Course Descriptions
|
CJI 0510 Survey Issues in Criminal Justice (3.00 cr.)
This survey course will review the historical context, theory, policy making, political factors and behavioral influences related to criminal justice policy development as it relates to the organization of the criminal justice system in the United States. This course examines the various components of the criminal justice system, including police, courts, corrections, and the juvenile justice system. The course focuses on the relationship of the criminal justice system to broad political, economic, and social issues. Understanding the working relationship between these system components allows for a greater understanding of how the system works as a whole.
|
CJI 0520 Social Administration in Criminal Justice (3.00 cr.)
The purpose of this course is to examine current strategies and issues related to social justice in the field criminal justice.
|
CJI 0530 Legal Issues in Criminal Justice (3.00 cr.)
This course examines a variety of legal issues critical to a thorough understanding of the various aspects of the criminal justice system. Students will examine the United States Constitution and its interpretation through court decisions that together have formed the cornerstone of the criminal justice system nationwide. By becoming familiar with this material, it is expected that the student will be able to better predict and prepare to meet fundamental legal problems facing the criminal justice professional, such as: (1) Constitutional restraints on how the criminal justice system handles the investigation of crime; (2) Constitutional restraints on how the criminal justice system satisfies the legal requisites as to an individual's guilt; (3) Constitutional restraints on the punishment imposed.
|
CJI 0540 Program Evaluation in Criminal Justice (3.00 cr.)
This course provides students with the foundational knowledge and basic competencies necessary to plan an evaluation of a criminal justice program and to interpret and utilize evaluation findings. This comprises an understanding of the evaluation process including, developing relevant evaluation questions, selecting an appropriate evaluation model, data collection and analysis, and accurate and ethical interpretation and dissemination of evaluation findings. Through a series of assignments, students will have the opportunity to engage in the planning of an evaluation of a criminal justice program, which culminates in the creation of a program evaluation plan. Students will be introduced to the types of data commonly collected in a program evaluation, and the use of both qualitative and quantitative methods.
|
CJI 0550 Investigative Processes (3.00 cr.)
This course is a masters-level, on-line core course within the Criminal Justice Institute at Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This course will provide an overview of investigative and crime scene processing theory, research, and practice and its application from the standpoint of criminal investigative personnel and other actors within the criminal justice system. Lecture and case studies will provide a learning environment for understanding and applying investigative processes including fundamentals, crime scene investigation, criminal intelligence and informants, physical evidence, testimonial evidence, documenting the investigation and testifying, crimes against persons, crimes against property, special investigations, and legal considerations.
|
PUB 5409 Public Administration in Theory and Application (3.00 cr.)
This course examines the role of public administration and non-profit organizations in a democratic society. Students examine the cultural and intellectual evolution of the field, the theories, forces, and people that drive the public sector and the specific management techniques used to implement public policy. Special emphasis is placed upon the application of organizational theory and organizational behavior concepts in the public and non-profit contexts.
|
PUB 5418 Entrepreneurial Governance (3.00 cr.)
The public sector has borrowed language and practices from the private sector for more than one hundred years. One such concept, "Entrepreneurship," has grown in the public sector within the current management trend for more innovative ways to provide public services in a responsible manner, while holding down the burden of cost. We will address the question, "What is an Entrepreneur?" This course will consider the three basic streams of (1) how the public sector intervenes in the private to encourage entrepreneurial behaviors, (2) the delivery of public services through entrepreneurial means, and (3) the adoption of private sector practices into the public sphere. This course will explore the critiques of entrepreneurial practices and then offer a framework for Entrepreneurial Governance to address public problems.
|
PUB 5429 Public Sector Statistical Analysis (3.00 cr.)
Students gain an overview of commonly applied statistical methods in public administration including confidence intervals, t-tests for means and proportions, ANOVA, and non-parametric tests. The emphasis is on practical use of statistics to analyze real-world data and performance criteria. Prerequisite: PUB 5409 or PUB 5450.
|
PUB 5439 Administrative Law and Ethics in the Public Sector (3.00 cr.)
