Annual Report

Fiscal Year 2005

Criminal Justice

University of North Dakota

Director: Wendelin Hume, Chairperson

Contact Name: Wendelin Hume

Contact Phone: 701-777-4001

Contact Email: wendelin.hume@und.edu

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The annual report of the Department of Criminal Justice identifies the most salient accomplishments of the Department for AY 2004-05. Three primary sources were used in identifying data for this report: the core data set - Annual Summary; October 2005Academic Record Supplements; and, the Criminal Justice Department Strategic Plan.

The primary mission of the Department is identified in its teaching function but all five faculty members are also considered responsible for research and service. The Criminal Justice Department serves nearly 300 majors and over 50 minors, making us the second largest major in the College of Arts and Sciences, though we comparitively have a small number of faculty. With a high student to faculty ratio the Department of Criminal Justice is significantly restricted to serving its own majors and Doctoral students although we are also a major partner with the Sociology Master's program,teach several of the undergraduate Sociology courses that are impacted by our majors, contribute to the relatively new Forensic Science major, are a planned part of the proposed Psychology distance learning Masters, and contribute well to the general education curriculum.

Members of the Department are also significantly involved in University, and community service with participation on over 15 University and college committees as well as advisory responsibility to two student organizations. Members of the department are also involved at the local, State, regional and national levels as may be observed by their memberships in sixteen professional organizations and divisions as well as numerous state and local community organizations, positions, and activities. Of note also is the implied support and recognition of our efforts by professionals in the field as they accept and speak highly of our numerous student interns who are supervised and placed not only in our region and our state but throughout the country as well. During the AY 04 over a dozen interns were placed, contributing over 3000 hours to the field.

Research is also an important part of Departmental expectations and faculty are active in their participation in University, regional, national, and international conferences and in submission to and publication in regional, national, and international journals, books, and encyclopedias. Additionally, several members review for journals as well. Several faculty serve on numerousThesis committees and Dissertation committees. Also, numerous works are in progress which will look good for our next annual report. Finally, seven grant proposals were submitted this past year and four grants were in progress.

Overall, the productivity of the Department would be assessed as excellent, especially given the very high teaching loads, advising loads of around 60 or more students each, and the subsequent demands placed on the faculty. There are many challenges facing the Department as student enrollments increase and subsequently place additional demands on already stretched resources. With the implementation of the doctoral program in Criminal Justice these demands have become even greater but yet present new and exciting challenges. Overall, the past year for the Department of Criminal Justice appears to have gone well and with the addition of one new faculty member as planned when the Doctoral program was first proposed, the department would be well positioned to meet new challenges as together we work toward the Strategic Initiatives of the University of North Dakota and progress into the year 2006.

ORGANIZATION

The Department of Criminal Justice completed its second year as a newly formed (September 2003) academic unit of the College of Arts and Sciences. In its educational function the Department directly serves several groups, undergraduate Criminal Justice Studies majors and minors, students in various Sociology undergraduate courses, Sociology master's program students, and Criminal Justice doctoral students as well (in conjunction with Minot State University). In addition, there is a strong interfacing between the Criminal Justice Studies major and the Forensic major. Faculty also serve as members of the Women Studies program with one faculty member serving as Director of the Women Studies Program. The year under review was the second year of the new Department of Criminal Justice which previously was a Program within the Department of Sociology.

MISSION OF THE UNIT

The mission of the Department of Criminal Justice is broadly subsumed within the three functions of teaching, research and service to achieve the production and dissemination of knowledge guided by the principle of a just system of social regulation and control in the advancement of societal well-being. The goals of the teaching mission are achieved primarily through direct classroom instruction supplemented by experiential learning opportunities grounded in establishing foundations for lifelong learning. The research mission addresses both basic and applied research intended to contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the discipline of Criminal Justice as well as operational issues confronting criminal justice agencies and institutions. The Department of Criminal Justice meets its service mission through participation in departmental, college, and university governance, as well as involvement in professional and community activities that contribute to the betterment of the criminal justice discipline, the community and society.

STATE OF THE UNIT

Overall, the state of the Department would be assessed as good despite the very high teaching loads, advising loads of around 60 or more students each, and the subsequent demands placed on the faculty. There are many challenges facing the Department as student enrollments increase and subsequently place additional demands on already stretched resources. With the implementation of the doctoral program in Criminal Justice these demands have become even greater but yet present new and exciting challenges. Overall, the past year for the Department of Criminal Justice appears to have gone well and with the addition of one new faculty member as planned when the Doctoral program was first proposed, the department would be well positioned to meet new challenges as together we work toward the Strategic Initiatives of the University of North Dakota and progress into the year 2006.

Human Resources

FACULTY:

Michael Meyer (tenured - Full Professor) 18 yrs at UND.

