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r

i
78-10,127
TULARD1L0&, Arkom, 1942ASSESSMENT OF THE COLLEGE LEVEL EDUCATIONAL
PROGRAM AT THE STATE PRISON OF SOUTHERN
MICHIGAN.
Michigan S tate U n iv e rs ity ,
Ph.D ., 1977
Education, higher

University Microfilms International ,

Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106

Assessment of the College Level
Educational Program at the
State Prison of Southern
Michigan
By
Arkom Tulardilok

A DISSERTATION
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in p a rtia l fu lf illm e n t of the requirements
fo r the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
College o f Education
1977

ABSTRACT
ASSESSMENT OF THE COLLEGE LEVEL EDUCATIONAL
PROGRAM AT THE STATE PRISON
OF SOUTHERN MICHIGAN
By
Arkom Tulardilok

The primary intent of this study was to determine factors which
could be useful in the analysis and evaluation of the administration
and operation of the college level-program in the State Prison of
Southern Michigan.

Based on this study the major objective of the

study was developing information to furnish the in stitu tio n s addi­
tional considerations fo r improving the educational programs for the
inmates.

Such a study may give prison authorities clues as to which

phase of resident's l i f e needs the most attention.

F in a lly , this study

contributes to guidelines fo r every person who is involved in the
correctional education program in Michigan.
The study is lim ited to the population of resident-students of the
State Prison of Southern Michigan in Jackson.
Three dependent variables were selected to r e fle c t the factors
operating in the majority of cases to improve the programs.

F ir s t ,

two forms of d iffe re n t questionnaires were constructed to co llect in fo r­
mation from the student-inmates and s ta ff by group and individual.
F in ally by observation during 4 years experiences, which the w rite r

Arkom T u la rd ilo k
worked a t the State Prison o f Southern Michigan.
The sample f o r th is study consisted o f 50 vo lun teers, a l l
students attending the college programs.

25 students were in the

Jackson Community College program, and the other 25 students were in
the Wayne State U n iv e rs ity program.
35 years o ld .

The students were between 21 to

The volunteers in the Jackson Community College program

were working toward the associate degree; in the Wayne State U n ive rsity
program were working toward a general bachelor's degree.
A sample was also selected from the teaching s t a f f : 6 fa c u lty
members from Wayne S tate U n iv e rs ity with experience working with the
correction department of from one to two and a h a lf years; 4 fa c u lty
members from Jackson Community College with experience teaching in the
correction department o f from two to three years; and the co rrectio n al
s t a f f a t the State Prison o f Southern Michigan.
Information from questionnaires fo r both students and s t a f f was
gathered.

The data were analyzed by simple frequency count and content

analysis o f group and in d iv id u a l

interview s conducted by the w r it e r and

recorded on tape.
I t was found th a t both the Jackson Community College and the
Wayne State U n iv e rs ity have the p o te n tia l to be exceptional programs
serving the needs of the residents in the co rrec tio n al i n s t i t u t i o n .
The s t a f f o f Jackson Community College and the Wayne State U n ive rsity
seem to be dedicated, c r e a tiv e , and deeply concerned with t h e i r work.
I t is c le a r th a t the goals and o b jec tiv es o f the Jackson Community
College and Wayne State U n iv e rs ity are consistent with co rrectio n al
goals.

Based on review and evaluation o f these programs i t would seem

Arkom T u lard ilo k
th a t the Jackson Community College and Wayne State University
program should continue to operate at lea st a t t h e ir current levels

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would lik e to express my thanks and appreciation to
Dr. Walter F. Johnson, J r . , my major advisor and Guidance Committee
Chairman, fo r his continual guidance and optimism during the
planning and preparation o f th is thesis.
To Dr. Vandel C. Johnson, Dr. Gregory A. M i l l e r , Dr. Samuel
A. Moore and Dr. Robert C. Trojanowicz, the members of rrjy Guidance
Committee, I would lik e to o ffe r my gratitude fo r the valuable
c r itic is m and suggestions received in the completion of th is work.
Additional thanks are due to the s t a f f of the Michigan Department
o f Corrections, in p a rtic u la r to Mr. Hargroove, Parole Board
member, and Mr. Kime, Deputy D irecto r; also to Warden Anderson,
Deputy Grant and Deputy Hensen o f the Trusty Division a t the State
Prison o f Southern Michigan.
The w r ite r deeply appreciates the assistance and suggestions
o f the prisoners of the State Prison of Southern Michigan, especially
Mr. W illie X. H arris, without whom this study would not have been
possible.
Special thanks to my frie n d , Suwatana Suwanketnikom, fo r her
assistance in the research method.
F in a lly , to my w ife , Manit T u la rd ilo k , the author expresses
utmost appreciation fo r her assistance in typing and fo r her
in spiration and v it a l moral support without which th is project would
have been impossible.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter
I.

II.

III.

Page
THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM........................................................

1

Introduction .............................................................................
Statement of the Problem ....................................................
Need for the S t u d y ................................................................
Limitation and Scope of the S t u d y ................................
Definition of T e r m s ............................................................
Organization of the S t u d y ................................................

1
6
3
9
10
12

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE.........................................................

13

Necessity fo r Correctional
Education Program ............................................................
Responsibility for Correctional
Education Programs ........................................................
Objectives of Correctional Education ............................
Reactions to Existing Programs
of Correctional Education ............................................
Current Trends in College-Level
Instruction for Inmates of
Correctional Institu tio n s ............................................
Summary.....................................................................................
Conclusion.................................................................................
Footnotes to Chapter I I ....................................................

28
33
33
35

A REVIEW OF COLLEGIATE PROGRAMS FOR INMATES
OF THE MICHIGAN PRISON SYSTEM ........................................

38

Detroit House of Correction:
Women's Division ............................................................
Marquette Branch Prison ....................................................
Muskegon Correctional F a c ility ........................................
COPE at Michigan Reformatory and
Michigan Training Unit ................................................
COPE at Michigan R e f o r m a to r y ....................................
COPE at Michigan Training U n i t ................................
The State Prison of Southern Michigan ........................
Jackson Community College ............................................
Programs Available ........................................................
Inside the W a l l s ........................................................
Trusty Division ........................................................
On-Campus Vocational and
Technical Program ................................................
ii

13
18
20
25

39
40
42
42
42
46
48
48
50
50
50
50

Page

Michigan Parole Camp................................................
Camp W a t e r l o o ............................................................
Wayne State University Module Program ......................

51
51
51

IV. METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURE.........................................................

54

Introduction ............................................................................
The Close Security F a c ility ........................................
Trusty Division ................................................................
Samples................................................................................
I n s t r u m e n t s ...........................
Summary o f the Q u e s tio n n a ire s .......................................
For the S t u d e n t s ...........................................................
For the S taff
...............................................................
Techniques of Data C o l l e c t i o n ........................................
For the Students
.......................................
For the S ta ff
...............................................................
Analysis Procedures .............................................................

54
54
55
58
59
59
59
60
60
60
60
61

ANALYSIS OF THE D A T A .................................................................

62

V.

VI.

Questionnaire for Jackson
Community Colleqe Students ........................................
Questionnaire fo r Jackson
Community College S taff ................................................
Questionnaire for Wayne State
University Students ........................................................
Questionnaire for Wayne
State University S taff ................................................
Observations and Interviews with Department
of Correction S taff Concerning Their
Opinions and Reactions ................................................

79

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................

83

The P r o b le m ............................................................................
Methodology and Procedure ................................................
Summary of F i n d i n g s ............................................................
Relationship on Campus between
JCC and SPSM................................................................
JCC and WSUF a c u l t y .........................................................
JCC and WSUS t a f f .............................................................
JCC and WSUS t u d e n t s .....................................................
JCC and WSUCourses.........................................................
F a c i l i t i e s ........................................................................
JCC and WSU R e l a t i o n s h i p ............................................

ii i

62
67
70
75

83
83
84
84
85
85
86
87
87
88

Page

C o n c lu s io n s .....................................................................................
Recommendations ............................................................................
JCC and W S U ............................................................................
Counseling Service .......................................................
C o r r e c t io n s ........................................................................
JCC and WSU O p e r a t io n ....................................................
JCC and WSU Planning and E v a l u a t i o n ......................

89
89
89
89
90
91
92

APPENDICES
A.

MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS ACADEMIC
AND VOCATIONAL COURSE OFFERINGS AND
OTHER TREATMENTPROGRAMS BY INSTITUTION ....................

96

B.

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE STUDENTS...........................................

106

C.

QUESTIONNAIRE

FOR STAFF............................................................

108

D.

SAMPLE INTERVIEWS WITH STUDENTS ...........................................

110

iv

CHAPTER I

THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM
Introduction
The major aim o f the corrections department, as a criminal
ju s t ic e agency, is to safeguard the public from crime.

There are

three ways by which a correction system may accomplish th is aim.
The f i r s t is by d eterrin g p o te n tia l crim inals through fe a r o f prison
sentences.

The second is by confining dangerous persons away from

the community.

The t h ir d is by r e h a b il i t a t i n g persons under sentence

to reduce the p o s s ib ilit y of t h e i r committing fu rth e r crim inal ac ts.
Prison systems fo r incarceratio n of persons who have v io la te d
the legal codes o f society are a part o f the governmental structure of
every country.

While a p a rt o f the purpose fo r separating these

offenders is punitive and designed to e l i c i t some penalty fo r wrong­
doing, another and b a s ic a lly fundamental purpose is to return the
offender to society as a p o s it iv e , productive member.
o f inmates implies changing habits and a t t it u d e s .

R e h a b ilita tio n

Therefore i t

becomes necessary to provide the opportunity f o r each inmate to
fu rth e r develop his a b i l i t y to earn a l i v i n g as well as to l i v e in
society.

Correctional education is not proposed as a guarantee fo r

r e h a b il i t a t i o n , any more than one vaccine is a guarantee against a l l
illn e s s e s .

I t is proposed as a p ra c tic a l way to remove i d e n t i f i a b le

d efic ie n c ie s in a troublesome segment o f our s o c ie ty , recognizing th a t
1

2

a lack o f education and tra in in g may be a handicap o f such s i g n i f i ­
cance th a t i t may account in large part fo r the f a i l u r e of the inmates
to perform as co n trib u tin g members o f a society.
I t is re a d ily apparent th a t s t a t i s t i c s on recidivism are f a r
too high.

Nevertheless p o s itiv e r e h a b ilit a t io n must continue to be

one o f the paramount objectives of every corrections department.

The

corrections department o f the State o f Michigan is no exception and
continues to s t r iv e to develop programs not only fo r r e h a b ilit a t in g
offenders but also f o r returning as many as possible with greater
s k i l l s and knowledge than they possessed a t the time they were
imprisoned.

This philosophy underlies most o f the e ff o r ts undertaken

by the corrections department o f Michigan in providing both basic and
more advanced education and tr a in in g fo r those who wish to take
advantage o f such experiences.
Because the educational level o f most men entering the
Michigan co rrectio n al system is lower than the s ta te average, academic
education a t various le v e ls through the college level o ffe rs the
inmate who is l i k e l y to have f a i l e d in the t r a d it io n a l school an
opportunity to succeed and to remedy educational d e fic ie n c ie s , espe­
c i a l l y in reading, math, and communication s k i l l s . ^

Correctional

education has a vocational and ca reer-oriented component, helping the
re sid en t develop s k i l l s useful in find in g and maintaining gainful
employment.

I t promotes social s k i l l s and constructive use o f

le is u re time.
Upon en tering the system a t the Reception and Guidance Center
in Jackson, a l l residents are tested to determine t h e i r educational
le v e ls .

Based on these te s t s , residents are given the opportunity

3

to pursue additional education when they are transferred to a per­
manent f a c i l i t y .

Those who te s t very low are required to p a rtic ip a te

in remedial education courses before taking the regular courses.
In each of the walled and fenced in s titu tio n s , a K-12 program
is a v a ila b le .

This is an adult education sequence fo r high school

completion e ith e r by diploma or General Education Development (GED)
tes tin g .

Remedial education, which is th at part of the K-12 program

roughly equating as grades I through V I, is a v a ila b le in every cor­
rectional f a c i l i t y .
A fte r completing high school, those residents who desire to
reach higher levels may enroll in community college programs which
are offered in several in s titu tio n s and camps throughout the system.
In the larger f a c i l i t i e s this type o f program can lead to a two-year
associate degree.

At The State Prison o f Southern Michigan in

Jackson, th ird and fourth years of college tr a in in g , culminating in
a bachelor's degree, are a v a ila b le through one of the major state
u n iv e rs itie s .
The department also makes possible a broad range o f voca­
tion al tra in in g in a l l of it s walled and fenced in s titu tio n s and a t
some o f i t s camps.

This tra in in g includes high school level voca­

tion al programs, apprenticeship programs, on-the-job tra in in g ,
community college c e r t i f i c a t e programs and those fo r which the
associate degree is o ffe re d .

Regular evaluations are made to ensure

th a t vocational programs produce well trained graduates fo r whom
employment opportunities e x is t.

4

Somewhere in the Michigan correction system a resident can
find training in the following areas:
Air conditioning, heating, and v e n tila tio n
Auto body
Automotive mechanics
Automotive service
Building custodian
Building trades
Business
Computer programming
Data processing
Dental lab technician
Diesel mechanics
Electrical wiring
Electronics
Engineering aide
Food service
Home appliance repair
In s titu tio n a l service trades
Machine drafting
Machine tool operation
Small engine mechanics
Typewriter repair
Vocational graphics
Wei ding
C riterion Referenced Instru ction , a concept which was
developed on the west coast several years ago, is a recent innovation
in Michigan correctional education.

While being rap id ly implemented,

i t has not yet spread into a l l areas.

The concept requires th at

instructors, a f t e r some train ing in th is new method, develop perfor­
mance objectives for th e ir p a rtic u la r classes and the c r i t e r i a by
which these objectives can be met.

Given a p a rtic u la r subject, i t is

determined which s k ills or knowledge a student must have to be
q u a lifie d .

Each level of s k ill or knowledge is established by a

performance objective.

The step-by-step completion o f each level

leads the student to his goal—q u a lific a tio n in the subject.

In

every case students are required to complete one step before moving
on to another.

5

The student is told what he is expected to achieve a t each
level and how i t is to be achieved, and he is provided with references
and resources with which he can prepare himself.

At each level the

student is given a te s t, the contents of which are known to him, to
determine i f he has met the objective.

I f he has, he moves on to the

next step; i f not, he goes back to additional reference material until
he is able to complete the te s t.

In this way, students do not compete

against each other but only against themselves.
There are some obvious advantages to this type of education.
I t permits students to move at th e ir own pace and demands that a
subject be thoroughly learned.

Another sig nificant advantage is that

education is so standardized throughout the system that a student
transferring from one f a c i l i t y to another can simply pick up his
education where he l e f t o ff.
Such programs are seen to be helpful in other ways.

One is

that they enhance a person's self-esteem and increase his potential
fo r the type of job he needs.

Involvement in educational programs

also teaches an individual how to use his social s k i ll s , a major
component of the socialization process.
In the next chapter, the w rite r w ill discuss the college
level program of the correctional education system in Michigan.

It

is hoped that this study can furnish the in s titu tio n s additional
considerations for improving the educational programs for the inmates.
Furthermore, such a study may give prison authorities clues as to

6

which phase of a re s id e n t's l i f e needs the most a tte n tio n .

F in a lly ,

th is study contributes to guidelines fo r every person who is involved
in the co rrectio n al education program in Michigan.
Statement o f the Problem
The main purpose of th is study is to survey the opinions,
comments, and suggestions from the inmate-students, in s tru c to rs ,
f a c u l t i e s , and college s ta f f s to analyze various factors bearing upon
helping to improve the educational program a t the State Prison of
Southern Michigan in Jackson.

I t is hoped th a t other in s titu tio n s in

Michigan may also use i t as a guide.
The already high ra te o f crime in Michigan rose fu rth e r from
1970-76, and the recidivism rate is s t i l l

too high.

Meanwhile the

expectation o f prison a u th o r itie s fo r released offenders was a lte re d
r a d ic a lly .

Consequently decision-makers in the Michigan Department

o f Correctional Service became acutely aware th a t a major m odification
o f i t s academic educational program was im perative.

Wisely they

foresaw th a t the m odification of the curriculum and teacher tra in in g
was a f u t i l e e f f o r t without redesigning t h e i r e n tire educational
system.
Important in th is aspect is the educational program o f a
co rrectio n al i n s t i t u t i o n .

I t is conducive e it h e r to building c itiz e n s

or to creatin g permanent residents in prisons.
takes is dependent upon i t s immediate community.

The design a program
A sound program

should be integrated with the educational system o f the immediate
community f o r maintenance and improvement o f community re la tio n s h ip s .
V i t a l l y important is the re s p o n s ib ility shouldered here.

A decaying

7

community s itu a tio n means trouble, not only fo r the current c itiz e n s
of the community but also fo r the inmates who are co n tin u a lly being
released into the community.
The true meaning of the program a t Jackson ( f o r the inmate
p artic ip an ts) has never been f u l l y ascertained since no research
concerning the program has been undertaken.

The desires o f both the

p articip an ts and the a u th o ritie s have never been coordinated to
determine i f the desired ends have been f u l f i l l e d .
of the success of the program is pragmatic.

The real measure

It s effectiveness is

evidenced by the degree to which i t meets the individual needs of
those who have been p articip an ts in the program.

I t seems axiomatic

th a t unless the products of the in s titu tio n program are followed a f t e r
they leave the i n s t it u t io n , i t is not possible fo r the in s t it u t io n to
in te rp re t how well i t is a c tu a lly accomplishing what i t proposes to
accomplish.
In view of these fa c ts , i t seems appropriate
be made

to

th a t an e f f o r t

appraise the current educational programsof the Jackson

Community College and Wayne State University a t the State Prison o f
Southern Michigan a t Jackson.

This, th ere fo re, is the sp e cific

purpose o f th is study.
An additional purpose of th is study is to discuss the severe
lack

of funds fo r the program; the present desire on the part of the

prison administration to provide space fo r the u n iv e rs ity lib r a r y
fo r the resident students; and the fa c t th at many students who fin is h
Jackson Community College have very l i t t l e

in te re s t in Wayne State

U niversity because a general studies program is the only degree

8

offered.

In Chapter I I I , the w r it e r w ill review the c o lle g ia te

programs fo r inmates o f the Michigan Prison System.
Need fo r the Study
In the four years th at the w r it e r was employed with the
Michigan Department o f Correction a t the State Prison o f Southern
Michigan a t Jackson (1973-77), i t was noted th at perpetrators o f
crime seemed to possess common c h a ra c te ris tic s :

school drop-out,

unemployed, u n skilled , functional i l l i t e r a t e , lacking in self-esteem.
C ertain ly other factors are a part o f the syndrome.
above are ever present.

But those lis t e d

Many o f these problems can be remedied by

the acquisition o f academic and vocational s k i l l s .
When educational and vocational tra in in g are used as r e h a b ili­
t a t iv e devices, four basic c r i t e r i a should be met to f u l f i l l the
primary purposes o f such a program:

to teach students an occupation,

to provide adequate f a c i l i t i e s fo r educational purposes, to see th at
instruction is provided by q u a lifie d teachers, and to ensure th a t the
program has the support o f professionally prepared curriculum and
instructional m a te r ia l.
The misconception o f the public in regard to prisons and
prison policies can be a great detriment to proper adm inistration.
In order to get funds from d iff e r e n t areas to support the programs,
or p a rtic ip a te by u t i l i z i n g community agencies, volunteers, state
agencies, and other segments o f the criminal ju s t ic e system must
cooperate in the development o f workable programs w ithin the prison
system.

Any correctional department today which is o f any s ig n ific a n t

size has need of a f u ll - t im e public information o f f i c e r .

This o f f i c e r

9

should have access to the highest s t a f f level and be knowledgeable of
decisions and problems in the department, especially in the area of
educational programs.

(The Michigan Corrections Department does have

such a person.)
I t w ill be admitted by some prison au th o rities th at some
assumptions about the college program a t the State Prison o f Southern
Michigan have been haphazard and based on inadequate data.

However,

they voice sincere in te re s t in the students' problems, admiring th e ir
willingness to upgrade t h e ir education.
Overcrowding is one of the more pressing problems of prisons
today.

In Jackson a t the State Prison o f Southern Michigan over

2,000 residents must use two classrooms as liv in g u nits.

Because o f

overcrowding, security takes precedence over the educational program.
Lim itation and Scope of the Study
This study is concerned with the way in which a given factor
operates in the majority of cases to improve the programs.

The small

group of four or fiv e is studied, as well as the in d iv id u a l.

I t is

important to make an intensive study o f the whole program, fo r the
urgency o f the movement demands th a t every possible improvement in
education be made.
The study is lim ited to the population o f resident-students
o f the State Prison of Southern Michigan in Jackson.

The findings

may or may not apply to the other programs in the system.

