Overview
Criminology and Criminal Justice are two inter-related fields of inquiry that address crime and related concerns in the contemporary society. Criminology is an analytical and applied field of study that focuses on the understanding, control and prevention of crime and criminal behavior. It is an interdisciplinary field that draws from study areas such as sociology, anthropology, economics, psychology, psychiatry, history, political science and philosophy. It also draws from professions such as law, medicine and social work.
Criminal justice is concerned with the analysis of the structure, function, and linkages of the three agencies of the criminal justice system namely, the police, judiciary, and corrections. Criminal justice further encompasses the intersection of human rights, governance and administration of justice. Criminology and Criminal Justice are of particular relevance due to the high prevalence, new types and changing patterns of crime that require rigorous scientific study for effective control and prevention.
The proposed Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice (CCJ) will contribute to the development of professional skills and expertise in crime control and prevention in the society. This will help to address an power shortages of highly trained personnel with expertise in the administration of justice. These professionals will thus fill an important market need. In addition, the program fills the gap between the existing Diploma and Masters programs in Criminology and Social Order in the Department of Sociology and Social Work. In addition to equipping graduates for employment, the proposed curriculum provides a comprehensive basis for Masters Degree in criminology and criminal justice leading to increased work and career opportunities as well as to further research and teaching in the field.
From the internships, dissertations and integrated seminars that the students will be exposed to, it is envisaged that this programme will provide an exhaustive, competent and professional approach to the study of crime and criminal justice. Moreover, the specialization for this course starts at level 11, giving those students an opportunity for in depth and insightful rigorous analysis of the subject matter.
Exams Regulations
Except as hereunder specified, common university examination regulations shall apply.
24. There shall be University examinations at the end of each semester. All course units shall be examined and written examinations processed at the end of the semester in which they are taken.
25. A candidate shall NOT be permitted to sit an examination unless he/she has attended prescribed courses of study in accordance with University regulations and to the satisfaction of the departments or programmes concerned, as well as the Faculty.
26. Unless otherwise specified, end of semester examinations shall consist of a two-hour paper for each course unit taken in the semester.
27. Assessment of each candidate’s performance in the course unit taken shall be through Continuous Assessment Tests (CATs) and end of semester examinations based on percentage grades. CAT assessment(s) shall constitute 30% of the total marks in a given unit and shall consist of an average of at least 2 assignments while end of semester examinations shall constitute 70% of the unit examined. Every department shall set procedures for CAT(s) assessments.
28. Each course unit shall be graded out of an examination of 100 marks, and the pass mark shall be 40% for each unit. These marks shall be translated into letter grades as follows:-
70% - 100% = A
60% - 69% = B
50% - 59% = C
40% - 49% = D
Below 40% = E
29. i) An external examiner shall be invited at least once in each academic year to moderate all end of semester examinations. Between the visits of the external examiner, each department shall appoint with the approval of the Dean one or more qualified person(s) at the level of Senior Lecturer and above to internally moderate end of semester examinations in order to facilitate the convening of the Faculty Board of Examiners and the subsequent issuance of provisional results to candidates. The appointment of internal moderators shall be subject to approval by the University.
ii) Provisional examination results shall be made available to students upon request following the Faculty Board of Examiners meeting at which those results are approved. The requesting candidate shall be issued with a provisional Result Slip indicating letter grades for each course unit examined.
30. A candidate who fails any end-of-semester examination paper at the First attempt shall be allowed one more attempt to sit and pass that paper when it is next offered. A candidate who fails a paper may, in consultation with the department and with approval by the faculty, substitute that course unit as long as it is not a core unit with another of the same level from the same department. This regulation shall apply in Levels III & IV.
31. Subject to regulation 30 above,
i) A Level I student who has up to but NOT MORE THAN SIX failed grades shall not be allowed to proceed to Level II unless he/she has passed the failed units. However, if the failed units happen to be prerequisites for other advanced courses, the candidate must first pass them before he/she can be allowed to register in the advanced units that require the prerequisites. Similarly, a Level II student who has up to but NOT MORE THAN SIX failed grades shall not be allowed to proceed to the next level unless he/she has passed the failed units. When re sat, a failed unit shall carry a maximum of 40% of the total marks and coursework marks shall not be considered. When retaken, a unit shall carry a maximum of 100% of the total marks and course work shall be considered.
ii) No student with failed grade(s) shall be allowed to proceed to the next level unless he/she has successfully taken and passed the re sits/retakes.
iii) A candidate who has up to 3 failed units shall be required to re sit with an option of retaking the failed units (register, attend lectures, submit coursework and sit final examination again when next offered.)
iv) A candidate who has between 4 and 6 failed units shall retake them without option of re sits.
v) A candidate who has 7 or more failed units shall be discontinued.
vi) In all retakes or re sits, marks obtained in the more recent examination(s) shall prevail; and transcripts shall identify all course units with marks obtained after a re sit or retake.
