Teacher's Smarts Applied to Midland Lutheran College's New Online Criminal Justice Program
This fall, Midland Lutheran College will be launching an online bachelor's degree completion program in criminal justice.


/Education News Articles/ - Fremont, NE, July 02, 2008 - This fall, Midland Lutheran College will be launching an online bachelor's degree completion program in criminal justice. Dr. William Staley, head of the Criminal Justice Program at Midland Lutheran College, brings a unique level of experience to the program from a variety of career positions, including that of juvenile court judge. With this experience comes insight -- insight that will come in handy for this fall's online course launch.

"When I was a juvenile court judge," Staley said, "I realized early on that I would never ever be any better than the system supporting me. If I had a youngster in my court that needed intense services like psychiatric care, and if I didn't have that available, I couldn't be a good juvenile court judge."

As Staley explains, "Performing any service in the criminal justice system with integrity includes not only developing the system which tells you what people need, but also seeking to make available the resources to respond to that need."

Individuals seeking careers in criminal justice have a vast field from which to choose their specialty concentration. For example, the field of uniform law officers alone can be broken down into state patrol, city police and private security, the latter of which, according to Staley, is the fastest growing form of law enforcement.

On a federal level, the Department of Homeland Security is constantly recruiting individuals for the agencies under its umbrella: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE); customs; U.S. Marshal's office; Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE); Transportation Security Administration, which handles all airport security or other security interests; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"You can consider law enforcement any time there are laws to be enforced by companies," Staley said. For example, banking, insurance and credit card industries all require people to enforce laws. With the needs of these industries comes increased demand for loss prevention specialists in regards to banking and computer fraud. "A growing area is identity theft for credit card companies or any retail or wholesale establishment," Staley said and used Nebraska Furniture Mart as an example. "People come in with a phony credit card, buy furniture and the company has an interest in getting their furniture back."

Insurance fraud is another large area of law enforcement, according to Staley. "The variety of fraud is as great as the types of insurance," he remarked.

The criminal justice field also includes the agencies that work to treat those who break the laws. Staley offered, "There are countless agencies associated with criminal justice: treatment centers, rehabilitation centers, experiential treatment centers, in both the public and private sector."

In recent months, Midland has begun plans to launch several degree programs, including criminal justice, this coming fall. The online Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice (degree completion) Program is designed for nontraditional students who desire preparation for work in the field of criminal justice and related areas. A graduate of the online program will be able to demonstrate thorough knowledge and understanding of criminal behavior in American society, the American criminal justice system and available alternatives for addressing social problems.

Staley explains that what makes Midland's criminal justice program so special is its commitment to personal relationships with students. These relationships pay off. Students who graduate from the program take jobs in the area, and Staley recruits them to return to Midland as professionals to teach.

Midland graduate Brenda Riley is an officer of juvenile services and heads Regent VI, which provides family and juvenile services for the state of Nebraska. Staley calls on her to teach classes and conduct workshops at Midland. Staley also continually pulls in area experts, such as the Dodge County Attorney or former county judge Dan Beckwith to either teach or provide resources.

In addition to having experts on hand and Staley's own experience as juvenile court judge, defense attorney and prosecutor, Midland criminal justice students are equipped with a liberal arts education. The online program in criminal justice focuses on the importance of applying a liberal arts education with a holistic approach and emphasis on problem-solving and communication skills.

"The best preparation," Staley said, "for any job in criminal justice, short of requiring a law degree, is a liberal arts education. The liberal arts -- in their purest sense -- teach problem-solving and communication skills, which are important in any human endeavor but particularly important when you're working with people, especially people in crisis and/or need."

Midland initiated the development of an online education program in Spring 2008 through a partnership with The Learning House, Inc. Learning House is a comprehensive online education solutions provider based out of Louisville, Ky. Together, the two parties have worked hard to develop a fully-interactive online campus -- a project that is awaiting its launch this fall.

All in all, Midland believes the new online program in criminal justice will provide ample training for interested parties and open up several new doors in the criminal justice field for successful graduates. Midland is always welcoming new students; learn more about the online criminal justice program today.

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Miranda Mattingly
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