The course introduces students to the field of ethics and shows how ethical principles are applied to administrative agencies to ensure not only legal but also moral government decision-making. Administrative law is the body of law concerned with the actions of administrative agencies, frequently called the "4th branch of government" in the United States. The course thus examines how administrative agencies are created, how they exercise their powers, how they make laws and policy formally as well as informally, the laws that govern agency rulemaking and adjudications, especially the Administrative Procedure Act, Constitutional and other legal protections afforded against agency actions, and how agency actions are reviewed and remedied by the courts and legislative branch of government. The course also examines the intergovernmental relations and the political and practical constraints that influence administrative policy. Prerequisite: PUB 5409 or PUB 5450.
|
PUB 5449 Public Policy Analysis (3.00 cr.)
Students develop a working knowledge of public-sector policy making and learn to analyze public policy problems in order to understand how public policy is formulated, decided upon, and implemented. Emphasis is on agenda setting, program design, and implementation. Prerequisite: PUB 5450 or PUB 5409.
|
PUB 5459 Managing Information and Technology in the Public Sector (3.00 cr.)
Students gain an overview of the key issues and challenges involved in managing information flows, and their related technologies, strategically. The course emphasizes the development of students' analytical skills and the application of knowledge through problem solving exercises. Students are provided with tools and techniques for managing information as a resource and for using it to transform public sector organizations. Prerequisite: PUB 5409 or PUB 5450
|
PUB 5469 Public Finance (3.00 cr.)
This course focuses on the economics of the public sector. It delineates the goods and services provided by government and how they are funded. It deals with the public goods and their characteristics. It explores income redistribution. The efficiency, equity and incentive effects of taxation are studied. Multilevel government relations and finances are examined. Prerequisite: PUB 5409 or PUB 5450.
|
PUB 5931 Public and Non-Profit Strategic Management (3.00 cr.)
This course will examine the “big picture” of how public and non-profit organizations are led and managed through Strategic Management. We will look at how organizations plan, conduct self-assessment, collaborate, and set a path for the future for success. This is among the fundamentals of public and non-profit organizations and in line with current management trends. This course explores both the “art” and “science” behind Strategic Management. The most significant portion is Strategic Planning, the engine upon which Strategic Management is run. In Strategic Planning, the organization sets is vision, mission, goals, and objectives, in order to set Strategic Management into motion. This course will show how all aspects of an organization; budget, resources, personnel, stakeholders, services provided, and others; come together to formulate a clear progression to the future. Prerequisite: PUB 5409 or PUB 5450.
|
PUB 5941 Public Administration Internship (3.00 cr.)
Students without public sector work experience will undertake an Internship. The purpose of which is to be able to: 1. Perform specific job functions in the field of choice under supervision; 2. Apply specific academic knowledge, skills and values to tasks in the work setting; 3. Apply a successful strategy for achieving professional/personal goals. Students will formulate specific goals for their Internship in consultation with a faculty advisor and will complete a formal performance appraisal by both the academic advisor and the employer supervisor according to required interim and final written reports and papers. Prerequisite: (PUB 5409 OR PUB 5450) AND (PUB 5419 OR PUB 5465) AND (PUB 5429 OR PUB 5477) AND (PUB 5439 OR PUB 5461) AND (PUB 5449 OR PUB 5480) AND (PUB 5459 OR PUB 5451) AND (PUB 5469 or PUB 5472).
|
PUB 5945 Master of Public Administration Integrative Project (3.00 cr.)
The M.P.A. Integrative Project focuses on the knowledge, skills, and abilities that define a competent public or non-profit sector manager. A central theme of the course is the roles, responsibilities, and outlooks of the manager today and the competing influences in public decision-making under fragmented authority that result in public sector management as the art of compromise. Through role-playing in the various roles of elected officials or professional administrators, students will conduct a city council meeting to experience the actual administration of the political agenda. Pre-requisites: (PUB 5409 OR PUB 5450) AND (PUB 5419 OR PUB 5465) AND (PUB 5439 OR PUB 5461) AND (PUB 5449 OR PUB 5480) AND (PUB 5469 or PUB 5472).
|
PUB 5949 Public Administration Practicum (3.00 cr.)
The practicum is for students already working within the field in a mid-level to senior management position. Students should have a demonstrated record of growth in their career with a minimum of five years experience with progressive responsibilities During the semester, students will prepare a research paper directly relevant for and intended to serve their department or agency outside of their normal employment duties. The practicum research paper will be supervised by a faculty member with interim reports and a final paper. Prerequisites: (PUB 5429 OR PUB 5477).
|