Northwest College approved for new four-year criminal justice degree

Posted 3/9/23

A program championed by local law enforcement leaders, pushed for by professors and staff, and desired by many students, is coming to Northwest College in the fall semester.

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Northwest College approved for new four-year criminal justice degree

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A program championed by local law enforcement leaders, pushed for by professors and staff, and desired by many students, is coming to Northwest College in the fall semester.

Northwest College will begin offering a new Bachelor of Applied Science in Criminal Justice Studies in the fall of 2023 after the degree plan was officially approved by the Higher Learning Commission. It becomes the second bachelor’s degree offered by NWC following the B.A.S. in Professional Studies which debuted in the fall of 2021.

The plan had received approval from the Wyoming Community College Commission in the fall, when board chair Mark Wurzel said the group sent to sell the program to the commission received just about every praise short of a standing ovation.

“We took great pains to show how this degree will be different than the one at the University of Wyoming,” he said soon after the WCCC approval. “That degree is more administrative, this is more practical.”

The new B.A.S. in Criminal Justice Studies option provides students who have completed an Associate of Arts or Associate of Applied Science degree a chance to continue their education to acquire upper-division skills and training. The degree is designed for students who are interested in pursuing a career in the field of criminal justice at the local, state or federal level, or for those already working in the field seeking advancement. It includes nine new, unduplicated classes NWC staff created for the program.

“The BAS in Criminal Justice Studies is a very exciting addition to the programmatic offerings at NWC,” said College President Lisa Watson in a press release. “Being able to serve today’s students with hybrid delivery options, opportunities to engage with excellent faculty and various agencies, not to mention state-of-the-art facilities, really makes this a program of distinction.”

The curriculum at Northwest College will combine traditional academic studies along with a more hands-on practical
application of content being learned, unlike many typical universities focused on pre-law. Among some topics NWC students will cover are communications and technology, interview and interrogation, organized crime and gangs, serial killers, and other contemporary criminal justice issues.

“Part of our unique program is both the formal education of our criminal justice faculty along with our combined 50 plus years of real-world police experience in both rural and metropolitan agencies around the country,” said program director and criminal justice assistant professor Dave Patterson. “Our students will leave with a balanced approach of academic content as well as the practical application of this knowledge to the field.”

NWC’s criminal justice facilities feature the VirTra 300-degree firearms simulator, which is the industry leader in firearms simulation on the proper use of force. The facilities also include a mock jail cell, mock forensic lab, and mock interview and interrogation room.

“One of the main things we have that separates us is the scenarios,” Patterson said.

Former Park County Sheriff Scott Steward, who helped to push for the program last fall, said the facilities were invaluable over the years to give his deputies and those of the city police departments ongoing training. He even had at least two or three deputies he hired who  had graduated from the associate program.

“I think for this area of the country, it’s state of the art,” Steward said.

At the fall WCCC meeting, Wurzel said Cody Police Chief Chuck Baker also spoke of the value of ongoing education the program could provide for officers.

Students who pursue the B.A.S. will take 42 or more junior and senior upper-level credit hours which comprise the program’s core and will need an additional 18 hours of coursework based on their specific interests within the field of criminal justice. Courses may be taken face-to-face, online, or in a hybrid format depending on a student’s individual needs in order to allow more flexible access.

“When we began designing this new program, we wanted to offer a degree that would provide our students with an experience they wouldn’t find at another school,” Patterson said. “There’s been a lot of fine-tuning over the last several months to get the program where we wanted it to be, and we’re very pleased with the way it’s come together.”

Requirements for applying and admission into the new BAS in Criminal Justice Studies program will be forthcoming once finalized in the upcoming weeks. Details will be posted on the college’s main website at nwc.edu/bas.

For more information about the program, contact Patterson at Dave.Patterson@nwc.edu or 307-754-6328.

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