New Baccalaureate Forensic Science Technology Degree Introduced

Alfred
State College has been granted authority by the State University of New York
and the NYS Education Department to offer a new bachelor of science degree in
forensic science technology, which will begin accepting students for the fall
2008 semester. 

The
college's long-sought BS in forensic science technology is designed to allow
students to enter the world of criminal investigation through scientific
evidence.  The objective of the program
is to provide students with a practical, unique, and technically pertinent set
of skills and knowledge which allow them to be effective and desired workers in
both field and laboratory settings, connected, but not exclusive, to a variety
of forensic investigations. The proposed training is expected to provide
competent workers in the area of technical forensics, and it is expected that
graduates will be highly attractive to any employer involved in chemical,
medical, environmental, and/or biological laboratory efforts. The program is uniquely focused on hands-on,
experiential, and methods-rich training in the "nuts and bolts" of forensics
investigation -- a characteristic that has long been the trademark and strength
of technical training at Alfred State College.

The
program provides a strong foundation in the critical basic sciences underlying
forensic applications: general biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry,
and college physics, as well as a full year of mathematics, and a semester each
of genetics and microbiology.

Alfred State's
biological sciences (AAS) curriculum relates most directly to the forensic
science technology (BS) degree program and will provide two-year biological
sciences students with an option of continuation at Alfred State
for completion of the specialized four-year degree. With careful selection of
technical electives, all courses taken in the biological sciences degree
program will apply toward the baccalaureate degree.  New students may enter the forensic science technology program,
or may complete the biological sciences AAS degree prior to completing the
baccalaureate degree in this new program. 
The liberal arts and sciences - math & science (AA) degree is also
related to the baccalaureate program. 
Students who select the requisite, lower-division, mathematics and
sciences courses will have an option of completion of the forensic science
technology (BS) degree within two years of earning the associate's degree. 

The
proposed four-year forensics science technology program will rotate students
through several intensive and connected suites of applications designed to
provide critical technical training in forensic technology:

1. chemical methods
   including modern chemical instrumentation, classical (wet chemical) analysis,
   and  biochemical methods of chemical
   analysis;
2. modern methods of
   genetic analysis;
3. methods of
   physical evidence collection and analysis specific to hair, fiber, glass,
   firearms, and soil coupled with pertinent principles of  crime scene investigation;
4. methods of
   chemical evidence analysis specific to controlled substance identification; and
5. methods of
   collection and analysis associated with biological samples, e.g., semen, blood,
   urine, teeth, bones

Additionally,
students will be trained in methods of effective technical writing and speaking
since many forensic workers serve in the role of expert witness. A successful graduate
of this program will be able to design and carry out laboratory and field
analyses associated with collection, separation, and identification of a wide
range of  physical samples concomitant to
a crime scene; analysis and identification of 
trace amounts of chemicals commonly encountered in forensic investigations;
analysis of genetic materials taken from criminal investigations, e.g. DNA and
proteins; and analysis and identification of human and animal samples, e.g.
blood, urine, semen, bones, and teeth.

In
addition to the above technical skills, a successful student in this program
will be able to work effectively and proactively as part of larger
investigative team; lucidly and clearly explain both in oral and written form,
the methods, results and reasoning behind technical conclusions garnered from
the various analyses described above; and synthesize the results of disparate analytical investigations
of materials taken from a crime scene into a coherent whole.

Internship
sites will be established in forensic laboratories location in western New York (NYS Police
Western Regional Crime Laboratory - Olean;
Monroe County Forensic Laboratory; Niagara County Forensic Laboratory; and Erie
County Forensic Laboratory).

The
forensic science technology degree program prepares graduates for
post-baccalaureate or graduate work as well as employment immediately after
graduation.  Those choosing
post-baccalaureate training will be recommended to the Northeast Regional
Forensic Institute in Albany.  Some graduates may pursue an MS degree
immediately in order to pursue a forensic specialty and future careers in
research or careers in comprehensive forensic science laboratories.

Forensic
science technicians work primarily for state and local governments.  Careers outside of forensic science
laboratories are limited but include such fields as: forensic anthropology,
engineering, pathology, psychology, and toxicology. 

To
be considered for admission, applicants must have graduated from an approved
high school or possess a high school equivalency diploma.  Admission to the forensic science technology
degree program requires successful completion of high school math A and math B;
chemistry; and physics.  Standardized
test scores (ACT or SAT) results are required.

Although
the program is designed to grant the baccalaureate degree, it provides a
programmatic ladder for students who have begun studies in an associate degree
program in biological sciences and other science-oriented, associate degree
programs.   

Jamestown Community College has entered into an articulation agreement for AS
graduates of its liberal arts & sciences: math & science program to be
guaranteed admission into Alfred
State's forensic science
technology program.  Students who
complete at least 54 credits from the list of courses included in the agreement
will be able to earn the bachelor's degree within four semesters of full-time
equivalent study at Alfred State College. 

Forensic science (often
shortened to forensics) is the application of a broad spectrum of sciences
to answer questions of interest to the legal system.
This may be in relation to a crime or to a civil action. "Forensic" comes from
the Latin word "forensis" meaning
forum. During the time of the Romans, a criminal charge meant presenting
the case before a group of public individuals. Both the person accused of the
crime and the accuser would give speeches based on their side of the story. The
individual with the best argumentation and delivery would determine the outcome
of the case. Basically, the person with the best forensic skills would win.

Criminalistics is the application of various sciences to answer
questions relating to examination and comparison of biological
evidence, trace evidence, impression evidence (such as fingerprints,
footwear impressions, and tire tracks), controlled substances, ballistics
(firearm examination), and other evidence in criminal investigations.
Typically, evidence is processed in a crime lab.
Forensic odontology is the study of the
uniqueness of the teeth. Forensic pathology is a field in which the
principles of medicine
and pathology
are applied to determine a cause of death or injury in the context of a legal
inquiry.  Forensic
toxicology is the study of the effect of drugs and poisons on/in
the human body.

Popular television series focusing on crime detection,
including Bones, Law &
Order, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,
NCIS, Criminal
Minds, Silent
Witness, and Waking the Dead, depict glamorized
versions of the activities of 21st century forensic scientists. These related
TV shows have changed individuals' expectations of forensic science, an
influence termed the "CSI effect."