Report of the External Evaluator
Periodic Program Review
Criminal Justice Associate Degree Program
Queensborough Community College
Submitted March 20, 2016
By Jennifer R. Wynn, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Director, Criminal Justice Program
LaGuardia Community College, CUNY
I.
Quality and Substance of the Self-Study
The faculty and the Chair of the Department of Social Sciences, Dr. Joseph Culkin, have
produced a Periodic Program Review (PPR) that is sweeping with respect to programmatic
issues as well as probing and detailed in its findings and recommendations. The authors are
candid about the program’s challenges, particularly in the area of full-time faculty coverage and
assessment of student learning. The PPR also provides encouraging evidence of program success
based on strong student performance upon transfer to John Jay College and student surveys
indicating a high degree of satisfaction with key areas of the program, including the important
component of advisement.
As the program’s first PPR, this comprehensive document provides not only a useful baseline
measurement point and foundation upon which to build, but a descriptive summary and analysis
of the program’s first five years of operation. I applaud Dr. Culkin and his faculty for this
impressive and substantive document.
II.
Site Visit Summary
As required for the PPR, I conducted a site visit to Queensborough Community College on
February 4, 2016. Dean Arthur Corradetti and Dr. Joe Culkin served as my hosts. The day began
with a tour of the campus, followed by a meeting with Dr. Culkin, during which time several
Criminal Justice faculty members stopped by to answer questions and offer their candid
observations of the program’s strengths and weaknesses.
Next came a delicious lunch in the College’s elegant “Clubhouse” overlooking the expansive
campus with its many lawns, buildings and trees, a meeting with College President Dr. Diane
Vice President for Strategic Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Effectiveness, Dr. Karen
Steele. I very much appreciated the hospitality extended to me, the time afforded by College’s
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senior leadership, the opportunity to meet with program faculty and, equally important, the
chance to learn from a partner CUNY college.
III.
Faculty and Faculty Development
Among the program’s greatest strengths are its enthusiastic, highly credentialed faculty and the
many development opportunities the College provides them. According to the PPR, each of the
four full-time program faculty have Ph.D.’s and over a decade of teaching experience. Drs.
Rosemarie Aikas, Trevor Milton and George Weissinger had many positive things to say about
teaching at QCC, starting with their deep appreciation of their longstanding Chair, Dr. Culkin,
and including what appear to be an excellent array of offerings in the Center for Excellence in
Teaching and Learning (CETL). CETL provides 2-hour and half-day training sessions in
practical areas such as SPSS refresher courses and incorporating technology into teaching, and
offers participants financial remuneration for attending. Faculty members also commented
favorably on the College’s support for and recognition of diverse research agendas and
approaches. They also expressed appreciation for the research grants and stipends the College
provides.
Senior administrators at the College noted that over the past five years, QCC has increased
significantly its support for professional development for faculty, and that faculty participation in
such activities including grant-funded research, conference presentations and training has risen
accordingly. I was especially impressed by QCC’s approach to new faculty orientation, whereby
incoming faculty attend a three-day New Faculty Institute to ensure a comprehensive orientation
to all aspects of the college, including its academy structure, pedagogy and institutional
technology, general education outcomes, assessment procedures and advisement.
IV.
Curricular Design
The curricular design of the Criminal Justice program at QCC resembles that of other community
colleges in the CUNY Justice Academy. Similar to LaGuardia Community College, in the fall of
2014, it replaced MA440 Pre-Calculus with MA336 Statistics, the latter of which is more
relevant to the field of Criminal Justice, more likely for students to pass than pre-calculous and is
equivalent to a required statistics course at John Jay (STA250).
In addition, Criminal Justice faculty are developing two new program courses: Juvenile Crime
and Delinquency and Research Methods, both of which will align with equivalent courses
offered at John Jay.
V.
Evidence of Student Learning
Student learning for this PPR was assessed in three ways: student performance upon transfer to
John Jay, results from a student survey in which students were asked if courses met stated
learning objectives, and results from task-based assessments. Data from John Jay revealed that
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QCC students perform comparably there to students who transfer from other CUNY Justice
Academy community colleges on measures of GPA, retention and credit accumulation.
Student surveys completed by 116 respondents (approximately 10% of the pool) assessed the
experiences and opinions of Criminal Justice majors. Generally, students expressed a high degree
of satisfaction with the effectiveness of faculty, the curriculum, and course availability. Notably,
the majority of respondents said they were advised once per semester and were “very satisfied”
or “satisfied” with the quality of advisement they received.
