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Sanghamitra Saha and Constance Farmer took advantage of value-added networking as students in Loyola’s Master of Jurisprudence (MJ) in Compliance and Enterprise Risk Management program.

ALUMNI PROFILE Constance Farmer & Sanghamitra Saha

Opening doors

Loyola’s Master of Jurisprudence (MJ) in Compliance and Enterprise Risk Management program provides a solid grounding in key compliance and risk management concepts across industries. It also opens doors to important professional resources, training, and contacts.

Constance Farmer and Sanghamitra Saha took advantage of this value-added networking when, as students in the program, they qualified for scholarships to the Ethics and Compliance Initiative (ECI) annual IMPACT conference. ECI is a compliance industry organization that provides research, networking opportunities, and certification to its members

At the yearly conference, diverse experts and practitioners share benchmarks and best practices for creating high-quality ethics and compliance programs. This year, speakers also shared insights on helping their organizations respond to current events, including social justice issues and COVID-19.

“The conference was a deep dive into all things compliance related, with fantastic, dynamic speakers discussing real-life current situations like ethical concerns regarding the pandemic and anti-discrimination standards in the compliance space,” says Farmer, who will use ECI takeaways to continue the discussion and as analysis for her capstone project.

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OF ONLY 14 PROGRAMS IN THE US ACCREDITED BY THE COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATION BOARD

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FACULTY, ALL EXPERTS IN AREAS OF COMPLIANCE

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ONLINE COURSES FOCUSING IN COMPLIANCE

A step toward certification

Besides paying for their registration at the IMPACT conference, the ECI scholarships Farmer and Saha received are helping both become Leadership Professional in Ethics and Compliance (LPEC)-certified—a big boost to their professional credentials.

“I’ve wanted the LPEC certification, but I was holding off because the course is quite expensive out of pocket,” says Saha, who has worked in compliance and risk management for years and is taking time off between jobs to complete the MJ program as a full-time student. “The scholarship has been really helpful in giving me the opportunity to go through the LPEC certification classes and take the exam.”

The scholarship provides another big advantage to Saha by giving her access to the ECI member database—a resource she finds useful as she works on her MJ thesis. “There hasn’t been much work done in my topic area: extension of laws to include supervisory harassment and bullying not related to discrimination covered by Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and other federal laws,” she says. “The ECI has done a few studies and published some statistics, so they’ll give me some really great data for my research.”

The Loyola advantage

Farmer, an independent contract paralegal who works with attorneys specializing in probate and real estate law, is interested in expanding her services to include compliance and risk management consulting. She chose Loyola’s MJ program, which she attends part time, for its student-centered faculty and staff.

“I’ve felt really supported every step of the way,” she says. “The professors push you to do your best—they say no question is dumb, and they really mean that. They’re accommodating in working around your schedule and generous in sharing their knowledge.”

Farmer says she also appreciates the variety of professional experience other students bring to the classroom. “We come from various backgrounds, with different perspectives and viewpoints, so our discussions are typically very engaging and thought provoking,” she says.

Depending on their other commitments, students in the program may take a longer or shorter amount of time to complete their studies. Saha, who wanted an abbreviated timeframe, says she appreciated the ability to tailor her curriculum to finish in four semesters.

“The faculty are extremely experienced, and I’m really impressed with their resumes,” adds Saha, who gave Loyola the nod over other programs partly for another professional advantage: Based on the strength of the curriculum, Loyola compliance graduates are eligible to sit for the Compliance Certification Board’s (CCB) Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP) exam without first accruing work experience, as students of most other universities’ compliance programs must do.

“With 20 years of experience in the field, I’m a mature student—so faculty with this level of knowledge are great connections to have,” she says.

“Enrolling in Loyola’s MJ program was one of the best decisions I’ve made,” Saha says. “I think very highly of the faculty and curriculum—and without being enrolled in the program, I wouldn’t have been able to apply for the ECI scholarship.” –Gail Mansfield

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Through the Center for Compliance Studies Loyola trains and educates compliance professionals to use legal expertise to help clients balance their need to be ethical and legal with their desire for growth and profitability. Both the online MJ and LLM programs are ideal for risk management and business professionals as well as lawyers who are hungry for greater opportunity.  Learn more