Van Nuys : Merit College Is Gone but Students Graduate

More than three months ago, dozens of aspiring paralegals were placed in limbo when the school they were attending--Merit College in Van Nuys--abruptly shut its doors.

The closure left 27 students less than one academic quarter shy of finishing the yearlong paralegal course with no clear way to complete the training. Their options consisted of walking away from the experience several thousand dollars poorer with no certificate or signing up at a different institution to start the yearlong instruction all over again.

Today, 22 of those students will graduate and receive their paralegal certificates--from Valley College.

The 5 p.m. ceremony marks their completion of a class specially created for them by the college and Hariann Goldman, their onetime instructor at Merit College who was also cut free in the school’s sudden closure.

“They’re very excited,” said Goldman. “They even [completed the program] in less time. If Merit College was still in existence, they wouldn’t have graduated until September.”

The custom class was offered to students for $732. It began in June, after three days of scrambling by Goldman and Valley College officials. It served as Valley College’s first extension course--classes that offer instruction but do not provide credit toward a degree.

A complete paralegal instruction course will be offered at Valley College beginning Sept. 11.