Transfer Degree Offered at Deer Ridge Correctional Institution

July 2, 2024

Central Oregon Community College is a newly invited member to the Bard Prison Initiative Consortium for Liberal Arts in Prison, the first community college prison education program to be invited to join this community of practice. COCC’s new associate of arts transfer degree program at Deer Ridge Correctional Institution is just the fourth of its kind in the state, featured in Oregon Public Broadcasting’s “New transfer degree gives Central Oregon prisoners a sense of hope.”

About the Bard Prison Initiative:

In 2009, the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) established the Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison to facilitate the further establishment of college-in-prison nationwide, calling for those programs to be of the highest quality, ambition and rigor. The Consortium offers strategic support, technical assistance and critical guidance to colleges and universities as they develop and sustain ambitious college programs. As partnerships evolve, BPI assists with relations with corrections officials, provided initial seed funding, or helped design pilot models.

Image: COCC biology professor Emma Chaput, who has spearheaded the transfer degree program, teaching at Deer Ridge. Photo by Tiffany Camhi/OPB.