CJ 201 April 2012 Queensborough Community College/CUNY
Department of Social Sciences
Individual Course Assessment Report
Date Submitted: April 2012
Course No./Title: CJ 201 Policing
Course Description (from QCC Catalog or course Master Syllabus)
A survey of the history, roles, and policies of law enforcement agencies. Focuses on
contemporary issues in the field of law enforcement. This course does not fulfill the
Social Sciences elective requirement for QCC degree programs.
General Education Objectives (GEO) Assessed (from course Master Syllabus)
GEO 3. Students will integrate knowledge and skills in their major field and across disciplines.
GEO 4. Students will differentiate and make informed decisions about issues based on value
systems.
GEO 5. Students will identify concepts and methods of the social sciences to examine human
behavior, social institutions, and multi-cultural awareness.
Individual Course Objectives (ICO) Assessed (from course Master Syllabus)
ICO 1. Students will demonstrate an understanding of law enforcement organizations and
practices.
ICO2. Students will analyze theories of crime and law enforcement.
ICO 3. Students will assess debates about law enforcement policies.
ICO 4. Students will critically evaluate the operation of law enforcement agencies.
Curricular Objectives (CO) Assessed (if applicable):
None
Participants
No. Sections Assessed: 3
No. Students Assessed: 56
1 CJ 201 April 2012 Course Assessment Method (attach copy of course objectives survey as an attachment)
See Appendix A for CJ 201 Policing Outcomes Survey.
Course Assessment Results
Three sections of CJ 201 (Policing), a total of 56 students, completed a course evaluation in fall
2011. The survey asked respondents to indicate in a multiple-choice format whether they agreed
with ten statements presented. Each statement corresponded with a General Education objective
or Individual Course objective. The three choices were agreement (choice A), neutral (choice
B), or disagreement (choice C). Only the choice A responses were recorded as indicating that
the objective in the statement was met.
I. General Education Objectives Results
As indicated in the table below, the results indicated agreement for the four statements presented
which corresponded with General Education objectives three, four, and five. Agreement ranged
from 73.2% to 82.1%. The highest level of agreement was reached with question #10, I learned
multiple viewpoints concerning police behavior and practices. The lowest level of agreement
was reached with question #7, I discussed research in the social sciences which evaluated police
behavior.
General Education Objectives (GEO) Results Summary Table
Gen Ed
Objective
GEO #3
GEO #4
Survey
Question
Q#9
Q#7
Q#10
GEO #4
Mean
GEO #5
Q#8
GEO 3, 4, 5
Overall Mean
2 Agree
N (%)
76.8
73.2
82.1
77.6
76.8
76.7
CJ 201 April 2012 II. Individual Course Objectives Results
A shown in the table below, the results indicated agreement for the six statements presented
which corresponded with Individual Course objectives one through four. Agreement ranged
from 76.8% to 89.2%. The highest level of agreement was reached with question #4, I gained an
understanding of law enforcement organizations and practices. The lowest level of agreement
was reached with question #5, I analyzed theories of the enforcement of law.
Individual Course Objectives (ICO) Results Summary Table
Individual
Course
Objective
ICO #1
ICO #2
Survey
Question
Q #4
Q #2
Q #5
ICO 2
Mean
ICO #3
Q#1
Q# 6
ICO 3
Mean
ICO #4
Q #3
ICO 1,2,3, & 4
Mean
Agree
N (%)
89.2
83.9
76.8
80.4
80.4
78.6
79.4
83.9
82.1
A comparison of the results of the General Education and Individual Course objectives indicated
stronger agreement overall with the Individual Course objectives (mean agreement of 82.1%)
than with the General Education objectives (mean agreement of 76.7%).
3 CJ 201 April 2012 Conclusions
In an effort to assess how CJ201 met the QCC General Education and Individual Course
objectives, the scores were translated into QCC letter grade equivalents:
1) 89.2% (B+) for Individual Course objective #1: Students will demonstrate an
understanding of law enforcement organizations and practices.