Wendelin Hume (tenured - Associate Professor) 15 yrs at UND, Chairperson of Criminal Justice, Director of Women Studies, selected as Who's Who Among America's Best Teachers for the fourth time, nominated for the Arts and Sciences Service Award.

Bruce DiChristina (tenure track - Associate Professor) 5 yrs at UND.

Martin Gottschalk (tenure track - Assistant Professor) 4 yrs at UND.

Roni Mayzer (tenure track - Assistant Professor) 2 years at UND.

STAFF:

Dorothy Jerik (Administrative Secretary)

In AY 2005 Criminal Justice Department personnel consisted of one Full Professor, two Associate Professors (one female, one male), and two Assistant Professors (one female, one male). Some other diversity of Department personnel is also reflected in the range of ages, the different religious backgrounds, the racial/ethnic composition of the Department with one faculty being Native American, and in the fact that one faculty member is handicapped. All faculty have obtained their Ph.D.'s.

All faculty teach primarily in Criminal Justice although because of previous overlap between Sociology and Criminal Justice, instruction in some courses meets dual program requirements. Some courses are also cross-listed with Women Studies. We have the good fortune to receive the assistance provided by one Administrative Secretary.

To offer needed courses and expertise for the PhD program as well as lighten the teaching and advising load of current faculty to allow more time for research and grant writing another faculty position is needed. As most of the faculty members are relatively new it is important to support them as they work through the tenure process. It is also important to acknowledge and reward the contributions of the senior faculty so they will continue their involvement with UND and the department.

Those We Serve

The University:

Overall: Members of the Department of Criminal Justice were highly active across a broad spectrum of service to the University, to students, and to external constituents and other stakeholders in AY 2005. A detailed enumeration of these activities is beyond the scope of this report. Examples of the range of service are provided below.

The University:

Members of the Department were highly involved in providing service to the University through participation in departmental activities and committees as well as serving on a broad array of college and University committees. These activities included:

Campus Committee for Human Rights

College of Arts and Sciences Council Member

College of Arts and Sciences Tenure, Reappointment and Promotion Committee

Healthy UND Coalition

McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program

Native American Programs

Native Americans Into Criminal Justice Studies Initiative Director

Office of Enrollment Services - Outreach Assistance

Office of Enrollment Services - Open House

President's Advisory Committee on Women, Chair

Upward Bound Career Mentor

UND General Education Review Committee, Chair

UND Senate

UND Senate, Harassment Policy Revision Subcommittee

Undergraduate Program Evaluation Committee

University Compensation Committee

Women Studies Director

Women Studies Executive Committee Member

Women Studies Faculty

Members of the Department were also highly active in work with student organizations as demonstrated by the following:

Advisor, Criminal Justice Association;

Advisor, Native Americans into Criminal Justice Association

Students:

Service to students occurs through a wide variety of means. The most obvious and direct means are through the classroom teaching function, through directing independent research, through field internship placemets as well as in the context of faculty scholarship as this translates into the level and quality of the knowledge and preparedness of the faculty.

Scholarship and creative activity among the Criminal Justice faculty was good this past year with a wide array of published and presented works. Faculty made presentations of research at regional, national, and international forums.

The Department continued to maintain its heavy teaching responsibility in 2004-05:

Enrolled undergraduate majors, Fall Semester:

Criminal Justice. . . . . . . . . . 292

(compared to 01=228, 02=258, 03=285)

Student Completions, Year:

Criminal Justice. . . . . . . . . . . 61

Student Credit Hours for the year:

Criminal Justice (total). . . . . . . 3217

Lower Division. . . . . . . . . 1542

(01=1275, 02=1578, 03=1644)

Upper Division. . . . . . . . . 1625

(01=1125, 02=1419, 03=1463)

Graduate . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

As shown in the high and increasing numbers presented above, the Criminal Justice Department provided 3,217 credit hours of instruction of which 1,116 SCH were General Education credits.

As a proportion of resources committed to direct instruction these numbers are direct indicators of the heavy teaching responsibility undertaken by the Department. This load may be further identified by the average class sizes, especially at the lower division level. The average upper division class size was 43 in contrast to the University average of around 25 students in comparable courses.

Lower division Criminal Justice courses averaged 170 students. For the University as a whole the average class size for lower division courses was around 30. The Department of Criminal Justice continued to provide summer course offerings. The number of courses offered has increased a little, while demand for the courses both from within the major as well as from other majors has increased greatly.

Overall the numbers present clear evidence of Departmental instructional activity greater than the University average. Additionally, although the enrollments remained fairly stable from the period 1997-98 through 2000-01, there is now indication that the recent success in overall student recruitment at UND is resulting in increased enrollment demands on the Criminal Justice Department.

