Correspondence Courses for Offenders: Education By Mail

Just because you're incarcerated does not have to suggest that you will not get a chance to earn an education. While return rates may be high among prisoners in general, this rate drops significantly among those who manage to earn a college degree while incarcerated. There are a number of correspondence courses for prisoners . However, you must make sure that you stay within the prison rules, as some college courses for inmates may not be permitted in your particular unit.



If you are determined to earning your degree, speak to your prison's education director. Ask whether there is a InmateLifeskills.com they recommend. Many correctional institutions provide training on location for no charge. Some correctional facilities tie up with local community colleges which offer distance education classes for inmates. Based on their level of security risk, prisoners are permitted to take online correspondence courses or they are sent coursework for the classes by mail.

It is important to research the various college courses for prisoners. Notice the admission requirements before registering for the course. Be certain that the correspondence course you pick is allowed by your particular facility. Some of these courses are free but some are paid. In this case, your family has to consider whether they can handle the expenses.

Consider these three relevant ideas:

• Scientific studies have shown that education decreases the rate of recidivism and that the system saves money by offering correspondence classes for prisoners. Regardless of the research, the budgets for most prison college degree programs has been cut back. Quite a few of such programs are shutting down nationally due to reductions in funding. Most college courses for prisoners these days are financed privately.
• It can be a little challenging to obtain higher education while incarcerated but there are a good many institutions that offer college correspondence courses for prisoners. Prisoners will have to fork over the tuition and other corresponding fees though as they are ineligible for government tuition assistance programs. Some schools offer grants, so you may want to ask around to see if you will be eligible for these scholarships and grants.
• Taking a correspondence course makes the prisoners behave better when incarcerated and it reduces their likelihood of perpetrating another crime when they are released. In fact, one study discovered that convicts who took correspondence courses had only a 22% repeat rate of committing a new crime while those who did not take any classes committed a new crime 41% of the time. This means an inmate's odds of becoming a repeat offender are cut in half by getting involved in one of these programs.

Being in jail does not restrict one's capability for growth. Everybody's dream of achieving a college degree does not have to stop if life takes the wrong turn. Still, it is up to each individual to decide whether or not he or she chooses to be defeated by his or her situation or whether they want to overcome their current circumstance. The crucial concept to remember is that there are inmates who would like to improve their lives.

Discover more about this crucial issue at this site.