Syllabus for AOJ-102

INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Introduction to Criminal Justice offers an overview of the entire criminal justice system. The focus is on the administration of police, court and correctional agencies, and the decision-making points from the initial investigation or arrest by police to the eventual release of the offender and his/her reentry into society. The emphasis is on the dynamic relationships between the various elements in the system as well as special problem areas.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

After completing this course, you should be able to: 

1. Describe the major components of the criminal justice system.
2. Discuss the policies and practices of police, courts, and corrections organizations.
3. Explain how crime is defined and measured.
4. Define the various types of American law.
5. Identify the various critical issues facing the criminal justice system.

COURSE MATERIALS

You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. The required textbook is available from the College's textbook supplier, MBS Direct.

Required Textbook

1. Essentials of Criminal Justice, 6th ed. Larry J. Siegel (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011).
   
   ISBN: 978-0-495-81099-5
   
   The Publisher's Companion Web site provides interactive exercises to help you review key concepts from the textbook. Resources include glossary, flashcards, blog, tutorial quizzes, and Web links.

COURSE STRUCTURE

Introduction to Criminal Justice is a three-credit online course, consisting of five (5) modules. Modules include learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.

1. Module 1: The Nature of Crime, Law, and Criminal Justice

1. Module 2: The Police and Law Enforcement
   
2. Module 3: Courts and Adjudication
   
3. Module 4: Corrections and Alternative Sanctions
   
4. Module 5: Contemporary Challenges of the American Criminal Justice

ASSESSMENT METHODS

For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, take online quizzes, and complete a final position paper. See below for more details.

Consult the course Calendar for assignment due dates.

Discussion Forums

In addition to an ungraded "Introductions" forum, Introduction to Criminal Justice requires you to participate in five graded class discussions.

Communication with the mentor and among fellow students is a critical component of online learning. Participation in online discussions involves two distinct activities: an initial response to a posted question (discussion thread) and subsequent comments on classmates' responses.

You will be evaluated both on the quality of your responses (i.e., your understanding of readings, and concepts as demonstrated by well-articulated, critical thinking) and quantity of your participation (i.e., the number of times you participate meaningfully in the assigned forums). Responses and comments should be properly proofread and edited, professional, and respectful.

Meaningful participation in online discussions is relevant to the content, adds value, and advances the discussion. Comments such as "I agree" and "ditto" are not considered value-adding participation.

Therefore, when you agree or disagree with a classmate, the reading, or your mentor, state and support your agreement or disagreement.

Specific directions for these activities, and the questions to be discussed, are given in the Modules of the course Web site.

For posting guidelines and help with discussion forums, please see the Student Handbook located within the General Information page of the course Web site.

Quizzes

There will be fourteen chapter quizzes for this course. The quizzes should be taken after you complete the reading assignments and online discussion for each module. There will be twenty (20) multiple choice questions on each of the quizzes, each worth 5 points. The quizzes will be worth 100 points each. You have up to 60 minutes in which to complete the quiz and may take it only once.

Final Project

Introduction to Criminal Justice requires you write a Position Paper as a final project. Your objective in writing this paper is to define an issue clearly and to formulate and clarify your position on that issue by reacting to a controversial statement.

For guidelines and requirements, go to the Final Project area of the course web site. You are required to submit a paper outline before submitting the final paper.

Prepare your position paper using whatever word processing program you have on your computer. Include your name at the top of the paper, as well as the course name and code and the semester and year in which you are enrolled.

Before submitting your the position paper outline, check with your mentor to determine whether your word processing software is compatible with your mentor's software. If so, you can submit your work as you prepared it. If not, save your assignment as a rich-text (.rtf) file, using the Save As command of your software program. Rich text retains basic formatting and can be read by any other word processing program.

GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

1. Online discussions (5)—15 percent
2. Quizzes (14)—60 percent
3. Final Paper—25 percent

All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or better (for an area of study course) or D or better (for a nonarea of study course), based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings, etc.).

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

First Steps to Success

To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

1. Read carefully the entire Syllabus, making sure that all aspects of the course are clear to you and that you have all the materials required for the course.
   
2. Take the time to read the entire Online Student Handbook. The Handbook answers many questions about how to proceed through the course, how to schedule exams, and how to get the most from your educational experience at Thomas Edison State College.
   
3. Arrange to take your examination(s) by following the instructions in this Syllabus and the Online Student Handbook.
   
4. Familiarize yourself with the learning management systems environment—how to navigate it and what the various course areas contain. If you know what to expect as you navigate the course, you can better pace yourself and complete the work on time.
   
5. If you are not familiar with Web-based learning be sure to review the processes for posting responses online and submitting assignments before class begins.

Study Tips

Consider the following study tips for success:

1. To stay on track throughout the course, begin each week by consulting the course Calendar. The Calendar provides an overview of the course and indicates due dates for submitting assignments, posting discussions, and scheduling and taking examinations.
2. Check the Announcements page and Discussion Forum regularly for new course information.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Students at Thomas Edison State College are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.

Academic Dishonesty

Thomas Edison State College expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the College insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty takes the following forms:

1. Cheating
2. Plagiarizing (including copying and pasting from the Internet without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources)
3. Fabricating information or citations
4. Facilitating acts of dishonesty by others
5. Unauthorized access to examinations or the use of unauthorized materials during exam administration
6. Submitting the work of another person or work previously used without informing the mentor
7. Tampering with the academic work of other students

Academic dishonesty will result in disciplinary action and possible dismissal from the College. Students who submit papers that are found to be plagiarized will receive an F on the plagiarized assignment, may receive a grade of F for the course, and may face dismissal from the College.

A student who is charged with academic dishonesty will be given oral or written notice of the charge. If a mentor or College official believes the infraction is serious enough to warrant referral of the case to the academic dean, or if the mentor awards a final grade of F in the course because of the infraction, the student and the mentor will be afforded formal due process.

If a student is found cheating or using unauthorized materials on an examination, he or she will automatically receive a grade of F on that examination. Students who believe they have been falsely accused of academic dishonesty should seek redress through informal discussions with the mentor, through the office of the dean, or through an executive officer of Thomas Edison State College.

Plagiarism

Using someone else's work as your own is plagiarism. Although it may seem like simple dishonesty, plagiarism is against the law. Thomas Edison State College takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing will be severely penalized. If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > "Citing Sources.")

Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else's. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.

Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.

Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.