Abstract

Law Enforcement is one of the fastest growing career fields in our society. The U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, has identified the law enforcement career as increasing by thirty-one percent between now and the year 2005. In addition to the demand for more law enforcement officers, the field of law enforcement is enhancing its professionalism by instituting college education requirements for hiring and promotion. To serve the needs of individuals who cannot attend on-campus classes, this proposal is for the development of EPL 225 Introduction to Forensic Science for Internet delivery. In addition, there is a large demand by military personnel for law enforcement courses. An Internet course would assist those individuals on active-duty, in the Guard and Reserves to meet their educational needs.

 

Narrative:

The Law Enforcement Department has, for several years, offered courses by distance education. Courses are presently offered by traditional correspondence, on-site delivery, and by IHETS. In a few instances, the student has been able to complete a course by observing the videotapes produced during the IHETS production and completing the necessary assignments that correspond to the course. Converting these courses to an electronic Internet/Web delivery system will add another dimension to Vincennes University's Distance Education Program. A future goal of the Law Enforcement Department is the capability to offer all of the major courses by electronic Internet/Web. Presently, an individual can obtain the A.S. degree in Law Enforcement through distance education.

Offering these courses electronically will be particularly beneficial to two groups of potential students. The first group is the citizens of the State of Indiana who cannot come to a campus and enroll in the traditional program because of family and job commitments. This may be due to geographical location or simply because the person appreciates the flexibility of learning on their own schedule. These individuals need/desire the education to prepare them for career changes or to obtain advancement in their present careers. Included in this group are individuals presently serving as law enforcement officers who wish to gain additional knowledge to improve their skills and/or obtain course work necessary for promotion. Currently, each police officer in the State of Indiana must complete a minimum of sixteen (16) hours of in-service training annually. This requirement will increase to forty (40) hours in the future. Electronic availability of Law Enforcement courses would aid these officers in meeting these requirements. Police officers are no different than other citizens. Many have computers in their homes or at work, which are tied into the Internet allowing them access to these courses.

The second group is from military personnel who are seeking college degrees. This is presently a significant population in Vincennes University's Distance Education Program. Many of these individuals are in the National Guard and Army Reserves and cannot obtain a degree on campus, or, they may be stationed halfway around the world in such places as Korea or Guam. The military has requested that the University offer courses electronically to enable more of their personnel to take advantage of college courses. Many of these personnel need college courses to remain in the military or to receive promotions.

The Law Enforcement Department has the expertise and leadership to develop these electronic Internet/Web based courses. The Department has the approval of the Associate Dean of the Public Service Division where the program is housed. For several years the Dean has been actively involved in developing courses as well as encouraging faculty to develop courses for Degree Completion and IHETS.

The course to be developed for electronic delivery on the Internet/Web is EPL 225 Introduction to Forensic Science. This is an introductory course dealing with the scientific investigation and solution of crimes through the use of the sciences. The course is required of all students enrolled in the Law Enforcement Degree Completion Program. Additionally, this course will benefit officers who are seeking to advance their careers and anticipating a move into investigations. No matter the level of expertise, this course will provide a refresher course for the experienced officer and a "how to" course for new or aspiring investigators. The course should be very popular because of the topic….criminalistics/forensic science. Over the past few years, the public has been exposed to many criminal trials and the evidence produced in court. They were riveted to the television during the O.J. Simpson trial, fascinated by the crime and how it was investigated, and by the use of scientific evidence of DNA, shoe identification, etc. The general public has developed a thirst for knowledge concerning the performance of investigators and seeks to know why police are losing cases because of sometimes-questionable investigative procedures and/or mishandling of evidence. This course will aid the would-be investigator or police officer in the proper techniques of investigation, collection of evidence and the analysis of this evidence. The plan is to offer this course electronically in the Spring of 2000. It will be delivered during a fifteen-week semester.

Vincennes University is dedicated to offering courses through distance education and has allocated resources and personnel to provide courses through Degree Completion, IHETS, and Extended Instructional Services at off-campus sites. Vincennes University will provide resources to upgrade faculty computers and software where needed, and will provide consultants so that faculty can more easily develop and offer courses electronically on the Internet/Web.

The instructional design for the course will include text readings and electronic lecture notes in the form of weekly modules. Each learning module will identify study questions to guide the student's learning. These questions will require students to participate in weekly on-line discussions by response through the use of electronic mail. Electronic E-mail and the World Wide Web (WWW) will be the vehicles for conducting class "discussions" and communication. The responses from the student will be posted, read, and critiqued by other students in the class. Students will be expected to use the Internet/Web to obtain needed information prior to completion of assignments. There will be additional assignments that will rely on problem-solving with the answers submitted electronically. The flexibility of asynchronous learning provides students the freedom to learn at their own time and place. The Internet/Web is a rich source of supplemental information relating to the course content.

