This course gives students a basic overview of the American criminal justice system, including the major components of that system:  the police and law enforcement, courts and adjudication, corrections and alternative sanctions, and a brief introduction to the juvenile justice system.  It also includes an introductory section that addresses such issues as:  the history of criminal justice in the U.S., the characteristics of crime, issues related to the measurement of crime, and criminal law and procedure.  This course will not cover these issues in a comprehensive manner since it is meant to lay the foundation for other courses in which most of these content areas will be covered more fully and across an entire semester.

The course will be structured using a virtual lecture style by way of written content and PPT slides, supplemented with a series of active learning techniques, e.g. collaborative learning.  Through a series of “Thought Provoking Exercises” at the beginning of each lesson, students will be required to engage with their peers in a designated discussion space. 

The major objectives of this course are to:

• Introduce the students to the major concepts associated with the various components of the American criminal justice system
• Give students an opportunity to enhance their critical thinking and writing skills
• Instill in students the importance of working within a team to produce a solution to a posed modern-day “real world” problem related to criminal justice
• Create a sense of community for students through interactive, asynchronous discussions

The following materials are required and must be purchased from MBS Direct:

• Required textbook:  Siegel, Larry J. 2010. Essentials of Criminal Justice, Seventh Edition, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, ISBN 0495810991

Many of the University Libraries resources can be utilized from a distance. Through the Libraries website, you can

The World Campus follows the same grading system as the Penn State resident program. The grades of A, B, C, D, and F indicate the following qualities of academic performance:

A = (Excellent) Indicates exceptional achievement
B = (Good) Indicates extensive achievement
C = (Satisfactory) Indicates acceptable achievement
D = (Poor) Indicates only minimal achievement
F = (Failure) Indicates inadequate achievement necessitating a repetition of the course in order to secure credit

Students in this course will engage in different interactive learning activities, many of which require group participation. Meaningful contributions with your group members will maximize the points received for these group activities.

1. Thought-Provoking Exercises

   These exercises will be at the beginning of each lesson to encourage students to explore concepts, ideas, and issues and to engage them in discussions about them. A grading rubric for how participation in these discussions will be evaluated is included under the Lessons tab. The two lowest scores for these exercises will be dropped with ten of the scores factored into the student's final grade for this course.

2. Weekly Quizzes

Short 10-question quizzes will be given weekly to measure the extent to which students are comprehending the lesson materials. The two lowest scores for these exercises will be dropped with ten of the scores factored into the student's final grade for this course.

3. Exams

   There will be three exams throughout the semester which will consist of 50 objective (multiple-choice, matching, etc.) questions. You will have a certain amount of time to complete the exams (45 minutes for each), and will be given only one attempt at completing them. The total possible points for each exam will be 100. All exams will be non-cumulative, focusing exclusively on the topics covered in the previous class sessions. Make-up exams will be given only with prior notification in emergency/medical situations. The student is encouraged to complete scheduled exams when humanly possible; make-up exams will be completely of a different format and they may be considerably more difficult than regular exams.

Notes:

Extra credit is not available in this course.

Finally, incomplete grades are not automatic; rather, a grade of incomplete will be granted at the instructor's discretion with sufficient documentation by the student of hardship necessitating extra time to complete course requirements. Completion of an incomplete grade shall follow Penn State's timetable outlined in each year's Academic Calendar.