|
|
Bedford Hills College Program (BHCP)
Through the Bedford Hills College Program, Marymount Manhattan College offers non-credited College-preparatory courses and credit-bearing courses leading to Associate of Arts degrees in Social Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Sociology at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, a New York State maximum-security prison for women.
History of the Program
In 1995, laws were passed preventing federal monies (such as Pell grants and TAP) from being used for educating inmates, causing many prison programs across the country to close their doors – including the one at Bedford Hills. A task force, chaired by then-superintendent Elaine Lord and comprised of education specialists and inmates at the facility, found that the impact of higher education substantially reduced re-incarceration rates. To re-establish the college program without state and federal funding, the taskforce created a consortium of schools that would donate funds and faculty to continue the college program. In the task force's report, this group of educators and inmates recommended that
Students would work toward an Associate's and/or Bachelor's degree, which would be conferred by a college from the consortium. A learning center would be established as a place where inmates could help each other through tutoring, study groups, and help in preparing term papers. College prep courses were also necessary for students to build writing and math skills in order to prepare for college level work. (10)
The Bedford Hills College Program was founded with this mission statement, composed by the Inmate Committee at the institution in 1996:
We understand the public's anger about crime and realize that prison is first and foremost a punishment for crime. But we believe that when we are able to work and earn a higher education degree while in prison, we are empowered to truly pay our debts to society by working toward repairing some of what has been broken.
The program continues to be supported by the talents and resources of Marymount Manhattan College and omit other consortial members: Bank Street College, Barnard College, Manhattanville College, Mercy College, Pace University and Sarah Lawrence College.
Current Operations
In July 2003, Dean Dawn R. Weber, Vice President for Academic Affairs created a steering committee to assist in the coordination of the BHCP. This committee, made up of administrative support staff, faculty members, and the directors of the College Program, assists with the admissions and advisement procedures, staffing and evaluation of faculty members and oversight of the overall curricular goals and needs of the program.
In addition to supplying the necessary classroom space, the correctional facility supplies room for a learning center that contains the college's computer lab and the on-site library, staffed by a dedicated coterie of volunteers from the Bedford Hills area. To fulfill their requirements for a MMC degree, the students at the facility take the same courses offered in Manhattan, including the foundation courses for the General Education Initiative, and a wide variety of electives in art, history, creative writing, computer systems and the sciences.
The BHCP students benefit from receiving a quality education while incarcerated; however, one of the singular benefits for these women comes with their release from the institution. Those women who are released after completing their Marymount Manhattan degrees have new worlds of experience at their fingertips, and new opportunities that await them. Overall, the BHCP has graduated over 100 students. Those women released while in pursuit of their degree programs are permitted to complete their degrees here at the Manhattan campus, and 8 have graduated in this manner. Currently, one woman released during the summer 2004 takes advantage of this opportunity.
Visits to the facility must be arranged in advance through both Marymount Manhattan College and the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility.
Contact:
Aileen Baumgartner
Director of BHCP
914.241.3100. Ext 4514
|
|
|
|
