application Procedure

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

Complete and submit the Certified Paralegal Scholarship Application Form;
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;
Submit a separate list of service to NePA and/or NALA, extracurricular and/or community activities, a summary of career plans, memberships, honors, and accomplishments, if they are not already contained in the professional resume;
Provide a minimum of one full page, typed, writing sample describing why the applicant is pursuing the CP certification and how the applicant believes a CP certification will help them with their career; and
Provide two letters of recommendation; one from their employing supervisor and one from a former instructor, employer or community leader. If unemployed, two letters from two different former instructors, employers or community leaders will be accepted. Family members of the applicant may not submit a letter of recommendation for the applicant.

A personal interview may be required at the discretion of the CP/ACP Scholarship Committee.

CP 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 are not eligible for the NePA CP Scholarship.

CP Scholarship Application Deadline

The submission of a CP Scholarship application to the CP/ACP Scholarship Committee shall be postmarked on or before August 1, of each year and mailed to:

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

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

In lieu of hard copies via U.S. mail, application materials may be sent as attachments via email to nepacpscholarship@yahoo.com and must be received before midnight on August 1. All email submissions will be acknowledged by a return email. Please note that email is the preferred format for submissions.

Notification of the CP Scholarship Award and Announcement

Announcement of the CP 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 the General Membership Meeting.

Payment of Scholarship

Payment of the scholarship award may be made directly to the course of study, the study course materials, or the National Association of Legal Assistants for payment toward the application fees for sitting for the CP exam OR directly to the scholarship recipient with proper verification of expenses (original receipts will be required). When possible, the scholarship recipient should hold all reimbursement requests for a one-time formal submission to the Chairperson, using the NePA approved reimbursement form, which can be obtained from the Chairperson or the NePA website. Disbursements/reimbursements will not be made before October 1 and must be completed by September 1, so as to coincide with the NePA fiscal year.

Inability of Winner to Accept CP Scholarship Award

In the event a winner is unable to accept the CP 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 Chairperson will present periodic reports on the progress of the CP 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 status updates.

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.