I t is also

confined to the academic college level program o f the State Prison of
Southern Michigan.

Those residents used in the sample fo r this study

are the residents who are p a rtic ip a tin g in the program a t the present
time.

10

The purpose of the analysis is not to evaluate the performance
o f the Michigan correction system in terms o f the success or fa ilu r e
o f i t s educational programs.

Rather i t is to derive c r i t e r i a fo r the

guidance of the au th o rities in the future fo r improving the educational
program.
D efin itio n o f Terms
The terms and abbreviations defined here are used in th is
study.

For many of these terms there is widespread public misunder­

standing.

Prison language is a unique language, thus many words used

in connection with th is study were defined a fte r consultation with the
prison personnel.

The other terms are paraphrased by the w rite r from

the Encyclopedia of Criminology.
JCC:

Jackson Community College which conducts an educational

program directed toward the associate degree.
WSU:

Wayne State University, Jackson module, a t the State

Prison of Southern Michigan, which conducts an educational program
directed toward the Bachelor's Degree of General Study.
SPSM:

State Prison of Southern Michigan, Jackson, Michigan,

the largest walled penal male in s titu tio n in the world.
COPE:

College Opportunity Prison Extension, Io n ia , Michigan,

which conducts an educational program directed toward the associate
degree a t the Michigan Reformatory.
MR:

Michigan Reformatory, male youth offender in s t itu t io n ,

located in Ionia, Michigan, considered a maximum security in s titu tio n .
MTU:

Michigan Training Units, a medium security in s titu tio n

fo r young male offenders, located in Ionia next to the MR,

n
Inmate resident:

A male person incarcerated at the State

Prison of Southern Michigan.
Student:

Any inmate in a course offering the college program.

Free world:

A common term used by prisoners, meaning society

at large.
R ehabilitation:
rank.

Restoration to a former state, capacity, or

I t further means to reinstate a social outcast and to make one

capable of becoming a useful member of society again.
Education:

The systematic development and cu ltiv atio n of the

natural powers, by inculcation and example.

I t further means instruc­

tion and training in an in s titu tio n of learning.

Moreover, i t is the

knowledge and s k ills resulting from such instruction and train ing .
Parole:
the sentence.

Granted a fte r the offender has served a portion of
The sentence is continued but is served outside the

wall in the prisoner's community.
Maximum custody (s e c u rity ):

Generally a walled in s titu tio n

with the inmates occupying inside cells at a ll times surrounded by a
high wall manned by armed guards.
Medium custody (s e c u rity ):

Generally an in s titu tio n with no

walls but perhaps a fence, outside cells fo r night lockup, and some
supervision of working assignments.
Minimum custody (s e c u rity ):

Generally an open in s titu tio n

lik e a Camp with no fence, w a ll, or armed guards and very l i t t l e
direct supervision of working assignments.
Walkaway:

A prisoner who leaves the confines of the penal

in s titu tio n without authority.
00 (Double 0 ) :

A prisoner who has no job assignment.

12

Organization of the Study
This chapter has presented a b rie f statement of the problem,
the background, the need fo r this study, and the purpose of the study,
the plan of the study, and the d efin itio n of pertinent terms.
Chapter I I reviews lite r a tu r e on this topic, consisting of
lite ra tu r e about the resp o nsib ility, the necessity, the objectives,
and reactions to correctional educational programs.
Chapter I I I consists of a review of collegiate programs for
inmates of the Michigan prison system:

JCC and WSU at SPSM; COPE at

MR and MTU; the Marquette branch prison; the Muskegon correctional
f a c i l i t i e s and the Detroit House of Correction.
Chapter IV, dealing with methodology and procedures, consists
of discussion of populations, samples, instruments, data collections,
and analysis procedures.
Chapter V is the analysis of the data collected from the JCC
students and s t a f f , WSU students and s t a f f , and correctional s ta ffs .
Chapter V I, the summary of findings, is devoted to the dis­
cussion of the findings concerning each of three groups:
fa c u lty , and correctional s ta ffs .

students,

Included also are conclusions and

recommendations.

Footnotes to Chapter I
^Michigan Department of Corrections Annual Report 1976,
page 3.

CHAPTER I I

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

In surveying the l i t e r a t u r e a v a ila b le , e f f o r t s were directed
toward id e n tify in g the a ttitu d e s which people in the f i e l d o f correc­
tio n al education have had r e la tin g to the necessity, the responsi­
b i l i t i e s , the o b jec tiv es , and reactions concerning e x is tin g programs,
and to current trends in college lev el i n s t i t u t i o n .
Necessity fo r Correctional
Education Programs
The apparent need fo r some type o f a c t i v i t y to b e tte r provide
fo r incarcerated in d ivid u als is obvious.

The old concept "busy minds

and busy hands stay out o f d i f f i c u l t y " points up the need f o r
constructive a c t i v i t i e s .

The C a lifo r n ia Department o f Correction

indicates one such path which might be taken:
C a lifo rn ia law requires the S ta te 's co rrectio n al in s tit u tio n s
to provide f o r the secure confinement o f a l l felony offenders.
I t also c a lls fo r the State co rrectio n al agencies to provide
r e h a b il i t a t i v e programs f o r them. The underlying reason is
obvious. . . Most offenders, by law, u ltim a te ly must be
released.
I t is in the in te r e s t o f public s a fe ty , th e re fo re ,
to provide a program aimed a t d eterrin g them from new crime.
With th is as the generally p re v a ilin g f e e lin g , the m a jo rity
o f the correctional a u th o r itie s entered in to the d ire c tio n o f social
adjustment so the inmate, when released, might be b e tte r able to
adjust to the d a ily s itu a tio n he would encounter.

13

The concept

14

expressed by U. Samuel Vukcevich restates th is almost d ir e c t ly :
Most group processes in correction seek to give the offender
greater in sig h t into t h e ir problems, not only those o f the
past and present, but also and perhaps es p ecially to give
them preparation fo r those problems they may expect to face
in the fu tu re . The degree or depth of insig h t or the level
or q u a lity of in te rp re ta tio n are the difference.
This tack is one which implies the sociological impact of
the programs of correctional in s titu tio n s on the world today.
Society complains about the expense o f governmental operations most
loudly when there is the le a s t amount of evidence of a perceptible
return of the social stru ctu re.

Hence i t is necessary th a t, because

of these demands of society, the expense of correctional operation
be reduced.

This might be accomplished by an e a r l i e r return o f the

incarcerated to society through an extended parole program, where
the cost of supervision is considerably less than th at necessitated
through a program of incarceration in correctional in s t it u t io n s .
A lb e rt R. Roberts provides a number o f arguments supporting
the need f o r post-secondary programs leading to an Associate Degree.
He fee ls i t is fe a s ib le fo r most inmates who have had a high school
diploma, o ffe rin g not only increased employment opportunities but
also, more importantly, enhancement o f self-im age, which most inmates
need.

The inmate's self-image can be g re a tly enhanced by his own

accomplishments o f being successful in college courses, and by the
reinforcement and praise o f the prison college s t a f f .
He raises questions as to what i t "costs" to send a person
to prison, what i t "costs" to release him and then reimprison him
fo r a subsequent conviction, and what i t "costs" to support his
fam ily on welfare while he is confined.

In the long run, the cost

15

of post-secondary r e h a b ilit a t io n , sending an inmate to c o lle g e , is
considerably less than the cost of n o n -re h a b ilita tio n in terms o f
such factors as future crimes committed, and processing of the
individual through a r r e s t, court prosecution, and i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z a ­
tion time and time again.

Viable a lte rn a tiv e s are needed to reduce

the higher cost of our present crime r a te , which is estimated to be
over 50 b i l l i o n dollars per year.

Post-secondary education can

become one o f these a lte rn a tiv e s .
He suggests th at the cost of putting an inmate through a
fo ur-year state college ranges from approximately $2,500 to $4,000
per year.

This includes t u it i o n , books and supplies, room and

board, and an allowance fo r clothes and entertainment.
about h a lf fo r those inmates in work-study programs.

The cost is
In co n trast,

estimates o f the annual cost o f incarceration per ad u lt felon ranges
from about $8,000 to $12,000.

The economic savings o f r e h a b ilit a t in g

an inmate through post-secondary education, ra th e r than continued
incarceration, become even more apparent when we consider the waste
o f manpower resulting from years o f in c arce ratio n , the loss in ta x ­
able income, and the cost of prisoners' fa m ilie s on w elfare.

In

a d d itio n , over $435 m illio n is spent annually to operate in s titu tio n s
fo r ad u lt felons.

In the next ten years, over one b i l l i o n dollars

w ill be spent fo r physical and custodial improvements, such as for
new in s tit u tio n s .

Further, he states th a t because o f the lack o f

systematic and rigorous evaluations o f the effectiveness o f current
higher education programs fo r convicted fe lo n s , two basic miscon­
ceptions have been perpetuated: (1) th at higher education programs

16

re s u lt in the o ffen der's becoming only a better-educated crim inal;
and (2) th at the program is a waste of money and manpower costing
more in taxpayers' d o llars than do the tra d itio n a l forms o f
corrections.

3

G ilb e rt Cuthbertson, e d ito r o f the Journal of Correctional
Education, and a longtime worker in correctional education, comments
in a publication of the United States Prison at Leavenworth, Kansas:
One of the universal factors common to a l l men in prison is
th e ir i n a b i l i t y to understand the need to recognize and
control the various circumstances th at are a great part of
each of our liv e s .
Education is an avenue down which we
can a r r iv e a t a b e tte r understanding o f ourselves and the
world about us, and as a re s u lt o f th is understanding better
equip ourselves, in a p ositive sense, with the circumstances
of l i f e . . . Education is a debt which we owe ourselves.
When we f a i l to pay th is debt we cheat ourselves, and the
man who would cheat himself is the biggest cheat of a l l .
This expression o f f a i t h in education seems to r e ite r a t e the
general American f a it h in education and would indicate the necessity
f o r making every possible e f f o r t to present and promote a functional
program o f correctional education in every correctional in s t it u t io n .
Arthur Huffman attempts to id e n t ify and s tip u la te necessary
conditions fo r the implementation o f an e ffe c t iv e program o f cor­
rectional education when he states:
An e ffe c tiv e program of correctional education incorporates
two objectives: (1) an appraisal o f the s o c ia l, academic
and vocational lacks th at an individual has and (2) an
e f f o r t toward the development of s o c ia lly accepted a ttitu d e s
to supplant e ith e r the a n ti-s o c ia l a ttitu d e s or the general
haphazard_attitude toward l i f e th a t has allowed delinquent
behavior.
He continues:
A ra tio n a le fo r the democratization theme is th at the l e g i t ­
imation of inmate p a rtic ip a tio n in correctional planning

17

helps to improve communication and keep a liv e relevant
social norms outside the prison.
Another rationale for democratization is th at many
inmates, though negatively oriented toward "Square John"
authority figu res, are observed to be p o sitively i n f l u ­
enced by th e ir "good-con" peers. To the extent that
treatment is thought of as a process involving in t e r ­
personal influences in which there is an attempt to get
inmates to give up one set o f values for another, the task
of correctional education is seen as working with whatever
channels of influence w ill be most e ffe c tiv e . I t is
believed that the democratization measures help d ire c t
s o cializing influences through the c o lla te ra l channels of
inmates to inmates relationship by encouraging "constructive"
inmates to function as e ffe c tiv e surrogates of the s t a f f .
I t is apparent from what these people say that they place
major importance upon the role that education might play in the
re h a b ilita tio n o f incarcerated persons to useful roles in society's
day-to-day operation.

Vukcevich itera tes a statement p ra c tic a lly

identical to the preceding one.

In addition he states:

Social re-education must be aimed a t the integration of the
poorly developed personality into his milieu fo r the f i r s t
time. The poorly developed personalities are c la s s ifie d
as delinquents:
a) Those who fear not to control th e ir impulses
b) Those who are ashamed to appear d iffe re n t from th e ir
peers
c) Those whose feelings of g u ilt generate serious f e e l ­
ings of in f e r i o r it y
d) Those who view themselves overwhelmed by the disgust
and rejection of others and tr y to appear b la s£ .'
The tenor of such a program seems to indicate the desire to
achieve f r u it io n in a functional Protestant work e th ic —work is good,
work is rewarding, work is holy.

Such an approach is desirable, but

not completely functional or p ra c tic a l.

Unfortunately there are

inmates comparable to those c la s s ifie d in public education as
"uneducables" and because o f these, operational d i f f i c u l t i e s w ill
ensue.

18

Roucek id e n tifie s a position which some persons may feel is
more sensible in it s approach to the situ atio n in correctional
education when he states:

. . i t is not so much the s k i l l s — i t

is the a ttitu d e toward work.

Participants must learn a sense of

Q

re s p o n s ib ility ."

He feels that th is is ind icative of a sense o f

re sp o n s ib ility which the correctional personnel must have to the
members o f society whom they serve.
Generally there is consensus about the necessity of educa­
tional programs w ithin the confines o f correctional in s titu tio n s
in conjunction with the feelin g there should be a concerted e f f o r t ,
on the part o f the c o rrec tio n is ts, to ease the rigors of incarcera­
tio n .

This exists to prevent the potential "hate society" a ttitu d e

prevalent in the minds of many who are incarcerated.
Responsibility fo r Correctional
Education Programs
Acceptance of the need fo r correctional education programs
leads to another possible dilemma.

Who has the re sp o n s ib ility fo r

i n i t i a t i n g and operating the program of correctional education?
A study in Michigan indicates one desirable approach when
i t states:
I f the correctional in s titu tio n s are to meet the demand that
they help rebuild the lives o f these committed to them, they
must provide a program fo r prisoners in need o f education, as
wel1 as an educational program fo r those prisoners in need
of correction.
The same study continues:
Education is a contributing factor to a complete program of
re h a b ilita tio n , and within a prison is not b asically d iffe re n t
from education elsewhere. Its u t il i z a t i o n in any correctional
system is a f a i r measure of the re h a b ilita tio n program . . .
I t is recommended th at the State survey its in s titu tio n s to

19

determine the needs fo r an adequate educational program for
the general and vocational training of it s prisoners.*0
Thomas Osborne^ in itia t e s some thought-provoking questions
as to the desired results of a correctional in s titu tio n 's education
program:

"Do you believe in discip line or training?"

"Do you wish

to produce good prisoners, or to prepare good citizens?"

He further

states:
The successful prison system must approach the problem from the
sp iritu a l side, aiming to solve i t by making men feel rig h t.
This, though there is great danger in privileges being given
without exacting such responsibility on the part of the
prisoners to j u s t if y th is .
Implied in this concept is the resp o nsib ility of the program
being administered in such a manner as to provide the proper response
from the inmate, as indicated by William Morro of Rhode Island.
I t is imperative, especially in the s e m i-m ilita ris tic structure
of a correctional in s titu tio n , that the status leader give his
sincere support in attaining the active cooperation o f . a l l
elements of his organization th at need to be involved.13
Morro implies the preservation o f certain concepts:
1.

every individual [inmate] has certain inalienable rights
which should be respected;

2.

[we] must believe in the worth and dignity of the in d i­
vidual inmate;

3.

a primary objective of educational leadership should be
to establish and maintain good human relationships with
both inmates and s ta ff .
Lenin wrote the i n i t i a l tre a tis e on correctional labor

science practiced in the Soviet Union today.
The administration o f criminal ju s tic e should re ly on the
principle of the conditional discharge of the offender.
Courts should express the a ttitu d e of society toward crime
and the criminal through the exercise of social reprimand.
Punishment should be without deprivation of lib e r t y , as for

20

example c o rre c tiv e labor or special public p ro je cts . Prison
should be tra n s ferre d into educational in s titu tio n s in which
prisoners are educated ra th e r than is o la te d . Correctional
in s t it u t io n s should r e ly on the support o f the neighboring
communities to strengthen the educative aspects o f t h e i r
programs.15
In the Report o f The National Advisory Commission on Criminal
Justice Standard and Goal, the follow ing statement is made:
Each i n s t it u t io n should re-examine immediately i t s educational
and vocational tra in in g programs to insure th a t they meet the
standards th a t w il l in d iv id u a liz e education and t r a in in g .
The programs should be directed to the re in te g ra tio n o f the
offender in to the community. I t is recognized th a t techniques
and practices fo r ju v e n ile s may be somewhat d if f e r e n t from
those required fo r a d u lts , but the p rin c ip les are s im ila r .
Usually the programs fo r ju v e n ile s and youths are more adequately
equipped and s ta ffe d , but th is d is tin c tio n should not continue.
I t is assumed th a t intensive e f f o r t s w i l l be made to upgrade
a d u lt in s t it u t io n s and th a t ju v e n ile in s t it u t io n s w i l l be phased
out in favor o f community programs and f a c i l i t i e s .
Objectives of Correctional Education
The d ire c tio n any program takes is e n t i r e ly dependent upon
the aims th a t the adm inistrators o f the program adopt.

The desired

outcomes, as stated by the many program d ire c to rs contacted, seem to
be consistent since they a l l wish to produce t o t a l l y re h a b ilita te d
inmates.

Morro, o f Rhode Islan d , id e n t if ie s a trend in correctional

education apparent only in recent years:
We have changed from a p un itive and holding operation to one
which is designed to help a man l i v e in a democratic society.
This means provides f o r an i n t e r - d is c ip lin a r y approach toward
the attainment o f the s t a te 's in s t it u t io n a l o b jec tiv es . The
educational ex p erie n c es which seem to be appropriate are
scheduled.
A more s p e c ific approach o f the same d ire c tio n is provided by Donald
T a ft in his paper on criminology:
The education o f ad u lt prisoners has c h a ra c te ris tic s th a t
d i f f e r from those on the outside:
(1) To be successful

21

i t must be based upon knowledge o f the prison population;
(2) Prison education must be in d iv id u a lize d ; (3) Prison
education should be "adultized"; (4) Education to reform
must be sought ( a t tit u d e change); (5) Prison education
must be socialized.
The desire of the individual states to produce functional
and successful correctional education programs leads to the in d iv id ­
ual states making studies of t h e ir own programs, as well as those o f
others, and s tip u la tin g th e ir objectives as they are seen in l ig h t o f
a l l the factors considered.

One example o f such an approach is

Wallack's report of the New York study carried on by the Englehart
Commission:
Taking the New York State experiment and in te rp re tin g the
report o f the division of education . . . accept the modern
point of view which holds th a t the purpose of education is
to develop the individual as a to ta l p ersonality.
I t is
fo r adm inistrative purposes only th at we have divided our
work into two categories: general education and vocational
education. Under the heading of general education the
Division o f Education includes a l l types o f educational
a c t i v i t ie s which do not aim to develop vocational s k i l l s but
are intended to revise a ttitu d e s toward social in s titu tio n s
and the in d iv id u a l's re latio n sh ip to them, to develop
in te re s t and s k i l l s needed in acceptable l i v i n g , and tOgprovide the tra in in g basic to a l l desirable re latio n sh ip s .
Paul Tappan in a study of the New York Corrections Law w rites:
The o bjective of prison education in i t s broadest sense
should be s o c ia liz a tio n o f the inmates through varied
impressional and expressional a c t i v i t i e s , with emphasis on
individual inmate needs. The objectives o f th is program
shall be the return of these inmates to society with a more
wholesome a ttitu d e toward l i v i n g , with a desire to conduct
themselves as good c itiz e n s and with the s k i l l and knowledge
which w i l l give them a reasonable chance to maintain them­
selves and t h e ir dependents through honest labor. To th is
end, each prisoner shall be given a program of education
which, on the basis o f a v a ila b le data, seems most l i k e l y to
fu rth e r the process o f s o c ia liz a tio n and r e h a b ilita t io n .
The time d a ily devoted to such education s h a llQbe such as
is required fo r meeting the above objectives.

22

Though this program may appear to be a b i t out of reach, a
statement from the Idaho Board of Corrections seems to indicate an
even higher level of expectation from those inmates p a rtic ip a tin g in
th e ir program of correctional education.

Their policy states:

I t is the policy o f the Board o f Corrections to encourage and
expect sincere e ffo rts for self-improvement on the part of
every inmate. Those who lack an eighth grade education, as
indicated by th e ir mental tests, are expected to obtain eighth
grade standing during th e ir imprisonment. I t is v i t a l l y
important th at those who can neither read nor w rite get a
good education. 1
The position taken by Rhode Island is expressed by William Morro:
Our goal is to have each inmate p a rtic ip a te in an educational
a c t i v i t y . . . Notwithstanding periodic interludes of fr u s tr a ­
tio n , we are working hopefully toward the time in the future
when the programs w ill become a fu ll-d a y function, with a
fu ll- tim e s t a f f . Not only w ill this give the needed depth
to the man's learning experiences, but also, since the median
stay of our inmates is less than one year, i t is f e l t th at
more intensive short-term courses would be more appropriate
than the tra d itio n a l semester-type schedule.
The basic aim o f this a c t iv it y is to create a climate in
which a man may think and ta lk about values as he experiences
them. Values which are inherent in the inmate's behavior
with fellow human beings are discussed from his point o f
view. Each man is helped to make a se lf-evalu atio n of this
experience. As a consequence of the insights he experienced
through his particip atio n in th is discussion group, some of
the men seem to have evidenced a real s ta r t toward th e ir
desired behavioral changes.“
The aims of social education, previously implied as a facet
of correctional education, are spelled out in Wallack's presentation
and are described as being "naturally ambitious."

