Course Description and Course Learning Objectives (CLO)
With a plethora of both paywalled and OER Criminal Justice textbooks to choose from, we wanted to create something that was wholly Louisiana. The challenge was finding the right mix of content and adapting it to the culturally unique landscape that is our state. Our primary goal was to keep the basic foundational structures of the Criminal Justice System intact but also to give it some Lagniappe – that something extra. We also had to be mindful that the learning outcomes designated by our respective institutions and the state of Louisiana were being met for those high school students who were taking this course for dual-enrollment credit as well as meet the requirements for general education and major curriculum of higher education institutions in the state.
Bossier Parish Community College (BPCC) describes their CJUS 101 – Introduction to Criminal Justice course as “an historical and contemporary survey of the criminal justice system including law enforcement, courts, corrections, and release agencies as applied to deviant behavior and society.” Dillard University describes its CJ 101 – Introduction to Criminal Justice course as a “survey course that focuses on the structure and function of the police, courts, and prisons. [It also] provides an examination of the causes of criminal behavior.” Louisiana State University (LSU) describes their SOCL 3371 – Sociology of Criminal Justice course as teaching “the criminal justice system and its organizational components.” Southern University of New Orleans (SUNO) describes its CRMJ 110 – Introduction to Criminal Justice as “an overview of the Criminal Justice System; roles of law enforcement personnel, the courts, and correctional agencies; and the philosophical and theoretical views.” The Louisiana Statewide Common Course Catalog name and number for this course is CCRJ 1013: Intro to Criminal Justice. Course objectives are listed below.
Course Learning Objectives (CLO)
- Recognize criminal justice as a system, a process, and an area of knowledge.
- Identify the major components of the criminal justice system: law enforcement, courts, and corrections.
- Understand the difference between the formal and informal processes of the criminal justice system.
- Analyze the various contemporary criminal justice perspectives on approaching the crime problem.
There are additional interactive materials added within the text to give the students some visual and audio association to the reading. This can help students engage with the material and keep it from becoming “stale.” Associating content that features Louisiana encourages students to take an active interest in their environment especially when it comes to the criminal justice system, and hopefully it will encourage them to be more attentive to their surroundings in the future. The content in this adaptation was targeted towards high school students seeking to gain college credit through dual-enrollment courses prior to graduation, but this OER can also be used for entry level college and university courses in the State of Louisiana as an alternative to costly introductory textbooks in the curriculum for Criminal Justice Programs or as a General Elective requirement.
