A potential agreement with Indiana could add up to 7,000 convicts to Ohio University’s student population this year.
OU is developing a response for a request for a proposal issued on behalf of the Indiana Department of Corrections for print-based correspondence education courses for its incarcerated population, said Linda Lockhart, communications manager for eLearning.
The College for the Incarcerated, one of OU’s education-outreach programs, was established in 1974. It has since become one of the nation’s top programs for education within correctional facilities, with about 1,000 students enrolled in courses, said Deborah Gearhart, vice provost for eLearning and strategic partnerships.
“We had received (the request) probably a month ago … that the state of Indiana Corrections was looking for a new vendor to supply print-based courses and course credit by examination for their incarcerated population since Indiana University had chosen to no longer support that form of instruction,” said Michael Lafreniere, interim coordinator for the print-based courses for eLearning.
About 7,000 Indiana inmates would be eligible to participate if OU’s correspondence program is selected.
The courses cannot be administered electronically because most inmates do not have access to computers or the Internet. As more universities have transitioned to online programs, OU’s print-based correspondence courses have become more sought after, Gearhart said.
“Fortunately, when I went to the pre-meeting, some of the comments alluded to our program as the one (the Indiana Department of Corrections) modeled their request for proposal around,” Lafreniere said.
The courses are taught much like other OU courses, except there is no face-to-face contact between the student and the instructor. However, that doesn’t stop professors from providing a lot of written feedback, said Alden Waitt, faculty fellow with the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards.
Many of the students are very interested in the course material and often read the works more than once, she said.
“I can sort of get the impression by about the third lesson whether or not they’re taking lessons instead of peeling potatoes … that’s a very small percentage,” Waitt said. “On the whole, I would say I have had students that are as good as or superior to students I’ve had on campus.”
OU’s courses are also used in correctional facilities in Washington State, said Michael Paris, education services administrator for the Washington Department of Corrections.
“(OU’s program) is one of the last resources that’s out there to get some kind of coursework going with the offenders,” Paris said. “We don’t have a contract with (OU), but I’ve worked with them, and they have a really nice catalog of the courses that they offer.”
The College for the Incarcerated offers multiple degrees, including associate degrees in arts, science, applied business and individual studies, and a bachelor of specialized studies degree.
Inmates are required to pay the full cost of the course up front; they are often supported by family members or outside organizations like church groups, Lockhart said.
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