The one area where a large majority of students reported less than satisfactory results was out-ofclassroom activities such as clubs, guest speakers, etc. Most students reported that they do not
participate in extra-curricular activities.
VI.
Resources
The two resource areas of concern are insufficient space for faculty offices and the overreliance
on adjunct faculty to teach program courses. I commend the College’s administration for
securing two new full-time faculty lines for the Criminal Justice program. As stated in the PPR,
40% of the program courses are taught by adjunct faculty, a situation that is undeniably
suboptimal.
The shortage of office space, which has led to faculty members having to share offices,
undercuts the supportive environment that the College tries hard to create. CUNY Central should
recognize that faculty at its community colleges, with nine-course workloads, not only have the
highest workloads in the country but by extension equally high caseloads of student advisees.
The stress that faculty members experience from the continual pressure to conduct research,
write and publish is exacerbated by the lack of space, quiet and privacy in forced shared office
situations.
VII.
Strengths
The Criminal Justice program at QCC experienced a 129% increase in enrollment from 582
students in fall 2009 when it officially opened its doors, to 1330 students in fall 2014. Despite
the rapid growth, the program has maintained a high level of student success and satisfaction,
faculty recruitment and retention, and overall program leadership.
Strengths of the Criminal Justice program lie first with the inspired leadership of the Social
Sciences Department Chair, Dr. Culkin, who has been with the program since its inception, as
well as the hands-on support from Dr. Linda Reesman, who oversees Queensborough’s Transfer
Resource Unit and works closely with senior administrators at John Jay College to ensure a
seamless transition, Dean Arthur Corradetti, who serves on the CUNY Justice Academy Steering
Committee, which is overseeing the strategic planning process for the Academy, and the
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allocation of an on-site academic advisor from John Jay once a week to assist QCC students with
the transfer process.
The enthusiastic, accomplished faculty, all with doctorate degrees, are another strength of the
program. Their commitment to the College, the program and the students, their scholarship and
overall job satisfaction even in the face of a challenging work environment and high workload
are commendable.
Additionally, QCC’s commitment to faculty development is noteworthy. President Diane Call’s
support of professional development opportunities for faculty was evidenced by the January 28t,
2016 College Convocation celebrating the numerous faculty members who participated in a wide
array of development opportunities.
Similarly, as a faculty member myself, I was impressed by the structure and relevance of the
professional development seminars offered at QCC, including such practical and useful seminars
as SPSS refreshers, developing effective assessment assignments, and techniques for active
learning.
Finally, the College’s commitment to advancing and deepening its assessment practices and
strategies as evidenced by the creation of an Assessment Institute is laudable. There appeared to
be a significant level of faculty and institutional buy-in to the importance of assessment and a
commitment to finding the most effective mechanisms for implementation. The PPR noted that
the Criminal Justice faculty are moving away from student surveys to task-based assessment
measures, which will provide more valid data.
VIII.
Recommendations
To enhance assessment, the program might consider designating the course Crime and Justice in
Urban Society as a capstone course, requiring a higher level of skills integration and disciplinary
knowledge. This would provide an endpoint for measuring student growth in the program over
time, especially since QCC already established Introduction to Criminal Justice and Criminology
as pre-requisites for the other program courses. A program template with three points of
measurement for assessment would naturally emerge with the creation of a capstone course. I
would be delighted to share the syllabus of our similar capstone course at LaGuardia.
Additionally, to maintain the integrity of the joint degree program with John Jay, program
faculty might devise some mechanism for ensuring alignment between QCC’s program courses
and their equivalent courses at John Jay. Ideally, this process should be spearheaded by John Jay,
which has formed a work group to design common learning objectives and assessment measures
across Justice Academy campuses. The next PPR might discuss how the how the program
actually monitors the variance among multiple syllabi for the same course to ensure that the
necessary level of alignment with John Jay’s courses is maintained.
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A final recommendation worth consideration is that of hosting a conference at or “class trip” to
John Jay, whereby students within a semester of graduating could visit the campus, receive a tour
of its various buildings, meet with students and perhaps sit in on a class. Such an event would
help bridge the proximity gap between the two colleges.
In closing, it was a pleasure to serve as the external evaluator for Queensborough Community
College’s Periodic Program Review. The College should be proud of the success of the program
to date and encouraging of its continuous improvement.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer R. Wynn, Ph.D.
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