NCJ Number
226006
Journal
Criminal Justice Studies Volume: 21 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2008 Pages: 311-324
Date Published
December 2008
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study examined justice-faculty perceptions of the status of academic justice programs.
Abstract
The justice faculty surveyed (n=289) overwhelmingly regarded their programs as having academic quality and professional faculty; however, they perceived that college administrators and educators from outside the justice academic and professional community did not share this high regard for criminal justice higher education. Less than half (43 percent) of the faculty respondents felt highly respected by colleagues from other disciplines. Respondents felt most strongly about control of program content, with 92 percent agreeing that the justice faulty had control of curriculum content. Sixty percent agreed that national accreditation is essential to the maturation of justice studies, and they are not overly concerned about loss of freedom over curriculum content as an outcome of national regulatory standards. Those surveyed were full-time justice faculty from collegiate institutions offering a baccalaureate degree or higher in justice studies and having minimum undergraduate enrollments of 2,000. The questionnaire addresses respect for the program and faculty from internal and external entities, the nature and composition of the program, and commitment to the value of accreditation processes. 3 tables, 33 references, and 1 appendix