Ferris’ criminal justice program has evolved over the years, and it continues to evolve to keep up with the industry.
Nancy Hogan has been a criminal justice professor for 27 years at Ferris. She teaches mainly correction classes, but she also teaches a few generalist criminal justice classes.
Hogan explained that in the past, there was no generalist track. The program was losing students because both the law enforcement and correction track had a minimum GPA. The generalist option has no minimum GPA, so it helped address that.
justice program, pose in front of a wall of old badges. Photo by: Shaunti’ara Reynolds | Freelance Photographer
Michael Bomay has been teaching at Ferris for 15 years, but this is his first year full-time at Ferris.
Bomay noted that a lot of his students have shown an interest or have pursued the generalist track.
“There’s a lot of students that have interest in the criminal justice system, but are uncertain where they want to end up,” Bomay said. “Rather than pursuing the law enforcement track, they have pursued the generalist track, where they can go into law school after they get their bachelor’s degree or perhaps work in corrections, probation, parole, even corporate security.”
Another change Hogan has seen while being at Ferris is the ability to establish articulation agreements with community colleges around Michigan.
“Initially, we were only in Big Rapids,” Hogan said. “But we established articulation agreements with community colleges around Michigan, allowing students to transfer and take Ferris classes locally.”
Both Hogan and Bomay agree that the facilities for the criminal justice program are outdated, especially the academy. Currently, the academy is in the lounge/connector between Puterbaugh and Henderson Halls.
“I would like to see improvements in our academy. I think the academy is in a position where it doesn’t get a lot of foot traffic, to where it doesn’t get a lot of storefronts, from students here,” Bomay said. “So promoting the criminal justice program and promoting the criminal justice academy, I think it’d just be better served if we had that facility in a position or that facility where students can see it and experience.”
Hogan notes that the facilities are outdated, but the information and knowledge are current.
“The facilities are outdated. However, we’ve recently updated the first- and second-year curriculum and are planning updates for junior and senior years, focusing on areas like cybercrime and digital data analysis,” Hogan said. “While our facilities might lack, the knowledge students receive is current.”
Hogan also hopes there will be plans to get an update on the facilities.
Both Hogan and Bomay noted that there has been a negative image of law enforcement in the past few years. This is for several reasons: racism, excessive use of force, improper use of force and all around just a disconnect between the community and police.
“There’s many different things that have factored in nationwide that I think a lot of people have gravitated towards to identify their relationships with law enforcement,” Bomay said. “Regardless if that’s going on in their community or not.”
Bomay noted that there are many good men and women in law enforcement. Although he understands why people may struggle to see law enforcement in a positive light, the Big Rapids community tends to treat law enforcement well.
“I’ve been serving the Big Rapids community for over 20 years. People go out of their way to hold the door for you, to shake your hand and to talk to you,” Bomay said. “So there are communities like Big Rapids that have a tremendous law enforcement culture with the community.”
One notable thing about Ferris’s criminal justice program is that they have virtual reality training, which Hogan described as “ahead of the curve.” For example, it can help educate students about the proper use of force.
If you are in the criminal justice program and experiencing burnout or uncertainty, Hogan has some advice for you.
“I encourage students to remember that it’s temporary. If you’ve always wanted to pursue a career in criminal justice, try it. Many students fall in love with it, while others explore related fields like probation and parole,” Hogan said. “It’s okay to feel overwhelmed—it’s a societal issue—but hang in there and make decisions once you’re out of school.”