Nevertheless the

goals have been established and many may be achieved in such a
subtle manner that they may not read ily be ascertained as being
accomplished facts.

The educational a c t i v i t y , a day-by-day a c t i v i t y ,

wears down the resistance o f the inmates and changes th e ir l i f e

23

habits slowly but inexorably provided the s t a f f is well versed in
th e ir s k ills and objectives.
correctional situations.

Education is a type of therapy in

The social education a c t i v i t ie s outlined

by Wallack are:
1. To bring the inmate to adopt goals and attitu des which
are in accord with those o f society and which w ill further the
improvement o f society.
2. To show the inmate the d e s ir a b ilit y of furthering the
interests and standards of worthwhile social groups. Social
education must bring about a transfer of allegiance from a n t i­
social groups and methods to so c ia lly desirable ways of
achieving desired goals.
3. To develop points of view which w ill make apparent
to the prisoner the f u t i l i t y o f committing criminal acts,
and the advantages o f law-abiding, p o s t-in s titu tio n a l liv in g .
4. To stimulate and develop desirable interests which
w ill enable the individual to liv e a worthwhile and yet
interesting l i f e . This has reference p a rtic u la r ly to leisu re­
time interests and a c t i v i t i e s .
5. To stimulate and make possible sustained in te re s t and
e f f o r t toward self-improvement.
6. To develop s k i l l s , understandings, and knowledge
which w ill enable the individual to perform the ordinary
duties of every e f f i c i e n t c i t i z e n . 23
Another position respective o f the area of social education
in correctional programs is expressed by Vukcevich when he stipulates
that the objectives of such a program should be as follows:
To motivate the offender to regard his stay at the in s titu tio n
as an opportunity to a l t e r his thinking and to act in ways
which w ill lead to s o c ia lly acceptable choices. To convey to
the offender the concept th at energy expended in delinquent
behavior is p o te n tia lly positive and can be re-channeled into
so cially tolerable d irectio ns. To give the offender some
awareness of those concepts which constitute the internal
aspects o f his personality structure. To teach the offender
those concepts which w ill enable him to understand b etter the
r e a l i t y of the overall structure in which he liv e s . To teach
him ways of adjusting to the problems involved in the in te r­
action between his personality structure and the structure of

24

the society. To prepare him to face the problems peculiar
to an offender upon release, and to equip him with informa­
tion which w ill enable him to cope with the demands of
every-day l i v i n g . 24
Together with social education is the v i t a l l y important
aspect of vocational education.

Besides satisfying a l l the aims of

general education and social education there are some aims peculiar
to vocational education in correctional in s titu tio n s , which re fle c t
the rapid ity of change in industry.

They are defined as follows:

The prison inmate upon parole, i f his period of imprisonment
has been of any great length, faces an unfamiliar world. He
must be trained to liv e successfully in that world. . . must
be equipped to earn a liv in g in a highly competitive and
rapidly changing world i f [he is ] to use f a i r means in secur­
ing food, shelter, and clothing. This requires a program of
vocational training in the prison which is based upon in d i­
vidual inmate needs as well as upon the existing employment. . .
The current employment situation demands workers trained in
a variety of s k ills . . . The worker released from prison
should have acquired not only usable s k ills but that pride in
high-grade performance which enables one to "get a kick" out
of doing a job w ell. He must be trained to the point where
he gains more satisfaction from the performance of legitimate
work than criminal a c t iv it ie s .
To confirm the objectives of correctional education, Ken
Kerle reported that:
Education for Swedish inmates has three objectives: f i r s t , to
permit inmates with unsatisfactory education backgrounds to
improve to the extent that they can take advantage of voca­
tional or industrial tra in in g . Second, inmates who had th e ir
education interrupted are assisted in getting back into school
on th e ir release. Third, inmates already enrolled in a
public school are provided an opportunity to continue th e ir
studies during sentences. Inmates of the school drop out
variety take refresher courses of varying lengths in areas
such as the Swedish language, mathematics, c iv ic s , and
problems faced in everyday l i f e . Schooling is often only a
h alf day with the remaining time devoted to employment in the
production shop of the institu tio n s or some other suitable
a c tiv it y . 26

25

Murray Joselson stated:
The education department believes in the inherent dignity and
worth of every human being including those incarcerated within
the confines of this in s titu tio n . We re alize the significance
of the fact that an overwhelming majority of the inmates in
most penal institutions have been unsuccessful in th e ir educa­
tional pursuits as well as in th e ir work experiences, family
l i f e , social contacts and overall adjustments deemed conducive
to good citizenship. Because of these evident tru ths, we feel
i t incumbent upon the education department to s triv e toward
the objectives of the department.
Reactions to Existing Programs
of Correctional Education
With the previous statements as the expressed h is to ric a l
objectives for correctional education, what are the reactions of the
experts to the existing correctional operations?

These reactions

should give an insight into the feelings of these people as to
the success of the educational programs in terms of th e ir specific
objectives.

A study of the program in Michigan by Clark and

Associates indicates:
As a rule the men and women who come to prison are badly
equipped, academically and vocationally, to make th e ir
way successfully in free society. Education tends to
upgrade people, and good citizenship normally develops
from sound education.
I f the correctional institu tio n s are to meet the
demand that they help rebuild the lives of those committed
to them, they must provide a program for prisoners in
need of education, as well as an educational program for
prisoners in need of correction.23
»

A statement made elsewhere in the study indicates a change of
a ttitu d e in the viewing of correctional education programs:
. . . i t has been demonstrated that vindictive punishment
serves no rational ends, eith er in prevention or reform.
Meanwhile, as a result of religious or humane motivations,
a new element became embodied in the theory regarding the
treatment of offenders, namely that of re trib u tio n .

2G

But a t the same time ninety-nin e percent o f our prisoners
return to the community th a t sent them away. There is the
rub! A ll . . . agree th a t f i f t y percent, or more, o f the
inmates in penal in s tit u tio n s are repeaters . . . That being
so, i t is f o l l y to t a l k o f the d eterrent or reformative
e f f e c t o f prisons on t h e i r inmates. The fa c t o f the matter
is th a t so great is the f a i l u r e o f the prison system, except
fo r temporary detention o f troublesome or dangerous persons,
th at we are bankrupt in our thinking unless we can fin d some
fresh innovating ideas.
Prisons do not d e te r; and as fo r reformation we have given
i t lip - s e r v ic e while our prisons have been wrongly constructed,
inadequately s ta ffe d with tra in e d personnel, poorly equipped
with f a c i l i t i e s fo r t r a in in g , and generally neglected u n til
catastrophe overtakes us . . . few o f the recommendations o f
the American Prison Congress o f 1879 have found general embodi­
ment in our prisons today. ^
Concerning another important facet o f prison l i f e , the study makes
fu rth e r statements about the idleness which persists fo r many o f the
inmates o f today's prisons:
Next to overcrowding, idleness is one o f the most serious
problems in the S ta te 's co rrectio n al system. The construc­
t iv e f u l l - t i m e employment o f able-bodied prisoners is a
basic requirement fo r t h e ir social and economic r e h a b i l i t a ­
tion and i t is a mandate imposed upon the prisoner and upon
the State under j u d i c i a l laws and procedures. U n til there
is a s a tis fa c to r y solution to th is problem o f idleness a l l
e f fo r t s toward the r e h a b ilit a t io n o f prisoners in the State
correctional in s t it u t io n s w i l l continue to be w oefully
inadequate.
Education is a contributory fa c to r to a complete program
o f r e h a b il i t a t i o n , and w ith in a prison is not b a s ic a lly d i f ­
fe re n t from education elsewhere. I t s u t i l i z a t i o n in any
correction system is a f a i r measure o f the r e h a b ilit a t io n
program.
An a r t i c l e in the D e tr o it News i d e n t i f i e s the fee lin g s th at
a warden o f an I l l i n o i s prison has concerning the program o f educa­
tio n th a t functions in his in s t it u t io n :
Menard's educational program, Warden Randolph th in ks , c o n trib ­
utes g re a tly to prisoners' r e h a b il i t a t i o n . There's no ques­
tion th at we have less returnees from men who have been in
the educational program than from those who haven't.
"Most guys a r e n 't only sincere, they are deadly serious
and they don 't want anybody throwing a monkey wrench
into a good th in g ."

27

One convicted k i l l e r remarked, "We t r y as best we can to
police each o t h e r .31
Rhode Is la n d 's Morro explains:
In order to meet the needs of the inmates and s o c ie ty , the
ad u lt educator in prison r e lie s on the cooperative e f f o r t s
o f his colleagues in p r a c t ic a lly every fa c e t of his endeavors.
Although his programs seem to be p rim a rily concerned with
developing a man's mind and vocational s k i l l , he is s tr iv in g
constantly to e f f e c t behavioral changes th a t w il l re s u lt in
helping inmates to be more responsible and independent as a
member o f s o c ie ty .32
The labor union point o f view on the vocational aspects o f
the educational program of co rrectio n al in s titu tio n s is an important
fa c e t o f so c ie ty's viewpoint.

I t s fe e lin g s on community acceptance

o f returning r e h a b ilita te d inmates are expressed in one o f t h e i r
Community Service A c t iv i t y pamphlets:
The acceptance, or r e je c tio n , o f another person is a personal
th in g . Each ind ividu al must decide whether or not he is
w i l l in g to speak to , welcome and, i f the opportunity a r is e s ,
help another person.
Chances are th a t most people never have d ir e c t personal
contact with a paroled or released person. A man or woman
who has spent time in a correctional i n s t it u t io n may never
l i v e next door, or work on the same jo b .
While most people may not be in a position to give a
job or other d ire c t help to a released person, i t is impor­
ta n t to build more p o s itive a ttitu d e s and to promote a
wider understanding of the importance o f community accep­
tance o f released persons.
Unhappily, the public a t t it u d e toward the treatment o f
offenders has been unduly influenced by sensational motion
pictures about prison l i f e , te le v is io n crime programs, and
the level o f crime reporting in many newspapers. Some day
these same powerful molders o f public opinion may present
a more o b jec tiv e story on the need to make prisons in to
treatment centers.
In the f in a l an a ly sis, acceptance remains an ind ividu al
c h o ic e .33
This viewpoint indicates th a t there must be an extreme e f f o r t on
the part o f both the correctional i n s t it u t io n and the inmate to be

28

sure th a t when release occurs the releasee has a reasonable chance
fo r successful re h a b ilita tio n into society.
A survey o f correctional in s titu tio n s abroad indicates:
The maintenance of modern equipment and the introduction of the
la t e s t technology a t T illb e rg a [Sweden] is aimed a t providing
the inmates with a background which w ill make t h e ir tra n s itio n
from prison l i f e to outside work an easier one.
I t also adds
to the overall acceptance by the prisoner o f the fe e lin g th at
he is engaged in a serious and worthwhile process.
"Graduates"
o f T illb e rg a w ill have had a course of preparation fo r earning
t h e ir liv in g in an in d u s tria l age.3^
This, though i t presents the vocational approach to r e h a b ilit a t io n ,
might be applied to the e n tire educational program o f correctional
i n s titu tio n s .
Current Trends in College-Level
Instruction fo r Inmates o f
"Correctional In s titu tio n s
The more innovative correctional education programs are
geared not only towards l it e r a c y tra in in g , but also towards the
b e tte r educated inmate with a high-school diploma who may well
b e n e fit from higher education.
Recently, there has been a s ig n ific a n t movement in correc­
tion al systems throughout the country in s e ttin g up prison college
programs.

Seven state prisons systems are presently o ffe rin g the

associate degree to t h e ir inmates in conjunction with local ju n io r
colleges.

35

More s p e c ific a lly , ten inmates o f the U. S

peniten­

t i a r y a t Leavenworth, Kansas received the degree o f Associate in
Arts from Highland Community College, Highland, Kansas, on August
23, 1968.

Thirty-one inmates o f the Washington State P e n iten tia ry

received the Associate Degree in Applied Arts and Sciences (two-year

29

college degree) at annual commencement exercises at the Walla Walla
Community College in June, 1968.

An associate degree which seems

fe a s ib le fo r most o f the inmates who have a high school diploma
o ffe rs not only increased employment opportunities, but more impor­
ta n t, enhancement o f self-confidence and self-image which most inmates
need.

The inmate's self-image can be g reatly enhanced by his own

accomplishments o f being successful in college courses, and by the
reinforcement and praise o f the prison s t a f f .
Prison college programs are presently operating in many
states, such as C a lif o r n ia , D i s t r ic t of Columbia, F lo rid a, I l l i n o i s ,
Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio,
Oregon, Texas and Washington.

The programs o f fe r the Associate

Degree (two years) and the Bachelor's Degree (fo u r years).
The C a lifo rn ia State Prisons a t San Quentin and Folsom
o f fe r c o lle g e-lev el in s tru ctio n fo r t h e i r inmates.

The San Quentin

Prison College Project was developed through the cooperation o f the
C a lifo rn ia Department of Corrections, the University o f C a lifo rn ia ,
the San Quentin Prison College S t a f f , San Francisco State College,
and Marin Junior College.
Grant.

I t was financed by a Ford Foundation

The two-year college program a t San Quentin has been approved

by the Marin Junior College.
Presently, four d if f e r e n t college courses are offered each
semester a t Folsom, or twelve units o f courses each semester.

I t is

hoped th at the 34 inmates who began the program w ill continue taking
courses and reach the goal of an Associate o f Arts Degree from
Sacramento C ity College.

30

The H o rid a Department of Corrections in conjunction with
Lake City Junior College offers college-level courses a t four Florida
correctional in s titu tio n s in which between 160 and 180 inmates are
or

p a rtic ip a tin g .

Director of Education David K. Endwright has

indicated that Florida is planning to make some correctional i n s t i ­
tutions extension centers of local colleges.
Kentucky began it s program in 1967 by enrolling 26 selected
inmates in a freshman English course a t the maximum security Kentucky
State Penitentiary at Eddyville.

37

Presently, instructors from

Kentucky Wesleyan University teach courses within the prison each
semester.
The Ohio Division of Corrections finances the college educa­
tion of a small number of highly q u a lifie d inmates upon release.
About 35 former inmates are taking courses at Ashland College and
Miami University o f Ohio.
The University of Maryland sponsors college-level courses
each semester at the Maryland State Penitentiary in Baltimore.
The men attending this course must have a t least a general equiv­
alency diploma (6 .E .D .) and a good record while a t the p e n ite n tia ry .
The courses offered in the past two years have been in introductory
sociology, psychology, American history, anthropology, speech,
English composition, and English l it e r a t u r e .

One course is offered

each semester and usually 20 to 25 men are enrolled.

This program

was begun in 1954, and has resulted in helping these men to receive
fa s te r paroles because of th e ir educational achievements.

Follow-up

studies should be planned to determine i f any o f the men taking these
college courses ever completed college upon release.

31

The Southern I l l i n o i s U n iv e rs ity -Illin o is State Penitentiary,
-jo

Menard, project is one of the most successful of its kind.

About

25 to 35 inmates are relieved of work assignments to attend college
classes within the prison.

Over 60 paroled inmates have continued

th e ir college education upon release, with several obtaining degrees
from Southern I l l i n o i s University.

I l l i n o i s has another sig n ifica n t

program at S ta te v ille which has the cooperation o f Northern I l l i n o i s
University.

This prison college program is one of the few places

where educational television has been used.
Recently the Connecticut Department of Corrections also
organized a study release program, whereby selected inmates may go
fu ll-tim e to school or college during the day and return to the
in s titu tio n at n ig h t . ^
Beginning in the summer of 1970, the New Jersey Youth Recep­
tion and Correction Center at Yardville in cooperation with Trenton
State College in itia te d two three-credit college courses for a small
group of inmates who had high school diplomas or c e rtific a te s of
equivalency based on G.E.D. tests.

The two courses offered were

English composition and foundations of mathematics.^
The New York program allows inmates to earn college cred it
by taking television courses or correspondence courses which are
offered through the State University of New York.

To receive cred it

for the course, the inmate has to pass a proficiency examination on
the course content.

Thirty-four course examinations are administered

periodically by a representative of the New York State Department of
Education at a ll prisons and reformatories in New York.

Many of the

32

inmates o f the New York co rrectio n al in s tit u tio n s are earning G.E.D*.
or high school equivalency diplomas.

There seems to be a real demand

f o r c o lle g e -le v e l education by many of the inmates who have high
school diplomas and considerable time l e f t to serve in the i n s t i t u ­
tio n .

However, in New York as well as in many of the other state

correctional systems, the problems encountered are lim ite d budgets
and lack o f adequate funds fo r new educational programs.

41

Carl S e id le r, D ire c to r o f Education a t Patuxent I n s t it u t io n
in Jessup, Maryland, is in the planning stages o f providing c o lle g e level correspondence courses leading to a fo ur-year college degree
fo r Patuxent's better-educated inmates.

Stan Mopsik o f the Maryland

Department o f Education and a representative from the U n iversity o f
Chicago extension d iv is io n have been cooperating with S e id le r in
planning f o r th is new program.

42

The most e f f e c t iv e development of prison college in s tru c tio n
may well consist o f procedures to motivate and prepare prisoners fo r
entry into colleges outside the w alls during parole.

An e f f e c t iv e

design might be to model new programs on the College-As-A-Parole-Plan
o f San Diego State C ollege's School o f Social Work.

This p ro ject

has been functioning fo r almost three years under the d ire c tio n o f
Professor Melvin L. Murphy.

The p ro je ct is a cooperative e f f o r t

involving the Superintendent a t Tehachapi Prison, the San Diego
parole u n it, and the Episcopal Community Services which provide a
residence fo r the parolees.

Inmates are released to f u l l - t i m e c o l­

lege work and given fin a n c ia l assistance through work-study programs,
Educational Opportunity grants, and s im ila r s o u r c e s .^

33

Summary
Progress has been made in many other aspects o f work in
corrections.

For example, support has been increasingly a v ailab le

fo r experimental-demonstration programs in correctional education and
fo r tra n s la tin g p il o t programs into permanent ones.

The e a rly man­

power programs (MDTA), post-secondary e ffo r ts (Newgate), and s im ila r
pioneering projects have been in s tit u tio n a liz e d in a v a rie ty o f ways.
These are now supported by in s tit u tio n budgets and s t a f f .

In addi­

tio n , new programs have been i n i t i a t e d with the assistance o f adult
basic education (ABE), occupational tra in in g (CETA), and most
recently National Endowment fo r the Arts ( NEA) funds.

These and

other resources support much needed experimental education programs
in many correctional in s titu tio n s .
One of the most s ig n ific a n t innovations in recent years has
been the a llo c a tio n o f Basic Education Opportunity Grants (BEOG) to
incarcerated offenders to finance enrollment in post-secondary
education programs.

The establishment of school d is t r i c t s to serve

correctional education needs has also been of major importance.
All of these fa c to rs , and others, have resulted in substan­
t i a l increases in correctional education p a rtic ip a tio n ra tes .
In the federal system the increases are impressive.

See

Table 2 .1 .
Conclusion
The effectiveness of education fo r r e h a b ilita tio n or
re s o c ia liza tio n o f offenders w il l remain a question u n til systematic
follow-up studies are designed and carried out.

Research should be

34

TABLE 1 . --Inmate Course Completions in Federal Prisons in the
United States
Courses

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

Adult Basic Ed.

1,100

1 ,250

1 ,362

1 ,631

2,536

2,672

Secondary Ed.

1,970

2,000

1 ,838

2,182

3,328

4,288

Occup. Ed.

3,030

4,750

4,954

5,628

6,740

8,084

Social Ed.

1 ,366

1,481

1,881

2,908

3,693

5,303

Post-secondary Ed.

1,075

1,152

1 ,377

2,118

3,929

9,126

8,541

10,773

11,402

14,467

20,226

29,473

Totals

undertaken to determine common sociopsychological ch a rac teris tic s o f
those inmates who receive eighth-grade or high school diplomas, or
associate college degrees, compared to those who do not.

Also,

these investigations might be designed to id e n tify those inmates who
gained lea st from the educational experience in order th a t m odifi­
cation o f the treatment programs can be made to meet th e ir
r e h a b ilit a t iv e needs.

For example, those who re c id iv a te (f o r e ith e r

parole v io la tio n or conviction of another offense) may need more
a tte n tio n , individualized in s tru c tio n , counseling and psychotherapy
(in d iv id u al or group), and/or material operant conditioning f o r
school achievement and proper in s tit u tio n a l behavior o r, on the other
hand, they may need less atte n tio n and less verbal or material school
re in fo r c e r s .

