UW-Stout collaborates on new bachelor’s degree program at Stanley Correctional Institution

UW-Stout began offering courses at Stanley Correctional Institution in the summer of 2024, including classes in criminal justice and rehabilitation, sociology, applied social science, design, business accounting and risk control. Students have gained credentials in foundations in data analytics, data accumulation and research methodology, and strategic planning and organizational management.

Beginning this fall, students at Stanley Correctional Institution will be able to work toward a B.S. management and leadershipdegree. Courses offered in the coming months will include biology, business accounting and industrial management. Fourteen students are enrolled for the fall semester, with a goal of 15 students for the Winterm next January.

UW-Stout faculty members who have offered classes through the program say the experience has been professionally gratifying.

"Helping to establish a new construction of self and a narrative of redemption is very satisfying. I have seen the students grow academically, but also in self-confidence," said Associate Professor Richard Gee, director of UW-Stout's B.S. criminal justice and rehabilitation program.

Gee, who has taught multiple courses at Stanley Correctional Institution, was also part of the team that set up and implemented the program at UW-Stout, and it was in that role that he helped Assistant Professor Jonny Wheeler prepare for the experience. Wheeler - who is part of the B.S. video productionand M.F.A. designprograms on campus - taught introductory design courses at both Stanley Correctional Institution and Oakhill Correctional Institution.

Without cell phones, social media, or Adobe software, these design classes relied on "foundational, analog principles: mostly sketching," Wheeler said.

"It has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my professional career," he added. "To witness firsthand the transformative power of education in a place where it is so deeply valued is to be reminded of our fundamental purpose as educators."

UW CHEP was launched in 2023 as part of Gov. Tony Evers' Workforce Innovation Grant program. It is funded through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development and Ascendium Education Group, a Madison-based nonprofit. Students may also be eligible for federally funded Pell Grants to cover their tuition.

The program has a strong workforce development component: UW CHEP collaborates with employers and workforce agencies to ensure relevant curriculum, while a PEI career advisor and reentry support coordinator connect students to job opportunities and community resources.

"We pride ourselves on evidence-based practices, but having hope also disrupts (recidivism)," said Wisconsin Department of Corrections Secretary Jared Hoy during a graduation ceremony earlier this year at Oakhill Correctional Institution, where 15 students earned Associate of Arts and Science degrees through UW-Green Bay. "There's nothing I can say that will outshine your stories. This is just the beginning of the positive things you will do beyond prison."