WAYLAND BAPTIST UNIVERSITY
Fairbanks/Eielson AFB Campus
School of Behavioral and Social Sciences
Wayland Baptist University exists to educate students in an academically challenging, learning-focused, and distinctively
Christian environment for professional success, and service to God and humankind.
JUAD/SOCI 3312-FB10 - Law and Society
Hybrid Class
Term: Winter 2014
Instructor: Beth Durbin
Contact Information: Office: 907-377-4398 Home: 907-490-6023 Cell 907-460-3226
Email: durbinb@wbu.edu
Office Hours: By Appointment
Class Time and Location: Monday 6:00 – 10:00 pm – November 17, December 1, 15, January 5, 26, and Feb. 2 - Bldg. 2623
Room 100
Catalog Description: A survey of the history and development of law from primitive times until the present and ways in which
society shapes laws and how law shapes society.
There is no prerequisite for this course
Textbook:
1. Taking Sides – Clashing Views in Crime and Criminology, 11th edition. By Thomas J. Hickey. ISBN: 978-0-07813959-8
Course outcome competencies: At the conclusion of this course the student will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the
key components of Law and Society:

the legal systems, functions and dysfunctions;

theoretical perspectives of law and society;

the proper research methods of inquiry;

organization of law via the courts, legislatures, and law enforcement agencies;

social controls of society;

