32 courses with the subject SCJ, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
SCJ 110Introduction to Criminal Justice (Criminal Justice)3
Credit(s) Provides an overview of the criminal justice system in the United States, including the historical and contemporary operation of police, courts, and corrections. Examines differences between the adult and juvenile justice systems. Reviews ethical guidelines for criminal justice professions. A 20-hour service learning requirement introduces students to the components, best practices, and career opportunities in the criminal justice field.
Credit(s) This course explores philosophical, historical, and contemporary theories of justice. Students will examine classical and modern perspectives on what constitutes a just society, the role of law, and the distribution of rights and responsibilities. A variety of theories of justice including utilitarian, liberal, and socialist perspectives will be covered. The implications of different views of justice for the organization of social and criminal justice institutions will also be explored. The course may take place as part of The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program.
Credit(s) This course provides a thorough introduction to restorative justice theory and practice by exploring the theoretical roots of the restorative justice movement and the methods used in the field. Students develop proficiency in discipline-specific writing.
SCJ 200Law Enforcement in the Community (Criminal Justice)3
Credit(s) Surveys the history, function, and current operation of law enforcement in American society. Studies the role of the police in a democratic society and issues related to the proper boundaries of police authority and discretion. Examines the ethics, opportunities, and dangers of policing as a profession.
Credit(s) Provides an overview of the principles and operation of the juvenile justice system, with a particular focus on restorative justice. Surveys theories and research on the nature, extent, and causes of delinquency and strategies for preventing and treating delinquent behavior.
Credit(s) Examines the organization and structure of criminal courts in the United States and their functioning in relation to other components of the criminal justice system. Stages in the criminal court process and the roles played by the judge, defense counsel, police, probation officers, and other personnel in that process are discussed.
SCJ 230Global Topics in Criminal Justice (Criminal Justice)3
Credit(s) This course will examine the development and current state of international criminal law, along with the roles of domestic and international policing, courts, and corrections within specific regions outside of the United States. The course will also provide reflective elements on criminal justice influences from the United States. Additional fee associated when offered as a study abroad course.
SCJ 235Trauma Informed Care Crim Justice (Criminal Justice)3
Credit(s) Trauma-informed care in criminal justice is an approach acknowledging the role trauma has in people’s lives and recognizes the presence of trauma symptoms. It aims to avoid re-traumatizing individuals, which can increase safety, reduce criminal behavior, and support the recovery of people with serious mental illness. Trauma-informed approach begins with understanding the physical, social and emotional impact of trauma on the individual, as well as on professionals who encounter them within the system. 3 credits.
SCJ 240Trauma-Inform Care Children & Fam (Criminal Justice)3
Credit(s) Focuses on practices for trauma-informed care of children and families. Students engage in critical learning experiences, recognizing key components related to trauma and why it is important to understand trauma. Designed to prepare professionals with background knowledge and critical understandings of the types of trauma experienced by children and how trauma affects children’s brain development and their ability to learn. Guiding principles for embracing resilience and trauma-informed care in communities are also discussed. 3 credits.
Credit(s) With the ever increasing demands on behavioral health professionals, the subject of wellness is timely and relevant. This course introduces self-care for promoting a positive well-being to preventing burnout, stress, and compassion fatigue. Focus on enhancing a positive quality of life for managing stress and improving a healthy lifestyle with strategies for practicing positive psychology; mindfulness; physical, emotional, and spiritual self-care; time management; peer support; and the importance of self-efficacy. 3 credits.
Credit(s) Secondary trauma is a common experience for practitioners who work with victims of crime. It refers to exposure to another person’s traumatic experience. Professionals working within criminal justice, law enforcement, the courts, drug and alcohol, or mental health are regularly exposed to traumatic events, which can have a cumulative negative impact on their health and job performance. This course will examine the necessity of systemic trauma-informed care to include interventions for professionals encountering these events daily. 3 credits.
SCJ 260The Dark Side of Crime: Profiling (Criminal Justice)3
Credit(s) This course allows the student an opportunity to become acquainted with the terminology of profiling and to gain a basic understanding of the factors involved in profiling.
Credit(s) Examines the legally sanctioned methods of dealing with lawbreakers including institutional corrections, community corrections, and dispositions including community service, restitution programs, victim awareness programs, and electronic monitoring. A 20-hour service learning component introduces students to correctional facilities, practices, and personnel. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors only.
Credit(s) Provides a theory-based comparison and analysis of the impact of internationalization and globalization on crime and criminal justice systems across non-western cultures. Students utilize current research studies to measure and compare non-western cultural crime trends and differences in legal foundations/traditions, criminal procedures, court processes, and corrections, with emphasis on the role of geographical, historical, and cultural traditions in shaping criminal justice and deviant behaviors.
SCJ 330Ethics, Values, and Diversity in CJ (Criminal Justice)3
Credit(s) Examines the implications of ethics and diversity in the criminal justice field. Students will understand the importance of ethical behavior on controversial issues and decision making in law enforcement, corrections, courts, and other related areas. Students will discuss the philosophical and practical dilemmas surrounding the criminal justice field, providing an understanding of cultural diversity as a building block of an unbiased justice system.
