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Meeting of the Board of Regents | April 2003

Tuesday, April 1, 2003 - 5:25am

 

THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

TO:

The Honorable the Members of the Board of Regents

FROM:

Johanna Duncan-Poitier

COMMITTEE:

Higher and Professional Education

TITLE OF ITEM:

Monroe College: Associate in Science (A.S.) and Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Criminal Justice

DATE OF SUBMISSION:

April 4, 2003

PROPOSED HANDLING:

Approval (Consent Agenda)

RATIONALE FOR ITEM:

Monroe College needs the Regents approval of an amendment to its master plan to authorize its first programs in the disciplinary area of the Social Sciences

STRATEGIC GOAL:

Goals 2 and 4

AUTHORIZATION(S):

SUMMARY:

Monroe College, Bronx, seeks the Regents approval of an amendment to its master plan to authorize the College to offer Associate in Science (A.S.) and Bachelor of Science (B.S.) programs in Criminal Justice at its main campus and at its New Rochelle branch campus. Master plan amendment approval is needed because these will be the College�s first programs at either campus in the disciplinary area of the social sciences.

The Office of College and University Evaluation has determined that the proposed programs, if approved, would meet the standards for registration set forth in the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education.

Recommendation: I recommend that the Regents take the following action:

VOTED, That the master plan of Monroe College, Bronx, be amended, effective April 29, 2003, to authorize the College to offer Associate in Science (A.S.) and Bachelor of Science (B.S.) programs in Criminal Justice at its main campus and at its branch campus in New Rochelle. This amendment shall be effective until April 30, 2004, unless the Department registers the programs prior to that date, in which case master plan amendment shall be without term.

MONROE COLLEGE

Associate in Science (A.S.)

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

Monroe College, Bronx, has applied to the Board of Regents for an amendment of its master plan to authorize the College to offer Associate in Science (A.S.) and Bachelor of Science (B.S.) programs in the disciplinary area of the social sciences at its main campus and at its New Rochelle branch campus.

The purpose of the proposed programs in criminal justice is to provide students with a broad and sound knowledge of the criminal justice system in the United States in order to prepare them for a wide range of entry-level positions in the field of criminal justice or to advance their careers in that field.

Programs

The A.S. curriculum, which builds on the College�s existing social science courses, requires the completion of 60 credits as follows:

Criminal justice required and elective courses 30 credits

Liberal arts required and elective courses 30 credits

The curriculum will give students a basic understanding of the criminal justice system in the United States including law enforcement agencies, the courts, and the correctional system. The liberal arts component complements the criminal justice requirements by providing substantial work in the behavioral and social sciences as well as broad-based liberal arts courses. Admission to the program requires a high school diploma, an equivalency diploma, or a demonstration of the ability to benefit from a collegiate education.

The B.S. curriculum is an upper-division program that requires completion of the College�s proposed A.S. program in criminal justice or a relevant associate degree program or substantial credits in appropriate course work at another accredited college. The upper-division curriculum, with progressively more advanced course work in criminal justice, requires completion of 60 credits for a total of 120 for the B.S. degree, as follows:

Criminal justice required and elective courses 30 credits

Liberal arts required and elective courses 30 credits

 Faculty

The College has employed a faculty member with a doctorate in criminal justice and extensive teaching and practical experience in the field to serve as coordinator of the proposed programs and chairperson of a new criminal justice department. At this time, Monroe faculty members who have appropriate credentials and experience will assist in teaching major area courses. The College plans to hire additional faculty members with previous teaching experience and practical experience in specific criminal justice fields.

Student Demographics and Projected Enrollment

The prospective student body is expected to have the same characteristics and origins as the present student population. At the main campus in the Bronx, approximately 73 percent live in the Bronx; the same percentage are women; 53 percent are Hispanic; 40 percent are Black; six percent are Caucasian; and one percent is Asian. At the New Rochelle branch campus, approximately 45 percent of the students live in Westchester County, 35 percent are from the rest of the State, and 28 percent from out of State. Approximately 73 percent are women; 54 percent are Black; 22 percent are Hispanic; 21 percent are Caucasian; and 3 percent are Asian.

In the Bronx, first-year enrollment in the A.S. program is projected to be 90 students, increasing to 300 in the fifth year. In the B.S. program, the College projects a first-year enrollment of 30 students, increasing to 220 in the fifth year. In New Rochelle, the College projects a first-year enrollment in the A.S. program of 35 students, increasing to 90 in the fifth year. The same numbers are projected for the B.S. program at New Rochelle.

Facilities

The College�s main campus occupies a total of 155,000 square feet of space in five buildings in the Bronx. These buildings house extensive computer equipment, multi-purpose classrooms, a library, a learning resource center, mathematics and English labs, and academic and administrative offices. The library has a strong collection in the social sciences and a growing collection in the field of criminal justice. It belongs to the Westchester Academic Library Directors� Organization library consortium (WALDO), with access to over 30 libraries.

The branch campus in downtown New Rochelle comprises four buildings occupying 108,500 square feet of space. The buildings house extensive computer equipment, 28 multi-purpose classrooms, the Library, the Learning Resource Center, and academic and administrative offices. Students and faculty also have access through WALDO to area library collections.

Planning Review

National and State labor market projections indicate that employment prospects in the field of criminal justice are excellent. For example, in 1998, the New York State Labor Department projected a ten-year growth of approximately 44,000 law enforcement positions in the State, without commenting on the growth in employment opportunities in the wide range of other criminal justice areas. Similarly, the U.S. Department of Labor projected a steady growth nationwide. Since the events of September 11, 2001, employment opportunities in the field of criminal justice have expanded geometrically, especially in the New York metropolitan area.

Four colleges responded to a canvass of all institutions in the New York City region (location of Monroe�s main campus) and in the Mid-Hudson region (location of the New Rochelle branch campus). Three had no objections to the proposed programs. Hostos Community College of The City University of New York responded to the canvass by indicating that the proposed programs would create no benefit for the communities that Monroe College serves. Additionally, Hostos indicated it is in "pre-development" to create a criminal justice program that would build on an existing concentration, so the Monroe programs would be redundant. However, the labor market data that Monroe provided suggests there should be sufficient opportunities for careers in criminal justice to support new programs at Monroe as well as at Hostos.