NCJ Number
106364
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 49 Issue: 5 Dated: (August 1987) Pages: 128,130-132
Date Published
1987
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes a plan for a college-credit vocational curriculum, instruction, and administration in New Mexico's correctional institutions.
Abstract
The primary goal of inmate vocational training should be introduction to job skills, with the secondary goal being the development of the academic and social skills required for the workplace. The third goal should be to train inmates for employment. A community college must devise a curriculum strategy especially for the prison environment to produce a maximum number of credit hours while maintaining the integrity of academic scholarship. Ways this may be done include the structuring of courses in 9-week blocks, repackaging the curriculum into one or two credit-hour courses, and designing entry level courses to minimize theory and maximize hands-on activities. Administrative requirements include the hiring of a full-time coordinator for quality control and full-time instructors. Instructors should be evaluated on their nurturing and counseling skills as well as student completions and credit hours awarded. Community colleges will be held accountable by the corrections department and the State legislature for the program's success. Some initial steps in the implementation of this plan in a New Mexico correctional facility are described.