Administration of Justice
2018-2019 Program Review

The Administration of Justice (ADMJ) program was established in September of 2010 and staffed by a full-time classroom faculty member/department chair who retired in December 2017. The full-time faculty position was eliminated following his retirement. A Public Safety Training Coordinator, who teaches in the ADMJ program on overload, now serves as the ADMJ department chair and only program-level planning unit staff member. The program's effectiveness is challenged by the absences of a dedicated full-time department chair. The goals of the ADMJ program are: • To provide a pathway to students who would like to transfer to a CSU campus. • To serve the diverse needs of students who wish to obtain a broad and in-depth understanding of the criminal justice field. • To allow students to learn the fundamental principles and practices of the ADMJ in order to create a solid foundation for their future personal, academic, or vocational endeavors. • To give students a foundation appropriate for entry into a variety of fields and careers.

The ADMJ program contributes to the achievement of American River College’s mission by providing students with a foundational understanding of the criminal justice system and the challenges multiculturalism presents for peacekeeping and law enforcement in a diverse society, and prepares them for employment and/or promotion within the criminal justice field. Programs of Study The Administration of Justice program’s curriculum allows students to prepare for employment within the criminal justice system and to earn 24 units towards an AS degree or an AS degree for Transfer to a four-year institution. Students with this degree receive priority admission with junior status to the California State University system. Opportunities for graduates include positions as law enforcement officers, federal and state parole officers, probation officers, and correctional administrators. The program also provides a certificate in Homeland Security. Students earn 9 units toward a specialized certificate within the justice field, particularly relevant for students interested in extending their skills and knowledge of law enforcement responses to terrorism and natural and manmade disasters. Opportunities for students who earn this certificate include positions as intelligence analyst positions within local, regional, and state law enforcement agencies. Career Education The ADMJ program develops and enhances careers skills for entry-level employment and/or enhances skills for job advancement. It provides students with an excellent understanding of the components of the criminal justice system and its complicated machinations. Intertwined in all course offerings are the ethical imperatives, challenges, and rewards of overcoming cultural barriers and developing cultural competency in order to protect and serve all members of diverse communities. Our Introduction to Administration of Justice course familiarizes students with the different perspectives on crime, criminological theories, data collection methods, and also challenges students to explain fluctuations in crime rates. As students navigate through the ADMJ program, students analyze case studies to in order to understand historical forces that shape crime control policy and influence criminal justice reform. General Education The ADMJ program is aligned with American River College’s institutional student learning outcomes. It develops reading and writing skills, research skills, analytical and critical thinking, and collaborative problem-solving. For example, students in our Community Relations course research the historical relationship between law enforcement and different cultural groups, and best-practices for mediating and overcoming cross-cultural conflict. Students interview local community members and criminal justice professionals to determine the contemporary issues facing police-community relations and research and evaluate best practices models for collaborative problem solving. Instructional Staff The ADMJ program recruits instructional staff from criminal justice agencies throughout the region. The staff consists of eight (8) part-time faculty who are currently employed by or are retired from the Sacramento Police Department, County District Attorney’s Office, Yolo County Probation Department, Elk Grove Police Department, and the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards. They maintain close relationships with local/regional/state justice organizations, state-level regulatory agencies, and attend industry-related training and consortiums. Staff periodically attend and/or present at industry-specific conferences in their subject areas to maintain currency. Many of the adjunct attend the ARC Convocation and Professional Development offerings in order to improve instructional delivery and student success. The instructional staff consist of two females and 6 males. Four instructors are white, two are African American, one is Asian/Pacific Islander, and one is Hispanic. Instructional Methods All courses within the ADMJ program are delivered on-site, and may be web-enhanced to increase/encourage student engagement through providing reference materials and resources.

