COURSE AND INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Course title: Correctional Systems and Practices
Course prefix, number, and section number: CRIJ2313 sec. 310
Semester/Year of course: Fall 2025
Semester start and end dates: – August 25, 2025 – December 13, 2025
Modality (Face to face/Synchronous or Asynchronous online/Hybrid): Asynchronous
Class meeting location, days, and times: See class Calendar
Lab meeting location, days, and times: N/A
Semester credit hours: 3
Course description: This course is a survey of institutional and non-institutional corrections. Emphasis will be placed on the organization and operation of correctional systems, treatment and rehabilitation, populations served, constitutional issues, and current and future challenges—48 lecture hours.
Course prerequisites: N/A
Required course materials: Corrections Today 4th Edition with Mind Tap (Required)
Name of instructor: Johnny Copley
Office location: Online
E-mail address: jcopley@nctc.edu
Office hours for students:
Friday- 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Should these office hours need to be adjusted, you will be notified ahead of time and given an alternative time.
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 in writing.
SUMMARY OF COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
List of graded assignments:
Assignments: 20%
Research Paper: 20%
Additional Assignments: 10%
Final exam: 20%
Discussion Forums: 15%
Learning Objectives: 15%
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. All assignments will not be reflected on the to-do-list. To see all assignments, you must click on the module and go to the weekly modules to see all assignments
SEE CANVAS FOR THE COMPLETE COURSE CALENDAR, OUTLINE, DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF GRADED WORK, AND OTHER RELATED MATERIAL.
COURSE POLICIES
Academic Integrity Policy:
Scholastic dishonesty shall include, but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, academic falsification, intellectual property dishonesty, academic dishonesty facilitation, and collusion. Faculty members may document and bring charges against a student who is engaged in or is suspected to be engaged in academic dishonesty. See Student Handbook, “Student Rights & Responsibilities: Student Conduct ([FLB(LOCAL)]”.SS
Attendance Policy:
Regular and punctual attendance is expected of all students in all classes for which they have registered. All absences are considered to be unauthorized unless the student is absent due to illness or emergencies, as determined by the instructor. It is the student's responsibility to provide documentation as to the emergency for approval and judgment by the faculty member. Approved college-sponsored activities are the only absences for which a student should not be held liable, and only when provided by a college official ahead of the absence. Valid reasons for absence, however, do not relieve the student of the responsibility for making up required work. Students will not be allowed to make up an examination missed due to absence unless they have reasons acceptable to the instructor. A student who is compelled to be absent when a test is given should petition the instructor, in advance if possible, for permission to postpone the exam.
Students who fail to attend class, complete assignments, or communicate valid reasons for non-participation in a three (3) week consecutive time frame may be administratively dropped from the course. In such cases, the Registrar, upon recommendation of the instructor, will do so. It is the duty of the professor to take action to remove you from the course to ensure academic integrity and fairness.
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 03, 2025
Student Learning Outcomes:
- Describe the history and philosophy of the American criminal justice system
- Explain the nature (causes) 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 processes
COLLEGE POLICIES
STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT: By enrolling in a course at North Central Texas College, students agree to abide by the Student Code of Conduct. Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in removal from the course.
CANVAS & CONNECT ACCESS: All students must have complete access to Canvas and Connect for the entire semester. It is the student’s responsibility to have access to the internet, as well as all needed programs to complete both face-to-face and online courses. Students are not to give any other person access to his/her Canvas or Connect account. Students can be removed from the course immediately up violating this rule. Once a student has given another person access to his/her Canvas account, the credibility of any work completed becomes questionable.
COMPUTER ACCESS: Students must have access to a computer for various assignments in this course. You cannot use a cell phone to perform all the requirements of this course. If you do not have a computer, then you need to make sure that you access a computer at one of the NCTC campuses, a public library, etc.
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
AI/Natural Language Programs (NLPs)/Large Language Models (LLMs) Usage Policy: This information is used with permission and citation with gratitude to Princeton University: The McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning.
- Intellectual honesty is vital to an academic community and for my fair evaluation of your work. All work submitted in this course must be your own, completed in accordance with the College's academic regulations. You may not engage in unauthorized collaboration or make use of ChatGPT or other AI composition software/NLPs/LLMs.
- Students must obtain permission from me before using AI composition software (like ChatGPT) for any assignments in this course. Using these tools without my permission puts your academic integrity at risk.
- This course does make use of AI/NLPs/LLMs plagiarism checker software for the purpose of detecting the use of AI programs.
- Any violation of this policy will be considered academic dishonesty and will be documented as such
Artificial Intelligence Policy: 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. No AI tools are permitted in the course including but not limited to ChatGPT and Grammarly Plus. Multiple AI detection tools will be used by the instructor. If a student uses any AI tool and detectors find 20% or more of the content is AI generated. A score of ZERO will be entered for the assignment. The student will have 1 opportunity to revise the assignment to be completely their own original work. If multiple infractions occur, they could result in failing the course and expulsion from the college.
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.
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: Suite 170 Office Number
Telephone number: 940-498-6263
E-mail address: tlaman@nctc.edu
Name of Instructional Dean: Debbie Huffman
Office location: Gainesville CTE 2100 Building
Telephone number: 940-662-3357
E-mail address: dhuffman@nctc.edu