CRIM11001 - Foundations of Criminology and Criminal Justice

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit introduces you to the basic elements of criminology and criminal justice. The nature and trends associated with crime are examined, together with how it relates to dimensions such as social class, age, gender and ethnicity. You will examine crime in the context of contemporary criminology theory. This unit also introduces you to the institutional response to Criminal Justice in Australia, how society responds to offensive behaviour and the roles of key agencies and individuals within the justice system.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 1
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the unit.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2023

Term 1 - 2023 Profile
Online

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Online Quiz(zes) 15%
2. Written Assessment 35%
3. Written Assessment 50%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2022 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 69.44% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 21.69% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Student evaluation
Feedback
Students reported enjoyed the interactive workshops in the flipped classroom mode of teaching, commenting particularly on the format enabling discussion and peer relationships.
Recommendation
Maintain the flipped classroom model and interactive workshops for 2022.
Action Taken
Flipped classroom model continued for 2022.
Source: Student evaluation
Feedback
Students reported that the combinations of video mini lectures, written and video resources helped maintain their engagement and consolidated their understandings of topics.
Recommendation
Maintain the structure and combination of resources for 2022, with a focus on refining the resources.
Action Taken
This structure was maitained for 2022.
Source: Student evaluation
Feedback
The variety of assessment was reported to be positive by students, as it enabled progression from writing for a lay audience to an academic audience.
Recommendation
Although the assessment will be updated, the assessments types will be maintained in order to encourage writing development.
Action Taken
Minor assessment updates for 2022.
Source: Student evaluation
Feedback
Students reported that it was difficult to understand how the media article assessment was necessary for a criminology unit.
Recommendation
This assessment is designed to promote communication with a lay audience and is also a gentle introduction to academic assessment. The aim of this assessment will be highlighted and clarified for 2022.
Action Taken
Assessment aims were highlighted to students at outset of unit and in additional video explanantions.
Source: Student evaluation
Feedback
Each tutor had a different style of teaching, which sometimes inhibited learning.
Recommendation
The teaching staff will provide an overview of their teaching style so students feel more prepared and know what to expect from each tutor.
Action Taken
One Unit Coordinator was used in 2022, however mini lectures from other lectures were included and explained to students as an introduction of each lecturers style.
Source: Assessment, class discussion
Feedback
Students require more support for academic and information literacies.
Recommendation
Embed more activities that develop core literacies and set expectations for skills required in online learning
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Workshop participation
Feedback
Low levels of student engagement
Recommendation
Set standards that emphasise the importance of participation and the connections between engagement and assessment.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: CQU First Nations community of practice
Feedback
Consider embedding of First Nations learning activity
Recommendation
The criminology area is looking at ways of connecting First Nations content across the curriculum, establishing foundations in this unit.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Describe how crime is classified, measured and analysed
  2. Analyse basic criminology theories and how they relate to criminal activity
  3. Explain the roles of individuals and key agencies within the justice system
  4. Examine the societal and institutional responses to criminal justice in Australia.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Online Quiz(zes) • • •
2 - Written Assessment •
3 - Written Assessment • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Communication • • • •
2 - Problem Solving • • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • •
4 - Information Literacy • • • •
8 - Ethical practice •
9 - Social Innovation •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2 - Written Assessment • • •
3 - Written Assessment • • •
1 - Online Quiz(zes) • •