FOOTNOTES TO CHAPTER 2

C a lifo rn ia Department of Corrections, Preparing Men fo r
Industry (Sacramento: C a lifo rn ia Department o f- Corrections, Youth
and Adult Correction Agency, 1964), p. 1.
2

U. Samuel Vukcevich, "Teaching Social Adjustment to
Incarcerated Offenders U t i l iz i n g Principles o f Group Dynamics," The
Journal o f Correctional Education 16 (January 1964): 33.
3I b i d . , p. 24.
^G ilbert Cuthbertson, "The Value o f Education," 1964-65
Catalog o f Classes (Leavenworth: United States Bureau of Prisons,

1964), P. r ---------

5
Arthur V. Huffman, "Some Special Factors A ffecting
Education in the Correctional In s t itu t io n s ," The Journal of
Correctional Education 16 (January 1964): 22.
6 I b i d . , p. 25.
7Vukcevich, "Teaching Social Adjustment," p. 32.
O

Joseph Roucek, e d ., Sociology o f Crime (New York:
Philosophical Lib rary, 1961), p. 2647
9
Clark and Associates, Engineers: Leinweber, Yamasaki, and
Hellmuth, A rch itects, Study o f Penal F a c i l i t i e s fo r the State o f
Michigan (Grand Rapids'! Clark e t a l . , 1964), p. 16.
10I b i d . , pp. 41-42.
^Thomas M. Osborne, Society and Prisons (New Haven:
University Press, 1916), p. 212.

Yale

12I b i d . , p. 186.
^3William S. Morro, "Adult Education—An Integral Part of
Rhode Island's Correctional Services," The Journal of Correctional
Education 16 (April 1964): 8.
14Ib i d . , p. 12.
15

Ken Kerle, "Penal Education: United States and Europe,"
The Prison Journal
(Autumn-Winter 1975): 5.

35

36

^N a tio n al Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standard and
Goals, "Educational and Vocational Training, Corrections," 23
(January 1973): 368.
^M orro, Adult Education," p. 8.
18

Donald R. T a f t , Criminology (New York:
Company, 1956), p. 545.

The MacMillan

19

Wallack et a l . , Education Within Prison Walls (New York:
The MacMillan Company, 1956), p. 545.
on
Paul Tapper, Contemporary Correction (New York: McGraw-Hill
In c ., 1951), p. 225.
21

Idaho Department of Corrections, Academic and Vocational
Training, Idaho State Penitentiary (Boise: Idaho Department o f
Corrections,
) , p. 1.
22Morro, "Adult Education," pp. 8-9.
23
24

Wallack et a l . , Education Within Prison Walls, pp. 24-25.
Vukcevich, "Teaching Social Adjustment," p. 35.

25Wallack e t a l . , Education Within Prison Walls, pp. 28-29.
Ken Kerle, "Penal Education:

United States and Europe,"

p. 8.
27

Murray Joselson, "Prison Education: Lockstep to F a ilu re ,"
The Journal of Correctional Education
(F all 1973): 19.
Op

Clark et a l . , Study o f Penal F a c i l i t i e s , pp. 16-17.
29I b i d . , p. 8.
30I b i d . , pp. 36-37.
31"Where Nobody Flunks Out," D e tro it News, 28 January 1965,
p. 11.
32Morro, "Adult Education," p. 9.
33AFL-CI0 Community Service A c t iv it ie s , The Men Who Lived
Again (New York: AFL-CIO Publication No. 63,
) , pp. 4-5.
34

L. Opperman, "Swedish Prisons Could Serve as Model," The
American Legislator
(October 1964): 3.

35

Albert R. Roberts, "Academic Education in Correctional
In s titu tio n s ," Sourcebook on Prison Education (S p rin g fie ld , I l l i n o i s ,
1971), p. 60.
36I b i d . , p. 61.
37I b i d . , p. 64.
38I b i d . , p. 65.
39I b i d . , p. 65.
40I b i d . , p. 65.
41I b i d ., p. 66.
4^ I b i d ., p. 66.
43I b i d . , p. 66.

CHAPTER I I I

A REVIEW OF COLLEGIATE PROGRAMS
FOR INMATES OF THE MICHIGAN
PRISON SYSTEM

This chapter w ill describe the institu tio n s which have
college programs.

The institu tio n s without college programs are

lis te d in Appendix A.

The information provided in this chapter has

been extracted from the 1976 Annual Report of the Michigan
Corrections Department.
Today education is the major treatment program within the
Michigan prison system.

All together about 4,500 men and women

attend academic and/or vocational training classes, but only 1,300 go
to college.

About $5.2 m illion was spent for education in the

1975-76 fis c a l year.

A total o f 206 persons work within the depart­

ment's educational system; 151 are teachers; the rest are administra­
to rs, teacher-aides and secretaries.
A fter completing high school or earning a General Education
Development (GED) c e r t if ic a te , residents may enroll in community
college programs, which are offered in several institu tio n s and
camps throughout the system.

In the larger f a c i l i t i e s , this type of

program can lead to a two-year associate degree.

At the State Prison

of Southern Michigan in Jackson, third and fourth years o f college
training culminating in a bachelor's degree are available through
Wayne State University's Life Long Learning.
38

A lim ited number of

39

residents are able to pursue the th ird and fourth years o f college a t
the Marquette Branch Prison.

The study-pass program also permits

residents to go into the local community.

In th is case, i t is to

pursue e ith e r an academic or vocational education, generally a t the
local community co lle g e.
Each camp o ffe rs programs in ad u lt basic and high school edu­
c a tio n , as well as substance-abuse education.

A high school educa­

tio n may also be completed by taking the GED, and residents may take
correspondence courses from public and p riv a te sources.

Over h a lf o f

the camps o f f e r a t le a s t one kind o f vocational tr a in in g , usually
conducted by a local community c o lle g e .

In 1975, a to ta l o f 750 camp

residents were involved in education programs o f one type or another.
D e tro it House o f C o rrectio n :
Women's Division
At th is i n s t it u t io n (DeHoCo), college c r e d it can be earned
through a program o ffered a t the i n s t it u t io n by Schoolcraft College,
Livonia.
time.

Usually 10 to 25 women are p a rtic ip a tin g a t any given

Some residents a u d it the classes without c r e d i t .
In the area o f vocational education, the options are lim ite d

but expanding.

The most substantial program involves DeHoCo, School­

c r a f t College, and the Plymouth Center f o r Human Development.

In

th is program which is under the d ire c tio n o f the c o lle g e , q u a lifie d
women can become nurse a s s is ta n ts , c h ild care workers, or tea ch er’ s
aides.
Trained women prisoners work with b lin d , in f ir m , or phys­
i c a l l y and mentally handicapped patients a t the ce n ter.

Since the

program started in 1973, about 70 percent o f the women have found

AO
jobs in p rivate and public in s titu tio n s which care fo r or t r a in handi
capped or i l l persons.

A number o f women who p artic ip a te d in the

program while a t DeHoCo now work f u l l time a t the center.
Marquette Branch Prison
The State House of Correction and Branch Prison, Marquette,
housed both men and women when i t was completed in 1899.

The s ite

was a g i f t to the State from the Marquette Businessmen's Association.
More commonly referred to as the Marquette Branch Prison (MBP), or
simply as "Marquette," i t encompasses 35 acres, and today is used
only fo r male offenders, many of whom have been behavioral problems
in other in s titu tio n s or who are escape ris k s .

Known fo r i t s scenic

beauty, the s ite contains not only the main, maximum security
f a c i l i t y , but a tru sty d iv is io n , and the Michigan Intensive Program
Center (MIPC).
The f a c i l i t y provides housing fo r over 900 residents.
Approximately 650 are housed inside the w a lls , from 170 to 200 are
located in the tru s ty d iv is io n , and MIPC provides housing and pro­
gramming fo r an average of 70 residents.

Approximately 90 percent

o f the residents are from the Lower Peninsula.

Most a r riv e a t

Marquette as behavior problems, but many also come as volunteers
because they claim i t is "easier to do time" a t Marquette.
When a resident arriv e s a t MBP, he brings with him a recom­
mended treatment program developed when he entered the Reception
and Guidance Center at Jackson.

The re s p o n s ib ility fo r insuring th a t

the resident is able to p a rtic ip a te in the recommended a c t i v i t i e s
rests with the MBP treatment department.

When f u l l y s ta ffe d , the

41

treatment department consists o f a treatment, d ire c to r, program
c la s s if ic a t io n d ir e c to r , recreation d ir e c to r , two chaplains, and one
c lin ic a l psychologist.

The school principal also is under super­

vision o f the treatment d ire c to r.
I f i t is recommended that a resident obtain more education,
i t is the re s p o n s ib ility of the treatment department, through i t s
three-man c la s s ific a tio n committee, to insure th a t the man is
c la s s ifie d to enter an educational program.
In the academic program, work in grades 1 through 12 is
a v a ila b le , and residents may complete the requirements fo r high
school graduation e it h e r through class completion or through GED
te s ts .

The academic scene also includes college courses offered at

the prison by Northern Michigan U n ive rsity , Marquette, and residents
may take correspondence courses offered through public and private
in s t itu t io n s .
The prison vocational school o ffe rs 10 d if f e r e n t courses:
welding, sheetmetal, machine to o l, photo o f f s e t , p rin tin g , sign shop,
shoe r e p a ir , typew riter r e p a ir, d ra ftin g , and basic blu ep rin t read­
ing.

In addition there are 13 positions authorized fo r on-the-job

tr a in in g .
To assis t residents in t h e ir educational goals, there is an
in s tit u tio n a l lib r a r y which contains about 7,000 volumes.

I f the

necessary materials cannot be located a t the in s t itu t io n lib r a r y ,
residents may use the services o f the Escanaba branch o f the
Michigan State Library.

42

Muskegon Correctional F a c ility
The major program a t the Muskegon Correctional F a c ilit y (MCF)
is education.

In fa c t, Muskegon generally takes only those who need

and are interested in furthering th e ir education.

There are courses

for f i r s t grade through high school and a few college courses.
are also educational programs available in the community.

There

Muskegon

Community College (MCC) has an associate degree program on i t s campus
to which MCF residents are transported d a ily to attend classes.
Vocational tra in in g , conducted under the auspices of the local in t e r ­
mediate school d i s t r i c t , is given a t the South County Vocational
Center in Muskegon.

In addition, a course in food management is

offered inside the f a c i l i t y .
COPE at Michigan Reformatory and
Michigan Training Unit
COPE at Michigan Reformatory
The COPE program was in it ia t e d at the Michigan Reformatory
(MR), a hundred-year-old maximum security in s titu tio n located in
Ionia,

Residents of MR are youthful offenders under the age o f 23.

Approximately one-half of the residents are serving terms o f two
years or less.

The present capacity is rated a t 1,887 persons.

The

census as of July 1, 1976 was 1,492 persons.
COPE currently offers an average of 24 classes each term to
MR residents.

The majority of the classes are held during the

morning and afternoon hours.
times each week.

Evening classes are also held several

With the recent renovation o f D wing by COPE stu­

dents, the program now has a ttra c tiv e and useful space.

The area is

43

very clean, moderately spacious, and p ra c tic a lly designed.

D wing

contains the COPE o f fic e , lib r a r y , fiv e classrooms, a storage area,
and a language laboratory.
considered a student lounge.

An area at the end of the wing is
The lounge area is small, crowded,

furnished only with benches, and is generally u n a ttrac tiv e.

In

general, the f a c i l i t i e s are very functional and are very conducive
to educational programming.
COPE lib ra ry f a c i l i t i e s at MR have been expanded in recent
years.

The number of books, a r t ic l e s , and educational supplies has

increased stead ily.

Present availab le space and anticipated program

needs indicate the continued growth o f the lib r a r y .

More texts and

reference books would add considerably to the q u a lity of the program
by providing students with additional resources.
The COPE program has been integrated into the MR program.
Residents are allowed to choose a work assignment and/or to p a r t i c i ­
pate in COPE.

The l a t t e r choice may be f u l l or part time.

In s t it u ­

tional s t a f f seem to consider COPE a viable and worthwhile
correctional program, and they have allowed residents to p a rtic ip a te .
The f u ll

integration of an outside program within a correctional

f a c i l i t y is d i f f i c u l t .
The COPE program and students do have some problems with
in s titu tio n a l rules, routines, and operations.

I t appears th at

these problems are addressed by MR and COPE s t a f f in a s p i r i t of
cooperation.
Several terms ago, COPE allowed q u a lifie d correctional
s t a f f members—those with the high school diploma— to enroll in COPE

44

classes.

These persons take part with residents in the regular class

meeting.

This practice of integrating in s titu tio n a l s t a f f and

residents has been praised by the MR administration.

A more recent

innovation has been the enrollment of MCC students in COPE classes.
Although this practice has been lim ite d , the COPE s t a ff plans to
continue to expand the participation of "campus" students in COPE.
Students earn 25 cents per day while taking COPE courses.
Residents on work assignments may earn as much as $3.00 per day;
obviously, l i t t l e financial reward is offered fo r participation in
COPE.

Residents without outside financial support for personal needs

are constrained by this arrangement.

Often these fin a n c ia lly pressed

residents cannot afford to become involved with COPE.
The COPE instructional s ta ff at MR is primarily the MCC
s t a f f.

The s t a f f members are basically free to establish th eir

method of teaching and are able to select th e ir instructional
materials.

The format fo r the classes is sim ilar to other college

settings; lectures, discussions, and student participation are a ll
used as instructional methods.

Written assignments, tests, and

classroom participation are used as evaluative measures for students.
The courses are generally conducted in an informal format.
The presentation of material seems appropriate fo r the subject.
Social science classes are more informal, less lecture-oriented, and
include discussions.
are practice oriented.

Business and math courses are lecture
The instructors seldom use audio-visual aids,

apparently because of the lack of such available aids.
The in s titu tio n a l setting produces unique circumstances for
the instructor.

The classes seemed to this researcher to be

45
conducted with f l e x i b i l i t y and s e n s i t iv it y to th is unique teaching
environment.

The tone o f the classes—d is c ip lin e , language, student

p a r t ic ip a tio n , and attitude--seem s d if f e r e n t from most college
classes.

Again, these features seem consistent with reasonable

expectations o f the in s t it u t io n a l s e ttin g .
P a rtic u la r a tte n tio n should be drawn to the c a p a b ilit ie s o f
the in s tru c to rs ; many display exceptional a b i l i t i e s to in te g ra te
various areas of study--sociology, h is to ry , p o l i t i c s , English
grammar— in to a cohesive program.

The approach o f many instru cto rs

is highly e f f e c t iv e in maintaining student a tte n t io n , in t e r e s t , and
p a r tic ip a tio n .
Counseling a t the Michigan Reformatory is provided by one
academic s t a f f counselor and one h a lf-tim e placement counselor;
these persons also serve the Michigan Training Unit (MTU) students.
The counselors guide students in academic decisions and assis t with
t h e ir problems.

A large portion o f t h e i r time is consumed by

a d m in is tra tiv e functions.

The COPE s t a f f counselors, because o f

other r e s p o n s ib ilit ie s , cannot serve in t h e i r counseling capacities
on a f u l l - t i m e basis.
Several COPE students have acted as assistants to program
s ta ff.

They have e f f e c t i v e l y helped with ad m in istrative d uties.

At

times, these assistants are asked by the students to provide
counseling because the COPE s t a f f is not a v a ila b le .

Although the

assistants have provided services to students e f f e c t i v e l y , a need
f o r more s t a f f fo r counseling has been seen.

The student assistants

are able to execute many tasks which allow the program s t a f f to be
more a v a ila b le to students.

1

46
COPE a t the Michigan Training Unit
The Michigan Training Unit (MTU) is a 20-year-old medium
se cu rity f a c i l i t y designed p rim a rily f o r the vocational and educa­
tio n a l tra in in g o f youthful offenders (p rim a r ily under 2 3 ).

The

average length o f stay fo r MTU residents is less than th a t o f MR
residents.

The current population o f the f a c i l i t y is 720.

grams emphasize both vocational and educational t r a in in g .

MTU pro­
Work

assignments are established f o r each re s id e n t, usually in a voca­
tio n al area.

Those residents who do not have a high school education

are required to attend classes and work toward a high school diploma
or GED c e r t i f i c a t e .
afternoon hours.

These classes are held during the morning and

MTU is a r e l a t i v e l y modern f a c i l i t y .

I t o ffe rs

many o p p o rtu n itie s—educational, re c r e a tio n a l, and vocational—which
are not a v a ila b le to MR residents.
The COPE program began a t MTU in 1972.

Since th a t

time, an

average o f 10 classes have been o ffered a t MTU each term. COPE uses
the high school classrooms.

Because COPE shares f a c i l i t i e s with the

in s t it u t io n a l programs, the program has no separate o f f i c e .
space and equipment fo r COPE are not a v a ila b le .

Storage

O v e ra ll, substan­

t i a l l y fewer educational resources and f a c i l i t i e s are a v a ila b le to
COPE students a t MTU than a t MR.
At MTU the COPE program operates as an adjunct component o f
the MTU in s t it u t io n a l programs.

The absence o f an o f fic e and

adequate l i b r a r y f a c i l i t i e s underscores the ro le o f the COPE program
a t MTU.

Because high school completion is required o f a l l MTU

residents, completion programs take precedence over COPE classes.

47

Although high school completion is recommended as a prereq u isite
f o r COPE classes, i t is not required. As a re s u lt o f
MTU residents may be enrolled

in both high school

th is p o lic y ,

and COPE classes.

I t should be noted that high school equivalency is required i f a COPE
student is to receive college c r e d it.
Nearly 60 percent o f the MTU population is involved in the
high school program.

Many COPE students have finished t h e ir high

school program a t MTU before jo in in g COPE.
MTU fo r less than two years.

Most residents are at

Since COPE o ffers a two-year degree,

many students do not fin is h th e ir program and withdraw from COPE.
Up to 1973, students enrolled

in both high school

and college pro­

grams at MTU could be counted

by each program fo r

the purpose of

state funding.

Since 1973, the policy has been th a t such students

may only be counted as high school students.
Each MTU resident has an assignment which is e ith e r work or
educationally re la te d .

A student may have a school assignment during

the day to complete high school.
COPE as a f u ll- t im e assignment.

Residents are not allowed to e le c t
Those who have a high school diploma

must use t h e ir own time fo r COPE's evening classes.

P a rtic ip a tio n

in COPE a t MTU is not

considered an assignment; unlike MR, no

monetary compensation

is made to COPE students.

COPE classes a t MTU are taught by many o f the same in s tru c ­
tors who teach a t MR.

The operation of the classes and the presen­

ta tio n o f the materials are s im ila r to those previously described
a t MR.

48

MTU shares the academic and placement counselors with MR.

As at MR,

the demand and need fo r counseling has not been adequately met at
MTU.

There are no resident assistants fo r COPE at MTU; the in s t it u ­

tion does not assign anyone to this position.

Resident assistants

provide valuable services to students and to the program.

They pro­

vide an important lin k in program operation and allow COPE s t a f f to
have more contact with students.

Their absence a t MTU s ig n ific a n tly

weakens the COPE program.
The State Prison o f Southern Michigan
Jackson Community College
Jackson Community College (JCC) f i r s t became involved in an
education program with the prison during the f a l l semester o f 1967
when an experimental class was held in the prison hospital.

The

class, "General Psychology," had a to ta l re g is tra tio n of nine
students.
The in te re s t and dedication o f these students prompted the
study-pass program which enabled six students to attend classes
f u ll-tim e on the Jackson Community College campus in 1968.
program ran fo r four semesters.

The

Academically i t was most success­

f u l , but because of walk-aways and problems o f fr a te r n iz a tio n , the
program had to be discontinued.
In the f a l l semester of 1969, Jackson Community College
offered a p ilo t program of fiv e classes at the prison on a t u itio n free basis.

These were lib e r a l arts classes fo r c r e d it.

Three

courses were taught inside the walls and two in the tru sty d iv is io n ,
enrolling a total of 196 students.

During 1974, more than 2,450

49

students were enrolled in 211 class offerin gs.

Due to a decision

made in the summer of 1972 by the Jackson Community College Board o f
Trustees, texts and related text material are provided to the
students at no cost.

What began as a f i r s t at JCC has now been

expanded into sim ilar cooperative centers between other community
colleges and correctional f a c i l i t i e s in this state.
In the f a l l o f 1974, the American Association for Higher
Education, Washington, D.C., announced th at the Jackson Community
College prison program (North Campus) was the nation's largest
program of i t s kind.

The program is lis te d in the association's

major programs division .
The purpose o f this program with JCC is to provide educa­
tional opportunities and consultative services to the motivated
individual a t the State Prison of Southern Michigan.