In 1995 the Criminal Justice Studies Program instituted, as part of its admission criteria to the major, an overall GPA of 2.7 in an effort to manage the high student interest in the Program. The number of majors in 1995 exceeded 300. Enrollment figures for Criminal Justice as a first or second major indicate that the admission requirements had the intended effect as enrollments dropped to 228 majors in the Fall Semester, 1998, and to 201 majors in the Spring Semester, 1999. By Fall 2001 enrollments had increased to 228 CJ majors and now our majors are at 292. During this same period, however, the average GPA of CJ majors increased from 2.7 to over2.9. In fact each year many of our majors are chosen for Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges as well as the Golden Key National Honor Society. Thus, the Criminal Justice Studies major has had a mixed experience. Enrollments are again rising, however, the quality of performance among these students has also risen significantly. This trend in enrollment growth is expected to continue as also indicated by the steady high number of prospective students letters sent out by our department 8/00-6/01=120; 07/01-06/02=84; 07/02-06/03=520; and 07/03-06/04=551; 07/04-06/05=444.

The number of student completions also marks the impact of the Criminal Justice Department on the University and the College of Arts and Sciences. Sixty-one students graduated with a B.S. CJS degree in the 2004-05 AY. This represents over 10 percent of all Bachelor degrees awarded in the College of Arts and Sciences. The number of graduates in Criminal Justice has been increasing each of the last four years, which is a trend that is likely to continue (00-01=40, 01-02=46, 02-03=47, 04-05=51).

External Constituents and Other Stakeholders:

In addition to the University and student service shared above, service to the larger community (region, state, nation, and international) was a significant part of Departmental activity throughout the year. As these activities were highly varied, and of different degrees of involvement, a listing is being presented rather than an extensive description.

Of note also is the implied support and recognition or our efforts by professionals in the field as they accept and speak highly of our numerous student interns who are placed not only in our region and our state but throughout the country as well. During the AY 04 over a dozen interns were placed, contributing over 3000 hours to the field.

-MEMBERSHIPS AND INVOLVEMENT-

Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences

Women and Minorities Division, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences

American Psychological Association

American Society of Criminology (ASC)

Division on Critical Criminology, (ASC)

Division on International Criminology, (ASC)

Association for Humanist Sociology

Association of American Indian and Alaska Native Professors

Association of Working-Class Academics

Drug Policy Alliance

Feminist Majority Foundation

International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law

Midwestern Criminal Justice Association

National Academic Advising Association

National Women Studies Association (NWSA) - Women of Color Caucus (WOCC)

NWSA Graduate Scholarship Judge

NWSA WOCC Rep. to the Constitution and Bylaws Revision Committee

North Dakota Peace Officers Association

North Dakota Public Employees Association

North Dakota WEAV Curriculum Infusion Task Force

Social Research on Adolescence

-COMMUNITY SERVICE AND INVOLVEMENT-

ATHENA Awards Committee

Community Violence Intervention Center

Girl Scouts of America Pine to Prairie Council - Board of Directors for Region 3

Grand Forks Wrestling Club - Assistant Coach

March of Dimes

North Dakota Public Employees Association

Programming

The most significant programming development was the second year of the new Ph.D. program in Criminal Justice. This program is a partnership with the Department of Criminal Justice at Minot State University and we have been working on adjusting the curriculum to reflect the Master's only admission stipulation which was not what was originally proposed. While offering a joint program has challenges which we are working on, such as which institution gets the tuition dollars yet how it all needs to show up on one transcript, we have had many inquiries by interested students and our enrollment has increased each year. During the first two years we have been able to offer doctoral level courses while not weakening the undergraduate program. In order to fully implement the planned course offerings at the Doctoral level, while not neglecting the undergraduate program, we need the second faculty position that was initially requested in the Doctoral program poroposal to be able to be approved in the very near future. While much of the programming effort during the year was directed to the fledgling PhD program, progress also took place regarding assessment and strategic planning which were recently completed this year. The ability to retain our current faculty and add an additional faculty member will be crucial to our programming plans as well as our ability to have the time to develop quality on-line and IVN courses.

Fiscal and Physical Resources

Despite the wonderful rennovations in O'Kelly Hall for the new department, space remains a concern. We still have some space available for the Doctoral students or possibly a new faculty member but rennovations need to take place to convert the former autopsy room into useable space for our growing graduate student population. At the present time however, fiscal resources remain the area of utmost concern.

The basic operating budget for Criminal Justice has not changed in several years despite the addition of four faculty over the years, though we did receive a slight increase based on student credit hours generated by our department. With inflationary costs, cost centered accounting within the University, and increased personnel, the lack of increased operating expenses is placing significant stress on the fiscal resources of the Department. In addition to the need of another faculty member, the department has fallen significantly behind in its ability to support faculty in the attendance of regional and national meetings to present research and creative activities. The lack of funding has impeded this essential aspect of professional development, as the placement of the primary cost of attending even one meeting on individual faculty members is often prohibitive. As most of our faculty are untenured the ability to financially support their professional development is a great concern to the department. At a recent regional conference in our discipline, when the topic of support for presentations and travel was addressed our department was among the lowest in the room at under $600 a year while several schools offered over $1,500 a year with $1,000 being the average. Please note that all the schools were in the midwest region.

