College Inside is a new college program at Oregon State Penitentiary, the state’s only maximum security prison. The program enables prisoners to earn college credit toward an Associates Degree. Courses are taught by Chemeketa professors as they would be in an outside classroom. The students are prisoners who are within five years of their release dates, who have a high school diploma or GED, who have no other college degrees, and 18 months of good conduct.

Prior to the mid-1990s, the community college offered prisoners a chance at higher education behind bars, but when congress ended federal funding that supported education behind bars, the college classes ended, too. Now, a donor is providing the funding so that 45 students can take classes. Students must pay $25 per class and buy their books. To be eligible for the reduced cost, students must continue with the program and earn a 3.0 average. The college is offering four classes this term. Chemeketa Community College also offers classes at the medium security Oregon State Correctional Institution.

This news brief is based on a story in the Salem Statesman Journal, Inmates Learn the Meaning of Hope [1].  If the link is broken, check the newspaper’s archives.