(From ACJS Today 16(4):1,21-22,30)
STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLE
The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences has adopted these voluntary standards for the improvement of quality in criminal justice higher education. As such, these standards are intended to be applicable to: associate degree programs for which college transfer or continuation of students to a senior institution (matriculation) usually results; undergraduate programs; and graduate programs. The standards are intended to provide the degree of flexibility necessary for continual development of the criminal justice field and for programs to remain responsive to changes in the environment.
These standards are adopted in acknowledgment of the accreditation process conducted by the regional Associations of Colleges and Schools. Regional accrediting agencies accredit the total institution and evaluate the work of criminal justice programs within those institutions. It is the intent of ACJS through the standards set forth in this document to supplement the accreditation process by providing guidance for the internal and external evaluation of criminal justice programs. The standards delineated herein may be used as the basis for self-evaluation by criminal justice programs, Academic Peer Review through the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, program review for regional accreditation, and to provide direction for new and developing programs. This is not a professional accreditation document; however, through these standards ACJS establishes some common elements that should be present in all programs of criminal justice higher education and other elements that may be applicable to programs, depending on their mission. ACJS recognizes that some programs are more elaborate or have more resources than others; these standards should be interpreted to establish the parameters of the field. Programs surpassing these standards should not be lulled into complacency by their accomplishment but should continue to lead the field to change.
ACJS supports the right of an institution and criminal justice program to pursue its established educational purpose; the right of faculty members to teach, investigate and publish freely; and the right of students to have opportunities for learning. However, the exercise of these rights must not interfere with the overriding obligation of the institution and program to offer its students a sound education and degree.
All criminal justice programs should be held to the specific standards delineated by the regional accreditation authority for the institution to which they belong. Programs should be able to show evidence of educational effectiveness in instruction, research and public service where these are significant components of the institution and program's statement of mission or purpose.
The standards delineated herein are designed to be applicable to degree programs carrying the label "criminal justice." Nevertheless, the standards can serve as guidance for other, more specialized, programs. The purpose and mission of a program and the nature of the institution in which it is housed should be the framework for interpreting and applying these standards.
REPRESENTATION WITH REGARD TO ACJS STANDARDS
Any promotional statement made by a program with regard to compliance with these minimum standards must be based on the results of the ACJS Academic Peer Review process or some other form of external peer review. The logo of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences is not to be used by any program or institution, except in regard to institutional membership.
CURRICULUM
1. The purpose of higher education programs in criminal justice is to educate students to be critical thinkers who can communicate their thoughts effectively in oral and written form, as well as to instill a comprehensive knowledge of the field. Programs should strive not only to familiarize students with facts and concepts, but also, more importantly, teach students to use ethical behavior in applying this knowledge to related problems and changing fact situations. The development of critical thinking, communication skills, and the ability to conceptualize ideas should be a primary objective of all criminal justice courses.
2. The broad scope of criminal justice should be reflected in the baccalaureate curriculum, as should a balanced presentation of the issues of the field. Substantively, all programs should have required core courses that focus specifically on the areas below:
- Criminal justice and juvenile justice processes (law, crime, and administration of justice)
- Criminology (the causes of crime, typologies, offenders and victims)
- Law Enforcement (police organization, discretion, subculture and legal constraints)
- Law Adjudication (criminal law, prosecution, defense, and court procedures and decision-making)
- Corrections (incarceration, community-based corrections and treatment of offenders)
It is expected that most baccalaureate programs will have multiple courses to represent these and other issues, but these substantive areas provide minimum coverage of the field. Some programs may offer concentrations in some areas, depending upon composition of the student body and faculty expertise, but overspecialization, or exclusion, of any one of the five areas above should not occur at the undergraduate level. Baccalaureate students should be required to take at least one course in each of these areas.
It is expected that associate degree programs will require a single course in some of the substantive areas above. The entire core should not be offered by the associate degree program. Articulation agreements should facilitate matriculation of students (see Curriculum #5 below).
