Meeting Minutes, January 31, 2002

Criminal Justice Academic Advisory Committee

Mulberry Inn, Savannah, Georgia

Members in Attendance:

Cathie Hudson, BOR Central Office

Leo Downing, North Georgia College & State University

Gerald Kehr, East Georgia College

Dennis Cook, Dalton State College

Dan Guerrant, Middle Georgia College

Eugene Bouley, Georgia College & State University

Dan Lockwood, Savannah State University

Euaristus Obinyan, Fort Valley State University

Kevin Demmitt, Clayton College and State University

Kerry Stewart, Gainesville College

Charles Ochie, Albany State University

Anthony Fitzgerald, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College

Chris Ludowise, Georgia Southern University

Hil Harper, Valdosta State University

Betsy Witt, Columbus State University

Sandra Stone, State University of West Georgia

Sutham Cheurprakobkit, Kennesaw State University

Others in attendance:

Cheryl Milton, Fort Valley Sate University

Znphon Wilson, Savannah State University

1. Old business

A. Area B course: Last year a committee was formed to look into the possibility of developing a 1 or 2 hour USG common course that would be applicable to Area B in the field of criminal justice. The committee was not ready to give a report. The committee members are:

Hil Harper, Valdosta State University hharper@valdosta.edu

Anthony Fitzgerald, Abraham Baldwin aftiz@abac.peachnet.edu

Darryl Toler, Coastal Georgia Community College dtoler@bc9000.bc.peachnet.edu

Kerry Stewart, Gainesville College kstewart@gc.peachnet.edu

Faculty interested in offering suggestions or support should contact one of the committee members.

B. CRJU Prefix: A review of USG institutions revealed that two criminal justice programs where still using a non approved course prefix. The institutions were Savannah State and Augusta State. The representative of Savannah State assured the committee that the prefix would be changed. Further efforts will be made to bring Augusta State into compliance.

2. Georgia State University

A. Acknowledgment: A recent article entitled "The Institutional Affiliations Of Authors in Leading Criminology and Criminal Justice Journals" ranked GSU's criminal justice department

14^th in the country. Given the small number of faculty and the lack of a PhD program, this recognition is a tribute to the dedication and professionalism of the faculty at GSU.

B. PhD in Criminal Justice update: Leo Downing forwarded information provided by Robbie Friedmann regarding the current status of the CJ Ph.D. program at Georgia State. The program is moving forward with a tentative starting date of Fall 2003.

A. Composition: Recent election results have resulted in only two members being elected to serve on the executive committee. This has proven to be a hardship on some members in attending the annual BOR meeting in September. Leo Downing requested that someone near Macon State University, the site of the annual meeting, volunteer to serve on the committee with the expectation of attending the annual meeting. Hil Harper volunteered to serve and was approved.

B. September Meeting Report: Leo Downing attended the meeting held on September 25, 2001 at Macon State College and gave the committee his report.

1. The USG will be making more extensive use of their web site (www.usg.edu) to disseminate information regarding grants, calenders, awards, etc. Faculty should get into a regular habit of checking the site.

2. Retention is a major issue in the USG. Institutions need to determine why students are leaving and what can be done to prevent it. Special attention should be placed on the development of "freshmen programs" designed to assist students assimilation into the college experience.

3. An attempt will be made to get a more standardized academic calender between USG institutions.

4. Comprehensive program review is now being implemented. Programs that have been triggered by low enrollment or graduation figures will be the first reviewed.

5. A number of BOR policies regarding sick leave and teaching loads were discussed.

6. The process by which new programs are reviewed and approved will be made more streamlined. Particular attention will be given to new programs in areas or fields where there is a critical shortage of graduates. Most notably in the Health professions. Though not specified, major changes in the Field of Continuing Education are underway.

7. Four year institutions are encouraged to offer more degrees on the campuses of two year institutions. Funds for these programs will be made available.