the legal profession and its impact on society.
Course requirements:
Your grade will be based on your performance on the following:
Attendance/Participation: Regular attendance and participation are important and strongly encouraged to facilitate the
learning process. Assigned reading is to be completed prior to sessions for which the reading was assigned.
Discussion Board: Regular attendance and participation in online discussions/activities are important and strongly
encouraged to facilitate the learning process. Assigned reading is to be completed prior to online interactive sessions for which
the reading was assigned. At least one discussion question will be assigned for the six weeks that we do not meet in class and
will require students to share their ideas and concepts with other students. Students need to have a minimum of 100 words for
their initial response to the instructor’s question. Students are encouraged to share constructive information with the
instructor and fellow classmates. The students are required to comment to the teachers’ discussion question by Wednesday at
9:00 pm (CST) and then respond to two other comments by Sunday at 11:59 pm (CST) to receive full credit weekly.
Response Assignments: On weeks we do not meet in class, starting with the first week of class, I will post several questions and
you respond to one, which will be about the articles that I post on blackboard from the Annual Edition Criminal Justice book.
Each student will prepare their 1 to 2 page response and post it in the digital drop box. The questions will be posted no later
than the Monday of that week and responses must be posted NLT Sunday night 11:59 PM (CST) of the week they are due.
The responses must be factual. Use other resources and references and attach a reference page to your paper.
Paper: For the paper select one of the issues in our book, whether it is “for” or “against” the issue. Complete a 2-4 page paper
on the issue and why you are “for” or “against” that issue. Student must let the instructor know by week 3 what issue they
will be doing their paper on. Papers should include a minimum of five sources, only one can be from the internet. Students
are encouraged to use the WBU library to research scholarly resources. The paper should be done in the simple APA format
Presentation: Do a presentation on the subject you researched and wrote your paper on. The presentation can be done in
Power Point or you can do a poster or handouts (whatever you are comfortable with). Please be creative and use tables,
graphs, charts, etc. Students are to present their findings to the class in a 10-15 minute presentation
Tests: There will be a midterm and a final exam consisting of matching, multiple choice and essay questions.
Method of determining course grade:
Grade Weight: (based on 870 points possible)
Class Participation: 50 points
Paper: 100 points
Presentation: 100 points
Discussion Board: 120
Response Assignment: 300
Mid term: 100
Final: 100
You can figure out your grade by taking your points you have earned and divide it into the number of points that the
assignments total. For example in the middle of the term, if we have done 430 of the points and you have 370, then you divide
370 by 430 and you would get “86” which would be a “B”. If at the end of the term you have earned 850 points and the total
points for everything is 870, then divide 850 by 870 and you would get a 97%, which would be an “A”.
The University has a standard grade scale:
A = 90-100, B = 80-89, C = 70-79, D = 60-69, F= below 60, W = Withdrawal, WP = withdrew passing, WF = withdrew failing, I
= incomplete. An incomplete may be given within the last two weeks of a long term or within the last two days of a microterm
to a student who is passing, but has not completed a term paper, examination, or other required work for reasons beyond the
student’s control. A grade of “incomplete” is changed if the work required is completed prior to the last day of the next long
(10 to 15 weeks) term, unless the instructor designates an earlier date for completion. If the work is not completed by the
appropriate date, the I is converted to an F.
Student grade appeals:
Students shall have protection through orderly procedures against prejudices or capricious academic evaluation. A student
who believes that he or she has not been held to realistic academic standards, just evaluation procedures, or appropriate
grading, may appeal the final grade given in the course by using the student grade appeal process described in the Academic
Catalog. Appeals may not be made for advanced placement examinations or course bypass examinations. Appeals limited to
the final course grade, which may be upheld, raised, or lowered at any stage of the appeal process. Any recommendation to
lower a course grade must be submitted through the Executive Vice President/Provost to the Faculty Assembly Grade Appeals
Committee for review and approval. The Faculty Assembly Grade Appeals Committee may instruct that the course grade be
upheld, raised, or lowered to a more proper evaluation.
Attendance: External Campuses
Students enrolled at one of the university’s external campuses should make every effort to attend all class meetings. All
absences must be explained to the instructor, who will then determine whether the omitted work may be made up. When a
student reaches that number of absences considered by the instructor to be excessive, the instructor will so advise the student
and file an unsatisfactory progress report with the external campus executive director/dean. Any student who misses 25
percent or more of the regularly scheduled class meetings may receive a grade of F in the course. Additional attendance
policies for each course, as defined by the instructor in the course syllabus, are considered a part of the university’s attendance
policy. A student may petition the Academic Council for exceptions to the above stated policies by filing a written request for
an appeal to the executive vice president/provost.
Additional attendance policies: Exceptions will be made for TDY and deployments provided the instructor is notified ahead of
the time.
Instructor's policy on Academic Dishonesty: Intellectual, integrity and truthfulness are fundamental to scholarship. Scholars,
whether they are performing as students or as teachers, are engaged in a search for truth. Plagiarism is a form of cheating
and also a form of theft. Plagiarism occurs when a student fails to give proper credit when information is either quoted or
paraphrased. Carelessness is no excuse. As such, it is a breach of scholarly responsibility. It is also unethical and in some
cases, illegal. Looking at or copying someone else’s test, answer sheet, and/or paper are counted as cheating. Plagiarism may
result in an “F” in the course.
Disability Statement: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), it is the policy of Wayland
Baptist University that no otherwise qualified person with a disability be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits
of, or be subject to discrimination under any educational program or activity in the university. The Coordinator of
Counseling Services serves as the coordinator of students with a disability and should be contacted concerning accommodation
requests at (806) 291- 3765. Documentation of a disability must accompany any request for accommodations.
Tentative Schedule:
Nov. 10
Read Issue 1.1 & 1.2
Discussion Board 1
Introduction
Nov. 17
Class Meeting
Read Issue 1.3 & 1.4
Unit 1 Articles – Response Assignment
Nov 24
Thanksgiving Holiday – No School
Dec. 1
Class Meeting
Read Issue 2.1 & 2.2
Unit 2 Articles – Response Assignment
Dec. 8
Read Issue 2.3, 2.4 & 2.5
Discussion Board 2
Dec. 15
Class Meeting
Midterm
Dec 22 – Jan 4
Christmas Break – No School
Jan. 5
Class Meeting
Read Issue 3.1, 3.2 & 3.3
Unit 3 Articles – Response Assignment
Jan. 12
Read Issues 3.4 & 3.5
Discussion Board 3
Unit 4 Articles – Response Assignment
Jan. 19
Read Issue 4.1 & 4.2
Discussion Board 4
Unit 5 Articles – Response Assignment
Jan. 26
Class Meeting
Read Issue 4.3 & 4.4
Unit 6 Articles – Response Assignment
Feb. 2
Read Issue 5
Presentations
Feb. 9
Final Exam
Discussion Board 5