A Rich History

Ashland University has for more than a half century offered college programming to incarcerated individuals, beginning with the Ohio State Reformatory and continuing today in 10 states and the District of Columbia.

More than 130 full- and part-time Correctional Education Program staff members are passionate about the work they do and the opportunity they have to help change hearts and minds.  They want to provide a transformative learning experience that will help reduce recidivism and make students better individuals, family members and global citizens. We believe our program provides an unmatched opportunity to educate offenders both while they are inside and when they get out.

Evolution of Correctional Education

Early Years (1964-1994)

• Started in 1964 (longest continually running program in the U.S.)
• Ohio State Reformatory (Mansfield) - Shawshank location
• Bachelors and Associate Degrees (face-to-face)
• Utilized Pell funding

Post Pell (1994-2015)

• Advanced Job Training (AJT) Certificates - funded by the State of Ohio
• Seven AJT Certificate Programs
• No degrees, not humanities courses (face-to-face)

Present (2016-present)

• Pell ESI approval in 2016
• Over 75 program locations and over 3,500 students (BOT)
• Serving: Arkansas, Arizona, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, West Virginia
• Serving more post-secondary students in correctional education than any other college or university in the U.S.
• Associates and Bachelors degrees (distance education on tablets)