Course Syllabus Professor: Burk Foster
Criminal Justice 340 Office: Brown 352
“Correctional Policy and Treatment” Telephone: (989) 964-4156 
Saginaw Valley State University Office Hours: TWR 1:00-2:30
Spring 2006 email: bfoster@svsu.edu or burk@burkfoster.com
 
I. Course Objectives
 1. To introduce students to the history of corrections.
 2. To identify ideologies important to corrections.
 3. To review the role of institutional and community-based alternatives in corrections.
 4. To consider the prison as both a management problem and a social environment.
 5. To identify important national trends and issues in corrections. 
6. To introduce students to the comparative study of corrections.
 
II. Texts
The required text and its companion study guide are:
 Burk Foster. Corrections: The Fundamentals. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2006.
 
Burk Foster. Corrections: The Fundamentals: Student Study Guide. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2006.
 
The optional books (see the “Book Project” described below) are:
 
Ted Conover. Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing. New York: Knopf Publishing Group, 2001.
 
Sister Helen Prejean. Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States. New York: Knopf Publishing Group, 1994.
 
III. Outline (see detailed "Course Outline")
 
1. Corrections: History
 Foster: 1, 2, 3, 4
 
2. Corrections: Systems
 Foster: 5, 6, 7, 8
 
3. Corrections: Prisoners
 Foster: 9, 10, 11, 12
 
4. Corrections: Alternatives 
Foster: 13, 14, 15, 16
 
IV. Grading
 The course grade will be made up of:
 1. Four objective unit exams (true/false, multiple choice, matching), worth 200 points each, at the end of each of the four blocs of course material. 
2. A class participation grade worth 200 points, as described below.
 3. The field trip report worth 100 points, as described below.
 4. One or both of the book projects worth 100 points each, as described below.
 5. Discussion of one (or more, if available) of the assigned commentaries from Corrections: The Fundamentals worth 100 points, as described below.
 
These grades will be combined as earned with a maximum perfect score of 1,000 points. Letter grades will be calculated at the end of the course according to this scale:
 A 930-1,000
 A– 900-929
 B+ 870-899
 B = 830-869
 B– 800-829
 C+ 770-799
 C 700-769
 D 600-699
 F Below 600
 
V. Components
 Class participation. The class participation grade is worth 200 points. One hundred points come from class attendance. Roll will be taken every day. For every unexcused absence, you lose ten points–or half a class, five points. Keep track. The other 100 points are discretionary with the professor. These points are earned by taking an active part in class discussions; they are not given automatically for being alive and present in the classroom. Students may also be penalized in this category for disruptive classroom conduct–arriving late for class, talking to other people while class is going on, sleeping, leaving class early, or annoying cell phone habits. The rule is: if it is discourteous and disrespectful, your professor notices it and may take points away. To earn an "A" (90+) for class participation, you would need to be in class just about every day, on time, frequently take part in class discussions, and avoid inappropriate behaviors.
 Field trip report. This class will provide the opportunity for students to visit three correctional facilities–Saginaw Correctional Facility, the Saginaw County Jail, and the Saginaw Juvenile Detention Center–outside of regular class time. Students who chose this assignment must visit at least two of the three facilities and complete a brief paper describing their reaction to what they observed. The trips will be scheduled for Wednesday afternoons at 2:30 p.m. No makeups, no options. The report is worth 100 points. For anyone who visit all three facilities, the paper is worth 120 points. 
Book projects. Each student can choose to complete one or two book projects on the two optional texts listed above. Each project basically requires the student to read the book, complete a one-page critique form, and on a specified date late in the semester take in class a multiple choice test on the content of the book. The critique form and the test added together are worth 100 points. The critiques will be due on the same day the book tests are scheduled toward the end of the semester. A student can choose to do one project, two projects, or none at all.
 Commentary discussion. The main text, Corrections: The Fundamentals, contains within it 25 separate commentaries focusing on topics related to the content of the chapters. These commentaries will be discussed in class. Students can be responsible for leading the discussion of one of these commentaries in class. This would require a four- to six-minute oral report giving an overview and analysis of the article, including the presenter’s reaction and a critique (or commentary in reply). The commentaries will be assigned by lottery the second day of class. Students presenting oral reports will do so on the day assigned for the commentary on the course outline. We will allow a brief time for discussion after the oral report is presented The commentary discussion is worth 100 points.
 
VI. Class Policies
 1. Students are expected to attend class regularly. Roll will be taken each class day.
 2. For class attendance, an excused absence is one of two types:
 a. University business. Taking part in a University-sponsored event, such as a field trip, athletic event, or some other kind of scheduled activity beneficial to students.
 b. Personal business. Sickness, family emergency, work, or other personal problem that prevents class attendance.
 For either type of absence to be excused, the student must present the professor with written documentation signed by higher authority (coach, employer, doctor, professor, dean of students office, etc.) verifying the reason for the absence. Any absence without documentation is considered unexcused. For this class, no more than one absence can be fully excused; any beyond one will be taken into consideration in calculating the class participation grade.
 3. If you come to class, arrive on time and plan to stay for the whole period. Avoid being late for class, and do not plan to leave early, unless by prior arrangement with the professor.
 4. Do your own work.
 5. No make-up exams will be given except when the professor was notified of the absence by the day of the missed exam. Make-ups must be taken before exams are returned and discussed in class. No one will be allowed to take more than one make-up exam.
 6. Emergency evacuation procedures. Any students who anticipate needing emergency assistance of any sort, including assistance in evacuating the building, should identify themselves to the professor.