COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES
Class attendance and behavior: This is an online course, therefore participation in the course is going to ultimately be demonstrated through student’s responsibility to be active in weekly online discussion forums and through the submission of exams and a final paper.
Email contact: Please email me immediately at [email protected] from the email account you check and use most often. Include your full name and the course in the message so I know who you are. This will allow me to collect all of your preferred email addresses so that all of you get the emails I send out.
Grading policy:
Class Participation 25%
Midterm exam 30%
Research paper 15%
Final exam 30%
Grading scale:
| A | 93-100% | C | 73-76% |
| A– | 90-92% | C– | 70-72% |
| B+ | 87-89% | D+ | 67-69% |
| B | 83-86% | D | 63-66% |
| B– | 80-82% | D– | 60-62% |
| C+ | 77-79% | F | below 60 |
Class participation: Participation in class discussion is expected from everyone, and respectful argument and discussion will be central given the online structure of the course. Students will be expected to have mastered the assigned readings in time to submit weekly discussion forum questions posted by the instructor. Class participation will count for 25% of your final grade. Students will be given a participation grade for each class, using the following rubric:
Discussion Boards: The professor will post weekly questions on the discussion forum board that will draw from the films, documentaries, interviews, and/or reading material of the week. Students are expected to respond weekly, so always be ready by doing the required reading/visual material before the start of each week. I will be lenient with the posting of discussion forums so long as they are completed before the next posted date on the syllabus. For example, the first week you are expected to see the “History of Punishment” on YouTube and as long as you post a response to the question I pose by February 3rd, you will earn your credit.
Discussion Board Response Formats:
The professor expects responses to the questions posed in 5-8 sentences maximum or if you are more of a visual student, I will allow submissions of original poetry, music, and/or art. However, these responses or visual productions must be thoughtful and critical. If you choose to have written responses, you may even pose questions that came up for you. In addition, in order to earn full credit, you must respond to 1 other student’s posts. Please be mindful and respectful of how you respond to one another. It doesn’t mean you can’t challenge one another—I highly encourage you to do so—however, address ideas, not individuals. Your responses to me and your colleagues will together count for 25% of your final grade.
Discussion board responses will be due every Friday by 5 p.m. Make sure to keep up as I will be grading these on the weekends and providing an overall response to ensure students understand key takeaway points from that week’s material(s).
Research paper: The best way to know what you know is to write about it. You are required to write an 4-6 page final research paper on a question that the professor will provide 2 weeks before the assignment will be due. An example of a question could be as follows: Imagine a 22-year-old male offender named Tyler with a history of drug abuse and joblessness who has three previous convictions for burglary of an unoccupied dwelling. Of the five goals of criminal punishment discussed in the course, explain which goal/goals you believe should be pursued by the criminal justice system and why. Explain your answer by referring to the shortcomings and problems of the remaining four goals. Cite all relevant concepts and sources discussed in the course. I am also open to you proposing your own research paper question, but you must contact me for a Skype consultation, so we can discuss the expectations and parameters of the assignment.
Each paper must:
- Include a title page, introduction, body, conclusion, page numbers, and bibliography
- Include at least four (2-3) additional criminological sources (journal articles or books) besides the class readings. These additional sources cannot be textbooks.
- Be formatted in APA style
- Be typed in 12-point font, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins
- Run 4-6 pages long, not including cover page or bibliography
- Be submitted via Blackboard
Research papers are due on May 11 by 12 pm at the latest. Late papers will not be accepted and will receive a grade of zero. This paper will count for 15% of your final grade.
The title page must have the following information:
Title
Your Name
SOC 301.01 Penology
Professor Andrea Martinez
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Date
Exams: There will be two “take-home exams” and both will be worth 60% of your final grade. They will cover all material presented during the class lectures and in the assigned readings and visual auxiliaries. The midterm exam will cover all material presented up until that point in the class. The final exam will be cumulative, covering all material in the course. Both exams will consist of essay questions. All completed exams must be typed, include proper citations of the sources used formatted in APA style, and submitted via Blackboard.
The midterm exam is due on XX XX by 5 p.m.
The final exam is due XX by 12:00 p.m.
Plagiarism policy statement: The professor will use SafeAssign, plagiarism detection software which automatically scans papers and exams submitted via Blackboard. All papers and exams must be submitted via Blackboard to receive a grade.
The college policy on plagiarism reads as follows:
Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else‘s ideas, words, or artistic, scientific, or technical work as one‘s own creation. Using the ideas or work of another is permissible only when the original author is identified. Paraphrasing and summarizing, as well as direct quotations require citations to the original source.
Plagiarism may be intentional or unintentional. Lack of dishonest intent does not necessarily absolve a student of responsibility for plagiarism.
It is the student‘s responsibility to recognize the difference between statements that are common knowledge (which do not require documentation) and restatements of the ideas of others. Paraphrase, summary, and direct quotation are acceptable forms of restatement, as long as the source is cited.
Students who are unsure how and when to provide documentation are advised to consult with their professors. The Library has free guides designed to help students with problems of documentation. (John Jay College of Criminal Justice Undergraduate Bulletin, http://www.jjay.cuny.edu/academics/654.php see Chapter IV Academic Standards)
Accessibility services/ADA policy: Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable academic accommodations if determined eligible by the Office of Accessibility Services (OAS). Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the professor must receive written verification of a student’s eligibility from the OAS, located at 1L.66.00 (212-237-8031). It is the student’s responsibility to initiate contact with the office and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the professor.
Incomplete grade policy: An Incomplete Grade may be given only to those students who would pass the course if they were to satisfactorily complete course requirements. It is within the discretion of the professor as to whether or not to give the grade of Incomplete.
If a professor decides to give an Incomplete Grade, he will complete an Incomplete Grade drop-down form that will appear on the grading screen when the professor assigns the INC grade online. The professor will then provide the following information: the grade the student has earned so far; the assignment(s) that are missing; and the percentage of the final grade that the missing assignment(s) represents for this purpose.
If the course takes place during the fall semester or winter session, then the incomplete work is due by the student no later than the end of the third week of the following spring semester. If the course takes place during the spring semester or summer session, then the incomplete work is due no later than the end of the third week of the following fall semester. It is within the discretion of the professor to extend this deadline under extraordinary circumstances.
When completing the online Incomplete Grade Form, the professor agrees to grade the student’s outstanding coursework as specified on the form and to submit the student’s grade for the course any time from the date the student submits the completed work until the end of that fall or spring semester. If the student does not successfully complete the missing work, the professor may change the grade to a letter grade. If the professor does not submit a change of grade, the Incomplete Grade automatically becomes the grade of “FIN” at the end of that semester.
Required Texts:
- Brown, E., & Barganier, G. (2018). Race and Crime: Geographies of Injustice. Univ of California Press. (Must purchase)
- Cullen, Francis T. and Jonson, Cheryl Lero (2011). Correctional theory: Context and consequences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. ISBN: 978-1412981804 (Uploaded on Blackboard)
- Dayan, C. (2013). The Law Is a White Dog-How Legal Rituals Make and Unmake Persons. Princeton University Press. (Uploaded on Blackboard
Additional readings may be distributed in class or posted electronically on Blackboard.