This is the first Program Review for the ADMJ program. As such, no (prior) formalized objectives or measurements for progress had been established. OVERALL ENROLLMENT: The program experienced fluctuations of enrollment between fall 2013 and spring 2018, with significant declines in ADMJ beginning in fall 2016. The overall ARC enrollment counts for Fall 2017 over Fall 2016 decreased by 2.4%. The overall enrollment counts for ADMJ Fall 2017 over Fall 2016 decreased 17.5%, HLS decreased 59.5%. The overall ARC enrollment counts for Spring 2018 over Spring 2018 decreased 1.4%. The overall enrollment counts for ADMJ Spring 2018 over Spring 2017 decreased 32%, HLS decreased 100%. ENROLLMENT BY GENDER Overall college enrollment by gender, Fall 2017 over Fall 2016, decreased by 5.2% for females, increased .8% for males, and decreased 14.1% for unknown. ADMJ enrollment by gender decreased by 27.9% for females, 9.3% males, and increased 87.5% for Unknown. HLS enrollment by gender decreased 23.1% for females, 77.8% for males, and 50% for unknown. Overall college enrollment by gender, Spring 2018 over Spring 2017, decreased by 2.1% for females, .03% for males, and 12.4% for unknown. ADMJ enrollment by gender decreased by 29.9% for females, 33.3% for males, and 75% for unknown. HLS enrollment by gender decreased 100% for females, males, and unknown. ENROLLMENT BY ETHNICITY College enrollment by ethnicity: Fall 2017 over Fall 2016, decreased 4.1% for African American, 1.2% for Multi-race, 13.9% for Native American, 14.6% for Other Non-White, 9,2% for Unknown, and 6.3% for White. However, enrollment increased .9% for Asian, 3.8% for Filipino, 6% for Hispanic/Latino, and 11% for Pacific Islander. ADMJ enrollment by ethnicity: Fall 2017 over Fall 2016, decreased by 32.5% for African American, 10.5% for Asian, 5.8% for Hispanic Latino, 6.1% for Multi-Race, 83.3% for Native American, 100% for Other Non-White, 20% for Pacific Islander, 60% for Unknown, and 25.9% for White. White. However, enrollments increased by 42.9% for Filipino. HLS enrollment by ethnicity: Fall 2017 over Fall 2016, decreased 60% for African American, 54.5% for Hispanic/Latino, 85.7% for Multi-Race, 100% for Pacific Islander, and 64.7% for White. No change was indicated for other groups. College enrollment by ethnicity: Spring 2018 over Spring 2017, decreased 7.1% for African American, 4.9% for Filipino, 10% for Native American, 14.4% for Other Non-White (14.4%),15.5% for Unknown, and 2.6% for White (2.6%). However, enrollment increased 1.2% for Asian, 7.2% for Hispanic/Latino, 2.1% for Multi-Race, and 5.1% for Pacific Islander. ADMJ enrollment by ethnicity: Spring 2018 over Spring 2017, decreased by 15.2% for African American, 31.4% for Asian, 57.1% for Filipino, 19.5% for Hispanic Latino, 40% for Multi-Race, 85.7% for Native American, 66.7% for Unknown, 41.7% for White. However, enrollments increased by 150% for Pacific Islander. No change of enrollment was indicated for other groups. HLS enrollment by ethnicity: Spring 2018 over Spring 2017, showed a decrease of 100% for Hispanic/Latino, Multi-Rave, and White. No change was indicated for other groups. ADMJ Enrollment by time of day; ADMJ experienced a significant decrease in enrollments between day and evening courses Fall 2017 over Fall 2016: daytime enrollments decreased by 15%, evening enrollments decreased by 20%. Daytime enrollments for Spring 2018 over Spring 2017 decreased 68% and increased by 8% for evening courses. PRODUCTIVITY ADMJ/HLS productivity has steadily decreased between 2014 and 2018. -7.10% ADMJ productivity for Fall 2014 was at 655. Productivity consistently decreased with a Fall 218 productivity of 499, a 5.1% decrease over Fall 2017. HLS productivity in Fall 2014 was 483 and decreased to 280 in Fall 2018, an 82% decrease over Fall 2017. ADMJ productivity for Spring 2014, was at 577. It steadily decreased to a low of 432 In Spring 2017. However, Spring 2018 over Spring 2017 productivity increased by 12% to 484. HLS productivity fluctuated over 2014 through 2017, with an overall decrease from 371 to 165. No data is available for Spring 2018. DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED GROUPS The ARC students with the highest success rate are White students at 79% followed by Hispanic/Latino students at 75%. The ADMJ with the highest success rates are consistently White students, across all ADMJ/HLS courses. The three years of ADMJ/HLS merged data indicates White students averaged the highest success at 80.99%, followed by Hispanic/Latino students at 79.43%. ADMJ average mastery rate (A's and B's) is 69.9%. ADMJ students with the highest mastery rate are White students, at 80.99%, followed by Hispanic/Latino students at 67.43% The ARC students with the lowest success rate are African American students at 62%. The three years merged data indicates ADMJ/HLS students with the lowest success are African American students at 65.04%. ADMJ students with the lowest average mastery rate are African American students at 37.1% Lower overall rates are found among other groups, however, n= low significance. DEPARTMENT STRETCH STANDARD AND SUCCESS RATE PERCENTAGES The ADMJ Program met the Department Set Standard for target year 2017-2018 (n=753) Year 1 (2014-2015): 79.9% Year 2 (2015-2016): 77.6% Year 3 (2016-2017): 78.4% 3 Year Average: 78.6% Department Stretch Goal: 75.8% - 81.5% ASSOCIATE DEGREE-TRANSFER DEGREES AND TRANSFER TO CSU ARC awarded 191 AS-T in 2014-15. There were 142 AS-T earners transferring to a CSU by September 2018. 