Justice & Community Advocacy - Associate Degree

Students gain skills that lead to success in college, employment, and life. Students should take this course in their first semester. (Pre-requisite: None.)

Analyze foundational skills in the counseling relationship. Analyze the stages of the helping processes and the roles professionals play in the processes. Analyze the importance of establishing therapeutic relationships. Apply basic counseling techniques. Apply interviewing and counseling skills through mock counseling sessions and personal experience reflections. Examine issues of boundaries and ethics. (Prerequisite: High school GPA greater/equal to 2.6; OR ACT Reading score greater/equal to 16 AND English greater/equal to 18; OR Next Gen Reading score greater/equal to 250 AND Writing score greater/equal to 260; OR "preparatory course(s)"; OR successful completion of English Comp 1 with a C or better. Contact academic advisor at 920-498-5444).

Development of the American judicial system, the federal and Wisconsin court structure, Wisconsin judicial rules and procedures from complaint to sentencing as they impact police or correctional officers.

Learners develop knowledge/skills in planning, organizing, writing, editing. Students will also analyze audience/purpose, use elements of research, format documents using standard guidelines, and develop critical reading skills. (Prerequisite: High school GPA greater/equal to 2.6; OR ACT Reading score greater/equal to 16 AND English greater/equal to 18; OR Next Gen Reading score greater/equal to 250 AND Writing score greater/equal to 260; OR "preparatory course(s)", contact academic advisor at 920-498-5444)

In this course, learners will discover the history and evolution of policing and explore thought-provoking issues that underscore the challenging and rewarding world of policing. Learners will examine the role of law enforcement in a democratic society, covering concepts such as law enforcement services; crime deterrence; discretion, and the expanded role of today’s police officers. This course will also explore evolving law enforcement strategies and attitudes that build effective law enforcement and community relationships including the use of problem-oriented policing. Learners will also consider how professional law enforcement officers work in conjunction with the courts, corrections and other agencies to administer criminal justice in Wisconsin.

the course examines the extensive hiring processes used by public safety agencies and sets the foundation for academic and occupational success.

This course provides the opportunity for the learner to develop the knowledge skills process and understanding every successful public safety telecommunicator needs to meet the demands of this critical profession.

Learners will internalize and apply the foundations of human interaction including universal truths; development of voluntary compliance, cooperation, and collaboration; owning their own weaknesses; and, knowing when to act. Students will apply professional communication skills, including arbitration, mediation, and ethical intervention in a simulated criminal justice setting.

Private investigators are used by law firms, corporations, insurance companies and other public and private entities. This course covers the basics of locating individuals using open sources of information, ethical considerations for investigators, constitutional law application and current investigative practices as preparation for success as a private investigator, corporate and private security or insurance claim investigator. Includes lessons on developing a business and marketing plan and preparing for the Wisconsin Private Detective license exam.

Explore the bio-psych social dynamics of substance use. Examine treatment approaches, models, and screening criteria. Examine substances of abuse, history of SUDs, and their impact on the individual and society.

This course will advance your communication skills by understanding what the words spoken, written communication and non-verbal communication means. This class will explore how to determine if the message is congruent or what the signs of deception are within the message.

Students will learn about the different levels of awareness and how they affect the ability to react to situations. Situational awareness improves a person's ability to maintain the position of advantage in the event of an attack or sudden assault. Students will practice basic self-protection techniques and review requirements to obtain a concealed weapon license in the State of Wisconsin.

Topics include solving linear equations; graphing; percent; proportions; measurement systems; computational geometry; and right triangle trigonometry. Emphasis will be on the application of skills to technical problems. (Prerequisite: Next Gen Arithmetic score greater/equal to 250 AND Rdg score greater/equal to 250; OR ACT Math score greater/equal to 15 AND ACT Rdg score greater/equal to 16; OR preparatory courses-contact an academic advisor 920-498-5444)

All college students, regardless of their college major, need to be able to make reasonable decisions about fiscal, environmental, and health issues that require quantitative reasoning skills. An activity based approach is used to explore numerical relationships, graphs, proportional relationships, algebraic reasoning, and problem solving using linear, exponential and other mathematical models. Students will develop conceptual and procedural tools that support the use of key mathematical concepts in a variety of contexts. This course may be used as the first of a two part sequence that ends with Quantitative Reasoning as the capstone general education math requirement. (Prerequisite: Next Gen Arith score greater/equal to 250 AND Rdg score greater/equal to 250; OR ACT Math score greater/equal to 15 AND ACT Reading score greater/equal to 16; OR prep courses-contact an academic advisor 920-498-5444).