Award of Degree
32. In order to qualify for the award of the BA. degree, a candidate must have registered for, attended lectures, sat the examinations and passed in 44 units taken throughout his/her period of study for the degree in accordance with Regulation 9.3.2
33. In exceptional cases, a candidate may with the prior approval of the department and Faculty register and pay to audit courses during his/her degree programme. The audited courses must be indicated as such during registration, and only one audited course shall be allowed per semester. Grades for successfully audited courses, taken from outside the prescribed ones, shall be included in the candidate’s result slips and shall be identified by means of the symbol (AS) in parenthesis, where (AS) means Audited Successfully.
34. The audited courses shall not be considered when calculating the cumulative average score for the award of the BA. degree, since they fall outside the prescribed units required for the degree.
35. A candidate who satisfies the examiners for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Arts shall be recommended for the award of the degree. He/she shall be placed in one of the following four classes according to his/her performance: -
a) First Class
b) Second Class Upper Division
c) Second Class Lower Division
d) Pass
36. Honours shall be awarded only to a candidate who gets a First Class or a Second Class Degree. No candidate shall be awarded an honours degree if he/she passed only after retaking 4 to 6 units in any given year. However a candidate who had to re-sit 1-3 units of the minimum 44 units required to graduate may be awarded an honours degree.
37. The final classification of the degree shall be based on all the required units taken during the degree programme. The total score on the required units shall be based on cumulative average score to arrive at the final degree classification as follows:-
70% - 100% - First Class Honours
60% - 69% - Upper Second Class Honours
50% - 59% - Lower Second Class Honours
40% - 49% - Pass
38. A candidate who specializes in one discipline only by taking Option Two degree pattern shall have his/her field of specialization indicated in his/her degree certificate; for example BA. (Economics), BA. (Sociology), BA. (Public Administration), etc.
Intermission of Studies
39. A student may intermit his/her studies at any time, for a valid cause and with documentary evidence conveyed in writing to the Academic Registrar through the Dean and may resume later after duly notifying the Dean and the Academic Registrar. During the entire period of intermission the student shall be required to keep his/her registration current by paying such intermission charges as the Faculty may from time to time determine. The period of intermission shall not exceed 2 consecutive academic years.
Admission Requirements
1. A candidate must satisfy the prescribed University of Nairobi requirements.
2. Subject to regulation 1 above, a candidate for admission to the Faculty of Arts (hereinafter referred to as “the Faculty”) must have any of the following as minimum qualifications:
i) KCSE. with a C+ or equivalent
ii) KCSE. with a C plain or equivalent Plus a Diploma (including IB Diploma) or equivalent from a recognized post- secondary institution.
iii) KCE./EACE Div. III/ Ordinary GCE or equivalent Plus a Diploma (including IB Diploma) or equivalent from a recognized post- secondary institution.
iv) KACE. or EAACE./Advanced GCE Certificate with one principal pass Plus a Diploma (including IB Diploma) or equivalent from a recognized post- secondary institution.
v) KACE. or EAACE. certificate with two principal passes or equivalent.
vi) International Baccalaureate Diploma
vii) A degree from a recognized University or equivalent.
3. The Faculty board shall obtain a list of recognized institutions from either the Kenya National Examinations Council or Commission for Higher Education.
4. A Diploma course shall be required to have covered at least 3 course units of 45 contact hours each over a minimum period of 2 semesters of 15 weeks or 270 contact hours
Fees and Funding
Payment of Fees
Subject to such minimum charges as the Faculty may prescribe for Module II and Module III degree programme, fees shall be payable according to the number of course units taken in a particular semester. The Faculty shall in consultation with the College and the University review levels of fee payment from time to time. A candidate shall be allowed to register for a minimum of 2 course units per semester, and attend classes for the course units, which he/she has paid the prescribed fees. If a candidate fails in any course unit during any end of semester examinations, he/she must pay appropriate fees for that course unit before he/she is allowed to retake or re sit the unit. For a re-sit, a candidate shall not be required to pay tuition fees but must pay all other required fees.