Criminal Justice Intro 101 Syllabus and Prep PDF

Preview

Summary

Course syllabus. Recommend reading it over and gathering your materials well before the course begins....

Description

PLEASE READ THIS SYLLABUS CAREFULLY TO RECEIVE FULL CREDIT FOR COURSE ASSIGNMENTS. YOU WILL RECEIVE ZERO POINTS FOR ASSIGNMENTS IF YOU FALL SHORT OF SYLLABUS REQUIREMENTS.

Mercer County Community College SYLLABUS – CRJ 101-300 INTRODUCTION TO THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

FALL 2021 September 7 – December 16, 2021 Professor: Karen Ortman E-mail: [email protected] I will not have routine office hours but will check e-mail daily. A message can also be left via telephone at (609) 651-9709. Telephone messages are checked often. If you are experiencing difficulty using the Blackboard Learn online environment, please be sure to review the HELP items on the start page for the course or contact the Virtual College at MCCC. Class Location: Virtual Campus Required Text: Schmallenger, F. (2020). Criminal Justice- a Brief Introduction, 13th Edition. New York, NY: Pearson Publishing. Course Description: This course is designed to introduce the student to the major components involved in the criminal justice system. The major emphasis will be placed on the structure, function, and decision processes of agencies involved in the administration of justice—the police, courts, and corrections. Major court decisions, principles of law, and the juvenile justice system will also be discussed. Class Discussion and Participation: Students are expected to read and review assigned sections in the textbook chapters; view video clips, power-point slides and complete practice exams for each Module and prior to each examination. Videos and associated media are to be viewed by clicking on the Chapter folders in each Module. These folders contain videos, web-links, flashcards, glossaries, and learning objectives. These are interactive learning tools that will provide you with further information about the material you are studying in each Module. You should view all of the items in each folder as some of the material may be on the Module exams. You must also make at a minimum one original posting and two response postings to two different student entries in each Module Discussion Board while the discussion board is open. The topics will vary for each discussion board and your postings should be thoughtful, original, and based on what you learned in the readings, videos, news accounts, and power-point slides. Challenge each other over the ideas being shared

and defend your position. The goal is to thoroughly examine the topic and enhance your learning. You may rely on your textbook and course material to support your position. You may also use online information that comes from a reliable source. These include websites ending in.gov, .edu, and some ending in .org. Wikipedia is NOT a reliable source as it is editable by anyone and the information is not validated. Be sure to credit the source of any information used in supporting your position to avoid plagiarism. Students are expected to actively participate in all course discussions/responses and meet course deadlines and due dates for all materials including examinations and the research paper. ****Postings pertaining to discussion questions are expected to be a minimum of 500 words each. Active participation for each module also requires a minimum of two responses to two separate student postings. Each of these responses should be a minimum of 300 words. All postings are expected to be free of grammatical and spelling errors. Students failing to meet these minimum requirements will receive zero points for that portion of the course.

Grading: Grading will consist of two (2) 100 point exams and one (1) 50 point research assignment and (1) 50 point short paper. Forty (40) points will also be possible for class participation pertaining to discussion questions and responses equally divided among the four course modules (10 points for each module). Sixty (60) points will be possible for online quizzes equally divided among the four course modules (15 points for each quiz). Exams and quizzes will consist of multiple choice, true/false, essay questions, or any combination thereof. Final grades will be determined from the total points accumulated from the two exams, one research assignment, class participation/discussions/responses, and online quizzes.

Total Points:

Scale:

400

A AB+ B BC+ C D F

372 – 400 360 – 371 348 - 359 332 – 347 320 - 331 308 - 319 280 - 307 240 - 279 239 and below

Short Paper- Policing the Police: 50 Points Explain the purpose of this documentary and the issues that you see. Who is the most and least corrupt and why? Identify at least ten (10) problematic situations/scenes with