Evaluation

Assessment of Accomplishments of YOUR Strategic Plan Goal:

In establishing the departmental strategic goals the previous University strategic initiatives were used as an outline. Based on this outline, the Department developed its first strategic plan September 2000. Following is a report on activities and accomplishments in attaining goals set out in this plan and its subsequent revisions. We are currently working on updating our strategic plan to cover the Doctoral curriculum, our new departmental status, and revisions in the University strategic plan. Some of the information shared here will also be repeated in the next section of the report "Strategic Initiatives", as the main categories are similar to the areas we used to develop our plan.

Priority Action 1: Provide a quality curriculum with a solid liberal arts foundation for each field of study to prepare students for rich, full lives, productive careers, and civic leadership.

Criminal Justice:

Goal 1-1: Fill open faculty position in Criminal Justice with person able to assist at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.

Action: We have been seeking approval for one faculty line.

Goal 1-2: Assist Forensic Science major.

Action: As previously determined by the Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, the Forensic Science Program has been established as a stand-alone program within the College. We continue to work with Forensic students, several of our courses are impacted by these students and we remain interested in assisting attempts to bring a State Forensic lab to campus to enhance acaedemic offerings.

Goal 1-3: Establish a Criminology/Criminal Justice emphasis in the Sociology M.A. program.

Action: Due to rapid changes in the environment as Criminal Justice moved out of Sociology this goal has been temporarily put on hold in favor of emphasizing Goal 1-4.

Goal 1-4: Based on unplanned changes to the original proposal, work out partnership arrangements with the M.A. Criminal Justice Program at Minot State University to expand educational opportunities for students in the North Dakota University System.

Action: The Department of Criminal Justice at the University of North Dakota and the Department of Criminal Justice at Minot State University entered into a partnership to provide graduate education at the Ph.D. level beginning Fall 2003. The new Ph.D. program was approved by the North Dakota Board of Higher Education at its January 2002 meeting. We continue to work with Minot in developing promotional materials and adjusting the curriculum to reflect the Master's admission only requirement which was mandated by their institution.

Priority Action 2: Expand and strengthen and University's commitment to research and creative activity, both as a means of enriching the learning environment and as a driver for economic development.

Criminal Justice:

Goal 2-1: Implement linkages with the North Dakota State Crime Lab and Forensic Science Program to create opportunities for expanding research capabilities of the Lab and increase learning opportunities for Forensic Science majors.

Action: Discussions with the North Dakota Attorney General's Office determined interest in further exploring the establishment of a branch office of the state crime lab. Further discussions took place. Possible physical location of such a facility within the University has been explored and responsibility for this now lays in the hands of others. We will continue to be supportive and cooperative if called upon but will no longer push towards this as our initial efforts were rather circumvented on our own campus.

Goal 2-2: Ensure adequate access to professional journals to support faculty and student research efforts.

Action: Preliminary inventory of criminal justice/criminology journals maintained by the Chester Fritz Library has been completed. Discussion with Library staff to increase Library holdings is ongoing. We were able to increase the book holdings last year and all faculty participated in the selection of materials. The acquisition of journals is a seperate process however, so more discussion with administration needs to take place.

Goal 2-3: Improve allocation of travel money to support dissemination of research at professional meetings.

Action: Request for increased allocation to Criminal Justice operating budget was made to the Dean, College of Arts and Sciences. Due to budgetary priorities within the University, operating budgets for departments remained relatively flat. Continued requests to increase the Program operating budget to meet inflationary costs and costs associated with increased personnel resources are taking place.

Priority Action 3: Serve the people of North Dakota, the region, the nation, and the world more effectively through applied and basic research, cultural experiences, and economic development programs as well as through a comprehensive array of educational offerings.

Criminal Justice:

Goal 3-1: Increase involvement with regional tribal justice systems to establish greater ability to work with and serve as a resource to Tribal governments in improving justice systems.

Action: Continued development of Native Americans into Criminal Justice Initiative.

Continued development and support of Native Americans into Criminal Justice Association membership and activities.

Tribal Justice research is currently taking place by both faulty and graduate students. Ideas for grant proposals are currently being developed. Information on domestic violence among the Native American population was incorporated into the statewide curriculum module which was recently published.

Priority Action 4: Improve the campus climate for living and learning.

Criminal Justice:

Goal 4-1: Increase scholarship funds available to recognize academic excellence among CJ majors.

Action: Scholarship decisions have recently been made and continue as part of an on-going effort. Discussion of securing additional funds from alumni is taking place.

