Course Project: Managing the Prison Environment
Objectives
The Course Project is designed to provide you with an opportunity to
research a topic of interest related to some aspect of correctional
administration. This project is an effort to allow you to fully explore issues
related to either correctional officials or prison inmates.
This project incorporates all TCOs.
Guidelines
The course project is worth 320 total points and will be graded on APA
formatting; quality of research topic; quality of paper information; proper use
of text citations; proper grammar, punctuation, usage, and sentence structure;
and the deliverable components for Weeks 1, 2, 5, and 6.
There are four components to the Course Project.
- title
page, topic discussion, and a list of three references - annotated
outline - annotated
bibliography - Final
Paper
Requirements
- APA
guidelines must be followed for all course component deliverables. - At least
six authoritative, outside references are required for the annotated
bibliography and the Final Paper. - All
DeVry University policies are in effect, including the plagiarism policy. - The
Final Paper isdue
in Week 6of this course. - The
Final Paper must be 8 to 10 pages of text in length, Times New Roman
12-point font, double-spaced, include a cover page, introduction or
abstract, body of the report, summary or conclusion, and a works cited
page. - Any
questions about this paper may be discussed in the weekly Q & A
Discussion topic or instructor e-mail.
Course Project Deliverables
Week 1–Title page, description of Final Paper topic, and
references to three outside sources. This deliverable should include a properly
formatted title and reference page and one page of text describing the topic
selected, your reasons for selecting this topic, and what you expect to learn
from having explored this topic area.
Week 2–Annotated outline for the Final Paper. Submit a
polished outline for your Final Paper. Include in your outline a brief summary,
two to three sentences, of key points for each topic area.
Week 5–Annotated bibliography for the Final Paper. Your
bibliography should include references to at least six outside sources. Also
required is a brief, one-paragraph summary of the publication and your
reasoning as to why this source is important to the topic you are
investigating.
Week 6–Final Paper. Submit an 8 to 10 page paper that
includes a separate title and reference page. This paper should be well
organized and follow the outline submitted for Week 2 unless otherwise approved
by your instructor. It should also include the list of references, but not the
annotations, submitted during Week 5. The Final Paper should adhere to all APA
guidelines.
Grading Rubrics
Category | Points | % | Description |
Week 1–title page, topic description, and three | 40 | 12.5 | This should include a properly formatted title page, a |
Week 2–annotated outline | 80 | 25 | This requires a properly formatted outline, a |
Week 5–annotated bibliography | 80 | 25 | A properly formatted bibliography, a one-page summary of |
Week 6–Final Paper | 120 | 37.5 | You will need to include a title and/or reference page, an |
Total | 320 | 100 | A quality paper will meet |
Breakdown of Different Components
- Week 1–title page, topic description, and
three references - properly
formatted title page–10 points - one-page
topic description–20 points - reference
to three outside sources–10 points - Total: 40 Points
- Week 2–annotated outline
- a
properly formatted outline–20 points - a
comprehensive outline that addresses key points–40 points - a
brief summary of key points for all main topics addressed in the
outline–20 points - Total: 80 Points
- Week 5–annotated bibliography
- a
properly formatted bibliography–20 points - a
one-page summary of the publication–40 points - substantive
reasons for selecting the publication–20 points - Total: 80 Points
- Week 6–Final Paper
- title
and/or reference page–10 points - introduction
or abstract–10 points - text
or body of the paper–60 points - APA
guidelines–40 points - Total: 120 Points
Best Practices
Milestones
- Identify
Course Project topic. - Locate
three sources of interest. - Develop
a complete outline to include topics and subtopics. - Complete
your literature search. - Develop
a complete draft of your paper by Week 4. - Submit
your Final Paper on or before the due date.
The following are best practices in preparing this paper.
- Cover Page:Include whom
you prepared the paper for, who prepared it, and the date. - Table of Contents:List the
main ideas and sections of the paper and the pages where they are located.
Illustrations should be included separately. - Introduction:Use a header
on your paper. This will indicate that you are introducing the paper.The purpose of an introduction or opening is to
- introduce
the subject and explain why the subject is important; - preview
the main ideas and the order in which they will be covered; and - establish
the tone of the document.
Include in the introduction a reason for the
audience to read the paper. Also, include an overview of what you will cover
and the importance of the material. (This should include or introduce the
questions you are asked to answer in each assignment.)
- Body of the Report:Use a
header with the name of the project. An example is, “The Development
of Hotel X: A World Class Resort.” Proceed to break out the main
ideas: State the main ideas, state the major points of each idea, and
provide evidence. Show some type of division, such as separate, labeled
sections; separate groups of paragraphs; or headers. Include the
information you found during your research and investigation. - Summary and Conclusion:Summarizing
is similar to paraphrasing but presents the gist of the material in fewer
words than the original. An effective summary identifies the main ideas
and the major support points from the body of the report; minor details
are left out. Summarize the benefits of the ideas and how they affect the
subject. - Work Cited:Use the
citation format specified in the Syllabus.
