| Federal grant provides opportunity for college degree at TRCI |
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Dan Koopman and Dr. Beth Smith with TRCI class
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At Two Rivers Correctional Institution (TRCI), 16 inmates have begun a journey toward advanced education.
"The Oregon Department of Corrections has received a federal grant that will assist offenders in acquiring a post-secondary education," said Dan Koopman, associate vice president of correctional education for Blue Mountain Community College. "The opportunity for college education has not been offered at TRCI before; it has all been self funded."
Koopman oversees the education departments for TRCI, Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution (EOCI) and Powder River Correctional Facility (PRCF). He explained that the DOC's Workforce Development/Educational Services unit applied for the grant when it was expanded in 2009 to inmates up to age 35 within seven years of release.
Prior to 2009 the Oregon Youth Authority received the funds dispersed by the federal Grants to States for Workplace and Community Transition Training for Incarcerated Individuals. The grant now funds 16 inmates at TRCI, Snake River Correctional Institution (SRCI) and the Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP).
Koopman estimates that it will take about four years for the inmates to earn an Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer Degree (AAOT). "They’ll be taking one to two courses per term," he said.
The 16 students enrolled at TRCI are highly motivated, Koopman said, and see this as an incredible opportunity. Eligibility requirements for the program included age, time to release, type of crime and behavior while incarcerated.
The first course, which began April 6th, is mandatory and covers college survival. It will help the inmates develop the skill sets needed to increase the odds of success. Featured will be better retention of information. During their journey toward earning the 90 credits of coursework needed for the degree, the inmates will receive instruction in general education studies such as math, writing, social and physical science, humanities and other college prep courses.
"We hope to be through the developmental courses for this cohort within three terms," Koopman said.
Adjunct faculty at Blue Mountain Community College (BMCC) will be teaching the course. In addition to two and a half hours of class time, the inmates will probably have two to three hours of homework for each hour of class time, Koopman noted.
The grant also adds alternative classes that can be taken such as building construction technology, automotive technology and welding technology. Koopman said he believed that OSP added the automotive option and SRCI added the building trades’ option. At TRCI only the academic portion is offered. The difference is because of vocational grants at OSP and SRCI.
When the process first started, 69 inmates at TRCI were eligible and 53 responded with interest. The pool was eventually narrowed down to 22. From this group DOC research randomly selected 16 inmates to participate.
During the four years, the students will be held at the institution where they began the training. Inmates can voluntarily choose to drop out of the program. According to Koopman, the course is designed to be as close to real college life as possible, even though the inmate will be furnished all needed books and materials through the grant funds.
The purpose of the grant is to help reduce recidivism rates through inmates acquiring education and jobs skills by earning degrees and certifications of completion. One of the requirements of the grant is job placement. Because this program is an experimental research design, inmates participating in the program, as well as a control group, were tested prior to the beginning of the program and will be tested again at its conclusion.
Research has shown that the average weekly income of someone with a two-year degree is 25 percent higher than someone without. Also the unemployment rate is 3 percent lower than someone with a high school diploma.
In the future, the department will continue to receive an annual award, based on federal funding. Workforce Development is exploring other training options because the next cycle will only be for a three-year program.
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