Goal 4-2: Establish affiliation with the national Criminal Justice Honor Society, Lambda Alpha Epsilon.

Action: Possible affiliation explored. No further progress at this time.

Priority Action 5: Optimize and stabilize enrollment to achieve the desired number and mix of students appropriate to the University's mission.

Criminal Justice:

Goal 5-1: Develop a consistent method of tracking student progress in the CJ Program to guide advising and disseminate information on major status to students in a timely fashion.

Action: The system for tracking student progress in the major is workin well. Notification letters sent to students regarding major status have been revised and updated. All student files have been updated and despite the time committment of this task, continue to be monitored each semester. Students have responded favorably to this monitoring and often call or e-mail the Chair with questions prompted by the letter or seek advising to address concerns raised in the letter.

Priority Action 6: Optimize the use of information technology to improve student learning, research, and the administration of the University.

Criminal Justice:

Goal 6-1: Increase available technology needed to support instructional and professional presentations.

Action: This goal was modified in light of the larger institutional goal of increasing the availability of classroom technology. Most classrooms now used by criminal justice faculty are supported by necessary computer and audio-visual capabilities. Plans for assisting professional presentations were developed, a laptop was secured, and the necessary equipment request for a projector has been made. A collaboration with the departments of Sociology and Social Work resulted in the approval of a student technology fee proposal to improve the lab in Gilette Hall which has been done.

Goal 6-2: Increase student competency in computer applications.

Action: Courses with the potential to include greater instruction and involvement of students in computer technology and applications have been identified and those courses are now including such instruction within their curriculum. The desire for a specific course in computer applications in criminal justice has been identified. However, limitations on funding and personnel resources at this time are prohibitive to establishing a specific course to address this need. Employers in the field have commented favorably on the technological abilities of our interns and have stressed the importance of this skill.

Priority Action 7: In support of all of the above, ensure that the University has a well-prepared, enthusiastic faculty and staff, first-rate physical facilities, an adequate financial resource base, and an appropriate efficient organizational structure.

Goals: None at the present time though this will be discussed during the upcoming year and addressed in revisions to our strategic plan. Informally, we have discussed the importance of mentoring and sharing advise with faculty who are working toward tenure. We also acknowledge the importance of keeping the two senior faculty enthusiastic about their efforts at UND by supporting their efforts toward promotion and advocating for adjustments to the salary compression they have experienced over the years.

Assessment of Student Learning - Assesment 1 Undergraduate:

Assessment of Student Learning:

The Department of Criminal Justice established plans for the assessment of student learning. The plan identified learning goals and objectives with identified criteria for their assessment. The main learning goals include:

1) basic skills [such as thinking critically, having computer skills, and communicating effectively]

2) understanding the criminal justice system and related theories

3) understanding criminal justice research [including both qualitative and quantitative methods]

4) appreciation for principles of Justice

5) appreciation for diversity and good citizenship.

One specific course, Administration of Justice, has been identified in the Criminal Justice curriculum for serving as a capstone course through which assessment activities will be coordinated. Curriculum changes were approved and the course began Fall Semester 2003. Additionally, feedback from agencies supervising interns in the field is being explored. We examined standardized tests available for our discipline but rejected them in favor of a pre-test/post test design of our own which is being implemented.

Assessment of Student Learning - Assesment 1 Graduate:

In the graduate program, assessment of student learning takes place during each course. At the present time enrollment is low enough that instructors are able to modify course content and progression throughout the semester. We are currently working on a more formalized plan for assessment of student learning at the end of the degree program. Already in place are comprehensive exam requirements and a dissertation completion requirement both of which will be used to assess student learning.

Assessment of Student Learning - Assesment 1 Certificate:

n/a

Assessment of Student Learning - Assesment 1 Professional:

n/a

Assessment of Student Learning - Assesment 2 Undergraduate:

Formal assessment has not yet been completed as we are now going through the data collected. Data collected so far has been very supportive of student learning and the relevance of what is being learned. We are careful not to compromise the quality of our undergraduate program as we develop the Doctoral program. We have finalized our assessment matrix, have recently administered the pre-test. We will administer the post-test late in the fall semester and we will then examine the incoming results in a more formal manner.

Assessment of Student Learning - Assesment 2 Graduate:

As we work our way through the Cooperative Ph.D. program most of the hurdles have been administrative in nature and we will continue working on those. We also learned the importance of setting deadlines for applications and we have renewed confidence in our minimum qualifications as students who have met the minimum qualifications seem to be doing well so far. Due to a change in personnel at the Minot campus we were made acutely aware of the need for a statistician and research methodology expert within our program. The students are coming in with a minimal level of understanding of these two areas and to enhance their skills while they are in the program, as will be needed to make them competitive upon graduation, we are in need of the other faculty position which was requested in the original proposal.

