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Arizona State Pursues Criminal Justice Online

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 06/03/10

Arizona State University will begin a fully online bachelor of science degree in criminology and criminal justice next fall. This new program is designed to prepare graduates for careers in law enforcement and law and will have a tuition rate of $325 per credit hour for both state residents and non-residents.

Courses will be offered in seven-week segments in the fall and spring semesters and in five-week segments in the summer session. Students will be considered full time if they take two classes per segment throughout the year. A school representative said that students would use a combination of technologies to obtain their education, including a discussion board, e-mail, a virtual classroom, and the telephone. He declined to name vendors involved with the project.

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported sustained growth over the next eight years for law enforcement jobs. Openings for police and detectives are expected to grow 10 percent, which the Bureau calls "average." The outlook for correctional officers is close to that, about 9 percent growth. However, jobs for security guards and gaming surveillance officers will grow faster than average at 14 percent per year.

"We've created a remarkable online program," said Scott Decker, director of the university's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. "It offers the same dynamic quality, extraordinary faculty, and program requirements as the classroom degree, with all the convenience that online students need for ongoing career and family responsibilities. Most important, we'll be creating incredible learning experiences that lead to new career opportunities for our students."

ASU Online, which is hosting the new degree, is one of five campuses in a university system that collectively has about 67,000 students.