Criminal_Law

[pic] COURSE SYLLABUS COURSE TITLE: Criminal Law TERM & YEAR: Spring 1 2012 COURSE & SECTION NUMBER: LE 263 Intro to Criminal Law/Justice TIME & PLACE: Online NUMBER OF CREDIT HOURS: 3 INSTRUCTOR: Robert W. McKinley OFFICE LOCATION/HOURS: M-F 9:00-4:00 (Central Time) OFFICE PHONE: 715.723.2588 EMAIL:mckinleyr@trine.edu COURSE DESCRIPTION: A study in the fundamentals of the Criminal Law system in U.S. Society PREREQUISITES: None REQUIRED TEXT: Criminal Law, Samaha, 10th Ed. (online book) REFERENCES: OTHER MATERIALS: You should review the Summary and Web Resources at the end of each chapter. Both resources provide a review of critical concepts as well as practice test tools to help you measure your progress. These are self-help tools and are not to be turned in or graded. In addition, each of the weekly Learning Modules provides additional resources to help you better understand this course. You are encouraged to make use of those resources as well. LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to: *understand the basic nature of our criminal law system *know the sources of the criminal law * know the elements of common crimes and defenses thereto *understand theories behind punishment and the limits on government to define crime *become familiar with case citations, case briefing and finding a case in the library COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Students are expected to: *Complete all assignments and tests in a timely fashion *Participate in Discussion Board activities *Use descriptive lines in your e-mail messages to others, so that users will recognize the message as being from a classmate ATTENDANCE/PARTICIPATION: Students are expected to participate in the Discussion Board and take all tests. I am required to file an attendance report each week identifying any students who did not participate for the week. Normally, this report is filed on Sunday. Participation involves more than simply sending me an email requesting information on posting to the Discussion Board. Participation involves the completion of a class assignment. GRADING/EVALUATION There will be a mid-term and a final exam each worth 80 points as well as seven Discussion Board questions. DBs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 are worth 10 points. DB 6 is worth 20 points. Grading scale: 90% and above-A 86-89- B+ 80-85-B 76-79-C+ 70-75-C 66-69-D+ 60-65-D Below 60-F OTHER POLICIES: The University prohibits all forms of academic misconduct. Academic misconduct refers to dishonesty in examinations (cheating), presenting the ideas or the writing of someone else as one’s own (plagiarism) or knowingly furnishing false information to the University by forgery, alteration, or misuse of University documents, records, or identification. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, the following examples: permitting another student to plagiarize or cheat from one’s own work, submitting an academic exercise (written work, printing, design, computer program) that has been prepared totally or in part by another, acquiring improper knowledge of the contents of an exam, using unauthorized material during an exam, submitting the same paper in two different courses without knowledge and consent of professors, or submitting a forged grade change slip or computer tampering. The faculty member has the authority to grant a failing grade in cases of academic misconduct as well as referring the case to Student Life. MAKING ONLINE DISCUSSIONS EFFECTIVE/ NETIQUETTE o Create discussion postings off-line in a simple text editor such as Notepad and then paste them into MyTrineCourse for anything other than quick responses. Occasionally you may lose connection with MyTrineCourse why typing lengthy messages and you may lose everything you just typed. Cutting and pasting will insure you still have a copy of your posting. o Use spell check to review your documents before posting to Discussion Board and submitting assignments. Review your posting for grammatical errors. Your submitted content is a reflection of you. o Think about what you are going to write before you write it. Try to say as much as you can say in the fewest number of words. o If you are building your comment off of what someone else said make sure it is clear in your comment what you are referring to. WRONG – I agree with Sue. RIGHT – I agree with Sue that Trine University staff members are dedicated and responsive, but I do feel that some of them need to make better use of technology. o “Flaming” or derogatory or hostile interactions will not be tolerated. It really is pretty ugly watching people have verbal battles on the discussion board. Disagreements are fine – even good – but this can be done with a civil tone. • Participation in the discussion board is expected. Post a substantive, informed response that shows evidence of having read and drawn on the course content or other provided resources. Contributing examples from your experience are encouraged. There are no wrong answers in the discussion board. PLAGIARISM: You are expected to submit your own work and to identify any portion of work that has been borrowed from others in any form. An ignorant act of plagiarism on final versions and minor projects, such as attributing or citing inadequately, will be considered a failure to master an essential course skill and will result in an F for that assignment. A deliberate act of plagiarism, such as having someone else do your work, or submitting someone else’s work as your own (e.g., from the Internet, fraternity file, etc., including homework and in-class exercises), will at least result in an F for that assignment and could result in an F for the course. COURSE CALENDAR/SCHEDULE: The course outline is subject to change by the instructor. Changes will be announced, All due dates are included on the assignment schedule which is located in Course Information. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR ONLINE COURSES: A. Technology Tools: 1. Web Access: this course is taught in asynchronous mode, using Moodle. Students will need daily access to a web-accessible computer with a minimum of 56.6k modem speed. Weekly participation, via Discussion Board postings, is required. 2. Software: Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Adobe Reader. 