AOJ-381-OL


	Syllabus for AOJ-381-OL

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This upper-level course focuses on the criminal event from both the perspective of the victim and the motives of the offender. It examines victimization patterns, typologies, lifestyles, causal factors, consequences, and the treatment of victims by the criminal justice system. Understanding the behaviors of criminals will help you identify pre-incident warning signs, techniques to defuse immediate danger, and strategies to prevent future harm.

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COURSE OBJECTIVES

After successfully completing the course, you should be able to:

Analyze the nature of violence and criminal behavior.

Explain the concept of victimology in terms of the history, theories, typologies, and factors relating to the emergence of the victim movement.

Utilize crime data to identify the extent, trends, and patterns of crime victimization.

Identify the emotional, psychological, financial, physical, productivity, and social consequences related to crime victimization.

Discuss sexual assault and stalking as they relate to the concept of victimization.

Evaluate the issue of family violence, particularly the area of spouse abuse.

In their relation to victimization, analyze two forms of extreme violence: homicide and workplace violence.

Identify and explain ways to recognize threats of violence and to prevent violence.

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COURSE MATERIALS

The following materials are required to do the work of the course. These materials are available from the textbook supplier, MBS Direct.

Required Textbooks

The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence, by Gavin de Becker (New York: Dell, 1997).

Victimology, 5th ed., by William G. Doerner and Steven P. Lab (LexisNexis Anderson Publishing, 2008).

Supplemental Materials

As you study the violent crimes covered in this course, such as rape, homicide, and spouse abuse, you are encouraged to learn the laws in your state relating to those crimes. You may use your local law library to access the criminal code for your state, or you can use the Internet. Try Google or another search engine, using keywords such as "state criminal codes" or "[state name] criminal code." You can go directly to the Web site of your state's legislature and search it for a particular criminal code, or you can use general sites that list links to all states' codes. One such general site is www.law.cornell.edu/topics/state_statutes2.html, which provides links to each state's criminal code.
Note, too, that the Victimology text provides a list of Internet sites of interest at the end of each chapter.
As a student at Thomas Edison State College, you have access to the Criminal Justice Periodical Index, an online database of articles provided by ProQuest and made available through the New Jersey Virtual Academic Library Environment (VALE). To access VALE, go to the External Links area of this course site, click Educational Resources, and click Virtual Academic Library Environment (VALE). You will receive information about accessing the databases and be provided with a link to VALE at http://www.valenj.org. You may want to print out the instructions so you have the necessary password information.

Remember that if you use any of these materials for your written assignments or online discussions, be sure to give proper credit.

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COURSE STRUCTURE

Victimology and Criminal Behavior is a three-credit online course, consisting of six (6) assignment modules. All but one module (module 4) is divided into two units. In addition to completing assigned readings, you are required to participate in weekly graded class discussions, complete weekly written assignments, and take a proctored midterm examination and an unproctored online final exam.

For the course's assignment modules, go to the Assignment Modules area of the course Web site. (See also the course Calendar.)

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ONLINE PARTICIPATION

Victimology and Criminal Behavior requires you to participate in eleven weekly graded online discussion activities, in addition to an ungraded "Introductions" forum in module 1, unit 1.1.

Communication with the mentor and among fellow students is a critical component of online learning. Participation in online discussions involves two distinct activities: an initial response to a posted activity and subsequent comments on classmates' responses. Meaningful participation is relevant to the content, adds value, and advances the discussion. Comments such as "I agree" and "ditto" are not considered value-adding participation. Therefore, when you agree or disagree with a classmate, the reading, or your mentor, state and support your agreement or disagreement. You will be evaluated on the quality and quantity of your participation. Responses and comments should be properly proofread and edited, professional, and respectful.

If you use text material or outside print or online sources to enhance your discussion, please be sure to provide references.

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WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS

Victimology and Criminal Behavior requires that you complete and submit eleven (11) written assignments, one per week. These written assignments are built around the objectives for each unit. Each assignment consists of between two and six short-answer essay questions, some of which are multi-part.

Answer each assignment question as completely as possible. Do not merely copy your answers from your course materials. Rather, formulate answers in your own words, paraphrasing or quoting the course readings as appropriate. Be sure to cite these references in an appropriate manner by using footnotes or endnotes. If you use outside sources to strengthen your answers, be sure to cite them also.

Before submitting your work, proofread it for correct spelling, grammar, complete sentences and paragraphs, and clarity of expression. Be sure to keep a copy of each assignment for yourself.

Take the time to familiarize yourself with the Assignment Modules area of the course Web site, which is where the written assignments can be found. Read through the written assignment questions before you begin each unit.

Prepare your written assignments using whatever word processing program you have on your computer. Include your name at the top of the paper, as well as the course name and code and the semester and year in which you are enrolled.

Before submitting your first assignment, check with your mentor to determine whether your word processing software is compatible with your mentor's software. If so, you can submit your work as you prepared it. If not, save your assignment as a rich-text (.rtf) file, using the Save As command of your software program. Rich text retains basic formatting and can be read by any other word processing program.

When satisfied that your assignment represents your best work, submit it to your mentor by means of the

>>View/Complete Assignment

link provided at the bottom of the respective assignment page. Use the Browse button within this link to locate and submit your assignment file.

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EXAMINATIONS

Victimology and Criminal Behavior requires you to take two examinations: a proctored midterm examination and an unproctored, online final examination. Consult the course Calendar for the scheduling of these exams.

The exams comprise essay questions relating to the objectives of the course. To prepare for these exams, you should carefully review the learning objectives for each relevant unit before beginning the readings. This will help you focus on key points. As the assignment questions are tied into the learning objectives, answering these questions completely should help prepare you for the exams.