118 or 83.1% of CSU transfers earned a degree at CSU by September 2018. The percentage of ARC 2014-15 AS-T award earners transferring to and earning a degree at CSU by September 2018 was 61.8% ARC awarded 296 AS-T in 2015-16. There were 243 AS-T earners transferring to a CSU by September 2018. 103 or 42.4% of CSU transfers earned a degree at CSU by September 2018. The percentage of ARC 2025-16 AS-T award earners transferring to and earning a degree at CSU by September 2018 was 34.8% 32 Administration of Justice AS-T degrees were awarded in 2014-15. There were 21 AS-T learners transferring to a CSU by September 2018. 18 or 85.7% of CSU transfers earned a degree at CSU by September 2018. The percentage of Administration of Justice 2014-15 AS-T award earners transferring to and earning a degree at CSU by September 2018 was 56.3% 50 Administration of Justice AS-T degrees were awarded in 2014-15. There were 42 AS-T learners transferring to a CSU by September 2018. 20 or 47.6% of CSU transfers earned a degree at CSU by September 2018. The percentage of Administration of Justice 2014-15 AS-T award earners transferring to and earning a degree at CSU by September 2018 was 40.0%

PROGRAM STRENGTHS: The strengths of the ADMJ program rest primarily with the expertise of our adjunct faculty and their dedication to ARC students. ADMJ instructors engage in continued professional training through the college in order to advance their instructional delivery. For example, adjunct faculty members have met with the Instructional Technology Coordinator to learn about Universal Design for Learning (and the OEI) and currently use the Canvas platform to enhance their face-to-face courses. Some attend convocation to remain informed of college and district planning. Adjunct also attend/participate in department meetings to review and discuss student performance, and identify and address potential student challenges. Adjunct stay abreast of ARC resources to enhance student success. For example, many have referred students to WAC, RAD, CAST, WEAVE, and Early Alert/Connect for Success. They also recommend members from the community and local law enforcement agencies to serve on the ADMJ advisory board. ADMJ faculty maintain currency within multiple subject matters and maintain collaborative relationships with criminal justice organizations throughout the Sacramento region and the state. They actively evaluate a variety textbooks and conduct independent research within the criminal justice system and related disciplines. They provide ADMJ students with meaningful inquiry, exploration, and examination of contemporary issues, innovation, and reform measures within the criminal justice system. Adjunct faculty facilitate experiential learning opportunities. Examples include field trips to local justice agencies, observance of preliminary hearings and criminal trials, inviting guest speakers to discuss career opportunities and contemporary issues in justice (e.g. How justice organizations interface vulnerable populations such as the homeless and mentally disabled, and the impact of officer involved shootings on police-community relations). PROGRAM OPPORTUNITIES Opportunities for the AMDJ program include increased collaboration with justice agencies and local high schools to attract a more diverse student population and integration of social justice and implicit bias in ADMJ courses. The program has the opportunity to provide distance-learning courses, recruit and hire qualified instructional staff, develop a student club and pathways for students to navigate their degree program, and facilitate volunteer and internship opportunities within justice agencies throughout the region. The program can solicit training and funds for instructors to attend workshops to support 1) English learning and 2) integrate social justice and implicit bias into existing curriculum, and 3) develop skills for online instruction. PROGRAM CHALLENGES The program challenges include: decreased overall enrollments; a lack of full-time staff; the inability to stabilize the program due to reliance on adjunct staff who do not carry a consistent load, are unable to meet regularly and consistently to discuss and evaluate program performance, student successes and/or challenges; and difficulty recruiting staff for day-time and online adjunct positions. Furthermore, some adjunct are resistant to the online environment and overwhelmed by its accompanying requirements as outlined in the Online Education Initiative (OEI). Furthermore, the lack of instructors impairs our attempts to develop dual enrollment and articulation agreements with local high schools. Another significant challenge is the physical limitation of McClellan Center. The Center houses the ADMJ and Fire Technology programs, other ARC GE courses, and an extensive menu of public safety courses for in-service training for law enforcement, probation, and parole officers from throughout the region. Most classrooms seat a maximum of 30 students, in single desk-type configurations, limiting innovative teaching strategies. Classroom size limits the ability for instructors to facilitate crime scene investigations, scenario role-plays, and for students work in collaborative pods. The Center has two computer labs available for use by all enrolled students. Each lab seats 24-28 students and it is rare that all computers are in working order at the same time. All enrolled students have access to the labs. The average