Chair: Dr. Vicki Michels
Criminal Justice Mission Statement
The Department of Criminal Justice intends to provide students a comprehensive and balanced education through varied curricular offerings, which will be delivered in traditional and non-traditional formats. This education prepares students to assume professional roles, and to pursue further academic studies in criminal justice and related fields. The educational programs offered by the Department of Criminal Justice foster local, national, and global perspectives while emphasizing ethical, critical, creative, innovative, and culturally sensitive thinking regarding crime as well as the criminal and juvenile justice systems. The students of the Department of Criminal Justice’s programs not only gain knowledge about the etiology and the dynamics of crime, the structures and functions of agencies, and the general operation of the criminal justice system, but they also acquire practical skills to implement this knowledge for developing evidence-based approaches and solutions to the ever-changing issues facing contemporary society.
Program Goals
1. Maintain up-to-date and ample course offerings to prepare students for professional positions and further academic studies in Criminal Justice and related fields.
2. Continuously assess the quality of learning with rigorous and multi-faceted methods, and update the course offerings, contents, learning strategies, academic and non-academic activities, and materials.
3. Develop and maintain various degree offerings, minors, concentrations, certificate programs, and articulations with other institutional training / education programs, considering the contemporary needs and demands in the field of criminal justice.
4. Deliver curricular offerings through on-campus, off-campus, online, and blended strategies to meet educational needs of traditional and nontraditional student populations.
5. Offer courses to increase students’ awareness on local, state, national, and international level dynamics of the criminal justice system.
6. Emphasize and integrate an ethical, critical, creative, and diversity awareness in the courses offered through its programs.
7. Offer courses and opportunities to expose students to the daily operations, practices, and issues of the criminal justice system, in addition to provide them with necessary skills for solving problems by putting their knowledge into practice
8. Rigorously work to recruit potential students through individual and collaborative efforts
9. Regularly assess the retention and graduation rates in its programs
Student Learning Goals and Student Learning Outcomes
| Student Learning Goals |
Student Learning Outcomes |
| Students will be able to critique the theoretical perspectives regarding the etiology of criminal behavior and apply these theories to the operation of the criminal justice system. |
Students will be able to articulate what a theory is and classify the criminological theories. |
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Students will comprehend the premises of the theoretical perspectives of criminology. |
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Students will be able to employ criminological theories in explaining a given criminal behavior. |
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Students will be able to synthesize and implement the theoretical perspectives in developing new policies, programs, and solutions to the problems regarding crime and delinquency. |
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Students will be able to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of the criminological theories in explaining different types of criminal behavior. |
| Students will be able to identify the historical, legal, and philosophical foundations as well as administrative and criminal procedural functions of modern law enforcement. |
Comprehend the fundamentals of democratic policing from its historical roots to contemporary legal and strategic aspects. |
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Understand the administrative issues, such as recruitment, training, management, and promotion, as they relate to contemporary police organizations. |
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Learn the behavioral issues of police personnel and the role of organizations in handling these behavioral issues including brutality, misconduct, and etc. |
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Articulate the contemporary issues of policing like diversity and organizational change. |
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Develop a perspective on how policing should be conducted in a way that will be in the best interest of the community through an effective and mutual understanding of the needs and resources available thereof. |
| Students will be able to critically analyze and evaluate the fundamental principles of substantive and procedural criminal law. |
Articulate, describe, and identify selected fundamental principles of substantive criminal law in the United States. |
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Formulate and sustain sensitivity to distinguishing correctly between crucial and essential concepts of substantive criminal law like, for example: Actus reus v. mens rea Completed crimes v. attempted crimes, crimes against persons v. crimes against property. |
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Recognize, comprehend, and conceptualize the significance of court cases in the overall substantive criminal law. |
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Develop, relate, and integrate an ability to see substantive criminal law as a crucial method of formal social control in contemporary society. |
| Students will be able to identify and critique the historical and fundamental concepts of the juvenile justice system and be able to compare and contrast it to the criminal justice system. |
Describe the history, evolution, and purpose of the juvenile justice system and associate it with the fundamental concepts of today’s juvenile justice system. |
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Compare and contrast philosophies and applications of the juvenile justice system to the criminal justice system. |
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Comprehend and integrate the various theoretical explanations of juvenile status and delinquent behavior as well as child and youth victimization. |
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Identify and articulate precise juvenile justice legal terminology, including juvenile rights, essential juvenile supreme court case law, and juvenile transfer policies. |
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Explain the roles and influence of personnel in law enforcement, court (adult and juvenile), and correctional professions as it specifically applies to the juvenile justice system. |
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Express the impact rehabilitation has on the entire juvenile justice system including adjudication and corrections, indicating the various strategies and programs designed to prevent, intervene and reduce youth crime. |
| Students will be able to identify the history and philosophies of correctional systems and be able to critique the different goals associated with the evolution of punishment and rehabilitation. |
Critique and debate the correctional philosophies of deterrence, incapacitation, retribution, rehabilitation, and prevention. |
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Discuss actuarial assessments, identify diagnostics, interpret risk prediction, and apply classification to the placement, supervision, and treatment of offenders. |
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Investigate effective correctional practices and recommend programs or therapies that align with best practices in reducing recidivism for all typologies of offenders. |
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Assess legal outcomes, policies, and practices of correctional settings and interpret the influence these items have on implementation, personnel operations, and offender experiences. |
| Students will be able to identify the components and processes of the court system and be able to critique the various types, functions, and theoretical aspects of law. |
Articulate a comprehensive understanding of the U.S. Court system and along with the various types, functions, and theoretical aspects of law. |
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Explore the organization of state, federal, and juvenile courts and demonstrate an understanding of the pretrial and trial process. |
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Evaluate the roles and responsibilities of the primary courtroom actors including prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and juries. |
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Be able to articulate and assess the influence of extra-legal factors and their differential impact on offender processing and sentencing. |
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Recognize and appraise the influence and challenges of contemporary issues facing the court system including caseload, media, alternative dispute resolution, and specialty courts. |
Articulation Agreement Lake Region State College - POTP (Peace Officer Training Program)
Minot State University Criminal Justice Department and Lake Region State College POST Program have formed a partnership to allow an entering freshman student who is majoring in Criminal Justice and who follows the suggested program of study to graduate in four years with both a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and be certified by the POST.
POST training is open to Minot State University Criminal Justice majors during the spring of their senior year. Students must make application to the Lake Region POST Program and meet physical and other requirements including a criminal background check. Following the suggested program of Criminal Justice study at Minot State University does not guarantee acceptance into the POST Program.
For more information, contact the Criminal Justice Department at Minot State University. Curriculum requirements are posted on the Criminal Justice website at MinotStateU.edu/cj/
Air University Associate to Baccalaureate Cooperative (AU-ABC)
Minot State University is offering a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Criminal Justice program plan to meet the needs of Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) graduates looking for advanced education opportunities in criminal justice at the baccalaureate level. Students who earn a qualifying CCAF degree can receive their BS in Criminal Justice degree after completing 60 credits at Minot State. Visit MinotStateU.edu/online/pages/au-abc.shtml for program details and a list of qualifying CCAF degrees.
Faculty
Criminal Justice Faculty
Wojciech Cebulak, Ph.D.
Professor
Mitchell Gresham, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Maria Kerzmann, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Michael Nason, MS
Assistant Professor
Gary Rabe, Ph.D.
Professor
Michael Wardzinski
Instructor
Department Chair
Vicki Michels, Ph.D.
Administrative Assistant
Jeni Anderson
