Syllabus for AOJ-484
PUBLIC POLICY, CRIME, AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Public Policy, Crime, and Criminal Justice provides an analysis of intergovernmental relations in the forming and implementing of criminal justice policies, laws, and procedures. Emphasis is placed on the development of quantitative and qualitative information in analyzing and formulating policy.
After completing this course, you should be able to:
You will need the following materials to complete your coursework. Some course materials may be free, open source, or available from other providers. You can access free or open-source materials by clicking the links provided below or in the module details documents. To purchase course materials, please visit the University's textbook supplier.
You will find chapter summaries and lists of main points in the Chapter Pedagogy area of the course Web site.
Each module provides web links that may enhance your study or help with writing assignments.
Public Policy, Crime, and Criminal Justice is a three-credit online course, consisting of eight modules. Modules include learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.
For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written assignments, take online quizzes, and complete a final project. See below for more details.
Consult the Course Calendar for assignment due dates.
One or more of your course activities may utilize a tool designed to promote original work and evaluate your submissions for plagiarism. More information about this tool is available in this document.
In addition to an ungraded "Introductions" forum, Public Policy, Crime, and Criminal Justice requires you to participate in seven 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.
For posting guidelines and help with discussion forums, please see the Student Handbook located within the General Information page of the course website.
You are required to complete eight written assignments. The written assignments are on a variety of topics associated with the courses modules. The written assignments are the primary means for you to express yourself verbally during the semester, controlling content and meaning.
Take the time to familiarize yourself with the modules of the course website, and read through the written assignment question before you begin the reading for that assignment.
Your answers to the assignment questions should be well developed and convey your understanding of the readings and concepts. They should also adequately answer the questions posed. If you need help in writing, take a look at The Writing Center: University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Also, formulate responses in your own words. Do not merely copy answers from your reading materials. When quoting or paraphrasing from the text or other sources, be sure to cite the source of information properly according to APA guidelines (see also Documentation Rules & Citation Styles). If you have further questions, your mentor will guide you in accordance with the correct style of documentation.
Your objective in completing each written assignment is to demonstrate comprehension of an issue and to formulate and clarify your position on that issue. You will be presented with a question or a statement and will be given guidelines on how to formulate your response. Successful completion of this assignment involves accomplishing the following tasks:
Prepare your written assignments 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 first assignment, 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.
For help regarding preparing and submitting assignments, see the Student Handbook located within the General Information page of the course Web site.
You are required to complete eight quizzes. You may take each quiz multiple times if you wish for additional practice, but be aware that the grade of your most recent attempt will be the one entered into the gradebook. The quizzes are unproctored with no time limit. You are permitted to use the textbook, class notes, and/or scratch paper when taking the quiz.
After completing each module, take the associated quiz.
You are on your honor not to cheat during the quizzes. Cheating means:
If there is evidence that you have cheated or plagiarized in your quiz, the quiz will be declared invalid, and you will fail the course.
There are no examinations in this course. A 15–20 page final project acts as your final assessment. You may begin work on this project at any time during the course, but you must submit it by the last day of the semester.
Complete instructions for your final project, as well as your choice of topics, can be found in the Final Project area of the course website.
For help regarding preparing and submitting assignments, see the Student Handbook located within the General Information page of the course website.
Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:
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:
A | = | 93–100 | C+ | = | 78–79 | |
A– | = | 90–92 | C | = | 73–77 | |
B+ | = | 88–89 | C– | = | 70–72 | |
B | = | 83–87 | D | = | 60–69 | |
B– | = | 80–82 | F | = | Below 60 |
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 course not in your area of study), based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings, etc.).
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:
Consider the following study tips for success:
To ensure success in all your academic endeavors and coursework at Thomas Edison State University, familiarize yourself with all administrative and academic policies including those related to academic integrity, course late submissions, course extensions, and grading policies.
For more, see:
Copyright © 2018 by Thomas Edison State University. All rights reserved.