The course addresses the foundations of abnormal psychology and psychological disorders, including their characteristics, possible causes, assessments, diagnostic processes, and treatments. The course includes examination of major historical and theoretical perspectives, research, sociocultural considerations, and elements of psychological wellness. (Prerequisite: Next Gen Rdg score greater/equal to 250 AND Writing score greater/equal to 237; OR ACT Rdg score greater/equal to 16 AND English greater/equal to 15; OR 10-831-107, College Reading and Writing with a "B" or better).

This course will focus on a practical perspective of corrections both institutional and community. Topics that will be examined and critiqued include institutional security, restorative justice, community-based supervision, role of the probation & parole officer and successful offender rehabilitation.

Methods of criminal justice reporting, principles of effective report writing, organizing reports, writing operational reports based on case studies.

In this course, learners will discover the history and philosophy of criminal law; utilize basic terminology and elements of criminal law while analyzing facts and circumstances to determine which crimes or forfeitures may have been committed and any defenses that might be available. They will assess crimes against persons, public safety, habitation, property, public order and morals, as well as crimes involving drugs or alcohol. They will consider the rights of victims and defendants while applying various forms of punishment and sentencing options to crime scenarios. This course will also provide the learner with the special knowledge and understanding of the history of juvenile justice and juvenile rights, child abuse, neglect and other crimes against children. They will determine the system’s proper jurisdiction over juveniles in ordinance and traffic offenses, delinquency, and waiver to adult court. They will investigate taking a youth into custody, the role of intake, and the juvenile court process from custody through adjudication. They will also evaluate the dispositional options and placements available including juvenile corrections.

This course focuses on developing effective listening techniques and verbal and nonverbal communication skills through oral presentation, group activity, and other projects. The study of self, conflict, and cultural contexts will be explored, as well as their impact on communication. (Prerequisite: Next Gen Rdg score greater/equal to 250 AND Writing score greater/equal to 237; OR ACT Rdg score greater/equal to 16 AND English score greater/equal to 16; OR preparatory course-contact an academic advisor at 920-498-5444)

This course will examine the unique challenges that the learner may encounter in their career when in contact with persons in crisis or persons with mental illness. The ability to recognize and de-escalate dangerous behavior will make you more successful at your job. The student will learn to identify signs of crisis and mental illness as well as conflict resolution techniques to calm an otherwise volatile situation. (Prerequisite: 10-504-168 CJ-Professional Communication)

This course introduces the study of diversity from a local to a global perspective using a holistic, interdisciplinary approach that encourages exploration and prepares students to work in a diverse environment. The course introduces basic diversity concepts, examines the impact of bias and power differentials among groups, explores the use of culturally responsive communication strategies, and compares forces that shape diversity in an international context. (Prerequisite: Next Gen Rdg score greater/equal to 250 AND Writing score greater/equal to 237; OR ACT Rdg score greater/equal to 16 AND English greater/equal to 15; OR 10-831-107, College Reading and Writing with a B or better.)

Examine the concept of advocacy as it relates to the human services field. Identify various populations that students will work with within the human services field. Develop and practice strategies for communication and advocating for people. Explore belief systems, social pressure, moral problems and decision making as it relates to various child and adult populations. Apply reflective practitioner techniques.

The course will provide the student with the skills necessary to conduct general investigations related to both criminal and civil liability. Best practices and strategies will be presented. The student will learn of the benefits of open source information; the application of criminal and civil law in proving elements of a crime or determining fault, the legal parameters to conducting investigations, and the required standards to submitting investigative results in court. An examination will be made of the various career paths available in this field. This includes corporate security, insurance and worker compensation, private investigations and public safety.

Provides the opportunity for the learner to prepare for the public safety hiring process with an emphasis on oral board interviews. (Prerequisite: 10-504-128, PS - Employment Strategies OR 10-504-191, LEAD Employment Strategies)