A Student Internet Guide will be developed for those students unable to attend the first class. This guide will provide the distance education student with information on the general guidelines and policies of the University, how to enroll in the Internet/Web course, what to expect from the course, and information about the technology needed for successful completion of the course.

Course evaluation will be completed using responses to the posed questions from the lecture material, problem-solving activities, exams, group assignments, and World Wide Web assignments. The course will be offered the first semester to traditional students on-campus and to non-traditional students off campus. It will be a pilot program the first time it is offered to insure that there are no problems with the course content or electronic structure. Students on campus will meet the first class session for an introduction to the new electronic format. A generic, hard copy "how to" guide will be produced to assist students both on and off campus on how to use the E-mail, discussion list, Internet, and how to easily get around the website.

Formulative evaluation of this course will utilized student feedback provided while the course is ongoing and the standard formal "student evaluation of instruction" provided to all students at the conclusion of the course. The goal is to achieve scores between 4.0 and 5.0 as a means of success. The student evaluation of instruction will consist of specific questions concerning delivery methods, handling of technical problems, ease of registration, interaction activities, course content, and student attitudes as well as the opportunity for student comments.

Students will also be asked to compare the course to a traditional in-class course in areas such as time spent, content, interaction with instructor and other students, student motivation, and interest level. The instructor will complete a formal evaluation of the course as well. This evaluation will cover strengths, weaknesses, successes, and failures of the course. Information on student retention will be collected for comparison to a traditional section of the course. Information to be collect will consist of the number of students enrolled, the number who drop or complete the course, and the final grade.

The course has been articulated with the other major institutions within the State of Indiana and generally transfers as a general elective course in the major. A faculty person from another institution, who is experienced in offering courses electronically, will be asked to review and evaluate the course structure and delivery system.

 

Project Schedule:

The project schedule calls for completion of the course development during the summer and fall so that the class may be offered by the Spring semester, 2000. This course is currently offered as part of the Degree Completion Program. Thus, much of the course content has been developed for distance education. It will be necessary to revamp the course to fit into the electronic delivery system. With the assistance of a consultant, the course development and entry into an electronic format will begin as soon as the grant has been approved and a consultant is available. The instructor is currently familiar with many of the URL's on the Internet that relate to aspects of forensic science, criminal investigation, criminalistics, law and other related topics.

The course will rely on electronic mail for correspondence with students and between students. It will contain sections for lecture notes, terms, course evaluation and grades, table of contents, instructions for off-campus students to enroll in the course, course syllabus, course outline, private e-mail between the instructor and the student, and open format for students to chat with other students, a place for students to introduce themselves (even providing a photo), and a hot-links section.

February, 1999 Notification of approval of proposal

April, 1999 Preliminary planning meeting

May, 1999 Instructional design plan for course

developed by faculty

June-December 1999 Course creation and testing of website

Week of January 10, 2000 Classes begin and orientation for students enrolled in EPL 225 Internet section

Week of March 10, 2000 Midterm evaluation of course design and delivery

Week of May 5, 2000 Finals week: Evaluation of class

  

APPENDIX

Faculty credentials:

Daniel L. Burgei is the Associate Dean of the Public Service Division with twenty years experience teaching at Vincennes University, holding the rank of full professor. Prior to accepting the position as Associate Dean, Mr. Burgei served as department chair of the Law Enforcement Program. Dean Burgei has a BA degree in Forensic Studies and the MPA from Indiana University.

Prior to entering the education field, Dean Burgei served as a police officer. During his tenure as an officer, he held the positions of patrolman, detective-sergeant, and chief of police.

Dean Burgei specializes in criminalistics, crime scene investigations, and police management. He provides laboratory service to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and local police agencies. Dean Burgei has offered several courses in Wildlife Criminalistics to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and has provided training at their recruit schools. He provides training to other law enforcement agencies upon request.

Dean Burgei has authored two laboratory manuals for beginning and advanced criminalistics. Additionally, he has developed several courses for the Distance Education program at Vincennes University and offers these courses on a regular basis.

Dean Burgei has completed additional forensic science course work in such areas as hair and fiber analysis, fingerprinting, use of lasers and alternate light sources, tire footprint identification, physical matches, and numerous other specialties. He is a member of the Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Phi Delta Kappa, and numerous other professional organizations.