Moves to 4-Year Status
John Jay's Academic Sights Set Higher

By REUVEN BLAU

John Jay College of Criminal Justice President Jeremy Travis believes his plan to make the school a senior four-year college, eliminating associate degrees while creating partnerships with the remaining two-year schools in the City University of New York system, will raise the school's standing along with its standards.

John Jay photo 'AN EXCITING DEVELOPMENT': Jeremy Travis says he was pleased that his desire to make John Jay College of Criminal Justice a four-year school was unanimously endorsed by the college's body of faculty, staff and students.

'Raises Our Profile'

"This is a very exciting development," Mr. Travis said during a recent phone interview. "It expands our reach. We will be able to touch many more students, and at the same time it raises the academic profile as a senior college."

As part of the plan, John Jay - which was founded in 1964 - will begin accepting students who have graduated with an associate's degree from other CUNY colleges. Currently, students can receive associate's degrees directly from John Jay.

"To accommodate those students who would otherwise come to John Jay, we will create a network of educational partnerships with the community colleges," Mr. Travis said during a speech before the Citizens Crime Commission on Dec. 1.

John Jay's associate degree program will be phased out and completely eliminated in 2010. That will affect more than half of the college's latest freshman class - and about one quarter of all the university's undergraduates - who are registered in the associate degree program.

Mr. Travis noted that a review of admission trends showed that the college was CUNY's fastest-growing school. The increased interest in criminal justice studies is due in part to television shows such as "CSI" and "Law and Order," he said. "But our greatest growth - about 10 percent a year - was among freshmen admitted as associate degree students."

Aiming At Same Target

The university, he continued, had to choose between finding ways to expand to serve students at both associate and baccalaureate levels, or to become a senior college. Last May, the College Council, which is comprised of faculty, staff and students, voted unanimously to eliminate the associate degree program.

"That's rare in an academic institution," Mr. Travis said, referring to the 38 to 0 vote, with five abstentions. "I attribute that to spending a lot of time talking about it. That's an energizing reality; there is such a strong support within the institution."

The new academic requirements are projected to lead to an expansion at John Jay and hopefully at other CUNY colleges as well, Mr. Travis said. "There are thousands of students who want to get a degree in criminal justice," he remarked. "We are looking to tap into that interest, and the John Jay expertise and brand will help attract students to those community college campuses."

Two Collaborations

John Jay, he continued, plans to add 100 professors to its current staff of 300. "This is laying the foundation for the new era at John Jay," he asserted. "What I think we can call an era of excellence."

Two months ago, the college selected the first four community colleges for the Educational Partnership Initiative, which will enable students to transfer to John Jay with an associate's degree.

John Jay plans to work with Queensborough Community College and Borough of Manhattan Community College to create a joint degree program in forensic science. In addition, John Jay will coordinate with LaGuardia Community College and Bronx Community College to develop a curriculum in criminal justice.

"We are very excited that John Jay has decided to partner with our college," said Eduardo J. Marti, the President of Queensborough Community College. "This opens up the pipeline for the people in Long Island and Queens to a very fine college in the criminal-justice area."

Aim For '09 Start

This spring, Mr. Travis said, John Jay will work to create similar partnerships with the remaining two CUNY community colleges - Kingsborough and Hostos. "We expect to secure approval of these new joint degree programs [this] year, advertise them to prospective students the following year, and admit our first classes under the Educational Partnership Initiative in Fall 2009," Mr. Travis remarked.

The overall initiative also allows John Jay to focus on its recruitment efforts, as the college must replace 3,000 students who may end up being diverted into community colleges.

For the first time since the fiscal crisis in the mid-1970s, John Jay will begin to offer a full range of liberal arts classes with a concentration in criminal science issues. The English major, for instance, will offer a concentration in law and literature, and the economics major will include instruction on the economics of crime, corporate and white-collar offenses, and forensic accounting.

"At the end of this transformation, John Jay will stand as one of the top tier colleges in the City University," Mr. Travis asserted.

The university has many well-known alumni, including: Richard J. Condon, a former Police Commissioner who is currently Special Commissioner of Investigation for the Department of Education; Martin F. Horn, the Correction and Probation Commissioner; Sal Cassano, Fire Department Chief of Department; and FDNY Chief Patrick McNally.