91¶ÌÊÓƵ

• Mission and Vision Statements

  Mission Statement:
  Provide the highest quality criminal justice academics in Utah through responsive and impactful higher education programs, scholarship, and service to the profession and community.
  
  Vision Statement:
  We strive to increase the knowledge, skills, abilities, open-mindedness, integrity and confidence of the students and criminal justice professionals with whom we interact. Our goal is to change individuals by helping people and organizations improve through higher education. We envision a society that understands the concept of justice and recognizes the role criminal justice systems play in public safety whilst treating individuals with respect and fairness.

• Student Learning Outcomes
  • Certificates

    Juvenile Justice Certificate of Proficiency
    At the end of their study at 91¶ÌÊÓƵ, students in this program 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.

     

    Forensic Science Fundamentals Certificate of Proficiency
    At the end of their study at 91¶ÌÊÓƵ, students in this program 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 comfortably in front of an audience.
    • Understand fundamental concepts of chemistry and biology.

     

    Victim Advocacy Certificate of Proficiency
    At the end of their study at 91¶ÌÊÓƵ, students in this program 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 their study at 91¶ÌÊÓƵ, students in this program 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 91¶ÌÊÓƵ, 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.

    
    Bachelor of Science - CSI Concentration
    At the end of their study at 91¶ÌÊÓƵ, students in this program will:

    • State the roles and functions of the forensic scientist.
    • Apply the elements of the crime scene investigation process.
    • Explain the limitations, implications and interactions of legal systems on the practice of forensic science.
    • Demonstrate proper case documentation for physical evidence.
    • Analyze friction ridge based physical evidence.
    • Summarize the assessment and analysis of various types of physical evidence.
    • Illustrate the role of research methodology and experimental design in the application of forensic science work.
• Curriculum Grid

• Program and Contact Information

  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

   

  Contact Information:
  Dr. Molly Sween
  1206 University Circle
  Ogden, UT 84408-1206
  LH 319
  (801) 626-7293

  Criminal Justice Department Website

• Assessment Plan

  Using the university's current learning management system (Canvas), each tenured or tenure-track faculty member is allowed to create and integrate, for each assigned course, a series of exam questions (Question Bank) or a single encompassing assignment designed to assess a specific Program Learning Outcome (PLO) during the assigned semester. These data are then collected, collated, and the accompanying raw data and course reports are made available to the department by the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ Office of Institutional Effectiveness at the end of each semester.

  The Department of Criminal Justice is moving forward with the proposed assessment schedule outlined in the above curriculum grid. At the end of each semester, the department's Chair, in conjunction with the department's Assessment Committee and faculty, will assess the quality and usefulness of the data collected, the procedures used to acquire those data, and the various ways the data can be used to validate or improve course instruction. All parties have agreed the new assessment instrument should not be used as a quality check tied to possible punitive action(s), but instead, a proactive tool designed to further the quality of the faculty's instruction and guide the department's mission and vision statements.

  A first run of the assessment instrument, incorporating all nine core courses, will be completed by the end of the Spring 2025 semester. At that time, it is anticipated that all tenured and tenure-track faculty will be familiar with the instrument and discussions can then take place on how to move forward, included, but not limited to the guided implementation of: a) assessing all course sections taught during a specified semester that address the assigned PLO (not just one section taught by a single professor, as is taking place during the initial assessment run), b) integrating adjunct faculty when core courses are assessed, c) assessing both core and elective courses (all sections) taught by tenured and tenure-track professors, and d) assessing both core and elective courses taught by all department faculty.

   

  Assessment of graduating students
  The Department Curriculum and Assessment Committee has been charged to help the program come up with alternative classes that allow students to have meaningful career exploration and career preparedness experiences. This will be a work in progress, so in the interim, and simply as formative data, we will continue to review results of student performance on CJ4995 (Criminal Justice Senior Assessment) while it is in the curriculum.

   

• Assessment Report Submissions

  
  
  
  2016 - Conducted Program Review
  

• Program Review

  2023 91¶ÌÊÓƵ-24

  2016-17

This information is part of the cyclical program review process. Details such as mission statements, learning outcomes, etc., are updated as part of the biennial assessment reporting process, an integral component of program review.