Justice 300--Victimology

NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE
Online Course

Instructor: Mark Stevens, J.D.
Assistant Professor of Justice Studies
North Carolina Wesleyan College
3400 N. Wesleyan Blvd.
Rocky Mount, NC 27804        

                                                    SYLLABUS FOR JUSTICE 300

Course Description

This is a survey course covering contemporary developments in the field of victimology, its conceptual boundaries, its basic concepts and literature, its subfields and role as a field of study within criminology and criminal justice. The historical and emerging roles of victimology as a field of study are examined and discussed in depth. Special attention is paid to applied learning objectives with respect to each student's personal experiences with the human dimensions of victimization. This course also deals with analysis of contemporary programs and trends in the criminal justice system's response to victims.  This course will employ a combination of material presented on this web-site along with the North Carolina Wesleyan Campus Cruiser site.  You will be automatically added to the Campus Cruiser site upon registration for this course.  IF YOU ARE A FIRST TIME USER OF CAMPUS CRUISER JUST CLICK ON THE LINK TO THE SITE AND SCROLL DOWN THE PAGE.  THERE ARE INSTRUCTIONS POSTED FOR FIRST TIME USERS

Learning Objectives:

• To increase familiarity with basic terms, concepts and ideas in victimology
• To appreciate the historical development of victimology and its subfields
• To explore and analyze contemporary problems and trends in victimology
• To review the functions, operations & management of the criminal justice system

Campus Cruiser:  After you have registered for this course you will be added to the NCWC Campus Cruiser website within 48 hours.  To log on to Campus Cruiser you will need to go to the Campus Cruiser homepage.  Scroll down the page and there are instructions on the homepage for first time users.  You should read these instructions completely prior to trying to log in.  Campus Cruiser is not administered by the instructor, and you should not contact the instructor if you have problems with Campus Cruiser.  For Campus Cruiser assistance contact the Information Systems help desk at helpdesk@ncwc.edu or 252-984-5000.
 

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR THIS COURSE

Communications with the Instructor:   The online instructor has provided you with numerous opportunities to establish contact with him. Communications will be primarily through NCWC's Campus Cruiser.  The online student should be making a browser visit to the instructor's website, and the Campus Cruiser websites at least once every 48 hours to check for new assignments or announcements (every two days or three times a week which is 3 contact hours).  All assignments, announcements, exams, written assignments, and grades for this course will be posted on CAMPUS CRUISER. 

Your primary means of contact for this course is through NCWC's Campus Cruiser.  This means of communication will be used when you are receiving any instructions, announcements, or assignments from the instructor.  Campus Cruiser includes an E-mail function to communicate with the instructor.  Campus Cruiser contains a chat and other functions to communicate with the class and the instructor. 

Exams and written assignments:  All exams and written assignments will be administered using Campus Cruiser.  Exams and written assignments will be posted under the "My assignments" function of campus cruiser.  When you open the assignment page which contains an exam you will see that it is attached as a file.  A writing assignment may be attached as a file or described in the body of the assignment.   In this class there will be 3-4 objective exams, and several short writing assignments (Point Papers and Message Board discussions).  Separate instructions for the point papers will be posted on Campus Cruiser during the first week of the course.  In addition, there will be a weekly discussion topic (or topics). These discussions may take place in the chat room or by utilizing the Message Board function of Campus Cruiser.  All written assignments and exam dates will be posted at a minimum of a week in advance of the due date.  The final grade for this course will be calculated as follows:

Exams...................40%
Point Papers............40%
Discussion Topics........20%
(message board discussions)

 Grading System:

Message Board Discussions:  There will be Four Message Board Topics during this course. Each worth 25 points for a total of 100 points during the course.  As you can see above you total grade for the Message board is worth 20% of your grade.  Message board topics will be posted on Sunday evening and you will have until the following Sunday to post your responses.  The Message board topics will be directly related to your reading in the text or the Reader.  But you are encouraged to go to other sources to learn more about a subject.  

Message Board Grading:

Quantity:  You will be required to participate in the message board  discussion 3 times during the week of a particular message board topic.  Each of the 3 post during the week is worth 8.3 points.  So if you only post 2 times you would get 16.6 points, if you only posted 1 time you would get 8.3 points and if you did not post at all you would get "0" points.

Quality:    Not only will you be graded on the Quantity of your post on the message board, you will be also graded on the Quality of your responses. You are to respond not only to my question, but to each other.  A post that says "I agree"  or "I disagree"  is worth a "0".  I expect 3 thoughtful discussions (several sentences) of the topic. So, if you have a good response you would get all the points (8.3), a fair response (4.15) or a poor response (1or 2 points)

Submitting Exams and Written Assignments:  Your exams and written work will be submitted using the Campus Cruiser submission function.   The following is the procedure for submitting your assignments.

• Complete your assignment or exam using MS Word.  Make sure your name is on the assignment.

• Save your assignment on your computer.  For example in "My Documents."  When you save your assignment include your last name as part of the title.  For example, StevensExam #1.doc

• Go to the Campus Cruiser home page and log on.

• Select the Victimology Course and click on the course

• Go to the left side of the page under student tools and click on "my assignments"

• Find the assignment with the exam or writing assignment and open the assignment by clicking on it.