2

regard to police contact with the community, and what strategies would you employ to fix those problems? Short paper must be 3 FULL pages, utilizing at least two reliable sources (not Wikipedia or any other website that can be altered), double-spaced and submitted in Microsoft Word or rich text format. Grade will be lowered a minimum of One Full Grade for each of the following reasons: less than minimum page requirement, more than 3 misspelled words, incorrect grammar, incorrect format, incorrect citations, or failure to cite appropriate sources. Papers will not be accepted after the due date unless extraordinary documented reasons are present. This should be an original paper written by the student with appropriate citations. Proper citation is more than a reference page. Students failing to do original writing or cite appropriately will receive a zero for the research paper; there will be no exception Research Assignment: 50 points. Topics for the research assignment must be approved by your professor. The completed research assignment should follow the format stated below. 1. Title Page: State title of paper, course name and number, author’s name, and date of submission. 2. Length: Minimum is SIX FULL PAGES. Title page and bibliography/works cited pages are not included in minimum requirement. 3. Form: Final copy must be typed double-spaced and submitted to the professor in Microsoft Word or rich text format. 4. Citations to cases, books, or articles must appear in text in accordance with the current edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Whenever exact words or paraphrases are used, credit must be given to the author to avoid plagiarism. No form of plagiarism, cheating, or academic misconduct will be tolerated. Papers are not to be purchased, revised from the work of other students, or otherwise received, edited, and reverse engineered from any source including the Internet and submitted as your own work. Additional research and citation assistance may be found in the presentation provided in the folder entitled “research materials” via your course’s homepage. 5. Bibliography/Works Cited: On a separate page, prepare this page per APA format. Mandatory minimum of four (4) sources. Electronic sources must be professional in nature and of academic significance (Do not use Wikipedia). Peer reviewed academic journals are best. Try to avoid using general introductory textbooks, magazines, and newspapers as sources. Your text for this class should not be one of the required sources. Research assignments will be graded on content and form. Grade will be lowered a minimum of One Full Grade for each of the following reasons: less than minimum page requirement, more than 3 spelling mistakes, incorrect grammar, incorrect format, incorrect citations, or failure to cite appropriate sources. Papers will not be accepted after the due date unless extraordinary, documented reasons are present.

3

This should be an original research paper written by the student with appropriate citations. Proper citation is more than a reference page. Students failing to do original writing or cite appropriately will receive a zero for the research paper, will not have a chance for a rewrite, and will be turned into the MCCC Academic Integrity Committee as outlined in the Student Handbook. There will be no exceptions. Reading Assignments and Course Discussion/Response/Quiz/Examination/Research Paper Schedule: Reading assignments for each Module should be completed prior to course discussions and each exam. All discussions, responses, research assignments, examinations, and online quizzes are to be submitted no later than midnight on the date due. Material completed after deadlines is not accepted. Module I - Introduction of student and instructor post (Due 9/10) - Minimum of two responses to two separate student introductions (Due 9/12) - Read Chapters 1 – 3 - Discussion question I post (Due 9/24) - Minimum of two responses to two separate student discussions (Due 9/26) - Module I Online Quiz (Due 10/3) Module II - Read Chapters 4 – 6, 14 - Discussion question II post (Due 10/15) - Minimum of two responses to two separate student discussions (Due 10/17) - Module II Online Quiz (Due 10/24) - Mid-term exam (Examination must be completed no later than 10/31 @ 11:59 PM) Module III - Read Chapters 7-10 - Discussion question III post (Due 11/12) - Minimum of two responses to two separate student discussions (Due 11/14) - Module III Online Quiz (Due 11/21) - Watch the following: Policing the Police and write a three-page response (Due 11/21). Module IV - Read Chapters 11-13, 15 - Discussion question IV post (Due 11/28) - Minimum of two responses to two separate student discussions (Due 12/1) Module IV Online Quiz (Due 12/5) - Research Paper Submission (Due 12/12) - Final Examination (Examination must be completed no later than 12/16 @ 8 PM) Academic Integrity: Mercer County Community College is committed to Academic Integrity -- the honest, fair and continuing pursuit of knowledge, free from fraud or deception. This implies that students are expected to be responsible for their own work, and that faculty and academic support services staff members will take reasonable precautions to