Additional hints on preparing the best possible project follow.
- Apply a
three-step process to writing: plan, write, and complete. - Prepare
an outline of the research paper before going forward. - Complete
a first draft and then go back to edit, evaluate, and make any changes
required. - Use
visual communication to further clarify and support the written part of
the report. Examples include graphs, diagrams, photographs, flowcharts,
maps, drawings, animation, video clips, pictograms, tables, and Gantt
charts. - Begin
the topic selection process and your literature search on Day 1. - Contact
your instructor if you have any questions as to the appropriateness of
your topic. - Follow
APA guidelines closely. - If you
are not familiar with APA guidelines, several publications are available
for purchase and information is also available online, as well as in the
Syllabus. - Turn in
your written assignments before the deadline.
Week 3
You Decide
You will be completing a You Decide
assignment this week. Consult the You Decide tab under Week 3 for assignment
instructions. You will submit your work to the Week 3 You Decide Dropbox.
Scenario
Scenario Summary
The state legislature recently
approved a prison expansion bill that calls for increased staffing for all
levels of prison facilities within the state. The greatest allocation of
funding is to go toward hiring additional correctional officers for the maximum-security
prison where you are employed as a senior administrator. The promotional
process is nearly completed, and you have been handed assessments on the final
three candidates for the position. This was a difficult process, as there were
many eligible candidates who applied. Nonetheless, the committee responsible
for the preliminary interviews has narrowed the field and has now submitted its
recommendations.
Your Assignment
This promotional opportunity is
in response to a state funding decision to increase staffing by 15% at your
prison, a decision that mandates the hiring of 50 new correctional officers
within the next budget fiscal year. As an upper level administrator responsible
for the final decision on this promotional opportunity, you are tasked with the
responsibility of selecting one of three final candidates for the position of
first line supervisor. Under other circumstances, the decision to promote a
senior correctional officer to a position of first line supervisor would
require less consideration, because the new supervisor would be working with
veteran officers. However, under these circumstances, the newly appointed
supervisor will be as much a mentor as a supervisor to the newly hired
correctional officers, many of whom will have little or no experience working
with inmates in a maximum-security facility. What characteristics will you look
for in the candidate of your choice? And because the warden will review your
final decision, make sure to explain why each of the other two candidates was
not selected.
KEY PLAYERS
Supervision and
Empowerment
Scenario
Scenario
description
Role
What
is Your Role in this scenario?
Players
Learn
more about the Key Players in this scenario.
Deliverable
What
would you to resolve this scenario?
Scenario
The state
legislature recently approved a prison expansion bill that calls for increased
staffing for all levels of prison facilities within the state. The greatest
allocation of funding is to focus on hiring additional correctional officers
for the maximum-security prison where you are employed as a senior
administrator. The promotional process is nearly completed and you have been
handed assessments on the final three candidates for the position. This was a
difficult process as there were many eligible candidates who applied.
Nonetheless, the committee responsible for the preliminary interviews has narrow
the field and has now submitted their recommendations.
00:00
Role
As an
upper level administrator responsible for the final decision on a promotional
opportunity that is in response to a state funding decision to increase
staffing by 15% at your prison, a decision that mandates the hiring of 50 new
correctional officers within the next budget fiscal year, you are tasked with
the responsibility of selecting one of three final candidates for the position
of first line supervisor. Under other circumstances, the decision to promote a
senior correctional officer to a position of first line supervisor would
require less consideration as the new supervisor would be working with veteran
officers, however, under these circumstances the newly appointed supervisor
will be as much a mentor as a supervisor to the newly hired correctional
officers; many of whom will have little or no experience working with inmates
in a maximum security facility. What characteristics will you look for in the
candidate of your choice? And since the warden will review your final decision,
make sure to explain why each of the other two candidates was not selected.
00:00
Players
Wyatt Smith
Applicant 1
Barbara Menendez
Applicant 2
Joe Tyson
Applicant 3
Deliverable
This
paper should range from 2 to 3 pages of text plus a title and reference page if
references are cited in the text of the paper. Please complete this assignment
and submit your paper to the Dropbox.
00:00
YOU DECIDE
Activity or Assignment
Assignment |
This paper should range from two to three pages of text, plus a |
Category | Points | Description |
Understanding | 40 | The student |
Analysis | 40 | The student |
Execution | 20 | The student |
Total | 100 | A quality paper will meet or |