This presentation reflects on the challenges with delivering higher education into prisons.

1. IT'S AN ARMS
RACE: A
PERSPECTIVE
FROM A HIGHER
EDUCATION
PARTNER
STEPHEN SEYMOUR
HELEN FARLEY
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND

2. WHY ARE USQ ENGAGING WITH CORRECTIONS?
 A number of prisons close to USQ
Toowoomba, Springfield and Ipswich
campuses
 We used to deliver hard copy
materials for learners
 At the end of semester1, 2015 we
moved to exclusively digital delivery
 USQ has traditionally catered to non-
traditional cohorts

3. USQ AND CORRECTIONS:
A HISTORY
 Delivering to incarcerated
students since 1989
 Tertiary Preparation
Program was originally
designed for incarcerated
students
 Since 2012, USQ has had
over 3,000 incarcerated
students enrolled in 6,500
courses

4. A SAD STORY …

5. USQ DIGITAL PROJECTS AND CORRECTIONS
PLEIADES
From Access to Success
From Paper to Pixels
Making the Connection

6. MAKING THE CONNECTION
 Australian government-funded, $AUD4.4 million over 4 years
 2 technologies
 Offline Enterprise Platform
 Offline Portable Device
 Device Manager Software
 USQ Offline StudyDesk
 USQ Offline Programs and Courses
 LibreOffice

7. AND …
 Education Officer Portal
(Kiosk)
 Career and transition
resources
 START course

8. START – STUDY AND RESEARCH TOOLKIT COURSE
The Start Tool Kit has been helpful to me because I had to learn how to develop the
correct skills such as academic integrity and referencing to assist me for my assignment
presentations. The Assessment section is especially helpful with instructions for writing
introductions, essays and using proper grammar for writing in an academic style at
university. The mathematics section explains how important it is to read the problem
through carefully and follow the order of convention for successfully communicating
mathematical material. Furthermore, planning out the semester and learning how to
develop a pass strategy is also important because it will improve the skills I have for my
academic education at university. Finally, I believe that it is vital to learn from the tool kit
and refer back to it when it is necessary.

9. CAREER
RESOURCES
 ‘Unlocking a Future’
Career Guide
 ‘Unlocking a Future’
Facilitator’s Guide
 ‘Unlocking a Future’
Transition Guide

10. WHAT COULD WE DELIVER AND WHY
 Needed to ensure the quality of our
delivery
 Needed equivalency
 Needed vocational outcomes
 No programs that would precipitate
criminogenic tendencies
 No programs where practice would be
disallowed due to criminal history
 No practical or clinical requirements

12. INCARCERATED STUDENT
STRATEGY
Contained 12 proposals that
would move Making the
Connection into BAU
Adopted in August 2018
Coordinator Incarcerated Students
appointed
Intended to make USQ’s support
of incarcerated students
sustainable AND high quality

13. THE PLAN …
 Incarcerated students who are still enrolled in
programs that are no longer supported will be
taught out
 First-time students have the offline program and
course options
 Require access to the offline technologies (with
the exception of TPP)
 Limited number of high quality programs

14. THE PROGRAMS
 Tertiary Preparation Program
 Associate Degree of Business and
Commerce
 Certificate of University Studies
 Diploma of University Studies
 Bachelor of General Studies

15. USQ SUPPORT
 USQ Incarcerated student web
page
 ICT support / Student
Relationship Officer / Admissions
support
 Printed resources (TPP)
 Scholarships
 Library support
 Exam coordination
 Career practitioner advice

17. A SNAPSHOT …
 993* enrolled courses (all courses)
 1411 courses if including
dropped/exited
 372* unique student head count across the
three semesters
 432 students if including
dropped/exited students
 Progression rates better than mainstream
USQ students
 Students frequently ‘top’ their respective
courses
 Bursaries awarded
 Graduations
 Increasing number of formerly
incarcerated students presenting at USQ to
continue study and access services

18. CHALLENGES IN
IMPLEMENTATION
 Aligning with university’s
operational plans and activities
 Ongoing engagement with USQ
stakeholders for delivery
 Changing Australian
government attitudes towards
higher education
 Funding BAU
 But … fastest growing cohort
with better progression,
outcomes than non-incarcerated
students

19. KEEPING UP WITH
THE TECHNOLOGY
 Hardware
 Software
 Discipline-specific software
living in cloud
 Licensing challenges
 Turnitin
 Divergence in course
iterations
 Publishers making changes
and not telling anyone

20. NEEDS OF THE LEARNERS
 Increasingly, learners need a digital profile or portfolio
 Need digital literacies (USQ doing research into this!)
 Not just learners but also education officers
 Some corrections staff refusing to engage with technology for learners

21. ADDITIONAL CHALLENGES
 High turnover of education staff
 Eight correctional jurisdictions to engage with
 Each prison is an independent city-state
 Changing priorities of correctional jurisdictions
 Competition with commercial technology providers
 Competing technologies fulfil a range of functions

22. FROM WITHIN USQ
 Changing leadership and priorities
 Budgetary squeeze
 Academics’ freedom
 Bias: Conscious and unconscious
 Moving target
 Changes in learner objectives
 Requirements in assessments
 Requirements for practicals
 Preclusion of teamwork
 Currency of information
 Difficulties delivering content for
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
learners

23. A HAPPY ENDING
 Enrolments are increasing
 Formerly incarcerated
identifying on campus in
increasing numbers
 Formerly incarcerated
learners are succeeding
and graduating!

24. A happier story …

25. What we didn’t
expect
• Self-organising study groups
• Impact on prison culture
• Dynamic security
• Surge in officer enrolments
• Better results from prisoners compared to non-
incarcerated students
• Community of interest
• Extent of bias

27. Keeping in touch …
http://bit.ly/USQMakingtheConnection

28. Keeping in touch …
http://bit.ly/USQMakingtheConnection

29. Stephen Seymour and Helen Farley
stephen.seymour@usq.edu.au
helen.farley@usq.edu.au