Course Syllabus

 

 

 

CRJ 4042: Introduction to Corrections

Summer 2014 Course Syllabus

 

Instructor: Latoya Golden
Email: latoya.golden@ucdenver.edu
Phone: 720-245-7621
Skype: serv2protect84

 

Prerequisites: CRJ 1001, Introduction to Criminal Justice

 

Course Description

This is an online course that will prepare students to understand the process of Corrections in America. This is a summer course; therefore this course will only consist of 8 weeks. This course will move quickly, so please keep up with the assignments. Students will learn the differences between jail and prison. This course will introduce students to the history and background of Corrections in United States. Students will spend a majority of the time focusing on the purpose of Corrections and will decide whether they think Corrections is rehabilitative or not. This course will be for undergraduate college students. Students will complete a final project that consists of taking a tour at a Colorado Correctional Facility. Students will also focus on the Correctional law, policies, practices, and issues within the correctional system, the incarceration of criminal populations in jails and prison, but mostly prison. Alternatives to incarceration such as probation and parole, capital punishment, community corrections will also be discussed.


Course Goal

The primary goal of this course is to teach you of what corrections consist of. In this course we will focus on the contemporary field of corrections. This is an introductory course for the field of corrections. Topics will include the history of crime and punishment, sentencing and the correctional process, jails, probation, intermediate sanctions, prisons, parole and prison reentry, clients of adult correctional agencies, the juvenile correctional system, special offenders, the management of prisons, prison life for inmates, prison staff, custody within a prison, treatment and programs, the death penalty, career opportunities in corrections, and current & future issues in corrections. Upon completion, students should be able to explain the various components, processes, and functions of the correctional system.

Communication with the Instructor

The best way of getting in contact with me is through email. I answer to emails quicker than I do telephone calls. I will respond to emails within 24 hours. You can contact via telephone, but I may not answer. If you do contact me via telephone, leave a message and I will return your call within 24 hours.

Learning Objectives and ILT Competencies

By the end of this course, you will be able to:
1. Demonstrate the knowledge of history/trends of Corrections.
2. Evaluate whether Corrections is rehabilitative for Offenders.
3. Compare & contrast female/male & adult/juvenile offenders.
4. Identify and understand the difference in adult and juvenile corrections, probation and parole.
5. Discuss the various Philosophies of punishment.
6. Describe the Criminal Justice System and the impact of policies on Corrections.
7. Demonstrate Correctional Issues and an overall understanding of Corrections in the United States.
8. Identify the subcomponents of modern-day corrections.
9. To highlight the process of modern day corrections.
10. Understand and describe legal issues, laws and general operations of corrections.

 

Required Text: This is the textbook for the course: Corrections: An Introduction (4th Edition) Richard P. Seiter ISBN-13: 978-0133009781.

 

 

 

Attendance / Work Completion

Taking an online course requires reliable internet connection. Technical problems will not be excused, therefore please ensure that you have back up for when technical problems do persist. It is your responsibility to keep up with your assignments. If a problem persists that is causing you not to complete your assignments, please contact me as soon as possible.

 

Assignments/Grading

Assignments are due on the Sunday at the end of the week, by 11:59 PM (MST). Late assignments will be accepted up to two days with a 10% deduction in grade for each late day. Assignments later than two days will not receive any credit. Submit all of your assignments as an attachment, through the course shell. Assignments resubmissions for assignments will not be accepted. The assignment due date will be open for 48 hours, due to the late work policy.

Discussions

Initial posts for discussions are due on Thursday and responses are due by Sunday of that week by 11:59 PM (MST). Discussions are not accepted late. You are required to post an initial discussion to every thread and respond to a minimum of two of your peers. Please ensure that everyone is receiving responses, for example when you are responding, respond to students who have not received a response. Please do not work ahead. This course is designed to be completed on a week by week basis. The course is set up so that you will not be able to submit any assignments that are not due the current week that we are on. You will be able to view assignments ahead of time, but you will not be able to submit assignments. I will respond to every student in the Introductions Threaded Discussion. Throughout the course, I will sporadically respond to threaded discussion responses. Please ensure that your threaded discussion responses are clear and concise. Check your spelling, punctuation, and grammar, prior to posting your responses. When referring to a source, you must follow the APA rules: http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-tutorial.aspx. Use short paragraphs for your responses and avoid using all CAPS.