2) 80.4% (B-) for Individual Course objective #2: Students will analyze theories of crime
and law enforcement.
3) 79.4% (C+) for Individual Course objective #3: Students will assess debates about law
enforcement policies.
4) 83.9% (B-) for Individual Course objective #4: Students will critically evaluate the
operation of law enforcement agencies.
5) 76.8% (C) for General Education objective #3: Students will integrate knowledge and
skills in their major field and across disciplines.
6) 77.6% (C) for General Education objective #4: Students will differentiate and make
informed decisions about issues based on value systems.
7) 76.8% (C) for General Education objective #5: Students will identify concepts and
methods of the social sciences to examine human behavior, social institutions, and multicultural awareness.
Overall, the scores were higher for statements which indicated an understanding of the policies
and practices of law enforcement and were lowest for the discussion of research which evaluated
police behavior.
The highest percentage of agreement was found with Individual Course objective #1, which
corresponded with statement #1, I gained an understanding of law enforcement organizations
and practices (89.2%). The students also indicated “B” grade level agreement with the
following other statements: I critically evaluated the operation of law enforcement
organizations and practices (83.9%), I studied the theories behind law enforcement policies and
practices (83.9%), I learned multiple viewpoints concerning police behavior and practices
(82.1%), and I analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of current law enforcement policies
(80.4%). According to these results, the policing knowledge gained in this course is both
practical and theoretical.
The grade of “C”, or lower, was given to the following responses: I studied current political and
social issues concerning crime and justice (78.6%), I analyzed theories of enforcement of the law
(76.8%), I gained an understanding of research related to multi-cultural awareness in law
enforcement (76.8%), I integrated knowledge from my other courses to the study of policing
4 CJ 201 April 2012 (76.8%), and I discussed research in the social sciences which evaluated police behavior
(73.2%).
It is interesting how two seemingly similar statements were given different grades by students: I
studied the theories behind law enforcement policies and practices (83.9%) and I analyzed
theories of enforcement of the law (76.8%). The mention of “policies and practices” in the first
statement might indicate that policy discussion was recognized by the students more than the
theory component of the statement.
The lowest score was given to I discussed research in the social sciences which evaluated police
behavior. This finding might indicate the need for increased discussion of police-relevant
research in the course.
Action Plan
1. Students’ awareness of the objectives being met in class could be enhanced if instructors
announced, or wrote on the board, what objective they are meeting in class that lesson.
Instructors could also list the specific objectives being met in each unit listed on their
course syllabus.
2. Instructors should incorporate research which pertains to policing in their courses.
3. Instructors should make reference to students’ other courses when they become relevant
in the instruction. For example, in a discussion of police procedure, an instructor could
say to the class, “As you learned in your criminal law class, police officers need to obtain
warrants in order to conduct a search.”
4. The assessment survey should be reworded to avoid any unclear statements.
5. Part-time and full-time instructors could meet at the start of each semester to share ideas
on classroom activities and assignments which specifically focus on the integration of
both General Education and Individual Course Objectives into their courses.
5 CJ 201 April 2012 Policing APPENDIX A
CJ 201 Instructions: Using the rating scale shown below, indicate which answer best describes your response to each item: A ‐ You agree with the statement. B ‐ You are neutral (neither agree or disagree) about the statement. C ‐ You disagree with the statement. 1. I analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of current law enforcement policies. 2. I studied the theories behind law enforcement policies and practices. 3. I critically evaluated the operation of law enforcement agencies. 4. I gained an understanding of law enforcement organizations and practices. 5. I analyzed theories of enforcement of the law. 6. I studied current political and social issues concerning crime and justice. 7. I discussed research in the social sciences which evaluated police behavior. 8. I gained an understanding of research related to multi‐cultural awareness in law enforcement. 9. I integrated knowledge from my other courses to the study of policing. 6 CJ 201 April 2012 10. I learned multiple viewpoints concerning police behavior and practices. 7