Accrediting organizations do oversee the credentials of faculty. Therefore, there should be no problem with teaming a certificated, experienced paralegal with a degreed, primary instructor. I wholehearted agree that the curriculum should present a balance between substantive and procedural law. Oftentimes faculty believe that they are teaching at law school and focus more on the theory rather than the practicality.
Practicality is the device that brings employability.
I'm a professor of business technologies at Marion Technical College, Marion, Ohio. I've been the coordinator of the paralegal studies program since it began at MTC in 1989. The program is not ABA approved. For the communities that Marion Technical College is serving, it doesn't make any difference. I don't believe NFPA or NALA certification will make a difference in this market.