Criminal Justice
Academies
Department Planning Portfolio
Assessment/Program Review 2013/14
Criminal Justice Academies Mission Statement
The mission of the Criminal Justice Academies (CJA) Department is to
develop and maintain strong law enforcement training partnerships within the
criminal justice community. Our focus is
to provide professional training opportunities for individuals attempting to
enter the profession, and to assist current peace officers seeking to enhance
their knowledge and skills in furtherance of their careers.
I.
GOALS
AND OBJECTIVES
1. What are the department’s annual goals?
·
Maintain
current supervisory staffing levels.
After several years of inadequate supervisory staffing levels within the
department, a part-time supervisor was added for the year 2012/13. This provided another layer of accountability
and strengthened our ability to meet and comply with the new program review
mandates placed on the department. Since
2009/2010, CJA has seen a 60% increase in FTES generation, and we anticipate
another discernible increase for 2013/2014.
Continuing to fund the part-time supervisor position is critical, as the
workload in CJA continues to increase.
·
To
maintain, repair and enhance the Criminal Justice Training Center (CJTC) facilities
and equipment. If not
accomplished, student and staff safety is at risk and college liability
increases. Student learning is also adversely
affected if the facility and safety equipment we depend on is either worn,
damaged or inoperable. Continuous funding
mechanisms need to be established to assure a safe and reliable operation. Additionally, the $30 million facility that
was built to be a regional training facility must be esthetically attractive to
portray a professional image.
·
Ensure
departmental curriculum is continually updated and assessed in compliance with
POST, STC and State community college standards. It is imparitive CJA maintains our exemplary professional
and academic standing in order to provide the services our training partners expect
and require.
·
Maintain
positive standing with our existing clients/training partners. We need to maintain constant communication
with our existing training partners, and be responsive to their concerns and
needs. Regular Advisory Committee
meetings encourage this type of collaboration, and provide a means to improve
student learning and experiences.
·
Seek
technological upgrades to enhance student learning and student and staff safety. As technology advances, staff must
continually look for applications which can be implemented within our operation
to increase learning effectiveness as well as decrease safety risks to students
and staff.
The above listed goals and
objectives are consistent with the college’s mission statement and strategic
plan.
2. What progress has been made toward the
department’s goals over the last year?
·
The department saw progress on a number of
different fronts during the past year.
Examples include:
o
A cement physical training area was designed and
constructed around the student obstacle course.
It repaired a flawed design which had been responsible for multiple
student injuries.
o
A Wi-Fi system was designed and installed at the
CJTC. The new system expands our
instructor’s access to additional instructional recourses.
o
Plans for an exterior surveillance system have
been approved and is awaiting installation.
o
A grant to update our academy classroom
computer/projection capability has been approved. The new equipment has been
purchased and is awaiting installation.
o
A semi-annual schedule for Advisory Committee
meetings has been adopted. These
meetings are regularly attended by our training partner representatives.
o
Maintenance of the CJTC parking lot trees and
shrubbery was completed in May, 2013, reducing blighted conditions to the
exterior of CJA. This was the first time
maintenance on the trees was done since the facility opened in 2007.
o
The Orange County Peace Officer Memorial was constructed
with donated funding on the grounds of the CJTC. Selection of CJTC as the permanent location
for this highly esteemed memorial enhances the facility’s reputation as a
preeminent law enforcement training site.
o
CJA modified admission standards in response to
our training partner’s concerns for student safety.
3. What research has the department conducted?
·
This year the academy passed a tri-annual
inspection and review conducted by the California Peace Officer Standards and
Training (POST) Commission. This
commission regulates and certifies police academy training sites throughout the
state. In order to successfully prepare
for and pass this inspection and review, the CJA program continuously
collected, extracted and examined data on student qualifications, preparation,
demographics, safety and success. This
is an on-going internal process which enables the program to immediately adjust
to industry changes affecting program outcomes.
·
The department collected and reviewed statistics
involving academy success and/or failure and explored steps that could be taken
to positively affect student learning.
·
Student evaluations were carefully examined in
order to benefit from student experiences and input.
4. Do goals need to be restructured, eliminated
or pursued with different activities?
·
The departmental mission statement and goals and
objectives were all revised this year to reflect current conditions and
challenges within the program.
5. What are the proposed goals for next year?
·
The new goals and objectives have been
established and have a consistent theme from prior years. They include improving student learning and
safety by properly funding the program from the FTES revenue the department
generates. Other funding sources should
also be identified and sought when appropriate.
II.
INSTITUTIONAL
LEVEL SLOs, I.E., CORE COMPETENCIES/STUENT LEARNING OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT
6. Please summarize findings of direct-SLO
Assessment from the previous academic year.
·
During previous years, CJA depended entirely on
the program review conducted at the state level by the California Peace Officer
Standards and Training Commission. In Fall/2012,
it became apparent that the department needed to conduct its own course
assessments. Since that time, the
following has been accomplished:
o
All 42 departmental courses were revised in
order to make their Student Learning
Outcomes (SLOs) measurable.
o
Individual course assessments were conducted on
all departmental courses held in Spring/2013.
o
Since individual course assessments were not previously
conducted, the Assistant Dean and Course Instructors met for the first round of
assessments after the Spring/2013 courses were completed. These meetings were documented by using
individual course assessment meeting forms.
o
By January 2014, all of the departmental courses
offered during Fall/2013 will have been re-assessed.
o
At this time, staffing resources have not been
identified to conduct individual course assessments for courses scheduled in the
Spring/2014 term. Additionally, resources
need to be identified to address the required departmental curriculum updates/revisions
that need to be completed by the end of the Spring/2014 term. In order to maintain program compliance with
the newly identified standards, these critical issues must be addressed by the
beginning of the Spring/2014 term.
·
Specific commonalities continued to arise in the
course assessments conducted during the past two assessment cycles. Those commonalities include:
o
The need to remain in good standing and in compliance
with the state commissions and organizations that regulate law enforcement
training standards.
o
The need to maintain and replace worn
safety/training equipment.
o
The need to repair and maintain the facility to
support student learning and safety.
VI. ASSESSMENT OF CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
18. Based
on the analysis, what changes are recommended for the program?
·
The primary regulatory body for California law
enforcement is the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST),
which was established in 1959. Criminal
Justice Academies’ primary training partner is the Orange County Sheriff’s
Department. Our partnership has been in
place for over forty continuous years.
Consequently, changes in trends, technology and training needs do occur,
but those changes tend to be small and incremental from year to year. Most curriculum and pedagogy changes are
driven by panels of subject-area experts at the state level who stay abreast of
changing conditions within our industry, region and culture. Rather than driving change at the individual
college level, the industry we serve requires stability and uniformity. Accordingly, most of the proposed changes in our
program will be to comply with statewide training needs and mandates, which will
ultimately protect our professional certifications.
19. What issues have emerged that requires
interdisciplinary dialogue and possible inclusion in overall college planning?
·
The new budget model has placed additional
strain on properly maintaining our college facilities and replacing required safety
equipment. CJA staff highly recommends the college develop a financial
plan that forecasts intermediate facility maintenance and the replacement of
required equipment. Facility maintenance
and equipment replacement funding should be identified and dedicated solely to
this unique program. Funds should be set
aside with each annual budget, and accessed when facility repair and/or
equipment replacement is necessary.
Unlike most college programs, delays in replacing equipment or repairing
facilities can endanger students and staff. The costs for routine facility maintenance and
the identification of the life expectancy of costly equipment are easily
determined and should be a part of any annual budgeting process. Failure to account for predictable
expenditures in the budget planning process is irresponsible and comes with
potential dire consequences.