3. It is essential that the student understand Moodle. Help with Moodle is available online or through the Help Desk. B. Instructor Expectations: 1. The instructor reserves the right to require proctoring or validation of student's academic work at the instructor's discretion. 2. The instructor reserves the right to change or modify course materials or deadline in response to student feedback or unforeseen circumstances. 3. The instructor requests that students allow 48 hours to respond to student emails or other forms of contact. 4. The instructor will attempt to be available during weekdays; however, as balance between family and work is important in everyone's lives, the instructor reserves the right to be unavailable on weekends. Normal business hours are 9-12 and 1-5 Monday through Thursday and 9-12 on Friday. The instructor is available online at mckinleyr@trine.edu or at 715.723.8474. If the instructor is out of the office, students leaving a message should identify themselves as students. The instructor will return calls as quickly as possible. 5. The instructor requests that the students allow the instructor one week from the date of submission, to post a grade, or provide feedback, on any assignment. (Note: the instructor will make every effort to provide faster turn around time-however; sometimes faster turn around time is not possible.) 6. The instructor may sometimes be unavailable. The instructor will always attempt to email and/or post an announcement to the class about any such inconveniences. 7. Review Announcements regularly. Course changes will always be posted there with as much advance notice as possible. C. Student Guidelines (Expectations): 1. Refer to the assignment schedule, under course information, in Moodle for all due dates. Assignments for a given week will be found in Course Content for that week. For example, the Discussion Board question for Week 1 will be found in Course Content Week 1. Each Learning Module will have specific assignments. 2. Late assignments will lose points per the assignment schedule. 3. Must know how to access their Trine University email account and will use this account for this course unless other arrangements have been made. Check your Trine University email regularly. 4. Keep a copy of all assignments until the end of the course. Check your gradebook regularly for grades on assignments. 5. Review and refer to this syllabus, assignment schedule, and the course announcements for all pertinent information. 6. Participate on a weekly basis in this course via discussion board (threaded discussion area) postings. 7. Log in on a regular access via Internet accessible capabilities for this course. 8. Assume more responsibility (than in a regular face-to-face course) for your learning. 9. Understand that there are not any "lectures" in this course and students are responsible to read ALL course materials, including emails and announcements from the instructor. 10. Any elearning technology questions may be addressed to help@trine.edu. The student is also encouraged to visit http://www.trine.edu/it/student/ for online student tutorials. 11. Be proactive. Notify the instructor if you are having a problem. D. Participation Policy: 1. Students are expected to participate in discussions and will be awarded 10 points each week (except for Week 6). Write a minimum of four paragraphs (100 words minimum) that answers the Discussion Question by Monday of each week except for the last week (see class schedule). Respond to at least one other response posted by your classmates (requirements for a good response are set forth above) by Wednesday of each week commencing in Week 2. 2. The threaded discussion group activities are seen as an appropriate means to gather formal and informal feedback on class activities, assignments, grading issues, etc. 3. If a student is having trouble participating, for whatever reason, or has any questions the instructor should be contacted immediately. ACCESSABILITY Students with Disabilities: A student with a disability who plans to request academic adjustments needs to provide Trine University with documentation of his or her disability. This documentation goes to Kathie L. Wentworth, M.Ed., Director, Academic Support Services. Documentation needs to be current and from a professional source such as a school psychologist, educational diagnostician, a licensed private psychologist, or a medical doctor. If the condition being documented is not stable, the documentation should be less than three years old. The provision of documentation does not guarantee that the requested academic adjustments will be provided. Trine University reserves the right to select among equally effective and appropriate adjustments that will provide the student with a disability equal access to its programs. Documentation typically includes a diagnosis of the disability—including the instruments and scores used to determine the disability and the credentials of the person providing the diagnosis, an explanation of how the condition affects the student’s ability to function in an academic setting, examples of academic adjustments that are recommended, and an explanation of how the disability relates to these adjustments. In addition to providing documentation of a disability, the student needs to request academic adjustments. Academic adjustments implemented depend on the disability of the student. Each circumstance is considered on an individual basis. It is important for the student with a disability to understand that academic adjustments will in no way lower or waive essential requirements of an academic program. Seven Steps to Complete to Receive Academic Adjustments for a Disability • Indicate the need for academic adjustments by notifying Academic Support Services. • Complete the Trine University Disability Support Services Application form.* • Sign Authorization for Release of Information on the back of the application form.* • Provide adequate documentation from a professional source. • Qualify for academic adjustments. • Complete a conference with Academic Support Services. • Schedule appointments with all professors during the first two weeks of the semester. *All forms are available in Academic Support Services in 213 Taylor Hall. The goal of Academic Support Services is to assist all students to become efficient, self-confident, and independent learners. Please call (260) 665-4853 or email wentworthk@trine.edu for more information.