These oppor­

tu n itie s w ill enhance the student's personal, i n t e lle c t u a l, so c ia l,
and economic awareness and a b i l i t i e s , so th a t contributions to
society in a manner conducive and complimentary to himself are
achieved.
The authority and re s p o n s ib ility fo r i n i t i a t i n g the program
includes u t i l i z i n g a l l available innovative programs and services
within the guidelines o f maximum service a t reasonable and f a i r
costs.
Because o f the program's uniqueness, th is Department strives
fo r continued coordination, cooperation, confidence, and advancement
with a l l in s titu tio n s , s t a f f members and interested persons involved
with the program.

50

Programs Available
In order to serve the d iv ersifie d needs of the residents at
SPSM, JCC classes are offered in fiv e d iffe re n t locations.
Inside the Walls
Classes leading to the Associate Degree in eith er Arts,
Applied Arts and Science, or General Studies are offered behind the
walls.

F a c ilit ie s are used Monday through Saturday for classes

which vary according to student interests.

Several c e r tific a te

programs have been in s titu te d .
Trusty Division
Classes leading to the Associate Degree in eith er Arts,
Applied Arts and Sciences, or General Studies are offered in the
Trusty Division.

A schedule is issued consisting of a number of

classes u t iliz in g the four rooms available in the Trusty Division
Levin School.

Classes are in operation Monday through Saturday

throughout the year.
On-Campus Vocational and
Technical Program
The Vocational Education Program has been established for
125 Trusty Division residents.

These students are transported from

the SPSM by bus to Jackson Community College main campus.

Classes

are held a t night (10:00 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.) four nights a week from
September until June.

Students earn a c e r t ific a te of completion in

one of the fiv e areas of study:
shop, electronics, and drafting.

e le c tric a l wiring, business, machine

51

Michigan Parole Camp
A class fo r men who are due to be discharged from SPSM is
offered by JCC at the Michigan Parole Camp.

The class is in session

for two-week periods on a continued basis and is concerned with the
following subjects:
1.

Achievement motivation (psychology)

2.

Personal finances (cred it counseling and budgeting)

3.

Jobology (how to get and keep a job)

4.

Family relations

5.

Community resources and services

6.

Community power structure

7.

Drug and alcohol clin ics

8.

Leisure time a c tiv itie s

Camp Waterloo
Jackson Community College classes are offered at Camp
Waterloo.

Physical f a c i l i t i e s and the number of men available for

classes allow the college to o ffe r two or three classes every eight
weeks.
Wayne State University Module Program
Wayne State University has in itia te d a program whereby the
residents of the State Prison of Southern Michigan can graduate from
Wayne State University with a Bachelor's Degree in the f ie ld of
General Studies.

The specific courses of study of the graduates are

described below.

Requirements to enter the program are the comple­

tion o f 62 credit hours from a community college or an Associate
Degree.

Students not qualifying for the WSU program may be e lig ib le

to attend classes held at the State Prison and conducted by Jackson

52

Community College.

Completion of the Jackson Community College

Program results in an Associate Degree.

At that point, the student

may enroll in the Bachelor's Degree program of Wayne State, known as
the Jackson Module Program.
Wayne State University College of Lifelong Learning in tr o ­
duced this program to the residents of the State Prison on October 1,
1974.

At the beginning of the f a l l term, there were a to ta l o f 35

fu ll-tim e students.

As the program grew, 15 new students enrolled

in the winter term.

At the beginning o f the spring term, the

enrollment increased to 70 fu ll-tim e students.

An enrollment of

100 students is planned for the 1977 f a l l term.
The Jackson Module Program offers a large variety of courses.
These are broken up into seven major blocks.

The student must take

courses from each block and may emphasize specific areas based upon
his interests and s k ills .

These blocks are:

1.

Science and Technology

2.

Social Science

3.

Business Management

4.

Mathematics and S ta tis tic s

5.

Urban Humanities

6.

Writing and Journalism

7.

Independent Studies

The s ta f f teaching these courses includes professors from
both Wayne State and Michigan State Universities, and the University
of Michigan.

The coordinator of the program is Professor James Bray

of Wayne State, and coordinators at the State Prison are Mr. Dave
Trippett and Mr. Allen Krische.

The faculty members coordinating

the proposal are Professors Charles Thornton and Gloria House o f
Wayne State University.

53

A ll WSU classes are conducted a t the State Prison through
video tape, formal classroom lectures and seminars by the professors,
lectures by guest speakers, ind ividu al conferences, and tu to rin g
sessions.

Classes are conducted Monday through Saturday.

Students

are given oral and w ritte n examinations and are required to w r it e
term papers in many o f the courses.

CHAPTER IV

METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURE
Introduction
The State Prison of Southern Michigan (SPSM) is two miles
north o f Jackson and, as o f June, 1976, housed approximately h a lf o f
Michigan's more than 11,800 prisoners.

I t is divided into two large

u n its, a close security f a c i l i t y and a tru s ty d iv is io n .

Both sec­

tions contain only male offenders generally over the age o f 23.
A th ird section, the Reception and Guidance Center (RGG),
is attached to the f a c i l i t y fo r a n c illa r y support but is not
considered a part o f SPSM.

This Center receives a l l new male prison

commitments, who subsequently are tested , evaluated and routed to
the in s titu tio n best suited to t h e i r secu rity and program needs.
B u ilt nearly a h alf-ce n tu ry ago, SPSM was designed to house
as many prisoners as possible in one lo c a tio n , and i t s t i l l has the
d is tin c tio n of being the largest walled prison in the world, in
terms of acreage.

The prison's s iz e , together with a serious over­

crowding problem throughout the years, has become a detriment to
corrections goals, which include o ffe rin g offenders an opportunity to
change and a humane environment in which to l i v e .
The Close Security F a c il i t y
Surrounded by walls 35 fe e t high, the close security f a c i l i t y
has increased i t s average population by over 2,000 residents since
54

55

1976-77 and now houses 5,750 prisoners.

This increase necessitated

reopening one inside housing unit and incorporating another pre­
viously used by the RGC, raising the to ta l o f single occupancy,
c e ll-ty p e housing units in use to nine.

While this population

increase affected some resident programs, the majority o f prisoners
are involved d a ily in a va rie ty of re h a b ilita tio n programs ranging
from education and substance abuse programs to re lig io u s , recreation,
and work programs.
Previously, paid employment was required of a l l capable
residents not enrolled in educational programs, but because of over­
crowding more prisoners have been required to work.

Nevertheless,

most work programs are s t i l l e ffe c tiv e in placing th e ir emphasis not
on work fo r work's sake, but on helping residents acquire work s k ills
and develop acceptable work habits.

Such work programs are found in

a l l the service areas such as the laundry, kitchen, and maintenance,
as well as in a fiv e -fa c to ry industrial complex employing 600
residents.

This complex also has residents p artic ip atin g in feder­

a l l y approved apprenticeship programs in 10 s k ille d trades areas.
As an added incentive, industry workers are awarded quarterly bonuses
fo r high quota production.
Trusty Division
Just outside the walled security, the SPSM tru sty division
(TD) is larger than many other autonomous correctional f a c i l i t i e s
in the system.

Although both the SPSM inside and the TD are under

the same warden, each has i t s own administrative body and operates
as a separate f a c i l i t y .

56

Many of the programs and a c t iv it ie s described fo r the SPSM
also apply to the TD, but there are certain differences worth noting.
Residents in the TD are housed in three c e ll-ty p e residential units
located on the prison’ s main grounds, and in four barracks-type
liv in g units on the farms.

Security c la s s ific a tio n of residents is

eith er medium or minimum status.
The TD has not been able to avoid the problem of overcrowding
any more successfully than the SPSM.

In f a c t, the problem has

reached the proportion which necessitates sleeping prisoners on the
bulkheads in the three c e ll-ty p e units.

Averaging 1,385 residents,

approximately 125 more than in 1974, the TD has reopened one farm and
is beyond capacity in a ll four barracks.
Although on asmaller scale, the TD

offers the same academic

programming as does the inside section of the SPSM, making the
transfer of student-residents from inside to the TD as nondisruptive
to th e ir programs as possible.

However the TD does d i f f e r in the

types of vocational training offered.

Auto mechanics and auto body

repair are two such examples of programs at the TD not offered
inside SPSM.

In addition, Jackson Community College (JCC) is able

to provide a wide range of vocational training programs on campus
for e lig ib le TD residents.
Minimum security residents in the TD are able to participate
in both home furlough and work-pass programs.
permits

some residents to go home for 48-72

The furlough program
hours, depending on the

distance to be traveled, once every four weeks.

57

The work-pass program permits some residents to accept
employment in the local community.

Previously housed in the

Michigan Parole Camp across the road from the SPSM, these residents
were forced to move to the reopened Peek Farm because of over­
crowding.
A minimum security c la ss ifica tio n also is necessary before
residents are permitted to move from the main trusty division to one
of the farms.

Five such units are presently in operation, with

Peek, Wing, L i l l y , and Dalton farms engaged in either raising liv e ­
stock or crops for inmate consumption and Peek housing college and
work-pass residents.

A f i f t h farm, Root, had previously been used

as a training school for officers and correction sp ecialists, but
during 1976 was converted into housing for residents to ease the
overcrowding.
Programs fo r farm residents are minimal because most re s i­
dents are nearing release and have already completed th e ir training
and re h a b ilitatio n programs prior to transfer to the farms.

While

only the more basic and supportive programs exist for these
residents, they are brought in for various special a c tiv ity programs
at the TD.
The TD residents also have religious services and counseling
availab le, as well as c iv ic and ethnic organizations, a hobbycraft,
and a sports program.

Limited f a c i l i t i e s require that the basket­

ball court be incorporated on the ground flo o r of one of the c e l ltype housing units, a situ ation , lik e the overcrowding, fo r which no
immediate r e l i e f is in sight.

58

Education has a high p r i o r i t y inside the priso n, with over
1,060 residents e n ro lle d in classes ranging from remedial in s tru c tio n
to a f u l l fo u r-y e a r college degree.

Reading la b o ra to rie s and basic

academic preparation sessions are found a t the remedial l e v e l .

With

elementary and accredited high school diplomas o r t h e i r e q u iv a le n t,
residents may en ter the two-year associate degree program o ffe re d by
JCC, and then continue on with WSU's Bachelor o f General Studies
degree program.
Education in the SPSM is g en erally the same as a t a u n iv e rs ity
or c o lle g e , because a l l the in s tru c to rs come from academic communities
such as Wayne State U n iv e rs ity , the U n iv e rs ity o f Michigan, or
Michigan State U n iv e rs ity .

The teaching methods, le c t u r e , or o u tlin e

o f study is much the same as on campus.
Samp! es
The sample fo r th is study was obtained from the students
attending the college program during the 1976-77 academic year.
There were approximately 600 residents in the JCC program, and 90
residents in the WSU program.
There were three sample groups in t h is study:
co rre c tio n a l s t a f f , and student inmates.
and WSU.

co lleg e s t a f f ,

The two s t r a t a were JCC

A sample o f 25 students was selected from each stratum

by requesting volunteers from among those who were e n ro lle d in
courses during the second semester.
To obtain a sample o f 25 students from the two c o lle g e -le v e l
programs (JCC and WSU) the researcher v is it e d a l l classes held during
th is period.

In each class a request was made f o r volunteers to

p a rtic ip a te in the study.

Since almost a l l students were w i l l i n g to

59

volunteer, selection of the samples was accomplished by choosing from
among the various classes individuals who had been enrolled in two or
more courses in the program and were among the f i r s t to volunteer.
The sample of the s ta ff consisted of four instructors from
JCC, six instructors from WSU, one counselor from JCC, and one
counselor from WSU.

The s ta ff sample was selected in a manner

similar to that for students.

Thus, the s ta ff members in the sample

had had at least one year of experience and contact in the program.
The correctional s ta ff sample consisted of individuals
involved in the educational and treatment program for the State
Prison of Southern Michigan.

There were fiv e persons in this sample:

the warden, the deputy warden for the trusty division, a parole
board member, the director of resident services, and the director
of research for the Department of Corrections.
Instrumentation
Two forms of questionnaires were constructed to collect
information from students, inmates, and staffs.

See Appendix B for

the student questionnaire, and Appendix C for the s ta f f questionnaire.
The content of the questionnaires was constructed f i r s t from observa­
tion while the w riter was employed at the SPSM and d ire c tly involved
in the college program.

Job assignments provided great opportunity

to discuss and exchange ideas concerning education.

Second, the

w riter received the "Program Review and Evaluation" of the College
Opportunity Prison Extension (COPE).

This program operated in the

Michigan Reformatory for youth offenders at Ionia.

The SPSM, the

adult offenders in s titu tio n , had a similar program, but i t has never

60

been evaluated or reviewed.

F in a lly , the w r it e r spent most o f his

time in higher education, e s p ec ia lly in adult programs.

The back­

ground of the w r it e r is p rim a rily in the f i e l d o f criminal ju s tic e
and prison work.
In the f in a l step, a f t e r gathering information and ideas,
the w r it e r constructed the interview format fo r students and s ta ffs
with the help o f Dr. Walter F. Johnson, Advisor and Guidance
Committee Chairman,
Summary o f the Questionnaires
For the Students
The students were asked t h e ir reasons fo r going to college
and th e ir educational and career plans a f t e r release.

Students were

also asked about the most helpful and le a s t helpful counselors,
in stru cto rs, or courses themselves.

They were asked what should be

improved, what other courses they would l i k e to have in the program,
and what suggestions they would have fo r the correction department
in developing programs.

F in a lly they were asked the strongest and

weakest features o f the program and t h e ir suggestions.
For the Staffs
The s ta ffs were asked about t h e i r personal views of the
program, the strengths and weaknesses o f the program, and t h e i r
assessment of the students.

They were asked what they considered

to be the greatest b en efit to the students, to the correction
department, and to them personally.

They were asked fo r changes

and recommendations about the organizational structure o f the

61

program f o r the fu tu re .

They were also asked why students drop out

of the program.
Techniques of Data Collection
For the Students
For the students, there were two phases in c o lle c tin g the
data.

F ir s t they were asked to answer questions on the student

questionnaire (see Appendix B ).

Then interviews were scheduled with

a sample o f 12 WSU and 7 JCC students to v e r ify responses given by
them on the questionnaires they submitted.

These were tape-recorded

and played back at the time the data were analyzed.
Information obtained from the interviews served two purposes.
F i r s t , th is provided a means by which responses on the questionnaire
could be v e r ifie d and c l a r i f i e d .

Second, i t provided an opportunity

f o r obtaining additional opinions or expressions o f a ttitu d e s by
the respondents.

In th is l a t t e r case the information was incor­

porated with the questionnaire responses in the analysis in Chapter
IV.

A sample o f a completed interview is included as Appendix D.

For the S ta ff
The s t a f f members were asked to f i l l

out the questionnaires

which had been developed f o r them (see Appendix C).

Individual

interviews were then scheduled as a follow-up to obtain th e ir
reactions and evaluations of the program as they viewed i t .

In

addition to the s t a f f interview s, data concerning the program in
each case was obtained from v is it a t io n to classes in session, annual
reports, records re lated to student enrollments and other informa­
tion about the administration and operation o f the two programs.

62

Analytical Procedures
Questionnaires fo r the students and s t a f f members were
distributed to them during the period April 10-20, 1977, to be
returned to the researcher as promptly as possible.
returned by April 30.

All were

Interviews were then scheduled with the

selected samples o f 12 WSU students and 7 JCC students to v e rify
questionnaire responses or to provide additional information.

The

interviews were tape-recorded and played back at the time o f
co lla tin g the data.
The information received from the questionnaires and i n t e r ­
views was c la s s ifie d into appropriate categories and summarized as
frequency counts.

Since a respondent could (and frequently did)

provide more than one response to a question, the results were not
reported in any other form.

With the r e l a t i v e ly small numbers in

the samples the frequency counts can be assessed r e la t iv e ly e a s ily .
Data categories and c la s s ific a tio n decisions were reviewed and
agreed upon by the researcher in consultation with his major advisor
and a research consultant from the O ffice o f Research Consultation
in the College of Education.

CHAPTER V

ANALYSIS OF THE DATA

Questionnaire fo r Jackson
Community College
Students
Questionnaires were d is tribu ted to the sample o f 25 Jackson
Community College (JCC) students and upon th e ir return, informal
interviews were conducted with a sub-sample of 7 persons.
As a requirement fo r admission to the JCC program, a student
must have a high school diploma or a GED c e r t i f i c a t e , with a speci­
fied minimum GED te s t score.

Well over h a lf o f the students i n t e r ­

viewed had finished th e ir high school requirements at the State
Prison o f Southern Michigan.

The remainder had t h e ir high school

diplomas before incarceration.
The students interviewed were generally from 21 to 35 years
o ld , and had served sentences fo r short periods o f time.
the students are serving l i f e sentences.

Some of

The students represented

a cross-section of ethnic and ra cia l groups.

They had been taking

classes fo r varying lengths o f time.
A sample o f the interview given the students, both in d i­
vid ually and in groups, is presented in Appendix D.

Following are

the questions together with the suggestions and opinions o f those
interviewed in d iffe re n t areas in the order o f frequency mentioned.

63

64

the questions together with the suggestions and opinions of those
interviewed in d iffe re n t areas in the order of frequency mentioned.
1.

What were your reasons for getting into the college program?
Further education
Personal enrichment
Job p o s s ib ility
To take advantage of the V.A. benefit
Pass time

23
17
12
3
3

My impression was that students seldom had several single
reasons for joining the JCC program.

Other reasons they cited were:

"to increase my understanding," "to be able to communicate with
people on a l l levels in te llig e n t ly ," "to help me better understand
the handicappers I work with," " i t ' s challenging," "best thing to do
while doing time," "to seek freedom from lower-minded creatures."
2.

3.

What education and career plans do you have upon release?
Education:
Furthered education
No furthered education
No response

18
2
5

Career:
Social worker and counselor
Business
Employment (undecided)
Law enforcement

10
6
6
2

Which of the courses you have taken were most interesting or
helpful to you?
The following l i s t of classes were those described by students

as "Best" or "Most h elp fu l."
Psychology
English
P o litic a l Science
Sociology
Business Management
Social Science
Speech Communication
Business Law
Business Math
Economics

14
11
5
5
5
3
3
3
2
2

Geology
Business Retailing
Accounting
Advertising
History
Government
Salesmanship
Income Tax Procedures
Business Psychology
None

65

In general, the students lik e d the courses in psychology and
p o l i t i c a l science the most.

The follow ing are the classes th a t the

students described as "Least H e lp fu l."
Introduction to Business
Philosophy
History
Geology
Mathematics
Marketing
Health
4.

4
4
3
3
3
2
2

English
Business Management
Government
Art
Accounting
Basic Composition

2

What features o f the program have been most helpful to you?
The s t a f f , in s tru c to rs , counselors, and the courses them­

selves received co n siste n tly high ratin g s from the students.

These

persons were viewed by the students as dedicated and extremely
competent in t h e i r ro le s .

Many students

counseling a v a ila b le was inadequate; the
to vocational and academic counseling.

f e l t th a t the amount of
students wanted more access
Some students f e l t th a t they

needed more d ir e c t , in d ivid u al counseling in regard to college
studies.

Some f e l t th a t increasing the number o f experienced JCC

student inmates assistants would help.

In general students f e l t

th a t JCC has a strong s t a f f and curriculum which increases a
student's motivation to learn and improve h im se lf.

The survey showed

the follow ing evaluation o f helpfulness:
Courses themselves
Instructors
Counselors
5.

20
19
5

What features could be improved?
Many very p o s itiv e comments were

madeabout the program, a

large m ajority o f students also giving various suggestions fo r
improving the program.

The responses were as follow s:

66

Counseling
Wider course selection
In s tru cto r
S in c e rity
M aterials
Study space
6.

8
6
5
4
3
2

Entrance Examination
Educational d ire c tio n
Grading policy
Longer class
Relevance o f the
program to job

2
2
2
2
1

Are there other courses besides those being offered which you
feel would be desirable to have in the program? I f so l i s t no
more than six (6J7
Presently JCC o ffers d if f e r e n t courses and intends to provide

courses fo r a l l levels o f student in t e r e s t.

However many students

would l i k e to have additional courses in the fu tu re .

The suggested

additonal courses are as follows:
Business and economics
Biology & Chemistry
& Technology
Law
Black History &
Black Sociology
A rt & Foreign Language
Sociology & P o lit ic a l
Science
Advanced Psychology
Data Processing
7.

Principles (no
description)
Intermediate (no
description)
Analyzing S ta t is t ic a l
Data
Calculus
Legal W riting
Photography
Income Tax Preparation
Nursing

9
9
8
5
4
4
2
1

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

The ro le pla.yed by the in s t it u t io n (prison) in th is program.
The interviewers also asked students to make comments about

how the host in s t it u t io n (SPSM) might help the JCC program.

In

general, these comments re fle c te d a greater need fo r cooperation and
in te re s t in the success of the program.

Especially, the students'

need fo r more study space, te x t books, and a good lib r a r y .