4. Galileo

Eugene Bouley of Georgia College and State University made a motion that "Criminal Justice Abstracts" (CJA) be included in the Galileo research data base. In the discussion that followed several points were made:

1. Those programs that have CJA pay for the subscription themselves.

2. The cost of a subscription, at least the initial year, is $5,000.

3. The intent of the Galileo data base is to support core courses.

4. The majority of research conducted by students is not in lower level core courses.

5. Criminal Justice programs are expanding and growing in Georgia at both the graduate and undergraduate level.

6. Topics covered in Criminal Justice Abstracts are cross disciplinary in nature and relevant to several core courses.

Supporting statement: Criminal Justice Abstracts is a diverse research data base that supports a wide range of core specific disciplines. In addition to serving as a cornerstone for academic research in the field of criminal justice, the data base will provide numerous articles to expand research and discussion in several Core courses. Prior to the events of September 11, 2001, criminal justice issues were a frequent topic of many social science Core courses. Since the events of that day, these issues have become a mainstay and central discussion point for these courses. In POLS 1101 (American Government) topics dealing with the impact of new laws and security issues and their impact on civil liberties are discussed almost daily. The concepts of political anarchism, church-state separation, political violence and criminal/political groups are frequent topics for analysis and discussion. In SOCI 1101 (Introduction to Sociology) religious institutions, socialization, group behavior, deviant behavior and social movements are all criminal justice related topics. In PSYC 1101 (Introduction to Psychology) the concept of group mind control, brain washing and suicide all interact with criminal justice issues. Every Area E Core course touches on the material contained in Criminal Justice Abstracts. Addition of Criminal Justice Abstracts would be a genuine boon to Core classes.

In addition to the support given to the Core courses, Criminal Justice Abstracts is a necessary research tool for the discipline itself. The criminal justice discipline is a growing entity in the USG. Additional programs at both the graduate and undergraduate level are coming on line annually. These programs are being approved with little or no funding for much needed reference material. Given current budgetary constraints it is extremely difficult to get universities to add any new periodicals, all the more difficult if they are costly. The criminal justice programs in the State, at both the graduate and undergraduate level, need Criminal Justice Abstracts in order to develop, educate and train professionals in the discipline.

5. CPR Report

All programs in the USG are or will undergo a Comprehensive Program Review. This process is an excellent opportunity for CJ programs throughout the USG to demonstrate their need for more resources. Leo Downing will complete the CPR for the Political Science programs at NGCSU next month. He will post a copy of the report on the CJAG web site for reference.

6. BOR Report by Cathie Hudson

A. Recognition of New Programs

New criminal justice programs have been approved at two USG institutions.

Georgia College & State University: Master of Science in Criminal Justice

Kennesaw State University: Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice

USG institutions will be required to accept transfer credit in Area A of the Core Curriculum from all COC accredited institutions, including Georgia's Technical Colleges.

House Bill 1187 establishes several new offices designed to increase accountability in education. The central authority for the project is the Education Coordinating Council. The Council will establish specifics for a report card on the USG. While specific standards have not yet been established, institutions will be judged on four areas: 1. Retention and graduation rates, 2. Passage rate on the Regents English exam, 3. Passage rate on a new to be created Regents Math exam and 4. Passage rates on all certification or license exams. Institutions will receive some type of grade or evaluation mark in each of these areas.

The USG will be updating its' five year plan. The plan will center on several different objectives designed to make higher education more accessible.

1. Offer more four year degrees on two year campus.

2. Increase enrollment in traditional students

3. Increase enrollment in nontraditional students

4. Increase enrollment and retention of African-American males.

A list of all Criminal Justice programs at USG institutions was distributed to the committee. Several representatives noted that their program was not listed or was listed improperly. If there is a discrepancy between the list provided and your institutional program please contact Cathie Hudson at the BOR: chudson@mail.regents.peachnet.edu.

Election of Chair: 2003-2004

Hil Harper from Valdosta State University was the sole nominee and was elected Chair of the Advisory Committee for the 2003-2004 term.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:15 PM. Leo Downing of North Georgia College & State University assumes the Chair of the committee for the 2002-2003 year.

Submitted

Leo Downing