SYLLABUS
Department of Criminal Justice
California State University – Bakersfield
CRJU 490
Senior Seminar in Criminal Justice
Fall Quarter 2009
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Course Professor: Dr. Doris Hall Office Hours: MW 11:00 a.m -12:15 & 3-4:00 p.m.
Phone Number: (661) 654-3121 or by appointment
Class Location: DDH 101K Office: DDH C-117
E-Mail Address: Website: www.csub.edu/~dhall
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Critical review and examination of the existing literature in the field of criminal justice relative to criminal law, criminological theories, race and gender, research methods, and the three main components of the system: police, court, corrections. Assessment of student learning outcomes as measured by the program mission, goals, and objectives. Exploration of career possibilities in criminal justice – to include the development of basic skills in job searching, interviews, and achieving professional success.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
A. To expose the student to a more in-depth and critical examination of the American system of justice: police, courts, and corrections.
B. To help the student develop an ability to critically analyze the existing criminological theories relative to the nature, extent, and causation of crime.
C. To encourage the development of scholarly and intellectual appreciation for the problems confronting the field of criminal justice.
D. To help the student develop critical thinking skills in the exploration of innovative solutions to the problems confronting the field of criminal justice.
E. To assess student-learning outcomes in fulfillment of the program mission, goals, and objectives.
F. To help the student develop important skills in reaching his/her career goals and achieving professional success.
TEXTBOOKS:
Bohm, R. & Walker, J. (2006). Demystifying Crime and Criminal Justice. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury
Publishing
BREAKDOWN
100 % -94.00 % A 76.99 %-73.00 % C
93.99 %-90.00 % A- 72.99 %-70.00 % C-
89.99 %-87.00 % B+ 69.99 %-67.00 % D+
86.99 %-83.00 % B 66.99 %-63.00 % D
82.99 %-80.00 % B- 62.99 %-60.00 % D-
79.99 %-77.00 % C+ 59.99 % or less F
CRITICAL REVIEW OF CORE COURSES:
This portion of the course is devoted to an overview and critical examination of the subject matters covered in the core areas of the curriculum: the American system of justice, criminal law, theoretical perspectives, research methods, police, courts, corrections and race and gender issues. These exercises are designed to serve three purposes:
A. To refresh the student’s memory relative to the materials he/she has learned in the core areas of the curriculum;
B. To promote the student’s critical thinking skills in dealing with issues of crime and justice; and
C. To help the student expand his/her intellectual curiosity in addressing issues of crime and justice scholarly and intelligently.
During the first class meeting, the professor will provide an outline on each of the subject matter to be reviewed and discussed. Students are required to gather information from past lecture notes, the existing literature (books and scholarly journals), and materials from credible internet sources (e.g. government web sites, professional magazines. newspapers, etc.) for meaningful participation in class discussions. These discussions are not meant to be a regurgitation of what has been instructed; instead, they are structured to promote independent thinking and deep intellectual understanding of criminal justice issues. To that end, it is the student’s responsibility to play an active role in class discussions through self-initiation instead of waiting to be called upon to do so by the professor.
For each class meeting on this portion of the course, a maximum of 10 points can be earned by each student. Criteria such as accuracy and relevance of material presented by the student, level of critical thinking involved in the presentation, and intellectual and scholarly appreciation for the subject matter will be used to determine what score a student will receive for each class meeting. Any student who chooses not to participate will receive “zero” point for that class meeting.
STUDENT OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT:
As part of the University's mission to promote quality student learning, academic programs are required to design and develop student outcomes assessment instruments that would accurately reflect the strength of academic programs in meeting this goal. For criminal justice majors, two methods of assessment have been developed.
A. Student Outcomes Assessment Plan: Consisting of a program mission statement, nine goals and twenty-five objectives, this plan, when fully fulfilled, would empower graduates of the criminal justice program as critical thinkers, effective oral communicators, and competent writers on subject matters of crime and justice. To that end, each student in the Senior Seminar class is required to present a written statement, between five and ten pages, consisting of the following three components: (1) demonstrating his/her proficiency in meeting the stated goals and objectives; (2) assessing the Criminal Justice Program relative to its strengths and weaknesses; and (3) reflecting on the student’s experience in the program. The statement must be submitted to the professor at the beginning of the class meeting on Wednesday, September 23, 2009.
B. Student Exit Competency Examination: A comprehensive examination consisting of 100 multiple-choice questions covering the core areas of the discipline (theory, research methods, criminal law, police, courts, & corrections) and developed by faculty members teaching those subject matters, will be administered to the students enrolled in each Senior Seminar class. Each student is required to take this examination, which for this particular class, is scheduled for Wednesday, November 25th at 2 p.m.
SENIOR PROJECT:
Each student will be required to complete a senior project. The purpose of this project is to provide the student with an opportunity to demonstrate what she/he has learned and developed throughout her/his course of study in the major (practical knowledge, theoretical understanding, critical thinking skills, and intellectual curiosity) and apply it to a real world problem of crime and justice, which is of immense interest to the student. Students will choose their top five choices from a list of topics presented the first day of class. Students are encouraged to propose their own topic which they can list on their top five choices. The list of possible topics is due Monday, September 21, 2009 at the beginning of class. Students are required to submit their proposed projects with clearly delineated outlines to the professor on September 30, 2009 for review and approval. Each student will also be required to present her/his project to the class and to generate discussion with classmates within the allotted 10 to 12 minute time frame. To earn additional points for their presentations, students are strongly encouraged to use instructional aid such as PowerPoint slides, video clips, etc. Video clips cannot take more than three minutes total and must add to the presentation.