ADMJ class size is 27.67 students. This poses a problem for instructors who may want to supplement in-class instruction with internet research and the use of Canvas, as the exclusive use of either computer lab requires reservations. This limitation also impinges on the ADMJ program’s purchase and utilization of technological resources that would facilitate student skills acquisition and enhance success. For example, the ADMJ program would like to purchase body cameras for student use. Instructors would be able to replicate and record field interviews (of witnesses, victims, and suspects), criminal investigations, crime scenes, and review these on computers for investigative report writing and debriefing of police-community encounters. Body cameras require the purchase, installation, and maintenance of the accompanying computer software/programs that students would need to load and review recorded footage. The Center’s physical limitation is that, unlike another college within the district, it does not have the full-time room capacity to install a Use of Force simulator that would allow students to step into the shoes of an officer confronted with a variety of hazardous situations, requiring the student to make quick decisions/judgments. Use of Force simulators and body cameras have become standard in the protection/law enforcement industry and would be a valuable tool in the discussion and understanding of the complicated factors associated with law enforcement decision-making, a critical discussion in social justice and equity. EQUITY GAPS The legislative intent of AB1725 in setting a faculty obligation number (FON) was to reach the goal of at least 75% of credit instruction hours provided by full-time faculty. As outlined in March 2004 by the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, the legislature found that the “…quality, quantity and composition of full-time faculty have the most immediate and direct impact on the quality of instruction…” The 2016 California Community Colleges FON report indicates that the Los Rios CCD FON was 67.1%. The ADMJ program is consists of 0% full-time faculty positions. Absence of a full-time faculty member is a hindrance to the program and disadvantage to students who do not have the benefit regular and consistent program guidance and mentorship, which affects persistence, retention, program completion, and transfer. Clearly, our students deserve as equitable an experience as they would receive at other LRCCD campuses. INFLUENCING FACTORS ADMJ instructors identified potential influencing factors in decreased enrollments and student success. These included the reduction in faculty, overall course offerings, reduction of daytime course offerings, increased course offerings at other LRCCD colleges, the absence of a student ADMJ club, and the overall negative impact of high-profile police shootings on communities and the justice system. For example, the March 2018 shooting of Stephon Clark in Sacramento has been a topic of discussion in all of the ADMJ courses. Additional factors that may have influenced enrollments may be the increase in ADMJ course offerings, including online courses, at other colleges in the district. Instructors observed student performance is also ‘self-impacted,’ which they defined as 1) reluctance or unwillingness to engage each other out of fear of judgment (as described to instructors by students), not submitting coursework on time, non-participation, not reconciling conflicts between work/family demands and class attendance, the prioritization of social/recreational interests over coursework). Lastly, instructors observed that some students are not writing at the college-level. This is a critical skill-set for students desiring a career in law enforcement. The California Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) notes a steady decrease in qualified peace officer candidates over the last few years. Disqualifying factors include the lack of English reading and writing skills. For example, over a two-year period, POST reported that 36,000 individuals applied to the California Highway Patrol (CHP) law enforcement academy. Approximately eighteen thousand applicants took the 8th grade level reading and writing exam. Less than half passed. There is a positive correlation between English writing and success in the ADMJ program. Two years of ADMJ 300 (Introduction to Administration of Justice) merged data, from Fall 2016 and Spring 2017, Fall 2017 and Spring 2018 shows a positive relationship between the English skill level of the 489 entering students and their grade in ADMJ. Students with an English writing skill level of ENGRW 301-303 80% earned A's in ADMJ 300, 11% earned B's. 44% of students with an English writing skill level of ENG300 earned A's, 27% earned B's. 100% of students with an English writing skill level of ESLW 340 earned A's. 100% of students with an English writing skill level of ESLW320 earned A's. DATA LIMITATIONS Available data did not illuminate reasons for student drops/withdrawals. A preliminary review of course rosters between 2013 and 2018 show some pattern of student drops, instructor drops, and withdrawals within the first couple of weeks of courses and close to course midpoints. Instructors indicate that students are dropped students for non-attendance and non-participation, in accordance with expectations published their class syllabus. The extent and effect of ‘self-impact’ is unknown. AREAS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH