WARREN, Ohio – Students from Westminster College joined incarcerated students at the Trumbull Correctional Institution on Dec. 1 to celebrate the completion of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program.
The program, taught by sociology professor Jamie Chapman, brought together 10 Westminster students and 11 incarcerated students for the course Sociology of Family: Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. The class met for two hours every Monday morning throughout the fall semester inside the correctional institution.
Inside-Out Prison Exchange courses provide a distinctive experiential learning opportunity by combining traditional college students and incarcerated students in a shared academic environment. Through collaborative discussion and coursework, students critically examine sociological concepts while engaging across social differences in a setting where all perspectives are valued.
Inside-Out courses operate under strict guidelines designed to ensure safety and mutual respect, including maintaining semi-anonymity among participants by using first names only.
Westminster College has partnered with Trumbull Correctional Institution for approximately a decade to offer the Inside-Out program. This fall marked Chapman’s third time teaching the course, continuing a longstanding commitment to experiential education and community engagement.
Pictured at top: Westminster College students and their incarcerated classmates pose at Trumbull Correctional Institution.