Assessment of Student Learning - Assesment 2 Certificate:

n/a

Assessment of Student Learning - Assesment 2 Professional:

n/a

Assessment of Student Learning - Assesment 3 Undergraduate:

As mentioned above, we are now offering a capstone course to help tie the students' experiences together as well as to assess their learning before they exit the program. We also will be examining how some of our core courses are still taught within the sociology department and whether that situation should continue or if the students would best be served by a change to offering it within our department. We feel no other changes are indicated at this time as the students are leaving with good knowledge in hand and employers as well as graduate programs are happy with the quality of our graduates.

Assessment of Student Learning - Assesment 3 Graduate:

We are still working with Minot State to secure their agreement to remove Master level courses from the originally proposed curriculum as their school demanded that our program would be masters only admission. As mentioned above will be strongly advocating for the need of one additional faculty member to help address the needed expanded coverage of advanced statistical and research methodologies.

Assessment of Student Learning - Assesment 3 Certificate:

n/a

Assessment of Student Learning - Assesment 3 Professional:

n/a

Assessment of Student Learning - Assesment 4 Undergraduate:

As we have just finished our assessment plan and collected the first part of our data we have not made any major changes at this time. Our national organization known as the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences [ACJS] has released a set of guidelines and is establishing an accreditation process. While we have not made any major changes at this time we will be watching these national developments closely and will take them into consideration while adjusting our strategic plan and continuing our assessment activities.

Assessment of Student Learning - Assesment 4 Graduate:

To continue the quality of our PhD program without compromising the strengths of the undergraduate program an additional faculty position is needed. This faculty member will need to be able to cover the advanced statistical and research methods courses which currently are unstaffed as the current faculty are already carring a full load.

Assessment of Student Learning - Assesment 4 Certificate:

n/a

Assessment of Student Learning - Assesment 4 Professional:

n/a

Other Assessment and Evaluation Activities:

Our department is currently working on a revalidation of our general education, Introduction to Criminal Justice course. Additionally, the chair of our department, has been a member of the general education committee on campus for the last several years and currently is serving as past-chair of the committee. Insights from this committee work are shared with the department, used in classes and taken into consideration while implementing our assessment plan. Finally, our national organization known as the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences [ACJS] has released a set of guidelines and is establishing an accreditation process. While we have not made any major changes at this time we will be watching these national developments closely and will take them into consideration while adjusting our strategic plan and continuing our assessment activities.

STRATEGIC INITIATIVES AND PLANNING

Priority Action 1: Provide a Quality Curriculum

Curriculum Quality (overview):

To assist the quality development of the new Ph.D. program without compromising the strengths of the undergraduate program one of two needed faculty positions was filled with the hiring of Roni Mayzer, effective Fall 2003. We are still in need of the second position.

The Department of Criminal Justice at the University of North Dakota and the Department of Criminal Justice at Minot State University entered into a partnership to provide graduate education at the Ph.D. level beginning Fall 2003. The new Ph.D. program was approved by the North Dakota Board of Higher Education at its January 2002 meeting.

Gen Ed:

Our initial course "Introduction to Criminal Justice" is a required course for all majors,it is an important part of the general education program at the University of North Dakota, and was recently revalidated as such. In addition to our actual general education course we consider basic skills to be one of the key learning areas which we address and assess. Within that area of "basic skills" we assess specifically the ability to think critically, the ability to use abstract knowledge to help resolve concrete problems, the ability to have basic computer skills, and the ability to communicate effectively both in writing and orally. Several of the courses in our curriculum address all of the skills while the remainder address at least a minimum of one of the skills.

Natl Awards/Fellowships:

One of our faculty, Wendelin Hume,was recognized as a Who's Who Among America's Best Teachers for a fourth time.

Michael Meyer, completed his reporting on his experience as a recipient of a Fulbright award which placed him in South Africa.

Exp Learning:

Experiential learning is not required of our majors as given the sensitive nature of our line of work this could be unethical in certain circumstances and it is not recommended by our national organizations. However, experiential learning is strongly encouraged for qualified students and we have a procedure of a required semester long course followed by the field placement which is the envy of many other schools. In fact our "internship program" was used as an example of best practices in a recently published book on internships in criminal justice and it was acknowledged as a model to be shared at our regional discipline conference. During the fiscal year under review over a dozen majors were placed in the field contributing over 3000 hours of service. Additionally, many more students did small projects in the community, participated in community fundraising and other activities, or completed volunteer hours on their own typically while being supervised by a faculty member.

Faculty Abroad:

While occasionally some of our faculty members have taught abroad, it should be noted that in a small department such as ours with such a high number of majors, a high teaching load, and a high advising load, it is very difficult for the department to continue functioning while allowing faculty members the opportunity to regularly make their contributions elsewhere. Despite these limitations, please note the following:

Dr. Michael Meyer has continued his collaborations with Tshwana University of Technology in Pretoria, South Africa and he returned briefly during the summer of 2005 despite little institutional financial support.