The ADMJ program, overall, would benefit from a student evaluation of SLO’s. This would inform us of the student perspective and help identify areas for program growth. The ADMJ program should explore the integration of educational and industry-related technologies to enhance and encourage student engagement, then investigate whether or not there exists a correlation between integration and student success rates. For example, educational technologies could include the use of online polling and ConferZoom. Industry-related technologies could include the use of body cameras in criminal investigations, investigative report writing, and patrol procedures courses. OTHER AREA(S) OF INTEREST The diversity of ADMJ faculty is somewhat representative of the student population and the demographic distribution in law enforcement. Faculty consists of two females and six males. Four members are White, two are African American, one is Hispanic/Latino, and one is Asian/Pacific Islander. ADMJ student ethnicity compares to that of local law enforcement, in that the majority of the population is White, followed by Hispanic/Latino. For example, the 2016 Sacramento Police Department Demographics indicate 70% of its employees were White and 29% were people of color: 13% Hispanic, 8% Asian, 6% Hispanic, 1% Filipino, 1% American Indian, and <1% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. Between 2013 and 2015, the number of Whites employees remained constant, while African American employees decreased by 20%. During that same period, Hispanic/Latino employees decreased by 5%, and Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian employees remained relatively neutral. Further, gender representation is also similar. 67.4% of employees are male and 32.59% are female.

The unit’s decline in effectiveness reflects the overall performance of the community college system: a decline in enrollments and persistence, a significant DI for African American students, and a decline in student success. These relevant findings may inform future action by directing efforts to secure full-time faculty; focus outreach recruitment efforts towards more diverse adjunct faculty pool; expand outreach efforts with feeder high schools for program information and dual enrollments; direct oversight for effective program pathways; focus outreach efforts with industry and community partners; direct Perkins/Strong Work Force funds for facility improvement and/or redesign; and professional development in OEI, social justice, and implicit bias.

The ideal future is for the ADMJ program to grow and expand. The ADMJ program would provide 1) courses not offered at other district colleges, enabling students with options to explore the extensive and growing justice field; 2) include full-time faculty to manage a consistent load and provide a more equitable experience for our students; 3) incorporate distance learning opportunities to reach students unable to attend on-site courses; 4) incorporate contemporary and innovative technologies used in the justice field; 5) support dual enrollment with area high schools (particularly those with students experiencing DI); and 6) envelop more community partners for student mentoring and internship opportunities. These advances would positively influence enrollments, persistence, completions, and transfers. Ultimately, our program would provide the students with sensitivity and understanding of social justice and equity, and the cultural competence that our communities now demand of criminal justice professionals.

Program Level Objective 1: Maintain a high quality degree/certificate program Activity: Review degree program Timeline: Annually Measurement: Enrollments, success, graduation, degree attainment, and degree for transfer attainment. Activity: Meet with our program advisory board. Timeline: Annually. Measurement: Meeting notes and implementation of advisory board recommendations. Activity: Develop new and online courses, and update existing courses as necessary. Timeline: Annually. Measurement: Approved new and updated curriculum in Socrates. Program Level Objective 2: Maintain currency of faculty and staff expertise Activity: Take professional development courses as needed. Timeline: Annually. Measurement: Faculty self-assessments. Activity: Attend conferences and workshops as needed. Timeline: Annually. Measurement: Faculty self-assessments. Program Level Objective 3: Promote Student Success Activity: Articulate with CSU to ensure transferability of course content. Timeline: Ongoing. Measurement: Student success and transfer rates. Activity: Collaborate with Counseling in regards to curriculum, pathways, and clarification of transfer requirements. Timeline: Ongoing. Measurement: Student success and transfer rates. Activity: Examine the reasons for student attrition and increase student retention. Timeline: Ongoing. Measurement: Student success and transfer rates, DI rates.

The program's enhancements will provide a pathway for inclusive and equitable education. They will support ARC’s commitment to social justice and equity by extending course accessibility to students of divergent backgrounds, faculty accessibility, and identifying and acquiring relevant student and instructional resources. Faculty will be encouraged to pursue professional development courses that highlight social justice, equity, and leadership. New and updated curriculum will integrate topics in social justice, equity, and leadership.