• At the bottom of the assignment under Submission you will see a link "Submit Your Assignment" click on this link.

• A window will appear with a browse button.  Click the browse button to locate your exam or written assignment on your hard drive or disk. 

• Upload the exam answers or written assignment and close the window.

• Click submit your assignment.

Your assignment page will now tell you the date and time that your assignment was posted.

You can only submit an assignment once so don't try to send parts of the assignment at different times.  Also, if the due date has expired you will not be allowed to submit the assignment.

    When you submit the answers for an objective exam you would send your exam answers in a list format  For example, your answers should be in the form that lists the question number and your answer:  e.g., 1-C, 2-A, 3-B.  Please leave space between answers and use a 12 font.  Do not cut and paste or mark up the exam in other ways.  Do not make any written comments.  Do not include page numbers or internet addresses.  Grading rubrics consist of one and only one correct answer (for objective exams).  Sometimes, there is a second best or even third best answer. There are no "red herring" or distracter ITEMS IN AN answer set. 

    For written assignments you must submit the entire assignment at one time.  For example, if you had a 5 page point paper you MUST submit all 5 pages at one time.  You can NOT submit 3 pages, and then try to submit the other 2 pages.  Also, remember that you will NOT be able to submit an assignment past the due date.

Plagiarism and Cheating:  (as per the College Catalog) are prohibited.  Plagiarism is defined as taking or using the thoughts, writings, or inventions of another as one's own.  It also means using direct quotations without credit and quotation marks, as well as using the ideas of another without proper credit.   Cheating is defined as any intent to deceive the instructor in his or her effort to grade fairly.  Anything that can possibly effect the fairness of grading is cheating, which I interpret to include any collaborative, mischievous, or disruptive behavior.  In this course, pay special attention to gleaning information off the Internet, and do NOT pass it off as your own, or without proper citation.  Learn to paraphrase ideas in your own words.  Do not purchase, borrow, or revise another student's work.  Do not "double dip" an assignment you did in another class to turn it in for this one.  The following penalties are applied, as per the College Catalog.

MAKEUP POLICY:  All work is due on the assigned date.  Late work will not be accepted without prior approval of the Instructor

INCOMPLETE POLICY: (and Withdrawals):
    Incompletes (a grade of "Inc") and Withdrawals (a grade of "W") are not automatic, and never given as a substitute for missing makeup periods or low scores.  To receive an incomplete, a real emergency must exist for which the student misses a series of adjacent assignments, such as the last quiz, final exam, and 4th practicum, but this is only an example, as circumstances vary, and in all cases must involve notice beforehand and instructor approval of the emergency. Incompletes must be removed before eight weeks after the semester ends (otherwise they convert to a grade of "F").  In some cases, the instructor supports extensions beyond the eight week period, but a Work Needed for Incomplete form should be filled out, and the student must request such extension (in writing) to the VPAA.  Instructors can also change a grade of "F" to some other letter. Students with incompletes are ineligible from registering for Independent Study, Unscheduled Courses, and Special Topics courses. 

    Withdrawals arranged between the student and Registrar are allowed up to the midpoint of a semester (or whenever scheduled in the college's Academic Calendar). For Fall, 2002, that date is October 11.  After that date, any withdrawal is processed as a grade of "F" unless extenuating circumstances exist which are discussed with the instructor, the Registrar, and/or VPAA. Withdrawals do not compute into grade point averages, but do appear on transcripts, and may affect academic standing and/or financial aid. Tuition refund policies are set by the Business Office, with strict deadlines. 

Institutional Student Support Resources:
For matters relating to your admissions status at the college, please contact the school's admissions office at adm@ncwc.edu or the site director at the location where you were first processed for admission to NCWC.  For matters relating to financial statements, credit hours, transcripts, articulation and transfer credit, please contact the school's business office or the school's Registrar by calling the Business Office during regular working hours at 252-985-5104.

Student Support Center:  If you find the need for tutoring or any other support need you should contact the Student Support Center at the main campus.  Tutoring is available by appointment at the Rocky Mount campus Mon-Thurs 8am -9pm, and Fri 8 am -5pm.

Advising and Course Offerings:  Your online instructor is not responsible for information on future courses or degree audits.  For matters relating to advising, scheduling, upcoming courses, or courses needed for degree completion you should contact your advisor.  If you do not have an assigned advisor you can contact the following personnel at each campus:  Rocky Mount smdavis@ncwc.edu, for Goldsboro goldsboro@ncwc.edu, for Raleigh/Durham Raleigh@ncwc.edu

Disabilities: North Carolina Wesleyan is committed to a policy of equal opportunity and affirmative action in education and employment and complies with the requirements of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.  If you have a disability and need assistance you may contact Student Services for assistance.

Writing Lab:  You are encouraged to use the NCWC online writing lab for assistance with writing assignments. You may contact the NCWC Writing lab at writinglab@ncwc.edu or visit the writing lab web site http://annex.ncwc.edu/writing_lab/

Library:  For library assistance please go to the NCWC library website at http://annex.ncwc.edu/Library/.  You can obtain access to NC Live through the NCWC library.