Visiting Intnatl Faculty:

None

Teaching/Research Awards:

Dr. Wendelin Hume -- fourth time awardee of Who is Who among America's Best Teachers.

Priority Action 2: Expand and Strengthen Commitment to Research

Commitment to Research (overview):

Our department was instrumental in arranging discussions with the North Dakota Attorney General's Office which determined interest in further exploring the establishment of a branch office of the state crime lab on the UND campus. Further discussions have taken place at higher administrative levels. Possible physical location of such a facility within the University has been explored.

Inventory of criminal justice/criminology journals maintained by the Chester Fritz Library has been completed. Discussion with Library staff to increase Library holdings is ongoing. All criminal justice faculty contributed to the selection of books needed to improve the holdings at the Library.

One of our faculty is a research team member for the Bush Longitudinal General Education Study at UND.

In an attempt to financially support and encourage faculty research and presentations of that research,requests for increased allocation to Criminal Justice operating budget was made to the Dean, College of Arts and Sciences. Due to budgetary priorities within the University, operating budgets for departments remained relatively flat. Continued requests to increase the Program operating budget to meet inflationary costs and costs associated with increased personnel and the resources they need to use are continuing.

Natl Awards:

Dr. Michael Meyer completed his report regarding his experiences as a Fulbright lecturer/researcher in the country of South Africa.

Dr. Wendelin Hume was again recognized nationally by the Girl Scouts of the United States of America for her research which aided the development of a volunteer screening process which is currently being used as a model of "best practices" at the national level.

Research Opportunities:

Several undergraduate students participated in research while in their internship field placement positions. Their research helped improve practices in relation to probation, juvenile drug court, and the handling of sexual offenders.

Research Activities:

The estimated number of other undergraduate students involved in research activities for FY04 would be six.

Visiting Speakers/Artists:

The department brought in a Highway Patrol officer, a U.S Marshall, and a probation officer.

The Criminal Justice Student Association brought in numerous speakers including a police officer,a probation officer, a Highway Patrol officer, and a federal probation officer.

Prof Conference Hosted:

We did not host any conferences or meetings on our campus during FY04.

Priority Action 3: Serve the People

Serve the People (overview):

Continued development of the Native Americans into Criminal Justice Initiative.

Continued development and support of Native Americans into Criminal Justice Association membership and activities.

The department is offering a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice as part of a joint arrangement with Minot State University.

Endowed Lectureships/Attend:

Our department has not been able to afford or arrange an endowed lectureship.

Visiting Artists:

Our department did not sponsor any visiting artists.

Elem/Sec Student Prog Hosted:

Our department did not host any events for elementary/secondary students although we did participate in university sponsored Open House events and were very available for advisement of visiting students and their families. Our faculty also participated in the freshman orientation Getting Started event.

Band/Theater/Other:

Our department did not participate in any tours.

Public Service Programs:

Our department does not have any prearranged public service programs although many of our students volunteer numerous hours to participate in programs available in the local community.

Service Learning Programs:

As discussed earlier, our department is dedicated to providing quality internship opportunities to all qualified and interested students. Our department helped arrange over a dozen field internship placements in which the students contributed over 3000 hours of service. Numerous classes also guide students to participate in projects or volunteer their time and talents to others in the community. Even our large introductory courses encourage students to get involved in the broader community and contribute to developing over 1500 instances of learning outside the classroom.

Deg Progs with Service Learning:

Criminal Justice -- numerous service learning opportunities available, formal internship field placements for credit strongly encouraged.

Public Service Partnerships:

We have a partnership with Girl Scouts - Pine to Prairie Council primarily for research and grant purposes as well as to assist their delinquency and victimization prevention efforts.

While we do not have any formal partnerships with other public service agencies we have a long and successful history of building informal partnerships with agencies across the state, in Minnesota, and across the nation. Many of these partnerships have developed based on networking and organizational involvement by faculty. Additionally, some of our adjunct faculty are from public service agencies. Many other partnerships have developed as internship sites are arranged.

Informal partnerships in FY04 in no particular order, include but are not limited to:

Grand Forks City Police Department

Grand Forks County Juvenile Probation Services

Lutheran Social Services

Fraternal Order of Police

Hennepin County Department of Community Corrections

Community Violence Intervention Center

United States District Court, District of Minnesota

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension

Senator Kent Conrad

Grand Forks County Community Service

Bureau of Criminal Investigations

Minnesota Department of Corrections

North Dakota Highway Patrol

American Lung Association

Girl Scouts of America -- Pine to Prairie Council

Central High School Security

Priority Action 4: Improve the Campus Climate

Improve Campus Climate (overview):

All of our faculty and our staff member try very hard to make our department and our classes stimulating and enjoyable. We are proud of our students and the successes they have had both in the field and in graduate education. Out of our five main departmental goals two of them are particularly pertinent to this initiative. The two most directly related goals are appreciation for principles of justice and appreciation for diversity and good citizenship.