SCJ 405Policy & Program Analysis (Criminal Justice)3
Credit(s) By learning and applying an evaluation process to criminal justice policies, students learn how to determine whether policies and programs address specific needs, are theoretically sound, are implemented correctly, meet their goals, and are cost-efficient. Juniors and seniors only.
SCJ 415MPOETC Police Academy Partnership (Criminal Justice)
Variable (0 - 15) Credit(s) This course is designated for those in the police academy track of the criminal justice program and enrolling in the Act 120 Police Academy training offered through MPOETC (Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission).
Credit(s) Focuses on the study of crimes, criminals, causes of, and interventions into criminal behavior and victimization issues. Students work with an agency within their field of interest to identify, assess, and revise or develop a practical, restorative justice-based intervention to a real world need.
SCJ 405 or permission of the instructor. Juniors and seniors only.
SCJ 430Internship & Seminar (Criminal Justice)
Variable Credit(s) Provides students with a supervised, directed field learning in criminal justice, providing opportunities for students to relate the theories and principles of criminology and delinquency to the structure and operations of the criminal justice field.
Credit(s) Integrates theory, research, and practice in the criminal justice field with the liberal arts knowledge base. Topics include best practices in criminal justice, presentation of the showcase portfolio, and preparation for a career in criminal justice or graduate school in criminology or a related field.
Credit(s) This course uses a case study approach to examine elements of human performance and engagement. Grounded in scientific research, the course focuses on an understanding of human stress, vision, cognition, attention, speed, decision making, and memory related to engagement with individuals, groups, and situations related to the criminal justice field. Students will gain experience using human factors knowledge in application to applied settings and will have the capability for formally assessing human interactions and activities.
SCJ 552Professional Writing and Engagement (Criminal Justice)3
Credit(s) This course focuses on acquiring communication strategies and writing styles relevant to the criminal justice field. Writings include everyday standards of communication, such as emails, memos, letters, and technical writings, as well as formal research reports and proposals. Students will analyze writing situations within the field and develop strategies for organizing information, addressing audiences, using appropriate styling, and formally presenting work.
Credit(s) This course examines the relationship between logic and language, with specific attention to identification, analysis, and evaluation of arguments. Additionally, students will understand and utilize elements of inductive and deductive reasonings while recognizing common fallacies within. Students will apply methods that support analytic reasoning in combination with human capabilities and understanding to properly evaluate existing procedures, policies, and programming within the criminal justice field to develop and recommend the use of evidence-based practices.
Credit(s) This course develops application and decision making processes in restorative approaches within the criminal justice field. Additionally, the course considers the needs and roles of key stakeholders and examines specific practices of restorative justice. Students will identify the challenges within restorative justice, along with examining possible strategies to help strengthen its practices. Ethical dilemmas, cultural competence, and decision making in restorative approaches, along with impacts on marginalized populations are a focus.
Credit(s) This course provides students with the technical, interpersonal, conceptual, social, and political skills necessary to lead effective and efficient criminal justice organizations embedded within diverse communities. Students will engage in diagnosing and assessing problems leaders and administrators face and identify manageable conflict solutions. Topics examined include mission identity, leadership strategies and goals, structural elements, group/team dynamics, diversity and inclusion efforts, organizational change, motivations, and negotiation tactics.
SCJ 556Working with Diverse Populations (Criminal Justice)3
Credit(s) This course focuses on the historical, cultural, socioeconomic, and political contextual backgrounds of various group identities, as well as ethical considerations in working with diverse populations. Students will gain an understanding of cultural values of individuals, collective identities in communities, and the impact of those on personal and professional relationships. Additionally, there will be a specific focus on the importance of respecting and valuing diversity within the criminal justice profession and broader community.
Credit(s) This course provides students with historical knowledge of policies and programs in the American justice system. Students will acquire the ability to analyze, critique, and provide recommendations with evidence based reasoning to professionally present in the legal, political, and media areas related to the criminal justice field. Students will gain firsthand experience presenting case law and giving recommendations in a professional manner using real world examples and applications.
Credit(s) This course will provide an in-depth understanding of the various ethical and philosophical concerns facing the criminal justice field. Students will work to identify and understand ethical codes within policies, programming, and practice. Through code application, students will examine impacts and challenges of currently formed ethical concepts. Additionally, students will apply this knowledge through analyzing, critiquing, and creating recommendations for potential solutions to ethical dilemmas currently faced by areas of the criminal justice system.
Credit(s) This course provides a thorough understanding and analysis of contemporary issues facing the criminal justice field currently. Students will explore and analyze various contemporary issues through ethical, political, and social influences to develop a deeper and fuller understanding of potential causes and impacts of these areas. Students will form an ability to analyze and critique current issues faced by the field, using theoretical and analytical evaluation to recommend solutions and best practices for the future.
Credit(s) This course provides rigorous details of how various components of mental health impact not only practitioners within the criminal justice field, but also their day-to-day professional interactions. Students in this course will examine, analyze, and critique practices and policies used in the criminal justice field related to mental health concerns. There is focus on recognizing, analyzing, developing, and applying evidence-based practices and policies related to mental health situations and diagnoses to various criminal justice organizations.