Graduate-level programs often are more specialized in their focus and emphasis, and students from a variety of backgrounds often pursue graduate work in criminal justice. Nevertheless, measures should be taken to ensure that all students completing graduate degrees in criminal justice have an adequate understanding of the five substantive areas listed above. At the doctoral level, supplementary courses from other disciplines can be instrumental in providing an interdisciplinary basis for examining criminal justice issues. Doctoral programs are encouraged to provide such opportunities in their curricula.
3. All programs should strongly encourage or require cognate courses that develop the ability of students to process and apply information reliably. Cognates also should be designed to encourage students to be informed citizens, as they participate in the governmental process and consume criminal justice information. Whether cognates are required as part of the major requirement, or as part of the liberal arts requirement, should depend upon faculty expertise within the criminal justice program and on institutional priorities. These courses should include: research methodology, statistics, computer methods, government and politics, ethics, writing courses, public speaking, and logic. An understanding of social problems, human behavior, and policy should be developed through exposure to courses such as race and ethnic relations, social problems, psychology, and public management. Appreciation for these concepts and skills should also be part of criminal justice courses. Criminal justice courses should intentionally reflect issues of diversity.
4 . Criminal justice programs should be part of a broadly-based degree program. No more than one-third of a student's graduation requirements at the associate and baccalaureate levels should consist of criminal justice courses. The remainder should be comprised of cognates and other liberal arts courses designed to prepare broadly-educated students. Such preparation should include courses in humanities and fine arts, the social and behavioral sciences, and natural sciences and mathematics.
5. Associate and baccalaureate degree programs should coordinate their curriculum efforts in order to facilitate matriculation of students. The entire core should not be offered by the associate degree program. Two-year and four-year colleges and universities should enter into articulation agreements wherever possible to clarify academic expectations for both parties. These agreements should reflect discussion of how best to advise and prepare students at two-year schools that are considering four-year degrees.
6. Internships provide a useful mechanism for students to assess their interest and apply their classroom knowledge in an area of criminal justice. All programs should have elective internship opportunities available to upper-level students. Measures should be taken to ensure internships are meaningful, relevant and related to educational objectives.
7. Criminal justice programs shall not offer collegiate courses nor award academic credit for vocational training courses designed for specific job preparation or advanced job training. These courses are characterized by training for specific job skills, rather than education involving conceptual learning.
FACULTY
1. Faculty qualifications should be based on educational attainment, teaching ability and commitment to higher education. Familiarity with research literature is a requirement at all levels. Professional experience in the field of criminal justice is desirable for faculty at all levels. The commitment to conduct research is desirable for faculty in bachelor's programs and required for teaching in graduate programs.
Minimum educational qualifications for faculty positions for those teaching in bachelor's and graduate programs should be an earned doctorate in criminal justice or a closely-related discipline. Those teaching in associate's degree programs should possess a master's degree in criminal justice or a closely-related discipline. Faculty holding terminal degrees in the field of criminal justice should be sought whenever possible. Degrees must be from institutions accredited by the appropriate regional accrediting agency.
Programs may consider the JD degree combined with a master's degree in criminal justice or a closely-related field and relevant professional experience as meeting the qualification for full-time academic appointment. In exceptional cases, outstanding professional experience and demonstrated contributions to the teaching discipline may be presented in lieu of formal educational qualifications. These special circumstances must include a combination of experience, scholarship and professional involvement that has led to the individual being recognized by the academic community for his or her knowledge in the field of criminal justice.
The composition of the criminal justice faculty should reflect the curriculum of the program. Faculty specializations should be considered in recruitment and hiring decisions. Faculty diversity in professional experience, research and scholarship is encouraged. Diversity of faculty by gender and ethnicity also is encouraged.
In the undergraduate major, at least 75 percent of the course credit hours must be taught by faculty holding the terminal degree, an earned doctorate, in criminal justice. Each faculty member teaching courses at the master's degree level must hold the terminal degree in criminal justice or a related discipline. All faculty members teaching courses at the doctoral degree level must hold the earned doctorate in criminal justice or a related discipline.