Several of our faculty selflessly volunteer their time in the local community. For instance, our faculty are involved in:

the Athena award - which recognizes and encourages support of women into leadership positions

Grand Forks wrestling club - which recognizes and encourages self-esteem and physical prowess of young men

Girl Scouts of America Pine to Prairie Council - which recognizes and encourages self-esteem, safety consciousness, and leadership abilities of young women

Community Violence Intervention Center - which assists victims of criminal violence

Additionally,on-campus our faculty are involved in:

University Senate

College of Arts and Sciences Council

Healthy UND Coalition

Campus Committee for Human Rights

Women's Center

Presidents Advisory Council on Women

Council on Campus Climate

American Indian Services and Programs

Events & Participation:

Our department did not sponsor any events.

Art/Athletic Events & Participation:

Our department did not sponsor any cultural, art, or athletic programs.

Campus Attendance/Events:

Our faculty and staff participated in numerous events on-campus including health events, Women's Center and International Center events, multicultural speakers, Timeout Week events and speakers, theater events, Spotlight on Scholars series, and several of the OID events.

Priority Action 5: Optimize and Stabilize Enrollment

Optimize and Stabilize Enrollment (overview):

Our departmental system for tracking student progress in the Criminal Justice major has been revised. Notification letters to students regarding major status have been revised and updated. All student files have been updated and will continue to be monitored each semester. As discussed earlier in this report, our number of majors has continued to rise despite implementing a minimum GPA requirement and structuring a set of prerequisite courses. The average GPA of our students has increased and our students are well received with numerous employment opportunities available. We encourage the recruitment of minority students and participate in the diversity tuition waiver program. Our faculty currently maintain a high teaching and advising load yet they make themselves available for student advisingand informal meetings to try to improve the retention rate.

Summer Activities:

Our department regularly offers at least one course and several reading and independent study opportunities. Summer is also the typical time many students choose to do their internship field placements so monitoring of the students during the summer is essential though little financial incentive for doing this is available to the internship coordinator. There are also numerous tasks, scheduling and contract issues, and advising that the Chair takes care of even though they are not under contract or paid for these efforts during the summer. We do not host other summer events.

Priority Action 6: Optimize the Use of Information Technology

Not only do we encourage our faculty to optimize the use of information technology (when appropriate) to improve student learning but we have a similar goal for our students as well which is "to have basic computer skills necessary to find, communicate, and create information". At the present time most of the classrooms currently being used by criminal justice faculty are supported by necessary computer and audio-visual capabilities. A couple of our faculty use these resources extensively and are quite creative in developing new ways of using the technology to improve their instruction. A couple of our faculty use the technology only occasionally though their familiarity with it is increasing. Some faculty still prefer to engage the students with other methods.

We are currently working on obtaining portable technology which can be used outside standard classroom settings as well as at professional conferences and meetings. A request for funding to obtain the needed projector has been submitted.

Courses with the potential to include greater instruction and involvement of students in computer technology and applications have been identified and those courses are now including such instruction within their curriculum. The desire for a specific course in computer applications in criminal justice has been identified. However, limitations on funding and personnel resources at this time are prohibitive to establishing a specific course to address this need.

Priority Action 7: In Support of Faculty and Staff.....

Support (overview):

This is certainly a broad but worthwhile goal. We delight in our new Departmental status, we are proud of our quality undergraduate program which serves the students and our discipline well, and we are enthusiastic and optimistic about the new Ph.D. program. All of our faculty have obtained their Ph.D.'s and they take pride in their quality research and teaching efforts. The faculty currently have very high teaching loads and a great number of advisees. Another faculty member is needed to redistribute the load as well as meet a curriculum and instructional need in the graduate program. Faculty morale is also decreased because of the little support available for professional research and presentation opportunities. The finances of the department are also stretched as operational budgets have remained relatively constant despite increasing number of students, more instructors over the years, and higher costs of items.

Space/Equipment Status:

Our newly remodeled space in O'Kelly Hall is very nice, handicapped accessible, well-maintained, and highly utilized. As the number of students in the Ph.D. program increases there is a need for more space for the students which will entail a little more remodeling.

As mentioned before, we are currently working on obtaining portable technology which can be used outside standard classroom settings as well as at professional conferences and meetings. A request for funding to obtain these items has been submitted and is currently under review. We have also instituted a cycle of slow but regular replacement and updating of computer-related equipment. We were able to obtain one new computer and a printer during the period under review which was greatly appreciated and they are definitely being put to good use.

Endowed Professorships:

We do not have any endowment professorships at the present time.

Endowed Chairpersons:

We do not have any endowed chairs at the present time.