After receiving the approval noted immediately above,
students will be required to critically evaluate one major challenge or issue
that is being currently faced within the agency or organization. Each student
is expected to discuss and work with agency staff to identify a single pressing
issue impacting the department, division, or office. The issue or challenge can
be organizational, managerial, or operational in nature. Each student must
identify a single challenge or issue, discuss the significance of the issue,
provide a resolution to the issue, and discuss the problems and prospects
associated with the resolution proposed. Student’s resolutions should entail a
detailed discussion of recommendations and how they will be implemented and
funded, including any legal limitations or authority, the financial
capabilities of the organization, as well as political reality and the possible
political ramifications of the recommended resolution. In short, the
recommended resolution must, in fact, be feasible. The Resolution Paper should,
using boldfaced sub-headers, clearly explain the single challenge or issue,
discuss the significance of the challenge to both the organization and its
stakeholders, and provide a feasible resolution to the challenge. Unachievable
or unrealistic “solutions” are not acceptable. When discussing your resolution,
address the problems and prospects associated with the resolution proposed,
including describing the implementation process and the problems and prospects
associated with implementing the new practice(s) or policy. In doing so,
students must clearly state the financial capabilities of the organization. The
proposed resolution must meet existing fiscal constraints or identify
alternate, additional, funding sources necessary for both finance and implementation.
Any legal limitations of authority that would prevent or delay the implementation
of the solution should be explained, and the political realities and possible political
ramifications, both positive and negative, should be discussed. Students are
required to draw heavily from the criminal justice literature, including at
least three academic, scholarly resources.
Formatting (from General Assignment Criteria section of
course syllabus)
Microsoft Word
Typed
Double-spaced with no additional spacing between
paragraphs or sections
1-inch margins
12-point font size, using either Times New Roman or Tahoma
Penalty for falling short of or exceeding the page length
specification
Clear indication of the student’s name, either cover page
or at the top of the first page of
an assignment (from Student Name on Assignments section of
course syllabus)
6-8 double-spaced pages; excluding title, executive
summary and reference page (from
Resolution Essay assignment section of course syllabus)
o Title Page on separate page
o Properly formatted Executive Summary on separate page
o Properly formatted Reference Page on separate page
Assignment Specifics (from Resolution Essay assignment
section of course syllabus)
The Resolution Essay is a problem-solving assignment and
critically evaluates one major organizational, managerial, or operational
challenge or issue that is being currently faced within the host site agency or
organization:
Submission and acceptance of Resolution Essay Topic
Approval Form
Boldfaced sub-headers (specifically: Introduction,
Literature Review, Proposed
Resolution and Its Implementation, Problems and Prospects of
Implementation,
Conclusion)
Discuss the significance of a single challenge or issue
Provide a detailed discussion of a realistic resolution to
the issue addressing both
problems and prospects associated with it
Explain how the recommendations will be implemented
including the process of
implementation
Identify legal limitations or authority to enact the
recommendation including those that
might prevent or delay implementation
Address the financial capabilities of the organization
including how the recommendation
will be funded, identifying alternate funding sources if
beyond current budgetary
constraints
Examine the political reality and possible ramifications,
both positive and negative, of the
recommended resolution
Minimum of three academic, scholarly resources
Specific personnel, interpersonal issues, budget
constraints and problems associated with
outdated equipment are not suitable subjects
