COURSE AND INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

 Course title: Introduction to Criminal Justice

 Course prefix, number, and section number: CRIJ 1301 SEC 0381

 Semester/Year of course: Spring 2025, Second 8 weeks

 Semester start and end dates: March 24, 2025 to May 17, 2025

 Modality (Face to face/Synchronous or Asynchronous online/Hybrid): Asynchronous online

 Class meeting location, days, and times: N/A

 Lab meeting location, days, and times: N/A

 Semester credit hours: 3

 Course description: This course provides a historical and philosophical overview of the American criminal justice system, including the nature, extent, and impact of crime; criminal law; and justice agencies and processes. 48 lecture hours.

Course prerequisites: None

 Required course materials:  Criminal Justice in America 10th Edition With Mind Tap (Required)

 Name of instructor: Diane Patterson

Office location: Online

E-mail address: dpatterson@nctc.edu

Office hours for students:

Monday-Thursday 10a-2pm on Gainesville Campus office 2107 or WebEx

SYLLABUS CHANGE DISCLAIMER

The faculty member reserves the right to make changes to this published syllabus if it is in the best interest of the educational development of this class. Any such changes will be announced as soon as possible in person and/or writing.

SUMMARY OF COURSE ASSIGNMENTS

List of graded assignments:

15 Chapter Quizzes 30%
7 Discussion Forums 20%
30 Chapter Fast Facts 20%
1 QEP Aspire to be Hired assignment 15%
1 Final Exam 15%

Mandatory Meeting with Instructor- see below

Final grade scale:

  90-100 A

  80-89   B

  70-79   C

 60-69   D

 59 and Below F

Late work policy:  No assignments will be accepted late.  You must read your syllabus to ensure you are submitting your assignments on time. 

SEE CANVAS FOR THE COMPLETE COURSE CALENDAR, OUTLINE, DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF GRADED WORK, AND OTHER RELATED MATERIAL.

Mandatory Meeting with your instructor

You will have a mandatory meeting with your instructor in the first two weeks of this course. You can meet with me in person in my office or through WebEx.  I have office hours of Monday-Thursday from 10a-2p at the Gainesville Campus, office 2107.  I have set-up WebEx 15-minute time slots for you to meet with me one-one to discuss this class in the first two weeks of this course.  The times are from 10am-2pm.  If you need to meet outside these times for work related or school related reasons, you must email me through canvas to set up a specific time. 

THIS IS MANDATORY. IF YOU DO NOT MEET WITH ME, YOU WILL BE DROPPED FROM THIS COURSE.

The reason this is being done is to help students be more successful in this course. Over the past several semesters, many students have found it challenging to earn a successful grade of 70% or higher.  This course is fast-paced; but is not overly difficult. It simply requires good time management skills and a good understanding of the course requirements. The college, the Criminal Justice Department, and I are concerned that in an online class environment, it may be difficult for students to engage with the instructor.  This is an opportunity to engage with the instructor in the beginning of the course and an attempt to begin communication with students that will last throughout the semester.

COURSE POLICIES

Academic Integrity Policy:  Cheating or collusion is prohibited.  There are no group assignments in this course.  Each student is responsible for their own assignment. If you make the decision to cheat and you are caught cheating, you may or could be dropped from the course and receive an F.  Criminal Justice practitioners are held to a higher standard.

Attendance Policy:  Attendance is taking by your participation in the discussion forums and completing assignments. Simply logging in does not constitute attendance.  I do record attendance weekly through Qwickly.

Withdrawal Policy

A student may withdraw from a course on or after the official date of record. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate and complete a Withdrawal Request Form.

Last day to withdraw from the course with a “W” is:   April 28, 2025

Student Learning Outcomes:

At the successful completion of this course the student will be able to:

• Describe the history and philosophy of the American criminal justice system.
• Explain the nature and extent of crime in America.
• Analyze the impact and consequences of crime.
• Evaluate the development, concepts, and functions of law in the criminal justice system.
• Describe the structure of contemporary federal, state and local justice agencies and process.

Core Objectives:

Critical Thinking

Professional Communication

Personal Responsibility

Social Responsibility

COLLEGE POLICIES

STUDENT HANDBOOK

Students are expected to follow all rules and regulations found in the Student Handbook.

ADA STATEMENT

NCTC will adhere to all applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations to afford equal educational opportunity. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the Office for Students with Disabilities to arrange appropriate accommodations.  See the OSD Syllabus Addendum.

STUDENT SERVICES

NCTC provides a multitude of services and resources to support students.  See the Student Services Syllabus Addendum for a listing of those departments and links to their sites.

 AI STATEMENT

Absent a clear statement from a course instructor, use of or consultation with generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or other similar technologies shall be treated analogously to assistance from another person, agency, or entity. In particular, using generative AI tools to substantially complete an assignment or exam is not permitted. Students should acknowledge the use of generative AI (other than incidental use) and default to disclosing such assistance when in doubt.

When students use generative AI to replace the rigorous demands of personal engagement with their coursework, it runs counter to the educational mission of the college and undermines the heart of education itself. Artificial Intelligence, large language models, and other such technologies hold promise for deploying knowledge in service to others and accelerating the discovery of new knowledge. However, such technology poses new challenges to pedagogy and to integrity. Within the context of the teaching mission of the college and consistent with the Student Code of Conduct, the authority to define the appropriate use, study, and deployment of these technologies rests with the faculty.

Individual course instructors, in coordination with their divisions, set policies regulating the use of generative AI tools in their courses, including allowing or disallowing some or all uses of such tools. Course instructors will set such policies in their course syllabi and clearly communicate such policies to students. Students who are unsure of policies regarding generative AI tools are encouraged to ask their instructors for clarification.

Artificial Intelligence Policy:

Prohibited

This course assumes that all work submitted by students will be generated by the students themselves, working individually or in groups. Students should not have another person/entity do the writing of any substantive portion of an assignment for them, which includes hiring a person or a company to write assignments and using artificial intelligence tools

QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, or COMPLAINTS

The student should contact the instructor to deal with any questions, concerns, or complaints specific to the class.  If the student and faculty are not able to resolve the issue, the student may contact the chair or coordinator of the division.  If the student remains unsatisfied, the student may proceed to contact the instructional dean.

Name of Chair/Coordinator: Teresa Laman

Office location: Corinth Suite 170 Office Number 172

Telephone number: 940-498-6263

E-mail address: tlaman@nctc.edu

Name of Instructional Dean: Debbie Huffman

Office location: Gainesville CTE 2100 Building office 2106

Telephone number: 940-662-3357

E-mail address: dhuffman@nctc.edu