Various

complications have arisen since the JCC program has been integrated
into the prison routine because o f the c o n f lic t between class meet­
ings and in s titu tio n a l p riv ile g e s .

Students wanted the in s t itu t io n

to provide additional areas fo r study.

They also suggested separate

67

liv in g quarters to house students in the JCC program.

Specific needs

mentioned were as follows:
F a c i l i t i e s , books, supplies, and lib r a r y
Study space
None
U t i l i z i n g o f education
No response
Scheduling
Financial support
In s titu tio n a l s ta ffs
8.

15
12
6
5
5
4
4
2

What are the strongest features o f the program?
The students interviewed were asked to c i t e what they con­

sidered to be JCC's strengths.
Instructors
Materials
Incentive program
College program
organization
None
Class offered
Counseling
No response

They mentioned:

12
8
6
4
4
3
2
2

Job program
Job o rie n ta tio n
Time
Schedule
Financial support
Study space
Transfering c r e d it

What are the weakest features o f the program?
Some in te re s tin g and important comments were made about weak­
nesses in the JCC program.

The l i s t th a t follows pertains speci­

f i c a l l y to the JCC program a t SPSM.

M aterials
Class selection
In s titu tio n a l o f f i c i a l s
Incentive
Counselors
Instructors
None
Time
Student himself

8
8
7
6
4
3
3
2
1

Records
Money
Everything
Grading p olicy
Business Department
F a c il i t ie s
Space
Scheduling

68

9.

Are there any other differences or b enefits which you have had
as a student which were not covered in the previous questions?
In s titu tio n a l
scheduling
More classes
Entrance exam, and
grading policy

Assistance from other
student inmates
Class time schedule
None or no response

5
1

1
1
16

1

Questionnaire for the Jackson
Community College S t a f f
Questionnaires were handed to four JCC in s tru c to rs , one
counselor, and one coordinator.
with JCC fo r 2 to 5 years.

Also volunteers were interviewed in

They viewed JCC as workable, fu n c tio n a l,

successful, and very important.
1.

His/her function or r o l e .
Counselor
Instru cto r
Other

2.

How long with the program?

3.

Person is teaching where?

4.

Person's view o f the program.
The JCC-SPSM college program motivates the students and is

an innovative college program.
5.

The s t a f f members are conscientious.

Assessment of the strengths o f the program.
JCC provides the n ation 's largest and most unique higher

education program w ith in a correctional in s t it u t io n .

This program

provides educational opportunities and consultative services to the
motivated individual a t SPSM.

These opportunities w i l l enhance the

students' personal, i n t e l l e c t u a l , s o c ia l, and economic awareness so
th at he can contribute to society.

Many comments about the strengths

69

of the program were made and are lis te d below.

The comments included

references to good books, good resources, good services, good p rio r
cooperation, and good teaching experiences.

Other terms used were

as follow s:
Provides incentive goals, meaning
R eality
Allows fo r personal satisfactio n
No attempt to snow students
Important subject something we a ll need
Personal in teractio n
Discuss issues
See outside people
6.

Assessment o f the weaknesses o f the program.
These comments indicated the weaknesses o f the program:

none so fa r ; lack o f cooperation o f prison o f f ic ia ls ; no way of
measuring success or fa ilu r e ; some non-motivated students p a rtic ip a te ;
meager reference material a v a ila b le .
7.

S ta ff assessment of the students.
The areas to which the s ta ff responded are as follow s:

th e ir in te re s t le v e ls ; th e ir m otivation; th e ir success and f a ilu r e ,
and factors influencing them; Why the large drop-out rate?
8.

What do .you consider to be the greatest b en efit to the correc­
tions department?
I t is recognized th at the increased p a rtic ip a tio n o f inmates

in educational programs is apparently a function o f p o sitive motiva­
tio n and continual encouragement to reduce the recidivism , which is
the main problem o f the corrections department now.
are b en eficial c h a rac teris tic s:

The follow ing

functional prisoners; student

diversion from routine; energy channelled into useful areas.

70

9.

What do you consider to be the greatest b en efit to the students?
One o f the benefits is th a t education need not be interrupted

due to incarceration or residents being placed in is o la tio n .
are the considerations o f the JCC s ta f f:

These

accomplishments; awareness

of increased s k ills ; personal in te ra c tio n ; learning.
10.

What has the program done fo r you personally?
The instructors and other personnel in th is program found i t

an excitin g and rewarding educational experience.

They f e l t th a t i t

is p a rtic u la rly important th at the s ta f f be responsive to the
in s titu tio n , the residents, and the goal o f re h a b ilita tio n .
comments related to the follow ing areas:

The

career goals; personal

sa tis fa c tio n ; personal growth; and personal goals.
11.

Are yous a tis fie d with the organizational structure o f
program?
What changes, i f any, would you recommend?

the

The answers to th is question indicated general s a tis fa c tio n .
12.

Where would .you lik e to see the program go in the future?
Answers included the follow ing:

unknown; to anyone who wants

i t ; b etter f a c i l i t i e s , more complete lib r a r y ; greater opportunity
fo r student to study away from other residents.
Questionnaire fo r Wayne State
Un1 versi ty"Students'
Questionnaires were also d is trib u ted and f i l l e d out by 25
current Wayne State U niversity (WSU) students a t the State Prison o f
Southern Michigan.

For this evalu ation , they contributed th e ir

observations and experiences with WSU.

Interviews were conducted in

small groups o f fiv e to ten and on an individual basis.

Those in te r ­

viewed were between 23 and 35 years o ld , and represented a cross

71

section o f WSU graduates--Chicanos, Blacks, and Caucasians.

As a

requirement fo r admission to WSU a student must have an associate
degree from any college such as from JCC or from COPE.
For the purpose o f presentation here, questionnaire and
interview responses are discussed by topic; special notation of
remarks w ill be made; also c ritic is m and comments w ill be noted.
Questionnaires fo r the students of WSU is the same as that fo r
students of JCC.
1.

What were your reasons fo r getting into the college program?
The foremost reason given was "Furthered education"; students

were motivated in te rn a lly as well as e x te rn a lly .
education would help th e ir personal growth.
this education would help them upon release.

Many f e l t that

They also f e l t that
The specific reasons

were as follows:
Furthered education
Personal enrichment
Job p o s s ib ility
S atisfy parole contact
To take advantage o f the V.A. b en efit
Develop s k ills
Pass time

24
17
9
4
3
3
2

Some o f the reasons, in the words of the students, were as
follows:

"only program o ffe rin g the bachelor's," "to remain in

touch to the world," "learning about niyself and people around me,"
"to have something to do while I'm here," " It 's fre e ," "A desire to
exercise n\y mind and increase my mental a b ilit y ."
2.

What educational and career plans do you have upon your release?
The interviewer asked students about any future plans for

education.

The m ajority indicated that they intended to study

further upon release.

Many indicated an in te re s t in doing graduate

72
work.

Some p refe rred to pursue t h e ir careers.

Education:
Furthered education
No furtherned education

21
4

Career:
Social worker and counselor
Business
No response
Law enforcement
C lin ic a l psychology
Fabrication s p e c ia lis t in car seat
design
School in s tru c to r in drug inform ation
Environmental land use planning/
resources
3.

10
5
4
1
1
1
1
1

Which o f the courses you have taken were most in te re s tin g or
h elpful to you? '
The fo llo w in g l i s t o f classes were those described by students

as "Best" or "Most h e lp fu l."
Social Science &
Humanities
Psychology
Science & Technology
Computer Science &
Technology
A ll o f them
Theory and Method
Math S k ills
Value and Technology
Biology
Advanced Study
W ritin g S k ills
English
Business Management

11
5
5
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2

Physics
In te r d is c ip lin e S k ills
Counselor Class taught
by Mr. Baxter
Business Class from
JCC
Seminar in Population
and World Resources
P o lit ic a l Science
Mr. Charles Thornton's
Class
A ll 1ite r a tu r e classes
A dvertising
Black L ite ra tu re

Which were le a s t in te r e s ti ng o r h elp fu l?
None
Science & Technology
Philosophy
H istory
Physical Geography
Advanced Study
Aging Course
Social Research Methods
Black Music
American Society
Technological Change

9
5
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1

Law
Computers
Accounting
Economics
Physics
Teaching Mathematics
Urban Humanity
Classes in which only
students ta lk
Classes which students
teach
Population Conference

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

73

4.

What features of the program have been most helpful to you?
The students f e l t th a t the in stru cto rs brought " lif e " to the

prison and th at they had th e ir hearts in the jo b .

These are some

student comments:
"In stru cto rs are most h e lp fu l."
"Most o f them are good; however there are some bad ones."
"Show enthusiasm fo r being here."
"Some, however, do not have any kind o f class plan or le c tu re ."
Most o f the students f e l t th at the courses themselves were very
in te re s tin g and h e lp fu l.

The students said th a t more counselors

were needed immediately.

At the time there was only one counselor

working inside the w alls and in TD.
counselor in TD.

There was no inmate assistan t

The counseling must be done by an inmate s t a f f

when the WSU s t a f f is u navailable.

The students f e l t th a t more

counseling and a more d ire c tiv e counseling approach were necessary.
A student commented about counselors:

"This must be a joke!

counselors!"
The l i s t below re fle c ts the ranking by the students.
Courses themselves
Instru cto rs
Counselors
5.

17
16
2

What features could be improved?
These are the responses o f the students:
More in stru cto rs andf u ll-tim e college counselor
B etter student service and communication between
school and student
Screening to select student
O ffer courses gearedtoward student in te re s t
Everything
Nothing
Financial support
More courses
Adm inistrators

10
5
3
2
2
2
1
1
1

What

74

6.

Are there other courses besides those being o ffered which you feel
would be desirable to have in the program? I f so l i s t no morlT
than s ix .
WSU offered courses in a wide v a rie ty o f subject areas.

How­

ever students wished more areas o f study, and these are the additional
subjects th a t they suggested fo r the program:
Business and Economics
Advanced Psychology
Black History and Black
Sociology
Biology & Chemistry
& Technology
Sociology & P o litic a l
Science
A rt & Foreign Languages
Law
Philosophy
Procedure & Evidence
Journalism
Analyzing S ta tis tic a l Data
7.

13
11

T .V . P o llu tio n
In d u s tria l Relations
Logic
Commercial D is trib u tio n
Audio Visual
S k ill fo r Survival
Co-op Program
Parole Course
Religion
Music
Calculus

10
9
8
6
2
1
1
1
1

The ro le played by the in s titu tio n (prison) in th is program.
The interview er asked students to comment about how the

in s titu tio n might help the WSU program.

These comments re fle c te d a

need fo r greater in s titu tio n a l cooperation and in te re s t in the success
o f the program.

The general comments indicated needs as follow s:

need fo r more f a c i l i t i e s , books, supplies, lib r a r y , study space,
and fin a n c ia l support.
8.

What are the strongest features o f the program?
The students interviewed were asked to c ite what they

considered to be WSU's strengths.
In s tru c to r
Nothing
Class selectio n
Study autonomy
Book supplies
Contribute to closer
organization o f WSU
Trusty D ivision
A v a ila b ilit y

They mentioned:

9
4
4
3
2
2
2

Study space
Small classes
Contact w ith outside
world
Senior thesis
Maintaining "00" status
Scheduling
Avenue to re h a b ilita tio n

2
1

75
What are the weakest features o f the program?
The follow ing recommendations r e fle c t opinions about the
weaknesses o f the program.
Counseling
No supplies
Space and time
A b ility to get money from
B.E.O.G. fo r liv in g expense
Library
School supplies
Student needs
Whole program
Limited class o ffe rin g

8
7
5
5
A
4
3
3
3

Administration
Poor service
In stru cto r space
Incompetence
Poor coordination
Grading policy
Losing tra n s c rip t
Unqualified students
Only general degree
offered

2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1

While the questionnaire responses summarized above did not
produce serious c ritic is m o f the adm inistration and operation o f the
WSU program, the group interviews with students did indicate d is­
s a tis fa c tio n with these aspects.

Students f e l t th at the WSU program

lacked organization and seemed to have poor adm inistrative practices.
9.

Are there any other differences or benefits which you have had
as a student which were not covered in the previous questions?
The follow ing suggestions were given fo r improving the

program:
Too many "ignorant" students 2
None
2
In stru cto r e r ra tic
2

Entrance exam and grading
policy
Outside class attendance
F u ll-tim e student service

Questionnaire fo r the Wayne
State U niversity S ta ff
1.

H is/her function or r o le .
Counselor
Instru cto r
Other

2.

How long with the program?

3.

Person is teaching where ?

1
1
1

76

4.

Person's view o f the program.
Workable
Functional
Successful

F ailu re
Important
Other

Six interviews were conducted with Wayne State University
(WSU) instructors and one counselor.

A ll of the instru cto rs had been

teaching with WSU fo r one or two years.

Most o f the fa c u lty thought

th is was a workable, fu n c tio n a l, and important program.

However one

interviewee thought the program was a f a ilu r e , promoting no real
learning.

Another thought that i t was functional on a lim ite d scale

only, and th at i t was not organized.
WSU seems to o ffe r a unique teaching experience fo r these
in stru cto rs.

Several persons elaborated on th e ir in terests in teach­

ing w ith in the in s titu tio n .

Many instructors c le a rly gained a sense

o f personal sa tisfac tio n from these teaching experiences.
5.

Assessment o f the strengths o f the program.
Many comments about the strengths and weaknesses o f the

program were made.

Some f e l t that the program offered the student

a real chance fo r self-betterm ent and personal growth.

One

in stru cto r viewed WSU as "one o f the very p o sitive ways to work with
the inmate population."

The following l i s t gives b r ie fly the

opinions and suggestions of the s ta ff .
Provides broad education background
A ltern a tiv e education
New ideas
Community people
Incentive
I t has the potential to a ffe c t recidivism and make a q u a lita tiv e
difference in the lives o f the men involved and the fam ilies o f
the men and society a t large
Helps increase social awareness
Introduces teachers to prison population
Introduces students to d iffe re n t people via instructors
No response (two instructors)

77

6.

Assessment of the weaknesses o f the program.
The program i t s e lf
Lack of materials
No counselors
No motivation
Passing fa ilu re
No student service
No textbooks and supplies
No students
Poor administrators and disorganization
Extremely lim ited curriculum
Cheap degree
Del ays
Lack o f cooperation with prison o ffic ia ls
Some courses lack depth
Lack of in te re s t by some instructors
Some courses need more time than 10 weeks

7.

S ta ff assessment of the students.
Students indicated various reasons for enrolling in the

program.

Many f e l t th at the Parole Board would be favorably

impressed with th e ir involvement.

Others f e l t that this program

would give them the educational q u a lifica tio n s they would need la te r .
Other reasons were also mentioned.
responded are as follows:

The areas to which the s ta ff

th e ir in te re s t levels; th e ir motivation;

th e ir success and fa ilu r e , and factors influencing them; Why the
large drop-out rate?
8.

What do you consider to be the greatest benefit to the correc­
tions department?
~
Answers included a range from "better educated prisoners"

and "producing students and graduates who w ill have more knowledge
about everything" to " fa ilu re and dumb convicts."
9.

What do you consider to be the greatest benefit to the students?
Answers included: self-awareness; program provides general

knowledge plus opportunity to study individual in te re s t; developing
s e lf-s u ffic ie n c y ; exposure to the new ideas.

78

10.

What has the program done fo r you personally?
The comments related to the fallow ing areas:

career goals,

personal s a tis fa c tio n , personal growth.
B rie fly stated, some of the comments were as follows:
increased awareness o f prisoners' problems; made me aware of many new
aspects of human experience; set me on the road by providing me with
experience; dismayed me; knowing I trie d to help people; exposed me
to new teaching and educational a lte rn a tiv e s .
11.

Are you s a tisfied with the organizational structure of the pro­
gram? What changes, i f any, would you recommend?
Only one respondent was s a tis fie d with the organizational

structure o f the program.

In general the comments were:

revamp a ll

administrators; change to a d irector who relates to the men involved
in the program in relevant way; recommendation o f a valid college
degree and some real courses; find the s ta ff and get competent
people.
12.

Where would you lik e to see the program go in the future?
Answers included the following:

expansion o f courses; o ffe r

various degrees; hire more teachers; set up more space; set up a
meaningful program fo r prisoners in the Jackson Module; encourage
more students to stay in the program; organization in the program
with some meaning relevant to the needs of the students; courses
conducted on the same level as courses a t WSU.

79

Observations and Interview s w ith Department
o f Correction S ta ff about Their
Opinions and Reactions
For a period o f time (1973-77) the w r ite r worked a t the Trusty
D ivisio n and observed the ad m in istratio n o f the State Prison o f
Southern Michigan (SPSM).

I t was apparent th a t the s t a f f o f the

c e n tral o ffic e was very concerned about the educational program.
They wanted to see the program serve the needs o f the inmates and
help them in th e ir r e h a b ilita tio n , the important o b je c tiv e o f the
co rrectio n department.

To achieve his study, the w r ite r had the

cooperation o f the Research D ire c to r, the D ire c to r o f Resident
Services, the Deputy Warden, and the Parole Board members.
There were several meetings between the co rrec tio n al s t a f f
and educational s t a f f during the time o f the study concerning the
educational program a t the SPSM.

According to an a r t ic l e in the

S pectator, which is w ritte n and published weekly by Southern Michigan
Prison re s id e n ts , these meetings are very important and deal w ith the
main problems in the co rrec tio n al education program as indicated
below.
On A p ril 1, 1977, the SPSM Wayne State U n iv e rs ity Student
Forum (WSUSF) fo r "Concerned Students fo r Q u a lity Education" f e l t
th a t re s id e n t students were p a r t ia lly prevented from receiving a
usable advanced education under present program circumstances.
WSUSF's main issue o f discussion was the need to es ta b lis h an e ffe c ­
t iv e communications system w ith in the in s titu tio n a l co lleg e program,
so th a t a l l students could receive proper d ire c tio n as to what the
program is about and the in d iv id u a l student's placement in terms o f
degrees.

80

The Forum stressed the need fo r a college counselor who could
handle communications with prison o f f ic ia ls when in stru cto rs or guests
enter the in s titu tio n , a s itu a tio n which has been a source o f h u m ili­
ation since the program started three years ago.
Forum members stated th at the present Science and Tech courses
were too rigged.

They also stated th a t there is a desperate need to

broaden the opportunities th at are re le v a n t.

The in v e s tig a tiv e

council agreed th a t many o f the circumstances the prison student faces
are very unpleasant and assured the Forum th a t th e ir report would
r e f le c t the s itu a tio n .
At another meeting, members o f the Wayne State Trusty
Division and Inside Student Forum met the Chairman o f the House Com­
m ittee on Correction to discuss the fu tu re o f the WSU program inside
and outside SPSM.

J e ff Padden, a t th a t time Chairman o f the House

Committee on C orrections, met with them on May 20, 1977; the primary
issue o f discussion was a new u n iv e rs ity budget proposal prepared by
Padden.

Under his proposal, s ta te funds appropriated to Wayne State

fo r resident students would be rechanneled to the general budget o f
the Department o f Corrections.

The Forums, along with WSU Faculty

Coordinator Andre Furtado, f e l t th a t i t should be possible fo r
resident students to be placed in community locations where they
could fu rth e r th e ir education.
On the same day, the committee fo r Latino Inmates Building
o f Restructured Education (LIBRE) met with two representatives from
the Department o f Corrections and some o f Michigan's top Latino
educators in an e f f o r t to see what could be done to b e tte r educate

81

SPSM Latino residents.

Suggestions were made about what could be done

by the Department o f Corrections to bridge the educational gap for
Latino residents.

The primary problem a t th is p a rtic u la r time was

where the money would come from to fund those programs.
Professor Leander C. Jones o f Western Michigan University
was guest speaker a t SPSM's Prisoners Progress Association (PPA)
meeting on July 1, 1977.

Jones has been concerned about offenders.

PPA, according to Jones, is going in the rig h t d irectio n and w ill
continue to grow as more work and ideas are poured into the concept
o f self-d eterm in atio n .

Jones said "You w ill have to cut down the

recidivism rate and change the a ttitu d e s o f the society . . . s e lfawareness through education is what we need.

Too many liv es are

being wasted because we don't take a good look a t our personal clock
to see what time i t is fo r us."
Mr. Hondon Hargroove, the Parole Board member o f the
Corrections Department stated:

"I believe th at the people can

change; education is one of the ways to help them change, and give
them more opportunity."
The Deputy Warden a t the Trusty Division also made remarks
about the correctional education a t SPSM:

"I am very curious to see

the results o f the study . . . and what w ill be needed to improve
the program."
I t is noted th a t the adm inistrators and the other correc­
tio n al s t a ff o f State Prison o f Southern Michigan were interviewed
b r ie f ly p rio r to completion o f the study.

They provided several

important insights about the JCC and WSU programs.

They praised

the JCC and WSU programs and viewed them as necessary and v ita l

82

correctional programs.