4

prevent the opportunity for academic dishonesty. The college recognizes the following general categories of violations of Academic Integrity, with representative examples of each. Academic Integrity is violated whenever a student: A. Uses or obtains unauthorized assistance in any academic work. • copying from another student's exam. • using notes, books, electronic devices or other aids of any kind during an exam when prohibited. • stealing an exam or possessing a stolen copy of an exam. B. Gives fraudulent assistance to another student. • completing a graded academic activity or taking an exam for someone else. • giving answers to or sharing answers with another student before, during or after an exam or other graded academic activity. • sharing answers during an exam by using a system of signals. C. Knowingly represents the work of others as his/her own, or represents previously completed academic work as current. • submitting a paper or other academic work for credit which includes words, ideas, data or creative work of others without acknowledging the source. • using another author's words without enclosing them in quotation marks, without paraphrasing them or without citing the source appropriately. • presenting another individual's work as one's own. • submitting the same paper or academic assignment to another class without the permission of the instructor. D. Fabricates data in support of an academic assignment. • falsifying bibliographic entries. • submitting any academic assignment which contains falsified or fabricated data or results. E. Inappropriately or unethically uses technological means to gain academic advantage. • inappropriately or unethically acquiring material via the Internet or by any other means. • using any electronic or hidden devices for communication during an exam. Each instructor and academic support service area is authorized to establish specific guidelines consistent with this policy. CONSEQUENCES FOR VIOLATIONS OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY For a single violation, the faculty member will determine the course of action to be followed. This may include assigning a lower grade on the assignment, assigning a lower final course grade, failing the student in the course, or other penalty appropriate to the violation. In all cases, the instructor shall notify the Chair of the Academic Integrity Committee of the violation and the penalty imposed. When two (or more) violations of academic integrity are reported on a student, the Academic Integrity Committee (AIC) may impose disciplinary penalties beyond those imposed by the course instructors. The student shall have the right to a hearing before the AIC or a designated AIC subcommittee. APPEALS

5

The student has a right to appeal the decision of the instructor or the Academic Integrity Committee. Judicial procedures governing violations of Academic Integrity are contained in the Student Handbook. Approved by the MCCC Board of Trustees March 18, 2004 Note: The professor reserves the right to change or delete the aforementioned conditions as the term may dictate. Additional Information First Semester Students A coach has been assigned to assist you with navigating your first semester in college. Coaches help with understanding how Mercer works, finding appropriate help with course work, and establishing academic goals. Visit www.mccc.edu/coaching to find your coach or Contact: Arlene Stinson, LB217, 570-3451, [email protected] Academic Advising after your first semester Faculty advisors provide help with completing your major after your first semester. Meet your faculty advisors! Contact the division of your major to find out who is your faculty advisor. Liberal Arts Division: Debbie Stotland, LA162, 570-3378, [email protected] Business Division: Doris Geck, BS134, 570-3482, [email protected] Math, Science, Health: Barbara Pieslak, MS126, 570-3383, [email protected] Undecided major: Michael Glass, SC201, 570-3530, [email protected] Use your “MyMercer” Portal! Your “MyMercer” portal contains your MercerMail, financial information, class schedule, grades, and other information. Check your “MyMercer” portal every day! Visit www.mccc.edu/mymercer to access your portal. Tutoring support Academic support services are free and available for all students. Drop in or contact the following to make arrangements: Arlene Stinson (WWC), LB 217, 570.3422, [email protected] Joann Mia (TC), KC311, 570-3128, [email protected] Reasonable Accommodations for Students with Documented Disabilities The Office of Special Services (OSS) provides continued support to students with documented disabilities. Support staff are available to help students with differing abilities make a smooth transition to college as well as to succeed throughout their college experience. Contact: Arlene Stinson, LB 217, 570-3525, [email protected] Career and Transfer Center Planning to go to work or to transfer to a 4-year college after completing your Mercer degree? Contact the Career and Transfer Center for support and advice. Laurene Jones (WWC transfer services), SC201, 570-3307, [email protected] Michael Glass (WWC career services), SC201 570-3530, [email protected]

6

Kimberley Bowser (TC transfer and career), KC216, 570-3110, [email protected] Counseling Services Are you experiencing personal challenges, feeling overwhelmed? Are you having stress and anxiety? Counseling services are available free of charge. Contact: Dorothy Gasparro, SC239, 570-3354, [email protected] Veteran’s Services If you are military, veteran, or family member, we offer free support for you. Contact: Drew Daddio, SC220, 570-3240, [email protected] Important dates For complete list, visit www.mccc.edu/news_calendar_academic

7...