2. All programs should rely on full-time faculty to teach their core courses and to ensure commitment, supervision and availability to students. The number of full-time faculty members must be adequate to provide effective teaching, advising and scholarly or creative activity, as well as appropriate to participate in curriculum development, policy making, and institutional planning and governance. Part-time faculty (including graduate assistants) should be used for no more than 20 percent of the program's credit hours. Part-time faculty should be used primarily as a supplement to full-time faculty. The credentials of part-time faculty should closely match those of full-time faculty. Programs should conduct annual teaching evaluations of part-time and adjunct faculty using the department's standard practice for evaluating teaching by non-tenured faculty.
3. Staffing levels of criminal justice programs should be equivalent to those of other academic programs at the institution. Generally, no more than one-third of the total credits required for the major should be offered by the same instructor.
Undergraduate programs should have a minimum of three full-time criminal justice faculty. For each graduate degree program, an institution must employ at least four qualified full-time graduate faculty members whose responsibilities include teaching in the designated program.
4. The evaluation of faculty performance should be based on quality of teaching, research, writing and service to the institution and/or community at-large. Faculty performance should benefit the program and be directed toward the department's mission and goals. Teaching performance should be evaluated by both faculty peers and students through direct observation. Research should be evaluated in terms of how it is applied in the classroom and in its dissemination to the scholarly community. Service should be evaluated in terms of professional activity related to the educational and professional expertise of the faculty member.
STUDENTS
1. Entrance requirements for students in criminal justice programs should be the same or higher than admission requirements for all students at the college or university.
2. Students should have input in the faculty evaluation process. This input normally will take the form of teaching evaluations but may include other input pertinent to faculty performance.
3. Provisions should be made to meet the needs of students admitted to the program. A program that accepts nontraditional, part-time or evening students, for example, must make an explicit effort to offer courses and advisement services at appropriate times. Programs with traditional undergraduates should assure that demonstrable efforts are made at placement of their graduates. Students should be made aware of the hiring requirements of criminal justice agencies and entrance requirements for professional and graduate schools.
4. Programs should conduct student outcome assessments as a measure of the quality of their programs.
5. Programs should track alumni to assess the extent to which students are placed in desired positions. Surveys of graduates are a useful way to assess achievement of program goals. These also should serve as post-graduation customer satisfaction assessments. The information generated from these strategies should be used for recruitment of new students and placement of new graduates.
ADMINISTRATION
1. Programs in criminal justice should have a student-faculty ratio similar to other programs at the institution. There should be no more than 30 student majors for each full-time faculty member.
2. All programs should have, at minimum, a program director or coordinator who receives no less than the equivalent of one course reduction per term for program administration. Typically, a criminal justice program should hold independent status as an academic department.
When the criminal justice program is part of a multi-discipline department, the program should receive a fair proportion of the resources based on criteria such as the number of majors, credit hours produced and number of full-time faculty members. The program should have independence and functional support for maintaining discipline integrity in matters pertaining to the criminal justice program. Criminal justice should be included in the department name.
3. Library budgets and collections for criminal justice book and periodical collections should provide for at least minimum coverage of field and be tied to curriculum needs, student usage and program size. The library collection, acquisitions and budget must be proportionate in both volume and funding to other programs at the institution.
4. Class sizes should average no more than 30 students to provide a forum for student-faculty interaction and exchange in the classroom. When this class size is not possible, provisions should be made for regular, smaller group meetings or discussions throughout the course. The development of critical thinking, writing and oral communications skills takes place most effectively in this kind of classroom environment.
5. Off-site learning through electronic means or correspondence should be conducted in a fashion that maximizes student-faculty interaction. Providing real time interactive two-way audio and two-way video connections is an example of one strategy that can maximize such interaction for off-site learning. Workload adjustments should be made to compensate faculty for additional responsibilities incurred as a result of off-site instruction, including extended campus offerings. Off-site student responsibilities should be explicitly recognized in a faculty member's workload.
6. Provisions should be made to support faculty advisement by the institution. Both full-time and part-time faculty should have the physical space and class-time schedule necessary to hold office hours and meet with their students. Expectations and resources for faculty advisement should be stated explicitly by the institution.
7. The institution should have specific programs to support faculty research. These programs might include release time, financial incentives and support, facilities and equipment, and sabbatical leave. Expectations and resources for faculty research should be stated explicitly by the institution.