Criminal Justice

• Certificates

  At the end of the Juvenile Justice Certificate program, students will:

  • Recognize the elements of juvenile criminal behavior
  • Identify the differences in criminal procedures and proceedings between adult and juvenile court
  • Demonstrate how other criminal justice and liberal arts fields intersect with the juvenile justice system

   

  At the end of the Forensic Science Fundamentals Certificate program, students will:

  • Recognize the key elements of the criminal justice system
  • Describe the interface between the forensic scientist, physical evidence, and the criminal justice system
  • Orally communicate comfortable in front of an audience
  • Understand fundamental concepts of chemistry and biology

   

  At the end of the Victim Advocacy Certificate program, students will:

  • Identify the stages of a case through the criminal court process
  • Describe the factors that influence, and the resulting consequences of, criminal victimization
  • Demonstrate how the principles of criminal justice and social science apply to the assistance of crime victims
• Associate Degree

  At the end of the Associate of Science in Criminal Justice degree, students will:

  • Recognize the key historical, theoretical, and practical components of contemporary corrections.
  • Identify the fundamental concepts of criminal law as they are applied in the courts.
  • Recognize the key historical, theoretical, and practical components of contemporary policing.
• Bachelor Degree

  At the end of their study at WSU, students with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice will:

  • Describe key concepts, theories, or ideas related to the discipline of criminal justice.
  • Explain the experiences, perspectives, or contributions of diverse groups in criminal justice systems.
  • Apply theories and research findings to the operation of criminal justice systems.
  • Effectively communicate.
  • Analyze problems in criminal justice using critical thinking or problem-solving skills.
  • Develop a personal framework for ethical decision-making.

The Criminal Justice program provides students with a liberal education, while offering academic preparation through an expanded emphasis on criminal justice education. The program also offers a basis for graduate study and seeks to contribute significantly to the improvement of the quality of justice administration.

Criminal justice agencies in the recent past have established advanced academic standards. Education is becoming a more meaningful factor in selection of law enforcement, corrections, and security personnel for initial employment, promotion, and administrative roles

Criminal Justice Department Website

The current assessment is collected from CJ 4995.  Students are given a 100 question exam covering material from the nine core courses in the program (CJ 1300, 1330, 2300, 3270, 3300, 3600, 4165, 4200 & 4980).  CJ 4995 has a prerequisite of completion of the nine core courses.  However, in an effort not to hinder student progress toward graduation, students are regularly granted registration exceptions to the prerequisites if they are registered for the remaining courses. Note: the prerequisite override is granted automatically for co-registration with one core, with chair approval for two cores, and rarely, in only the most extreme circumstances, for three cores.  All students are required to take this course and it is graded CR/NC.

Students begin the course by taking a pre-test and reviewing refresher study material before taking the exam during the 3^rd to 5^th week.  Assessment data is collected from this test only.  Students pass if they achieve an aggregate score of 70% or better on the exam.  Students that do not score a minimum of 70% are given a second opportunity to take the exam.  After that, students must write a paper to earn credit for the course.

Learning outcome achievement standards are determined by correctly answering at least 8 of the 11 questions (~72%) on the exam for each of the nine areas. Percentage of students meeting or exceeding the minimum score are calculated for each PLO for each semester.  The percentages from each semester are averaged and presented as an aggregate performance since the last report.

As mentioned previously, the department is in development of a new assessment strategy.  We anticipate that implementation of this strategy will take some time as it will involve significant curriculum changes.  At the writing of this report, the general philosophy will be to perform formative assessments in each of the core courses through a “signature assignment”, with a summative assessment of performed during the students last semester in a high impact experience course (internship, research, etc.) through a guided reflection assignment at the end of the experience.

2023-24

2016-17

2011-12