Syllabus

This graduate seminar introduces students to the many methods of crime control and reviews the research concerning their effectiveness. The course covers policing, prosecution and courts, and legislative methods of crime control. Moreover, it spans beyond the justice system and examines the effectiveness of crime control at the school and community levels. The seminar also covers juvenile crime control, crime and punishment in America, and sociological explanations of large-scale crime trends. Finally, it covers the explanations (and consequences) of the US prison boom first witnessed during the 1970s and which continues today. Related to this last theme, the seminar will examine policymaking more generally and discuss how empirical information can and does get used (and sometimes misused) in current U.S. crime policy debates. By the end of the semester, you will be able to think analytically about crime and criminal justice, an intrinsically controversial and emotional topic, and understand how scientific information enters into the policymaking process.

Please review the FIU's Policies webpage. The policies webpage contains essential information regarding guidelines relevant to all courses at FIU, as well as additional information about acceptable netiquette for online courses.

Student Misconduct:
FIU is a community dedicated to generating and imparting knowledge through excellent teaching and research, the rigorous and respectful exchange of ideas, and community service. All students should respect the right of others to have an equitable opportunity to learn and honestly to demonstrate the quality of their learning. Therefore, all students are expected to adhere to a standard of academic conduct, which demonstrates respect for themselves, their fellow students, and the educational mission of the University. All students are deemed by the University to understand that if they are found responsible for academic misconduct, they will be subject to the Academic Misconduct procedures and sanctions, as outlined in the Student Handbook.
Academic misconduct is a serious offense at FIU because it diminishes the quality of the scholarship and learning experience for everyone on campus. An act of academic misconduct, including cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation, and classroom disruption (e.g., cell phones), may to lead to penalties such as a reduction in grade, probation, suspension, or expulsion. The term “plagiarism” includes, but is not limited to, the use by paraphrase or direct quotations, of the published or unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgement. It also includes the unacknowledged use of materials prepared by another person or agency that may or may not be engaged in the selling of term papers or other academic materials.
Students agree that enrollment in this course constitutes permission that all required papers may be submitted to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism and that all submitted papers will be retained as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database and used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. Turnitin.com is an electronic resource that assists in the detection and deterrence of plagiarism by electronic comparison for textual similarity. All students are deemed by the University to understand that if they are found responsible for academic misconduct, they will be subject to the Academic Misconduct procedures and sanctions.

Incomplete Grade:
An incomplete grade is a temporary symbol given at the discretion of the professor for work not completed because of serious interruption not caused by the student’s own negligence. To be eligible, written documentation must be provided. The student also must have successfully completed half of the coursework with a passing grade. An incomplete must be made up as quickly as possible, but no later than two consecutive semesters after the initial taking of the course or it will automatically default to an “F” or the grade that the student earned in the course.

One of the greatest barriers to taking an online course is a lack of basic computer literacy. By computer literacy we mean being able to manage and organize computer files efficiently, and learning to use your computer's operating system and software quickly and easily. Keep in mind that this is not a computer literacy course; but students enrolled in online courses are expected to have moderate proficiency using a computer. Please go to the "What's Required" webpage to find out more information on this subject.

Please visit our Technical Requirements webpage for additional information.

Florida International University is committed to providing a working and learning atmosphere that reasonably accommodates qualified persons with disabilities. If you have any disability, which may impair your ability to complete this course successfully, please contact the Disability Resource Center (305-348-3532).  Reasonable academic accommodations are reviewed for all students who have qualified, documented disabilities.

For detailed information about the specific limitations with the technologies used in this course, please click here.

For more information about Blackboard's Accessibility Commitment, click here.

For additional assistance please contact FIU's Disability Resource Center.

At least 24 graduate credit hours.

This is an online course, which means most (if not all) of the course work will be conducted online. Expectations for performance in an online course are the same for a traditional course. In fact, online courses require a degree of self-motivation, self-discipline, and technology skills which can make these courses more demanding for some students.

Students are expected to:

• review the Getting Started information located in the course content;
• introduce yourself to the class during the first week by posting a self-introduction in the appropriate discussion forum;
• take the Practice Quiz to ensure that your computer is compatible with Blackboard;
• interact online with instructor(s) and peers; and
• review and follow the course calendar.

Communication in this course will take place via Email.

I routinely email the class and will use your FIU email address by default. If you do not receive an email from me during the week before classes begin, check your spam folder. Also, let me know if you prefer that I use an alternative email address.

The Email feature is an external communication tool that allows users to send emails to users enrolled within the course. Emails are sent to the students’ FIU email on record. The Email tool is located on the Course Menu, on the left side of the course webpage.

Visit our Writing Resources webpage for more information on professional writing and technical communication skills.

• There are two exams for this course. Exams will cover material from lectures and assigned readings. Please review the course schedule for the dates and times of the exams. You will need to make sure ahead of time that you have the computer capability to take the exams online through Blackboard.

• There is one research project for this course where you will critically analyze and evaluate a criminal justice policy and make evidence-based recommendations. The project will be written as a policy brief. It will be uploaded through the Blackboard and it is subject to review by Turnitin.com.
• There is one required oral presentation of your research project. Depending on the type of class (i.e. online or hybrid), you will present to a virtual or live audience made up of your colleagues and myself. Your presentation will be graded using a rubric with a 5-point rating scale of six oral communication indicators. The purpose of the oral presentation is for you to demonstrate effective oral communication skills through your subject knowledge of criminal justice, organization of ideas, efficient delivery, and appropriate use of PowerPoint.

• The method of determining final grades is based on the following course requirements. The following grading scale will be used to determine your course grades: