NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE
COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE AND INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Course title: Fundamentals of Criminal Law
Course prefix, number, and section number: CRIJ1310, Sec 0310
Semester/Year of course: Fall 2025
Semester start and end dates: August 25- December 11, 2025
Modality (Face to face/Synchronous or Asynchronous online/Hybrid): Asynchronous online
Class meeting location, days, and times: online
Lab meeting location, days, and times: N/A
Semester credit hours: 3
Course Description: A study of the nature of criminal law; philosophical and historical development; major definitions and concepts; classification of crime; elements of crimes and penalties using Texas status as illustrations.
Course prerequisites: None
Required course materials: Garland, Norman M. (2024 Release). Criminal Law for the Criminal Justice Professional McGraw Hill: Connect (Required).
Warning: If you choose to use a different edition, you do so at your own risk. Using a different edition may affect your performance in this class.
Name of instructor: Diane Patterson
Office location: Gainesville Campus, 2100 Building, Office 2107
Telephone number: 940-668-3313
Email address: dpatterson@nctc.edu
Office hours for students: M, W-TR 10am- 2pm in Gainesville 2107
Tuesday 10am- 2pm Corinth 170
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:
16 Chapter Quizzes 20%
16 Chapter Essays 15%
6 Discussion Forums 10%
16 Chapter Assignments 10%
5 Course Core L.O. Essays 15%
1 Mid-Term Exam 10%
1 Final Exam 10%
1 Final Paper 10%
Extra Credit Assignment 5%
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.
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. If a student does not participate, they will be counted as absent. Simply logging in does not constitute attendance. If a student is absent for 2 consecutive weeks they may be dropped for non-attendance. This means that if a student does not complete an assignment within those 2 consecutive weeks, they may be dropped by the instructor from the course for non-attendance. I do enter attendance in 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: November 3, 2025
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Student Learning Outcomes:
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1.
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Identify the elements of crimes and defenses under Texas statutes, Model Penal Code, and case law.
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2.
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Classify offenses and articulate penalties for various crimes.
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3.
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Compare culpable mental states when assigning criminal responsibility.
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4.
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Assess the impact of history and philosophy on current criminal laws.
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5.
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Evaluate the application of criminal law to other areas of criminal justice such as law enforcement and corrections.
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Core Objectives:
Critical Thinking
Professional Communication
Personal Responsibility
Social Responsibility
COLLEGE POLICIES
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.
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
STUDENT HANDBOOK
Students are expected to follow all rules and regulations found in the Student Handbook.
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.
LIBRARY
NCTC has brick-and-mortar libraries on the Gainesville, Corinth, Flower Mound, and Bowie campuses that are staffed by credentialed librarians wanting to help you succeed in your college career. All students are welcome at any library.
On campus? Visit our website www.nctc.edu/library.
Off-campus? Our research databases are now available in OneLogin.
For Virtual Assistance from a librarian, please use https://www.nctc.edu/ask-a-librarian or schedule a virtual appointment in Upswing, accessed through OneLogin
Please visit www.nctc.edu/library for the operating hours, phone number, and email of the library nearest you.
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, Office 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