Quizzes

There are five quizzes that are worth 25 points each. Quizzes cannot be made up, unless it is an emergency. It your responsibility to contact me and inform me of the emergency; I will then decide whether you can make the quiz up or not. Technical issues are not considered emergencies, so plan ahead.

Exams

There will only be one exam during this course. The midterm exam will be worth 100 points. The exam will include 20 questions and each question will be worth 5 points. Half of this test consists of essay questions. The other half consists of multiple choice and true or false questions. It is extremely critical that you study ahead of time for your midterm. You will only have two hours to complete the midterm exam. The midterm cannot be made up, unless it is an emergency.

Final Project

The final project is worth 100 points and will be due August 2, 2014. Make sure that you read the instructions for the final project: https://canvas.instructure.com$CANVAS_OBJECT_REFERENCE$/assignments/i3b219d571fec115ca437e9591360b636 There are two parts for the final project, so please make sure the you read the instructions carefully. There will be no final exam; the final project will be a substitution for the exam. Final Projects will not be accepted after August 2, 2014, 11:59 PM (MST).

Extra Credit

Students will have the opportunity to earn 25 extra credit points in this course. There will be two extra credit assignments that will be worth 25 points each. These extra credit assignments are optional and will be due on August 2, 2014 (you can submit it prior to the due date). Please make sure that you read the instructions for the extra credit assignment that you chose to submit. Both extra credit assignments are located in the Modules Section. Extra Credit Assignments will not be accepted after August 2, 2014, 11:59 PM (MST).


Grading Policy

Your course grade will be determined as follows:

GRADING SCALE:

Grading Standards Grade	Percent
A	93-100
A-	90-92
B+	87-89
B	83-86
B-	80-82
C+	77-79
C	73-76
C-	70-72
D	60-69
F	Below 60

Students will be able to view their graded assignments and current course grade in the grade book anytime. All grades will be calculated by points (not weighted) and calculated using rubrics.

Week 1 through 8 Sections

The course shell is designed for students to quickly become familiar with the course. I structured the shell using a format that I hope is comfortable for you. There is a section for each week that will provide you with an agenda for the week activities. Feel free to print out these agendas to use as a checklist for completing activities. Each week you will have activities to complete except for Week 4 (June 30 - July 6); for this course you do not come to class, you access the Canvas course shell to participate in a variety of activities. These activities were designed so that you can complete them within a couple of hours. I apply the same concept of on-campus courses to my courses. 

 

Below is the week schedule that includes due dates, required readings, and points for each assignment.

 

Week	Readings/Assignments
One (June 9 - June 15)	Chapters 1 & 2/ Syllabus Quiz (25 pts) & Introductions & Week 1 Threaded Discussions (25 pts each=50 pts)
Two (June 16 - June 22)	Chapters 3 & 4/Week 2 Threaded Discussion & Quiz (25 pts each=50 pts).
Three (June 23 - June 29)	Chapters 5 & 6/Week 3 Threaded Discussion, Prison Tour Threaded Discussion, & Quiz (25 pts each=75 pts).
Four (June 30 - July 6)	No Reading; Happy 4th of July!
Five (July 7 - July 13)	Chapters 7, 8, & 9/Midterm Exam (100 pts).
Six (July 14 - July 20)	Chapters 10, 11, & 12/Week 6 Threaded Discussion & Quiz (25 pts each=50 pts).
Seven (July 21 - July 27)	Chapters 13, 14, 15, & 16/Week 7 Threaded Discussion & Quiz (25 pts each=50 pts).
Eight (July 28- August 2)	No Readings/ Final Threaded Discussion (25 pts) and Final Project (100 pts).

Academic Calendar

Please refer to the academic calendar for important dates regarding when you can add and drop a course, when tuition payments are due, etc.

