Advocates and Facilities

This page houses information for the advocates of Ohio University Correctional Education students, as well as information for correctional facilities. If you are a student seeking more information about what to expect, view the Current Students page.

Advocates

Advocates can be integral to the success of Correctional Education students, as they can communicate with the student’s academic advisor, provide financial assistance, or offer the student encouragement. An advocate could be a family member, friend, a representative from a support group, or other acquaintance of an incarcerated student.

The student should complete the Consent to Release Education Records form to give their advocate access to information regarding the student’s status related to admission, course registration, billing, GPA, or other educational records. This form can be submitted when the student applies for admission or it can be requested at any point after a student is admitted.

If the advocate will be helping the student pay for part or all of the course tuition, the student should include the advocate’s contact information in the billing section of the course registration form. After the courses are approved by the student’s academic advisor, the student and the student’s defined billing contact will receive an invoice.

Advisors serve as students’ and advocates’ primary contact. All communication between the course instructor and the student should go through the academic advisor—the advisor will contact the instructor on the student’s behalf. Advocates also should direct questions to the academic advisor instead of contacting the student’s instructor.

Facilities

The correctional facility plays an important role in ensuring the student’s access to an education. Students rely on the correctional facility’s education department and the library to provide information and resources for support.

The education director from the incarcerated student’s facility will be required to complete a portion of the student’s course registration form to provide the mailing address, information about prohibited materials, and a signature of authorization to enroll in the course. The education director must sign off on every course registration form.

Many courses require at least one proctored examination. The student should contact the facility’s education department to find a test proctor approved by the University. All exams will be mailed directly to the proctor at the facility address, and all exams must be taken in the facility where the student is housed.