The programs provide incentive fo r residents

and give much needed opportunity to short- and long-term residents.
A ll of the s ta ff were very supportive of the continuation o f the
programs offered by JCC and WSU.

CHAPTER VI

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS
AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The Problem
The college programs a t JCC and WSU have been in operation
fo r several years a t the State Prison of Southern Michigan.

But no

research concerning the program had been undertaken previously.
Evaluation o f the whole program should be undertaken to see i f i t
meets the needs of the inmate-students while they are incarcerated
and a fte r th e ir release.

Attention should be given to the whole

program, including students, teachers, f a c ilit ie s and prison s ta ffs .
Conclusions and recommendations should be part of the evaluation.
Methodology and Procedure
The sample fo r th is study consisted o f 50 volunteers, a ll
students attending the college programs.

Twenty-five students were

in the JCC program, and the other 25 students were in the WSU
program.

Those from WSU lived inside the walls and also in the

Trusty Division.

The students were between 21 to 35 years old.

Those volunteers in the JCC program were getting associate degrees;
those in the WSU program were getting the general degree.
The w rite r also selected a sample from the teaching s ta ffs :
6 faculty members from WSU with experience working with the Correc­
tion Department o f from one to two and a h a lf years; 4 facu lty
33

84

members from JCC with experience w ith the Correction Department o f
from two to three years; and the co rrec tio n al s t a f f a t SPSM.
Inform ation from questionnaires fo r both students and s t a f f
was gathered.

The data were analyzed by s t a t is t ic a l frequency.

The

findings have been presented in Chapter V above.
Summary o f Findings
In ad d itio n to the above general comments, the fo llo w in g
topics describe some of the key find in g s o f the study.
R elationship on Campus between
JCC and SPSM
In the f a l l semester o f 1969, Jackson Community College
o ffe re d a p ilo t program o f fiv e classes a t the prison on a t u it io n fre e basis.

These were lib e r a l a rts courses o ffe re d f o r c r e d it.

Three courses were taught inside the w alls and two in the Trusty
D iv is io n , e n ro llin g a to ta l o f 196 students.
JCC, in conjunction w ith SPSM, gives the h ig h ly motivated
and career-minded in d ivid u al an opportunity to attend on-campus
vocational classes.

During 1973, more than 2,450 students were

en ro lle d in 211 classes o ffe rin g the same vocational education
classes th a t are o ffe re d on the co lleg e campus.

The campus night

session, running from 10:00 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. included c l e r i c a l,
e le c tr ic a l se rv ic e , e le c tro n ic , d r a ftin g , and mechanics classes.
The students' graduation was held a t the JCC campus.
Fam ilies and r e la tiv e s were in v ite d to the ceremony.

However

students graduating from WSU had to celeb rate insid e the wall
because the campus is too fa r from the in s t it u t io n .

85

JCC and WSU Faculty
JCC and WSU instructors are carefully screened and selected
by the JCC s ta ff.

Because of the uniqueness of the JCC-SPSM program,

instructors need to be aware of procedures of the prison and how they
relate to the instruction program.

Therefore every instructor is

required to attend the orientation held a t the beginning of each
semester.
Most of the JCC-SPSM and WSU instructors are drawn from JCC
fa c u lty , although many instructors from surrounding areas are also
involved, such as from the University of Michigan, Wayne State
University, and Michigan State University.

Instructional s ta ff

members have lim ited contact with students outside of the classroom
setting.

Office hours are not held by instructors as they are on

campus.

Many JCC and WSU students have requested that instructors

be available to students outside of classes.
The JCC and WSU faculty seem to be very capable, highly
motivated, and deeply concerned with providing stimulating educa­
tional experiences fo r students.

Communications and relations

between instructors and students appear to be excellent.
JCC and WSU S ta ff
The JCC s ta ff has been highly rated by JCC students for
th e ir concern, commitment, and in te g rity .

The s ta ff was praised by

correctional administrators fo r th e ir concern and fo r th e ir a b ilit y
to work with correctional s ta ffs and within correctional constraints.
The WSU s ta ff was regarded as poor and unorganized.

86

Counseling is provided to JCC and WSU students.

There is

c u rre n tly no s t a f f member who is assigned to counsel students on a
f u ll- t im e basis.

Counseling services are g re a tly needed by students.

Two s t a f f members were o ffe rin g counseling services to JCC students,
and one to WSU students; but they were also required to carry out
several ad m in istrative and operational tasks.
A fu ll-tim e s t a f f member was assigned to as sis t JCC students
who were being released to obtain employment and to continue
education.
JCC and WSU Students
Students involved with both programs seem to be interested
and motivated; WSU students have been es p ec ia lly highly ra te d .

Many

o f the students enro lled in each program fo r reasons re la tin g to
th e ir furthered education, job p o s s ib ilitie s , and personal enrich­
ment and parole e l i g i b i l i t y .
on many students.

JCC has had a strong p o s itive impact

In general JCC students and former students seem

to be impressed with the program, affected by the program, and are
g rateful fo r the opportunity to p a rtic ip a te .

Also JCC students are

concerned about the program and want to be involved in its operation
and d ire c tio n .
The WSU program seems to have had a negative impact on the
students.

Many students were upset about the program, lack of

fin a n c ia l support, unsympathetic ad m in istratio n , poor f a c i l i t i e s ,
and general disorganizatio n.
In both programs, students have lim ite d input into operation
and adm inistration.

87

JCC and WSU Courses
JCC o ffers a wide v a rie ty o f subject areas.

Liberal arts

courses are given more emphasis in the program than are vocational
courses.

Course o fferin g s are generally a t the introductory le v e l,

consistent with the two-year associate degree o ffe re d , although
many students continue to take courses a fte r they have earned th e ir
associate degrees.

Social science, humanities, and business courses

have the highest enrollments.
WSU o ffe rs courses in a lim ite d number o f subjects.
arts and general study courses are given more emphasis.

Liberal

Courses are

more advanced than JCC courses, consistent with the fin a l two years
of study fo r a Bachelor's Degree.

In the Trusty Division there is no

laboratory or lib ra ry fo r the students.

WSU has a lim ite d number of

students in its program.
JCC students have withdrawn from JCC courses fo r several
reasons.

The most frequent reasons which were given were:

transfer

to another in s titu tio n , c o n flic t with work, changing courses, segre­
gation, and parole.

WSU students have a very low withdrawal ra te

from courses.
F a c ilitie s
Inside the w a lls , JCC has been provided with a large and
functional area in which to conduct classes, adm inister the program,
and house the lib r a r y .

In the Trusty D ivisio n , there is no lib ra ry

nor any WSU o ffic e space.

Both JCC and WSU courses are conducted

in the f a c i li t i e s which are used fo r in s titu tio n a l high school

88

programs.

Classroom space is availab le only a fte r 5 p.m. on weekdays

and during the day on Saturday.
JCC and WSU Relationships
The JCC program is viewed as a positive influence on residents
and s ta ff, and i t offers several incentives fo r involvement.
an integral part of the programming at SPSM.

JCC is

I t has been able to

in te ra c t successfully with the s ta ff and administration o f the
in s titu tio n .
The WSU program was c r itic iz e d in the group interview with
WSU students as too lim ited in course selections, unorganized, and
poorly administered.

Further i t lacked adequate financial support.

This has severely lim ited the number o f students allowed to e n ro ll.
F in a lly , there have been problems in the areas of residents'
records, parole e l i g i b i l i t y , and transfers.

Student involvement in

e ith e r program has not been brought to the attention of the parole
board when i t is appropriate.

This could be due to the omission

of the information from the parole e l i g i b i l i t y report prepared by
the in s titu tio n a l counselor.

Whatever the reasons are fo r these

oversights, steps should be taken to assure that students have
detailed records in th e ir f ile s concerning th e ir performances and
achievements in the program.

Students should also be assured that

the parole board is consistently informed o f student involvement
in the programs.
The problem of students being transferred p rio r to finishing
courses in a given term was mentioned e a r lie r .

A coordinated e ffo r t

between JCC, WSU, the in s titu tio n s , counselors, the central o ffic e ,
and the students is needed to solve this problem.

89

between JCC, WSU, the in s titu tio n s , counselors, the central o ffic e ,
and the students is needed to solve this problem.
Conclusions
Both JCC and WSU have the potential to be exceptional pro­
grams serving the needs o f residents in correctional in s titu tio n s .
The s ta ffs o f JCC and WSU seem to be dedicated, c re a tiv e , and deeply
concerned with th e ir work.

I t is clear that the goals and objectives

of JCC and WSU are consistent with correctional goals.

Based on

review and evaluation of these programs, i t would seem th at the JCC
and WSU programs should continue to operate a t le a s t a t th e ir current
levels.
Recommendations
The following recommendations are presented fo r the consid­
eration o f the JCC and WSU s ta ffs , the adm inistration, and the
Department of Correction s t a ff.

The f i r s t two sections present

recommendations which would involve JCC and WSU together with the
corrections department.

The two sections which follow those discuss

changes which prim arily concern the JCC and WSU s ta ffs and
instructors.
JCC and WSU
Counseling Service;
1.

JCC and WSU should provide more counseling services o f

th e ir own sta ffs in the Trusty Division and inside the w alls.

An

academic counselor should be assigned to each program in addition to
the current s ta ff.

These counselors should be concerned only with

90

counseling and should not be assigned a d d itio n a l duties which would
c o n flic t w ith counseling.

The provision o f th is p o s itio n , through

the use o f in-depth preventive counseling a t the time students e n ro ll
in the courses, should help to decrease the number o f drops and
w ithdraw als.

As the number o f students being released increases, the

person who provides job and educational placement should a s s is t them
to achieve th e ir goals.
2.

JCC and WSU should consider assigning one in s tru c to r to

each program on a f u ll- t im e basis.

This person should be paid

c o n s is te n tly w ith the s a la rie s o f fu ll- t im e fa c u lty .

I f fu ll- t im e

fa c u lty were involved, i t would be e a s ie r to es ta b lis h o ffic e hours
fo r students a t the in s t it u t io n .

In a d d itio n , a l l JCC and WSU

in s tru c to rs should be required to have o ffic e hours a t the i n s t i t u ­
tio n and should be paid fo r the tim e.
3.

JCC and WSU should continue to use JCC and WSU campus

resources, such as f a c i l i t i e s and personnel, to expand and improve
the program a c t iv it ie s through e x h ib its , forums, conferences, work­
shops, and possibly ad d itio n a l classes whenever possible.

JCC and

WSU students should be allowed to have contact w ith the main
campuses.
Corrections:
1.

Steps should be taken to assure th a t a l l JCC and WSU

students have c le a r , c u rre n t, and consistent records in th e ir f i l e s
describing t h e ir involvement w ith JCC o r WSU.

Further steps should

assure th a t the pa^)le board is aware o f JCC and WSU involvement.

91

2.

To decrease the number o f tra n s fe r o f students during a

term, thus in te rru p tin g classes, JCC and WSU s ta ffs and the in s t it u ­
tio n s t a f f should cooperate c lo s e ly .
3.

The program, o rg a n iza tio n , and ad m in is tra tio n o f WSU

should be c a re fu lly reviewed to make i t stronger and more e ffe c tiv e
in serving student needs.

I t is recommended th a t a reorgan izatio n al

meeting take place immediately so th a t a l l persons concerned w ill be
able to express th e ir ideas, discuss issues and a lte r n a tiv e s , and
u ltim a te ly make any adjustments which are necessary.
JCC and WSU Operation:
1.
areas.

JCC and WSU should o f fe r more advanced courses in c e rta in

Many students say th a t they do not have enough course se lec­

tio n in the WSU program.
classes in JCC.

To f i l l

in , the students have to take some

This need should be considered in program

development.
2.

A formal grievance procedure should be established fo r

students to fo llo w in ra is in g complaints about JCC and WSU, s t a f f ,
and in s tru c to rs .

I t is hoped th a t th is procedure would not be used

fre q u e n tly , but such a procedure should be a v a ila b le fo r students
who do not fe e l comfortable expressing t h e ir concerns d ir e c t ly to
the JCC and WSU s ta ff s .
3.

JCC and WSU should be assigned a larg e ro le in planning

development, o p eratio n , and evalu atio n o f programs.

Students should

be a c tiv e ly and s y ste m a tic ally involved in these areas o f the
program.

92

4.

An o rie n ta tio n session or program should be offered to

a ll incoming o r prospective students.

Such a program should involve

s t a f f , fa c u lty , and students in a cooperative e f f o r t .

Pre­

enrollm ent counseling could be e a s ily integrated in to such a program.
This program could help to reduce the number o f students who drop or
withdraw by c a re fu lly review ing, p rio r to th e ir enrollm ent, what the
program o ffe rs and what is expected o f students.
5.

A ll in stru cto rs should have o ffic e hours to meet with

students fo r tu to rin g , counseling, and assistance.

These hours

should be scheduled re g u la rly , and the in stru cto rs should be reim­
bursed fo r the time spent.
6.

JCC and WSU should a c tiv e ly involve volunteers in several

aspects o f the program.

Volunteers w ith in the in s titu tio n s could

serve as counselors and assistants fo r students and the program.
Students from WSU could be train ed to be tu to rs and counselors fo r
JCC students.
7.

Volunteers from neighboring communities could provide

tu to rin g and assistance and could be used as resources fo r courses.
An ac tiv e volunteer component o f the program should be developed,
administered by s t a f f and residents.
8.

The f e a s i b il i t y and p r a c tic a b ility o f o ffe rin g separate

housing fo r students should be fu rth e r explored both inside the walls
and in the Trusty D ivisio n .
JCC and WSU Planning and Evaluation:
1.

At le a s t once each year JCC and WSU s ta ffs should hold

meeting with the central o ffic e o f the Department o f Correction to

93

review the program, discuss problems, and set p r io r it ie s fo r changes
and d ire c tio n s .
2.

JCC and WSU should make provisions fo r the regu lar review

o f operations and programs.

At the end o f the semester c e rta in in fo r ­

mation should be c o lle c te d , summarized, and analyzed:

enrollm ent

fig u re s; drop and withdrawal inform ation regarding number, tim e, and
reason; and courses o ffe re d .
3.

A student evaluation form should be developed and imple­

mented a t the end o f each term.

This form would allow students to

comment on the content, presentation, and impact o f the courses.
The forms fo r the three terms should be summarized.

S ta ff and

fa c u lty comments and suggestions should be s o lic ite d as well as com­
ments from correctional s t a f f and students.
4.

I t is necessary to execute an in-depth evaluation o f the

e ffe c t o f JCC and WSU programming on students.

JCC has been f u lly

operational fo r seven years and WSU fo r three years.

To date no

data concerning the impact o f JCC and WSU on students have been
developed.

Former students should be contacted in order to gain

th e ir insights and to fin d out what they are doing subsequent to
t h e ir release.
5.

Further, the methods, s t a f f s , and s e ttin g o f the programs

have not been evaluated from the standpoint o f educational e ffe c tiv e ­
ness.

A major study and evaluation is necessary a t th is time to

provide feedback not now a v a ila b le to JCC and WSU s t a f f , in s tru c to rs ,
and correctional s t a f f .

The evaluation should assess the impact o f

JCC and WSU on students a ft e r they leave the program and return to

94

th e ir comnunitles or are transferred to other in s titu tio n s .

It

should also assess the effectiveness o f the current instru ction al
methods on students.

WSU should expand its program by o ffe rin g more

advanced courses, and degrees should be offered in several major
f ie ld s , not ju s t in general study.

APPENDICES

95

APPENDIX A

MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS ACADEMIC
AND VOCATIONAL COURSE OFFERINGS
AND OTHER TREATMENT PROGRAMS
BY INSTITUTION*
6-30-76
NOTE:

All in s titu tio n s o ffe r religious and lib ra ry services and
recreational a c t iv it ie s . All except MIPC o ffe r work-pass
and furlough programs.

STATE PRISON OF SOUTHERN MICHIGAN
( 12)
( 9)
{ 42)
( 38)
( 14)
( 82)
( 15)
( 17)
( 17)
( 28)
(133)

Vocational
Vocational A rt
Vocational Music
Auto Mechanics
Food Service
Machine Tool Operation
Welding
Graphic Reproduction
Typewriter Repair
Trades Apprentice Programs
Building Trades
On-the-Job Training
( 4) Graphic Arts
(18) Food Service
( 5) P rin t Shop
( 2) Newspaper
(93) Building Maintenance
(11) In s titu tio n a l Maintenance

Academic
(240) Basic Education 0-6
( 93) Pre-High School Prep
(505) High School
College Courses (72 offerings)
(533) Associate Degree Program
( 87) Bachelor's Degree Program

(
(
(
(
(

18)
11)
13)
17)
14)

College Vocational
E lec trica l Wiring
Machine Operation
Engineering Aide
Business-Clerical
Electronics

Counseling
Crisis Intervention
Individual Counseling
(475) Group Counseling
(54 groups)
Lay Counseling
(164)
( 12)
(154)
( 9)
( 83)
( 7)
(119)
( 4)
( 50)
(

0)

Other
Alcoholics Anonymous
B ra ille Program
Drug Education & Counsel
Counseling
Gamblers Anonymous
HASTA
Hobbycraft
Indian Nations United
Jaycees
Photography
Prisoners Progress
Association
Public SpeakingLeadership Development
Speech Therapy
Twin C ities Opportunity
C iv il Defense
Defensive Driving

( o)
( 23)
(389)
( 13)
*Numbers in parentheses indicate number of students enrolled in
the program.
96

97

MARQUETTE - STATE HOUSE OF CORRECTIONS AND BRANCH PRISON
( 66) Vocational
Shop Math
Welding
In s titu tio n a l Service Trades
Machine Shop
Sheet Metal
Shoe Repair
P rin tin g
Typew riter Repair
( 41)
( 31)
(119)
( 42)

Academi c
Basic Education 0-6
Pre-High School Prep
High School
College Classes

Counseling
In d ivid u al Counseling
( 59) Group Counseling
(6 groups)
Psychological Services
Other
( 60) A lcoholics Anonymous
( 1 0 ) American Indian
O rganization
Hobbycraft
( 26) Substance Abuse

MUSKEGON CORRECTIONAL FACILITY
(
(
(
(

20)
20)
20)
40)

( 62)
(139)
(179)
( 41)

Vocational
Auto Body Reconditioning
Welding
Auto Mechanics
Food Service
Academic
Basic Education 0-6
Pre-High School Prep
Community College
T i t l e I ESEA

Counseling
( 52) Group Counseling
(5 groups)
In d iv id u a l and Group
Pastoral Counseling
{ 0) Assertion Therapy
( 4) In d ivid u al Psychotherapy
{ 13) Group Psychotherapy
(2 groups)
( 45)
( 15)
( 15)
( 18)
( 31)

Other
Alcoholics Anonymous
Hobbycraft
Jaycees
Substance Abuse
Volunteer Recreation
Therapy (MDC Program)
HASTA

98

MICHIGAN TRAINING UNIT
Vocational
( 20) Building Maintenance Technology
( 42) A ir Conditioning, Heating
and V e n tila tio n
{ 24) Auto Body Reconditioning
( 19) Auto Mechanics
( 20) Computer Programming/
Data Processing
( 24) D rafting
( 41) Food Services C & B School
( 19) Machine Shop
( 20) Welding
{ 40) American Industries
{ 19) On-the-Job Training - Food
Service

Counseling
Individual Counseling
(In te n s iv e )
(144) Group Counseling
(14 groups)
(
(
(
(
(
(
(

( 35)
( 74)
( 66)
(182)
( 76)

Academi c
Basic Education 0-6
T i t l e I ESEA
Pre-High School Prep
High School
College (COPE)

(
(
(

Other
0) Music Program (ju s t
s ta rtin g )
25) Alcoholics Anonymous
40) Substance Abuse
24) Family Planning
25) Jaycees
16) Kent County Ex-Offenders
Contact Center Program
22) Latin-American and Indian
Organizations
5) Muskegon Community
Volunteers
20) Teen Challenge
10) Twin C itie s Opportunity,
Inc.

MICHIGAN REFORMATORY
(
(
(
(
(
{

40)
37)
27)
33)
11)
56)

( 96)
( 48)
( 86)
(175)
(207)

Vocational
Auto Servicing
Machine Tool Operation
P rin t Shop
Small Engine Technician
On-the-Job Training
Welding
Academic
Basic Education 0-6
T it l e I ESEA
Pre-High School Prep
High School
College Classes (COPE)

Counseling
Ind ividu al Counseling
( 22) Group Counseling
(2 groups)
(
(
(
(

63)
92)
25)
16)

Other
Alcoholics Anonymous
Jaycees
La Causa
Twin C itie s Opportunity,
Inc.