Academic honesty

You are responsible for viewing the university policies about academic honesty as stated in the University’s Student Conduct Code: http://www.ucdenver.edu/life/services/studentlife/PeerAdvocateLeaders/fy/Documents/First%20Year%20Resources/2013-2014%20Student%20Handbook.pdf.

Accommodations

The University of Colorado Denver is committed to providing reasonable accommodation and access to programs and services to persons with disabilities; see the University of Colorado Denver website for specifics. Students with disabilities who want academic accommodations must register with Disability Resources and Services (DRS), North Classroom 2514, Campus Box 118, P.O. Box 173364, Denver, CO 80217-3364, 303-556-3450, TTY 303-556-4766, FAX 303-556-4771, email DisabilityResources@ucdenver.edu. I am happy to provide approved accommodations, once you provide me with a copy of a doctor’s letter.

Academic Freedom

Academic freedom and diverse viewpoints are highly valued at the University of Colorado Denver. The Laws of the Board of Regents of the University of Colorado specify that:
(1) “The University of Colorado was created and is maintained to afford men and women a liberal education in the several branches of literature, arts, sciences, and the professions. These aims can be achieved only in that atmosphere of free inquiry and discussion, which has become a tradition of universities and is called academic freedom. . . . Within the bounds of this definition, academic freedom requires that members of the faculty must have complete freedom to study, to learn, to do research, and to communicate the results of these pursuits to others. The students likewise must have freedom of study and discussion. The fullest exposure to conflicting opinions is the best insurance against error. . . . All members of the academic community have a responsibility to protect the university as a forum for the free expression of ideas.” [Laws of the Regents 5.D.]
(2) “By enrolling as a student in the university, a person shall assume obligations of performance and behavior established by the university relevant to its lawful missions, processes, and functions. As members of the academic community, students have responsibility, equivalent to that of the faculty, for study, learning, academic integrity, and protecting the university as a forum for the free expression of ideas.”
[Laws of the Regents 7.B.]
(3) “All students shall have the same fundamental rights to equal respect, due process, and judgment of them based solely on factors demonstrably related to performance and expectations as students. All students share equally the obligations to perform their duties and exercise judgments of others in accordance with the basic standards of fairness, equity, and inquiry that should always guide education.”
[Laws of the Regents 10.]
Please visit the University of Colorado Denver website for information regarding academic freedom and non-discrimination.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

FERPA was created to protect the privacy rights of the students. Please visit the http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html for more information.

Succeeding Online

Colleague Dr. David Thomas, Academic Technology Manager at CU Online, shares the following words of advice with his online students in game design and architecture. The message may seem obvious, but for those of you new to online education, you may find it a helpful reminder.
Learning online is both a great educational opportunity and challenge. Although you can better schedule your course time around your needs, you also must take a greater responsibility for managing your time and getting work done. Not having to travel to campus is a great advantage, but you will find not having a class means you have more written work since you cannot receive grades for class participation or attendance. This course is structured with work every week and graded assignments due most weeks. The best way to succeed in this environment is to plan on working regularly to stay on top of the course load and not fall behind. Students who fall behind may find it very difficult to catch up. Saving study and assignment completion until Sunday evening is not typically the most successful approach. Online courses promise to provide an excellent educational opportunity, but this is true whether you're learning online or face-to-face: the ultimate success of the course sits on your shoulders.

How much time you should spend in this online course?

This is a 3-credit course, so you should expect to spend time participating and learning through the Canvas course shell 2 hours for 8 weeks or sessions; this will total up to 16 hours. For every hour in class, you should expect to spend 2 hours reading, preparing, and completing assignments: 16 X 2 = 32 hours. In the whole course, you are expected to spend 16 + 32 hours = 48 total hours. Divided into 8 weeks, your expected time commitment is approximately 6 hours per week. This is a useful formula for thinking about how much time you need to devote to an online undergraduate-level course and do well. This might now work for everyone, but I have found that setting aside increments of time to complete tasks can be helpful to help balance the coursework.