Of all the types of correspondence education that the prisoners can participate in, vocational programs for the prisoners are probably the most useful. This is because they quickly and inexpensively provide the prisoners with the knowledge and tools needed to get a job immediately upon their release from the prison. If you know anyone in prison who is not interested in a college education or who cannot afford college correspondence courses, then career and vocational programs might be a good choice.
Vocational programs prepare the prisoners for a particular type of work, such as a mechanic or physical trainer. It qualifies prisoners to work in hospitality management, trucking, or disaster management, among many other fields. One field of training which might be of interest to a prisoner is paralegal training because the law is what puts us behind bars and the law has the power to release them.
Apparently, there are hundreds of vocational courses and programs to choose from, such as HVAC, AutoCAD, paralegal, writing, personal fitness, building trades, and veterinarian assistant. There are hundreds of options to choose from. Almost all of them offer payment plans. It can take as little as two or three months to a year or two to complete, much less time and more financially flexible than traditional college correspondence courses.
Here is a List of Recommended Career and Vocational Programs
In an effort to point you in the right direction, we have put together the following list of recommended career and vocational correspondence programs. All these programs are best and our list of recommended schools gives a healthy breadth of topical areas. It will be a good idea to contact all of these correspondence program providers and then have them send the incarcerated student their own course catalogs. This way the prisoner can choose the program which interests them the most.
Adams State University
Adams State University is a great school at some levels of education. Based on the research, it was founded in 1921. They are regionally accredited, friendly to the prisoner-student, and also have many excellent certificate programs including the acclaimed Victim Advocacy Certificate program. The system of comprehensive fees for each certificate program ($525 to $3,150) offers you to plan for exactly how much the certificate will cost. Several of their vocational programs might confer college credits for completion.
Blackstone Career Institute
For those who are interested in the legal field, this is a great choice for vocational education. Blackstone Career Institute charges low tuition rates ($767 per diploma program and $396 per advanced certificate program). Also, they offer a number of discounts and a monthly payment plan ($59 down/$59 per month). It is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools and the Distance Education and Training Council, their own programs are approved by the National Association of Legal Assistants, one of the industry’s professional associations.
Graduate School USA
Graduate School USA offers a lot of courses focused on practical vocational skills needed in the workplace, including a lot of programs specific to government work. Do not worry, the school has low tuition rates and gives the option to audit many courses (you are able to attend the course and learn but it does not count officially toward completion of your program). The students obtain a certificate of completion for each course. If you think that you might want to work for the government in any capacity, this is the best place for you.
Lakewood College
Lakewood College offers you a certificate program in mediation. They are accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council that is not a regional accreditation which will assure transferrable credits. Need to know that they offer monthly payment plans ($700 down and monthly payments as low as $409), free job placement, and also resume assistance.
Long Ridge Writers Group
If your dream is to become a writer, then the Long Ridge Writers Group is a good correspondence program to teach both fiction and nonfiction writing via a mentorship program. This program teams each student with a mentor who is a professional writer or editor with a track record of published credits or work experience. The students have to complete lessons in the course manual and send them to his personal mentor or instructor, who will correct the assignment and return it to the student.
Also, this program teaches the student how to market their writing and get paid as a freelance writer. The program is available with a payment plan and, for a fee, Charter Oak State College will award 7 college credits for completion. These credits are applicable to Charter Oak State College. They will not be able to be transferred elsewhere.
Career and Vocational Correspondence Programs for the Prisoners
Here is a list of Career and Vocational Correspondence Programs for the Prisoners:
- Adams State University
- American Hotel & Lodging Association Education Institute
- Ashworth College
- Blackstone Career Institute
- Cleveland Institute of Electronics
- Graduate School USA
- Institute of Logistical Management
- International Sports Sciences Association
- Lakewood College
- Long Ridge Writers Group
- National Tax Training School
- Oklahoma State University
- Rio Salado College
- Stratford Career Institute
- The Center for Legal Studies
- Truck Marketing Institute
- University of Georgia
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
Benefits of the Vocational Programs
Although it is true that the academic college studies will be able to open doors to some of the best career opportunities, vocational programs have some marked advantages:
- The Vocational program takes less time to complete. For those who will be released in a short amount of time, you might be able to complete a vocational program while incarcerated.
- The Vocational courses and programs are usually less expensive.
- The schools frequently offer better payment plans.
- It is easier to take the exams because the courses do not need that test to be proctored.
- All the courses needed for a specific certificate or diploma are offered in an easy-to-use packaged format.
- The Vocational courses and programs are practical. You are going to use what you learn very quickly.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
