Over the last year, COVID-19 has put many prison education programs on pause due to visitation limitations and lack of internet access.
However, through a longstanding partnership between Widener University and Chester State Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania (SCI-Chester)—an all-male correctional facility—remote learning was modified to meet the needs of students behind bars.
Shifting to a correspondence course model, all work goes through Corrections School Principal Taneisha Spall, who passes along feedback. Faculty members also meet with the incarcerated men over occasional Zoom meetings.
“Not seeing each other weekly in class has been challenging but we adapted and persisted, just like everyone else has done throughout the pandemic,” said Dr. Julie Wollman, president of Widener University. “We were committed to moving forward and we succeeded in that.”
Of the six colleges and universities who previously worked with SCI-Chester, Widener was the only institution to continue offering their program during COVID-19. That was in part due to Wollman’s leadership.
Since arriving at Widener over five years ago, she has been heavily involved at SCI-Chester as both a teacher and advocate. After discovering that the incarcerated men were not receiving college credit for their work, she made changes. Now, incarcerated students are able to earn transferable college credit at no cost due to volunteer efforts. Since the program does not offer a full-time degree, incarcerated men are advised by the university upon their release on available educational pathways.
Currently, the school is in the process of developing a Writing Center within the prison to create mentorship opportunities. Wollman also plans to seek grants to fund a full-time degree or certificate program.