A. Suggested Topics:
See Appendix A - Selected topics for Fall 2009
B. Project Guidelines:
i. Discuss why you chose the topic and issue a statement of the problem. Where possible, make reference to a specific news story, agency, jurisdiction, legislative act, court ruling, etc.
ii. Provide a thorough/exhaustive review (research studies, pros and cons, in-depth analysis, etc., if appropriate) of the existing literature relative to the issue you are addressing.
iii. Apply relevant theoretical explanation to the unique issue in question.
iv. Devise strategies (strategic plan, research-based programs, new and innovative initiatives, etc.) to deal with the problem: you must justify the relevancy of the programs you recommend.
v. Propose evaluation methods: How will the effectiveness of the plan be measured? (What are the goals and objectives of your plan? What are your outcome measures? What are your success indicators?). Hint: Please refer to the chapter on evaluation research in your CRJU 300 text.
The final version of the paper must be at least 15 pages in length (excluding cover page, maps, diagrams, attachments, and references), double-spaced, type written, and include at least 15 scholarly references. All references should be made in conformity with the American Psychological Association (APA) writing style. All scholarly sources must be cited within the body of the work. All sources must be referenced in the APA format. Failure to do so could result in an “F” grade. An emphasis will be placed on being grammatically correct. Any paper that has more than six grammatical errors will automatically go down to a “C” grade and will get worst from there. This paper is subject to the late policy outlined in the following section. All papers are to be typed, double-spaced with standard margins of one inch. Note: Please make sure to keep separate copies of all your papers that have been turned in for a grade.
Debate Topic Paper
The class will be divided up into three groups. Each group will then decide who will be on the “pro” side of the issue and the “con” side of the issue. Each sub-group (pro and con) is required to write a Debate Topic Paper. This paper is to be between eight to fifteen pages in length and should have at least ten sources. Each group gets to choose their own topic and decide who will be on each side of the issue. The group will decide on sub-categories to focus on and the group is allowed to share resources, however, the plagiarism rules are still in effect. All references should be made in conformity with the American Psychological Association (APA) writing style. All scholarly sources must be cited within the body of the work. All sources must be referenced in the APA format. Failure to do so could result in an “F” grade. This paper is subject to the late policy outlined in the following section. All papers are to be typed, double-spaced with standard margins of one inch. Note: Please make sure to keep separate copies of all your papers that have been turned in for a grade.
Each group will be assigned a date where they debate their issue in class. Groups will follow traditional debate rules. More details on this topic will be covered in class. The student's grade on this assignment will be based on their sub-group’s paper, the team debate in class and evaluation by their peers on their team.
SUBMISSION OF ASSIGNMENTS
Assignments are to be submitted at the beginning of class on the day they are due, papers submitted after the beginning of class are LATE and will be penalized. With the exception of in class assignments, all assignments must be TYPED, unless instructed otherwise. There will be no make up for in class assignments and pop quizzes.
Two copies of class papers must be provided to the instructor on the due date. A hard copy must be received by the beginning of class on the due date. The second copy must be submitted by the end of the day. One copy must be a hard copy, and the second must be submitted to Turnitin.com. Both copies must be received on the due date. Failure to provide two copies on the due date will result in a deduction.
Turnitin.com
All students must submit their Senior Project and Critical Issue Papers to turnitin.com for review. Failure to do so will result in a grade reduction. You will need the following information in order to submit your paper to the site:
Class name: TBA
Enrollment password: TBA
Class ID number: TBA
Late Papers
If your paper is not turned in on or before the due date, it will be marked down. Each day that the paper is late will result in a five point deduction from the total score. After seven days, the assignment is worth 0 points. Additionally, when you turn in a late paper you must turn it in to the Criminal Justice Department Coordinator (DDH D107) or hand it to the professor personally (before class begins), so that the date and time can be noted on the paper. Please note: I will not accept any papers that are left under my office door.
Academic Honesty
CSUB is a community of scholars where the pursuit of truth and honesty are fundamental. The University expects that both faculty and students will honor these principles and in doing so will protect the integrity of all academic work and student grades. Students are expected to do all work assigned to them without unauthorized assistance. Faculty members are responsible for exercising care in the planning and supervision of academic work so that honest efforts will be positively encouraged.
There are certain forms of conduct that violate this community’s principles. CHEATING is a broad category of actions that use fraud and deception to improve a grade or obtain course credit. Cheating is not limited to examination situations alone, but arises whenever students attempt to gain an unearned academic advantage. PLAGERISM is a specific form of academic dishonesty (cheating) that consists of the misuse of published or unpublished works of another by claiming them as one’s own. It may consist of handing in someone else’s work, copying or purchasing a composition, using ideas, paragraphs, sentences, or phrases written by another, using data and/or statistics compiled by another without giving citation. Another example of academic dishonesty (cheating) is the SUBMISSION OF THE SAME, or essentially the same, paper or other assignment for credit in two different courses without prior approval.
When a faculty member discovers a violation to the community’s principles, the faculty member is required to give a failing grade to the student for the course. In addition to assigning the final grade, the faculty member also notifies in writing the Dean of Students and the relevant school dean that an act of academic dishonesty has occurred and a grade of F has been assigned. The student receives a copy of this letter.
This letter becomes part of the student’s permanent file. If a second act of academic dishonesty occurs, the student is administratively dismissed from CSUB.
Under the Student Academic Grievance Procedures, a student may appeal any sanction employed by faculty of the University based on the allegation of academic dishonesty. The initiation of the grievance must occur within fifteen (15) school days after notification of the grade is mailed or personally given to the student. Copies of these procedures are available in the offices of the school deans. All such actions face severe penalties under CSUB policy; the normal outcome is the award of the grade of F for the class in which the act occurred. (CSUB 1999-2001 Catalog, 53).