The National Victim Assistance Academy is a university-based foundation level course of study in victim assistance and victimology that was developed through a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime to a coordinated team of co-sponsors: VALOR, the Victims' Assistance Legal Organization, Inc.; California State University-Fresno; the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center at the Medical University of South Carolina; the Center for the Study of Crime Victims' Rights, Remedies and Resources, University of New Haven; Washburn University; and American University's Washington College of Law. This unique collaboration among a nonprofit organization and academic institutions has produced a solid foundation for state-of-the-art education and training.
FIVE ACADEMY SITES
The 2000 Academy is being conducted simultaneously on the campuses of American University in Washington, D.C., California State University-Fresno, Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina, Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, and Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. The five Academy classes will be joined utilizing state-of-the-art distance learning technology for approximately 8 of the 40 hours. A team of expert faculty in residence and visiting faculty at each site will teach course sections. The interactive skills-building course includes lectures, interactive and experiential exercises, working groups, computer laboratories, faculty mentoring groups, and self examinations.
COURSE OVERVIEW
The 40-hour academic-based, rigorous course curriculum emphasizes foundations in victimology and victims' rights and services, as well as new developments in the field of victim assistance. A comprehensive text covering 37 different subject areas has been developed to serve as the course curriculum. Academy students are expected to attend the entire program and to participate in laboratory and working group sessions.
ACADEMIC CREDIT
Academic credit at both the graduate and undergraduate levels is offered by California State University-Fresno (CSUF), the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), and Washburn University to all Academy students who successfully complete the 40-hour course. Additional requirements exist for graduate credit. Continuing Legal Education credit is available through American University's Washington College of Law. The course credit is fully transferrable worldwide, as all universities are nationally accredited institutions of higher learning.
CERTIFICATE OF GRADUATION
All Academy students will be awarded a certificate from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime and the co-sponsoring organizations for successful completion of the Academy. Additional certificates will be awarded by CSUF, MUSC, and Washburn, respectively, to those students who elect to receive academic credit.