Midterm Examination

The midterm exam is a closed-book, proctored exam. It is two hours long and covers material assigned in Modules 1-3. It consists of 8 essay questions, each of which has two parts. You must answer both the a and b parts of each question.

You may take the midterm examination only during the designated exam week, at an approved location, and with an approved proctor. In this regard, you need to schedule your exam and submit your "Proctor Request Form" with the necessary documentation during the first week of the semester. (See Administrative Forms in the General Information area of the course Web site.)

If you are on a course extension and have not yet taken the midterm exam, you must let your examination proctor know when you plan to take the exam and contact the Office of Test Administration (609-984-1181) two weeks in advance to request that your exam be sent to the proctor.

For more information on scheduling a proctored examination, see the section Examinations and Proctors in the Online Student Handbook.

Final Examination
The final is a closed-book, unproctored exam. It is two hours long and covers material in Modules 4 through 6. It consists of 8 essay questions, each of which has two parts. You must answer both the a and b parts of each question.

The final exam is taken online in Blackboard. An exam link will be activated and made available to you in the Tests & Quizzes area of the course site at the start of the final exam week. You may take the exam at any time during that week, but no later than midnight Saturday (eastern time). If you are on a course extension, you will need to arrange with your mentor a time to reschedule the final exam.

Sample Examination
You will find a sample online examination in the Tests & Quizzes area of this course site. Use this sample exam to familiarize yourself with the online testing setting and format before you take your online exam. Keep in mind the following potential differences between the sample exam and your online exam:

The content of your exam will match the content of your course; the sample exam has some generic questions on art history, world history, and environmental science.

Your exam is likely to include only one type or at most several types of questions (such as multiple choice or essays). The sample exam includes all the types that you might encounter in an online assessment at Thomas Edison State College.

You will be able to enter and take your final exam just once—once you have entered the exam you must complete it. The sample exam may be taken as often as you like.

There will be a penalty for exceeding the time limit in your actual exams (see the "Statement about Cheating" below), whereas there is no corresponding penalty with this sample exam.

Statement about Cheating
The final examination in this course is an unproctored exam. That means you will not be supervised while taking the test. You are on your honor not to cheat during the exam. Cheating means:

Looking up any answer or part of an answer in an unauthorized textbook or on the Internet, or using any other source to find the answer.

Copying and pasting or in any way copying responses or parts of responses from any other source into your online test. This includes but is not limited to copying and pasting from other documents or spreadsheets, whether written by yourself or anyone else.

Plagiarizing answers.

Asking anyone else to assist you by whatever means available while you take the exam.

Copying any part of the exam to share with other students.

Telling your mentor that you need another attempt at the exam because your connection to the Internet was interrupted when that is not true.

If there is evidence that you have cheated or plagiarized in your exam, the exam will be declared invalid, and you will fail the course.

Please also note that the exam is time-limited. That means you only have the allotted time in which to complete the exam. If you exceed the time limit on the exam, you will be penalized by having two points deducted for every minute that you exceed the time limit. This may also result in your failing the course.

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GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

Written Assignments (11)	30 percent
Class Discussions (11)	20 percent
Midterm Examination	30 percent
Final Examination	20 percent

Letter grades for online participation, written assignments, and the course examinations are based on the following numerical grades:

A	=	93–100	C+	=	78–79
A–	=	90–92	C	=	73–77
B+	=	88–89	C–	=	70–72
B	=	83–87	D	=	60–69
B–	=	80–82	F	=	Below 60

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of D or higher on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings, projects, papers, etc.). You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted.

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STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

First Steps to Success
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

Read carefully the entire Syllabus, making sure that all aspects of the course are clear to you and that you have all the materials required for the course.

Take the time to read the entire Online Student Handbook. The Handbook answers many questions about how to proceed through the course, how to schedule exams and arrange for proctors, and how to get the most from your educational experience at Thomas Edison State College.

Arrange to take your proctored midterm examination by following the instructions in the Online Student Handbook. Then complete the "Proctor Request Form" and submit it to the Office of Test Administration (OTA). You must make arrangements to take your midterm examination and send in your "Proctor Request Form" to OTA before the end of the first week of the current semester. (See Administrative Forms in the General Information area of the course Web site.)

Familiarize yourself with the Blackboard environment—how to navigate it and what the various course areas contain. If you know what to expect as you navigate the course, you can better pace yourself and complete the work on time.

If you are not familiar with Web-based learning, or specifically with the Blackboard platform, be sure to review the processes for posting responses online and submitting assignments before class begins.

Study Tips
Consider the following study tips for success:

To stay on track throughout the course, begin each week by consulting the course Calendar. The calendar provides an overview of the course and indicates due dates for submitting written assignments, posting discussions, and scheduling and taking your examinations. For details on each assignment module and a complete listing of learning activities, go to the Assignment Modules area of the course Web site.

It is suggested that you try not to cram the weekly readings into one session. Much of the material is both highly conceptual and thought provoking. You should, however, attempt to complete each unit assignment weekly.

In reading the various sections of violent crimes, you should focus on recognizing warning signs and understanding strategies to defuse and reduce the risk of violence. These are recurring themes throughout the course, so you should expect to be evaluated on your mastery of these skills.

Check the Announcements page and class Discussion Board regularly for new course information.

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Syllabus Index

This document contains the following main sections:

Course Description

Course Objectives

Course Materials

Course Structure

Online Participation
Written Assignments

Examinations

Grading and Evaluation

Strategies for Success