OATdb Archive

2012 - 2013

Criminal Justice And Criminology, Department Of

Goal
Sustained Effective Teaching
Sustained effective teaching

Objective
The Department Will Continue To Engage In Effective Teaching
The department will continue to engage in effective teaching

KPI
IDEA Evaluations
The Department Of Criminal Justice And Criminology Will Continue To Effectively Teach At Both The Undergraduate And Graduate Levels.  The average score on the IDEA evaluations will be above the university mean for undergraduate and graduate courses.

Result
Improvement In IDEA Scores
In the Fall 2012 semester, the average adjusted IDEA teaching evaluation scores for in-person courses taught by full-time faculty ranged from 1.6 to 5.0 with a mean score of 4.3. The average adjusted IDEA teaching evaluation score for on-line courses taught by full-time faculty ranged from 3.1 to 4.8 with a mean score of 4.0.  In the Spring 2013 semester, the average adjusted IDEA teaching evaluation scores for in-person courses taught by full-time faculty ranged from 3.6 to 5.0 with a mean score of 4.3.  The average adjusted IDEA teaching evaluation score for on-line courses taught by full-time faculty ranged from 3.6 to 4.6 with a mean score of 4.1.  The University Mean Summary Evaluation Score was 4.1.

Action
Increased Attention To Pedagogy
The upcoming year will include increased attention to consistency in pedagogy with full-time faculty and between lecturer-pool instructors and full time- faculty. Specifically, increased communication and workshops targeting lecturer-pool instructors will be developed.

Goal
Sustained Research Impact In The Field
Sustained research impact in the field

Objective
Increase Research Productivity And Impact
The department will continue to increase research productivity and impact within the field of criminal justice and criminology.


KPI
Increase Publications Overall
The faculty within the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology will increase the number and impact of publications from last year.  The faculty will produce a higher number of publications overall from last year. 

Result
Publications Increased
The faculty in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology produced 143 peer-reviewed articles this academic year compared to 80 the previous year.


KPI
Higher Number Of High Impact Journal Publications
The faculty will produce a higher number of high impact journal publications from last year.

Result
Increased Publications In High Impact Journals
The faculty produced both a higher number of publications and increased their presence in higher impact journals in our field.  The publications database presently updated by our publications department is evidence of the quality of journals Criminal Justice faculty are submitting to and publishing their research.  However,  we are finding that this database is not robust enough to give us the data and statistics we are desiring.  The action will address this issue more and the plan for an improved publication database.

Action
Create Bench Marks
Improvements will be made in the collection of data regarding the number, quality and type of journal publication occurring on an annual basis. Our current level of publications is high and we will aim to sustain these efforts with an eye toward creating bench marks for future assessment cycles.

Goal
Sustained Faculty And Administrative Development
Sustained faculty and administrative development


Objective
Competitive Faculty Will Increase
The department will continue to develop and grow by hiring competitive faculty and administrators.


KPI
Additional Competitive Faculty
The Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology will hire one or two new competitive faculty members.

Result
Additional Faculty Hired
During AY 2012-2013, two additional faculty members were hired for AY 2013-2014. One faculty member was recruited for an Assistant Professor position in the area of Corrections (Dr. Erin Orrick). A second faculty member was recruited for an Associate Professor position in the area of Victimology (Dr. Lisa Muftic). Both faculty members demonstrated an established or promising research agenda and strong skill set as a teacher in their respective areas.

KPI
Department Chair Will Be Hired.
The Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology will hire a competitive Chair for the Department.

Result
Department Chair Hired
After a national search, a Full Professor was hired from the existing faculty for the Department Chair position (Dr. Gaylene Armstrong). These accomplishments further strengthen the Department’s ability to meet the growing demands for education with the field of criminal justice and criminology.


Action
New Professor Addition
The department will seek to add an assistant or associate professor during the next academic year. This will further assist the department in meeting the demands of a growing student population. Credit Hours (up 14.4% Fall 2013)


Update to previous cycle's plan for continuous improvement No data from previous period.

Plan for continuous improvement This year as the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology gained its official designation as a department, goals set for teaching and research excellence were met.

Further, the organizational leadership of a department chair was secured along with added quality faculty members. As the student demand for criminal justice courses continues to grow, efforts will be made to further enhance teaching pedagogy of lecturer-pool instructors (given our high utilization rate), sustain high quality research efforts that are impactful, and seek additional faculty lines as the program’s growth continues.