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Organizational Transformation of a Federal Education Program Reflections on LEEP (Law Enforcement Educational Program)

NCJ Number
76349
Journal
Social Problems Volume: 24 Issue: 2 Dated: (December 1976) Pages: 259-270
Author(s)
L J Fry; J Miller
Date Published
1976
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This paper describes the history of a law enforcement education program (LEEP) in a small private college in California and examines sources of program problems.
Abstract
This venture was characterized by conflicts over the educational mission of the program, intense rivalries between program factions, and student alienation. These problems, and the decision of the college finally to implement a competing program in order to divert students and their funding away from the original law enforcement education program were at least partially accounted for by the competing interests given surface expression in the imprecise goals guiding the Federal funding effort. The dissatisfaction of LEEP-funded students with the type of educational services received and the reaction which their presence created in the college community were factors contributing to the conflict surrounding the program. LEEP students believed that they were only tolerated for the money which their program brought into the college, and that they were being exploited by the institution in regard to educational instruction and student services. Professors perceived LEEP students as nonparticipatory in class discussions, especially in lower level classes. Although the program has continued and enrollment has risen, the program staff remains small. Footnotes and 15 references are provided. (Author abstract modified)