Goals, Expectations, and Satisfaction of Criminal Justice Majors: Implications for Faculty, Students, and Programs*

Abstract

Students majoring in criminal justice present an “embarrassment of riches” for academic programs, so little attention has been given to these students and their perspectives on criminal justice programs. However, the assessment movement in higher education and the ACJS encourage self‐examination and program improvement. Further, student satisfaction has been recognized as an important element in the discussion of school and program quality and effectiveness. The present paper presents data from an outcome survey of graduating seniors from a Midwestern public university, with a focus on the reasons why students chose the major, career plans upon graduation, and program satisfaction. The paper explores possible predictors of these variables and discusses the implications of these results for criminal justice faculty, students, and programs. *This paper is a revision of one presented at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences annual meeting, March 9–13, 2004, Las Vegas, Nevada. The author wishes to thank the reviewers for their helpful comments.