99

CASSIDY LAKE TECHNICAL SCHOOL
Vocational
( 31) Auto Servicing
{ 21) Home Appliance Repair
( 28) A ir Conditioning, Heating
and R efrigeration
( 16) Welding
( 26)
( 42)
( 42)
(105)
( 0)

Academic
Basic Education 0-6
T it le I ESEA
Pre-High School Prep
High School
College

Counseling
Individual Counseling
( 20) Group Counseling
(2 groups)
( 22) Lay Group Counseling
(2 groups)
Other
( 14) Substance Abuse
( 20) Alcoholics Anonymous
( 20) Jaycees
( 8) La Causa Dos
(Chicano/Indian Group)
( 0) Chess Club

MICHIGAN INTENSIVE PROGRAM CENTER
Academic
{ 17) Basic Education 0-6
( 37) Pre-High School Prep
( 2) High School (In d ivid u alized
In stru ctio n )

(
(

Counseling
Pre-Release Counseling
Individual Counseling
6) Individual Psychotherapy
8) Interpersonal Recall
Counseling
Other
Behavioral Diagnosis
C risis Intervention
Individual Behavior Change
Projects
Token Econorny M ilieu
Therapy

100

CORRECTIONS CONSERVATION CAMP PROGRAM
(Upper Peninsula)
NOTE: Individual Counseling is offered in each camp onan as-needed
basis. Religious services orcounseling is o ffere in each
camp, as are recreational a c tiv itie s .
CAMP BARAGA
Academic
( 7) Basic Education 0-6
( 14) Pre-High School Prep
( 19) Substance Abuse
( 3) Career Education
( 25) Physical Education

Counseling
( 26) Group Counseling
(3 groups)

CAMP CUSINO
Academic
( 16) Basic Education 0-6
( 32) Pre-High School Prep
( 29) Substance Abuse
{ 7) Career Education

Counseling
{ 20) Group Counseling
(3 groups)

CAMP 0JIBWAY
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(

13)
16)
17)
18)

Counseling
Vocational (Gogebic Contn. C ol.)
Drafting
( 17) Group Counseling
(3 groups)
Home Appliance Repair
Small Engine Repair
Auto Service

19)
49)
0)
42)
15)
58)
21)

Academic
Basic Education 0-6
Pre-High School Prep
High School Courses
Substance Abuse Education
Career Education
Physical Education
T it le I ESEA

(

Other
0) Jaycees

CORRECTIONS CONSERVATION CAMP PROGRAM
(Lower Peninsula)
CAMP WATERLOO
Vocational
( 22) Dental Laboratory Technician
(OJT)
6)
21)
8)
2)
29)
28)

Academic
Basic Education 0-6
Pre-High School Prep
Substance Abuse
Marriage and Family
Physical Education
College

Counseling
( 10) G*"oup Counseling
(2 groups)
Other
( 13) Alcoholics Anonymous

CAMP HOXEY
Vocational
( 10) Auto Servicing
(K irtlan d Comm. College)

(

Counseling
8) Group Counseling
(1 group)

Academic
{ 13) Basic Education 0-6
( 10) Pre-High School Prep
( 10) Substance Abuse
( 6) College
( 4) Career Education
CAMP LEHMAN
6)
21)
( 25)
{ 5)
( 12)

Academic
Basic Education 0-6
Pre-High School Prep
Substance Abuse
Career Education
College

Counseling
( 7) Group Counseling
(2 groups)
Other
( 7) Alcoholics Anonymous

CAMP PONTIAC
6)
8)
8)
4)
12)

Academi c
Basic Education 0-6
T it le I ESEA
Substance Abuse
Career Education
Pre-High School Prep

Counseling
( 11) Group Counseling
(2 groups)
( 13) Lay Group Counseling
(1 group)

102

CAMP BRIGHTON
Academic
( 7) Basic Education 0-6
( 15) Pre-High School Prep
{ 6) Substance Abuse
( 14) College
( 2) Career Education
( 14) Marriage and Family

Counseling
( 22) Group Counseling
(2 groups)
Other
( 26) Jaycees
( 4) Alcoholics Anonymous

CAMP PELLSTON
Vocational
Welding (North Central
Community College)

Counseling
( 20) Group Counseling
{1 group)

Academic
( 9) Basic Education 0-6
( 8) Pre-High School Prep
( 17) Substance Abuse
( 3) Study-Pass - College
CAMP SAUBLE
Vocational
( 11) Diesel Mechanics {West Shore
Community College)
{ 9)
( 20)
( 22)
( 20)

( ID

Counseling
Group Counseling
(1 groups)

Other
0) Bible Classes
12) Alcoholics Anonymous

Academic
Basic Education 0-6
Pre-High School Prep
Substance Abuse
Career Education

CAMP PUGSLEV
(
(
{
(
(
{
{

13)
17)
0)
24)
12)
6)
20)

Academic
Art
Pre-High School Prep
High School Classes
Substance Abuse
Career Education
Marriage and Family
Basic Education 0-6

MICHIGAN PAROLE CAMP
Parole School

(

Counseling
0) Group Counseling
(0 groups)

Other
( 10) Alcoholics Anonymous
( 20) Jaycees

103

DETROIT HOUSE OF CORRECTIONS
(Women's D iv is io n )
(
(
(
(

40)
13)
14)
17)

(
(
(
(
(

25)
90)
93)
11)
16)

Vocational
Business Vocational
Food Service
Child Care-Nurse A ssistant
(S ch o o lcraft Comm. C o l.)
( 7) Advanced Trainees
Academic
Pre-High School Prep
Basic Education
High School Completion
College
T i t l e I ESEA

Counseling
In d ivid u al Counseling
( 43) Group Counseling
(5 groups)
( 49) Drug Abuse Counseling
(SHAR O u tp atien t)
(
(
(
(
(
(

18)
12)
8)
30)
22)
28)

Other
Jaycettes
Step Up
L ife Liners
SHAR House
Martha Jean Self-Awareness
Comnunity-Based Offender
Program

RECEPTION AND GUIDANCE CENTER
CLINICAL SERVICES UNIT
C lin ic a l Diagnostics
P syc h iatric Evaluations
Behavioral Diagnosis
Program Planning
Psychological Testing

( 40)
(240)

( 50)
(176)
A n c illa ry Therapies
Occupational Therapy
Educational Therapy
Recreational Therapy
A rt Therapy
Work Therapy
Therapeutic Communities
( 37) Youthful Offender
( 5) Drug Offenders
( 7) Sex Offenders
( 18) T ra n s itio n a l Community

Treatment Programs
In d ivid u al Psychotherapy
(O utp atien ts)
Group Psychotherapy
(24 groups)
( 20) In p atien ts
( 5 ) w aitin g
(220) O utpatients
(55) w aitin g
RAP (45) w aitin g
SONAR (150) w aitin g
Behavioral M o dificatio n
C ris is In te rv en tio n
Family Therapy
Couple Therapy
Social S k ill Development
M ilie u Therapy
Chemo Therapy
B ib lio Therapy
Educational Seminars
(Drug and Sex Education)
Career Counseling

104

PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES UNIT*
Psychological Diagnosis
C ris is Interven tio n Counseling
Individual Counseling
Individual Psychotherapy
Group Counseling
Group Psychotherapy

Parole Board Psychological
Evaluations
Transfer Evaluations
Program Evaluations
S ta ff Consultation
S ta ff Training
ECES Programming
Vocational Counseling
Academic Counseling

*Many o f the services offered by the Psychological Services U nit are
provided by PSU s t a f f a t the Michigan Reformatory, Camp Waterloo,
Michigan Training U n it, Cassidy Lake, SPSM and D e tro it House o f
Corrections (Women's D ivision) as follow s:
Michigan Reformatory & Dorm
Parole Board Evaluations
Transfer Evaluations
Furlough Evaluations
Programming Evaluations
S ta ff Training
( 14) Group Psychotherapy
(2 groups)
SPSM - Inside
{ 55) Group Psychotherapy
(9 groups)
Parole Board Evaluations
Transfer Evaluations
Camp Waterloo
Parole Board Evaluations
D e tro it House o f Corrections
(Women's D ivisionT
Evaluations
( 34) Individual Psychotherapy
( 41) Group Psychotherapy
(5 groups)

(
(

MTU
7) Group Psychotherapy
(1 group)
2) In d ividu al Psychotherapy
Parole Board Evaluations
Transfer Evaluations
Programming Evaluations
S ta ff Training

SPSM - Trusty Division
(*3 2) Group Psychotherapy
Parole Board Evaluations
*Attend groups inside SPSM
Cassidy Lake
( 17) Group Psychotherapy
(2 groups)

MICHIGAN CORRECTIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN 1976

Program

State
Prison
MarSouthern quette
Mich.

Refor­
matory

Mich.
Train­
ing
Unit

Cassidy
Muskegon
Lake

Camps

Detroi t
House of
Correc­
tions

Inten­
sive
Total
Program
Center

K-12
Full-time Academic

613

37

62

270

110

Part-time Academic

224

124

257

4

5

Full-time Vocational

174

14

39

113

6

Part-time Vocational

89

43

134

2

5

Academic/Vocational

66

26

89

116

On-the-job Training

169

5

21

40

Total K-12 Headcount

1335

249

602

545

197

301

845

310

56

4440

952

161

421

510

189

301

400

182

56

3172

36

66

42

43

28

16

-

231

207

76

-

179

60

11

-

1195

-

-

85

24

-

182

-

179

145

35

_

1377

480

990

345

56

5817

FTE Count 6-30-76*
T itle I ESEA**

-

-

201
-

100

149

48

628

134

56

1546

-

1376

-

-

-

446

-

68

15

-

356

71

-

-

96

-

464

-

-

-

17

-

252

College Proqram
College Academic
College Vocational
Total College

620
73
693

Total Students
All Categories
2028
*Full-tim e equated
**Figure included in K-12 above

42
-

-

42

207

76

291

809

621

197

-

APPENDIX B

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE STUDENTS
1.

What were your reasons fo r getting into the college program?
1.
2.
3.
4.

2.

3.

What education and career plans do you have upon release?
A.

Education

B.

Career

Which o f the courses you have taken were most interesting or
helpful to you?
1.
2.
3.
Which were least interesting or helpful?

4.

What features of the program have been most helpful to you?
A.

Counselor

B.

Instructors

C.

Courses themselves

5.

What features could be improved?

Explain how.

6.

Are there other courses besides those being offered which you
feel would be desirable to have in the program? I f so l i s t no
more than six.
1.

4.

2.

5.

3.

6.
106

107

7.

The role played by the in s titu tio n (prison) in this program
What suggestions do you have fo r changing or improving the type
of help provided by the Department o f Corrections in developing
and operating th is program, e .g ., s t a f f , fin a n c ia l support,
scheduling, books, study space, other fa c ilit ie s ?

8.

What are the strongest features o f the program?
1.

4.

2.

5.

3.

6.

What are the weakest features o f the program?

9.

1.

4.

2.

5.

3.

6.

Are there any other differences or benefits which you have had
as a student which were not covered in the previous questions?
Explain.

APPENDIX C

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STAFF
1.

H is /h e r function or ro le
Counselor
In s tru c to r
Other

2.

How long w ith the program?

3.

Person is teaching where?

4.

Personal view o f the program
Workable
Functional
Successful
F a ilu re
Important
Other

5.

6.

Assessment o f the strengths o f the program
1.

5.

2.

6.

3.

7.

4.

8.

Assessment o f the weaknesses o f the program
1.

5.

2.

6.

3.

7.

4.

8.
108

109

7.

S ta ff assessment o f students
A.

Their in te re s t le v e l

B.

T h eir m otivation

C.

T h e ir success and f a ilu r e and

D.

Why the larg e drop-out rate?

fa c to rs in flu en cin g them

8.

What do you

9.

What do you consider to be the g reatest b e n e fit to the
Corrections Department?

10.

consider to be the g rea tes t b e n e fit to the student?

What has the program done fo r you personally?
A.

Career goals

B.

Personal s a tis fa c tio n

C.

Personal growth

D.

What are your personal goals?

11.

Are you s a tis fie d w ith the o rg an izatio n al s tru c tu re o f the
program? What changes, i f any, would you recommend?

12.

Where would

you lik e to see the program go in the future?

APPENDIX D

SAMPLE INTERVIEWS WITH STUDENTS
These are samples o f group and ind ividu al interviews conducted
by the w rite r and recorded on tape.

The purpose o f th is interview

was to draw out the opinions, recommendations, suggestions and
comments from the students o f JCC and WSU, and, fu rth e r, to get in to
the problems th a t students face in everyday l i f e in the college
program.

Most o f the interview s followed the pattern o f the session

recorded below, which was held w ith a group o f inmate students.
Inmates:

Students attending college program
JCC or WSU

at

Interviewed by:

The w rite r

Place:

Housing fo r students, 9Block, Trusty
D ivision

Date:

May 11-12, 1977

W rite r:

OK, make y o u rs e lf comfortable lik e home. I would lik e to
ask you about the educational program here a t Jackson.
How does the educational program a t Jackson need to be
improved?

Students:

W ell, the teacher's a b i l i t y — i t seems to me they have a
standard order: not to flu n k anybody. I f you show up in
the class you pass anyway. You know, th a t means we need
a standard fo r the class.
We were ta lk in g about the General Bachelor Degree la s t
night in the class, we learn nothing. What tra in in g he
get? What s p e c ia lize he get? So, what job can a guy
get when he get out? They never be function in the
f i r s t place.
You see, they o ffered us WSU here, to them is the higher
education, but to us is the highest, but anyway they
d o n 't care; as long as they get the money, you know! We
110

Ill

got the money from d iffe re n t places, from VA, from GI
B ill.
We have the people th a t graduated; he has s k ills less than
a high school kid , how can people go out to market, even
his verbal in te lle c tu a l lik e id io t , because we has no
textbooks, no le c tu re , a ll they do is the b u lls h it d is ­
cussion, revo lu tio n ; p o litic s ; th a t's nothing.
W riter:

What do you think we need to improve in the college
program?

Students:

We need to h ire capable in stru cto rs and need to select in
and out students and in s tru c to rs .
The adm inistrators should have c le a r d e fin itio n goals, to
me you can come in and out; no real measure o f what you
learn , what you th in k , where you're going, or what y o u 'll
do.
We need more instru cto rs in the class, and the teacher not
only has a b i li t y but they have re s p o n s ib ility to teach
the classes and process the students th a t slow the class
also. 0--we need the college counselor too.

W riter:

Are the programs o f JCC and WSU the same?
Yes, some teacher does, but JCC is organized, WSU is
unorganized.
But they both have the same grade. You fin d nobody flunk
the class, unless they walk out the class or refuse to
show up, they learn nothing, but they got the c r e d it.
I t ' s rid ic u lo u s , they worry about the process o f 100
people through the program each ye ar, ju s t to get the
federal fund, the purpose o f th a t to provide the educa­
tio n , not to make the prison d ire c to r make the JCC or
WSU ric h .
Talk about the money, we f i l l out the applications fo r
BEOG but we never see the money; we d o n 't know what the
money go fo r and we d on 't know anything about our money
a t a l l ; i t seems to me the more courses we take the more
money we lose.

W riter:

How many students a t WSU now?

Student:

55 rig h t now, more coming.

W riter:

You mean inside or outside?

112

Student:

Here, t o t a l about 150.

W riter:

You think when they fin is h the program, anyone w ill get
parole?

Students:

No.
Let me t e l l you now, i t is the typical most inmates and
adm inistrations view the educational program, i t matters
to get education i t matters to look good to the parole
board.

W riter:

Compared to those who do not get into the program, how
does the parole o ffic e r view the program?

Students:

This is part of require the contract, i f you f u l f i l l the
contract and you get the parole, so you can get out.
But i f you don't have the contract, a fte r you fin is h
school then you go rig h t back to the kitchen and wash the
dishes.
Even they get out, they got education; but they don't
q u a lify to get a b etter job; they end up to work a t the
factory anyway.

W riter:

I f you graduate from JCC or WSU do you plan to continue
your education?

Students:

Yes, but there is no graduate program in prison rig h t now.
More than th a t, one o f the instructors from WSU said you
don't have to get Master's degree to get out, only
Bachelor's; th a t's enough.

W riter:

Again in what way is JCC more organized than WSU?

Students:

Oh, yes! I t has b etter counseling, b etter organization,
they have enrollment procedure, they have sp e cific date
to e n ro ll, and you know a t WSU two d iffe re n t people try
to do the same thing a t the same time.
At JCC they may not give you the best education in the
world, they are somewhat organized, they have counselor
f u ll time, and they have somebody you can w rite to and
expect to answer you. I don't think the le t t e r get lo s t
but a t WSU nobody q u a lifie d to answer the le t t e r . At
JCC, they counsel you i f you need i t . That why I say
JCC b e tte r than WSU.
They can do what they want, what else we have to have,
besides time!

113

Wri te r:

Does WSU have enough staff?

Student:

1 believe they have enough s ta ff , but they only pick a
certain kind of people to come here.

W riter:

Let's compare the other programs here.

Student:

I t 's a ll rig h t compared with the other program; is the
best program.

Writer:

Are you considering th at education is the way to
re h a b ilitatio n ?

Students:

No, in prison i f you ta lk about rein fo rce, they do th e ir
own a ttitu d e .
I don't think is re h a b ilita tio n process a t a l l .

W riter:

You think the in s titu tio n a l policy co n flicts with the
education program?

Students:

Only I concern when they have Emergency Count, the o ffic e r ,
he can turn the count in or i f he want to lock the door
he can do th a t, we don't have to dimiss the class to run
back to house.
Clearance to come in , the professor, he doesn't have to
cut his beard ju s t to come to teach here, so they think
he might bring the drug in , i t ' s too bad, I t 's
inconvenient.
O fficer don’ t do anything, walk around.

W riter:

OK, th a t's i t .

Thank you very much.
*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Inmate:

Student from JCC {individual interview)

Interviewed by:

The w rite r

Place:

Levin School

Date:

May 25-26, 1977

W riter:

What do you think o f the JCC program?

Student:

Well, some o f the teachers have tendency to guard than
teach.

Wri ter:

A fter you fin is h JCC, do you plan to go to WSU?

114

Student:

I d o n 't know.

W riter:

In what areas should JCC be improved?

Student:

F ir s t, they should have guidelines rather than student
choosing classes, which they don't know he can take or he
can transfer or not.

W riter:

Is JCC helping you at a ll?

Student:

Certain teachers do.

W riter:

Do you think the educational program is
another program?

Student:

I think this is the best one they got, but the other thing
they should do more than now, not ju s t throw you in; you
ju s t be there, you don't even know what you're doing.

W riter:

Before you took any classes, did you see your counselor
firs t?

Student:

No, you ju s t go what you want.

W riter:

Do you think the program helps you in reh ab ilitatio n ?

Student:

I would say yes. I don't think you can re h a b ilita te u ntil
you know the basic and new idea to deal with.

W riter:

Why did you decide to go to JCC?

Student:

I don't know. The place I grew up is no good.
do something to change the whole thing around.
work rnyself with the society.

W riter:

Did you think about college while you were in the street?

Student:

No. I re a lly d id n 't know about school u ntil I came here;
I know I have to make a tra n s itio n .

W riter:

How long have you gone to JCC?

Student:

May 2, 1976.

W riter:

The reasons you give me are very good.

better than

I want to
I want to

Thank you.

* * * * * * *
The next student-inmate from JCC also gave ideas during
an individual interview at Levin School.
W riter:

Why did you decide to go to JCC?

115

S tudent:

I fin is h e d high school here, in s id e ; so I want to go a ll
the way. You know, education is good fo r anybody. I
was always slow to pick up things w hile I was in the
s tr e e t, th a t's why I'm using time fo r b e n e fit.

W rite r:

Compared to another program, what do you th in k o f
education?

Student:

I t ' s good, but I d o n 't see some o f the courses you get the
c r e d it to tra n s fe r to o u tsid e; they won't accept; other
than th a t i t ' s a l l r ig h t.

W riter:

In what area should the program be improved?

Student:

Some subjects th a t open here should be the same as the
other o utsid e, so when they leave here they w ill get the
c r e d it.

Wri te r :

I f you have associate degree, do you plan to go to WSU?

Student:

Yes, I do.

W riter:

Does the program help you in re h a b ilita tio n ?

Student:

I d o n 't know why they use th is word too much; none o f
th is education here r e h a b ilita te s a person, unless they
do themselves.

W rite r:

What is your major?

Student:

I want to be an a c to r. My fa th e r is a musician, my brother
is a musician; th a t's why I want to be lik e them.

W rite r:

How about in s tru c to rs and counselor?

Student:

Some in s tru c to rs l i m i t what we say; th a t's too bad, even
though they have the degree; they should be more openminded; we have our own o p in io n , too.

Wri t e r :

Do you th in k the students in the class want to learn
something?

Student:

Oh, yes.

Wri t e r :

Do you th in k any in s titu tio n a l p o lic ie s block the
education?

Student:

They're OK; they d o n 't have too much to say about the
program; o ffic e rs a l l r ig h t.

116

W riter:

Before you went to co lle g e, did you see a counselor f ir s t ?

Student:

Yes, I see counselor; a c tu a lly , I have talked to counselor.

W rite r:

Thank you.

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