While it's not uncommon for people to grouse that their workplace is a "prison," for a corrections officer, the joke would be literal. These professionals have the momentous responsibility of overseeing incarcerated individuals who are serving time for a crime. It is a career that is both serious and highly important, and it necessitates hard work and capability.
While many of the duties in this field are taught through police academy training or hands-on experience, it would be dangerous to go into those experiences uninformed. An online degree in corrections can serve as a critical foundation for the skills and knowledge involved in this career.
Looking for the right college for you, but not sure where to start your search? We evaluated 24 schools offering online corrections programs and listed the 10 best here. We looked at metrics such as graduation rate, tuition cost and the percentage of degrees that the schools awarded in the corrections field, using data from the National Center for Education Statistics' Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Take a look at our list of the 10 best online schools for corrections.
Visit our methodologies page to learn more about how we use official data to evaluate schools.
Eastern Wyoming College, the home of the "Lancers," offers an Associate of Science in criminal justice with an emphasis in corrections program that can be completed entirely online. Students can use this program for a terminal degree or transfer to another college. Criminal law, forensic science and juvenile justice courses are included in the degree. A one-credit capstone project lets students synthesize their knowledge and skills.
Eastern Wyoming College takes the number one spot on our list of schools offering online corrections degrees for several reasons. For affordable tuition, it ranked third best out of the 24 schools we analyzed. It took the eighth spot in the metric for percentage of degrees awarded in the field in 2015, and it has an open admissions policy, which means it accepts anybody who applies for entry as long as they have a high school diploma or a GED certificate. Finally, the school placed 11th for graduation rate, putting it just about in the middle range of all 24 online colleges for corrections considered.
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3200 West C Street,Our number two school, Cameron University, offers an Associate of Applied Science in criminal justice degree with a specialization in corrections, 100 percent online. The degree comprises general education classes, university requirements, major requirements and requirements in the area of specialization. The school has many other programs fully online, including a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice program.
Cameron University, which offers nearly 50 different degrees overall, ranked second out of 24 schools for the percentage of degrees awarded in the corrections field. It also ranked ninth on the tuition metric and 16th for graduation rate. An open-admission policy is among its numerous assets.
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2800 West Gore Boulevard,Part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, Cayuga County Community College awards an Associate of Applied Science in criminal justice degree with an emphasis in corrections that can be completed entirely online. A police emphasis is offered online, too. Students that prefer both online coursework and campus classes can opt for a hybrid alternative. The program articulates with several four-year criminal justice programs at SUNY schools.
Cayuga County Community College made it onto our list as a result of its third-place spot for the percentage of degrees awarded in the criminal justice corrections field. It also ranked tenth for graduation rate, out of 24 schools considered for best online colleges for corrections, and offers an open admissions policy.
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197 Franklin Street,An Associate of Science in Criminal Justice and Criminology degree is available online through the Community College of Allegheny College. An emphasis in Corrections gives students the chance to learn about evidence and procedures, criminal justice law and ethics in criminal justice. Online emphases in computer forensics and law enforcement also can be pursued. The degree is just one of a dozen offered online.
The Community College of Allegheny College made the fourth spot on our list of best online colleges for corrections, largely for ranking sixth in the metric for the percentage of degrees awarded in corrections, but also for hitting the 13th spot on the tuition metric. It also scored high on the admission metric as a result of its open-admission policy.
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800 Allegheny AvenueAn Associate of Applied Science in Justice degree is available fully online from the Community College of Philadelphia. Students who are graduates of the Philadelphia Police or Prison Academy can receive credits toward the online degree, too. The degree requires students to complete a 'cluster' of career courses in one of the following areas:
Students who obtain their degree here can transfer to one of nearly a dozen schools thanks to the Community College of Philadelphia's articulation agreements, and the college accepts all interested students through its open admissions policy. However, the school's real claim to fame is having awarded the highest percentage of corrections degrees in 2015 of all 24 schools we reviewed.
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1700 Spring Garden Street,Baker College, an independent Michigan college, offers more than 100 programs to students, including an Associate of Applied Science in criminal justice and a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice. The degree programs at Baker follow standards set by the Michigan Corrections Officers Training Council, and several of the school's classes are offered in online format. To help students learn about campus services, policies and procedures, a College Success Online class is required for all students.
With a history of more than 100 years, this time-honored school made our list of best online colleges for corrections for its number four ranking in terms of percentage of degrees granted in the field. It also boasts an open-admission policy, a small but crucial detail that helped it secure the sixth spot on our list.
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1050 West Bristol Road,A fully online Bachelor of Science in criminal justice degree can be completed at Montana State University-Northern. Earning such a degree can lead to a career in homeland security, juvenile corrections or police services. In this criminal justice degree program, the following topics are covered:
Additionally, an online minor in criminal justice can be completed at the school.
Montana State University ranked on our list for its number eight rating on the tuition metric, the third best score of all the schools included in this list. It also took the tenth spot on the metric for percentage of degrees awarded in the field — not as impressive as its affordable tuition, but certainly still worth mentioning.
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300 West 11th Street,At Northeast Community College, a fully online Associate of Arts in criminal justice degree with an emphasis in corrections is offered. A minimum of 60 credits is necessary to complete the degree, which includes eight courses specifically in corrections. Two elective courses round out the program.
This school made our list of top online colleges for corrections for its fifth place spot, out of 24, for lowest tuition. Only one other school on this list had more affordable tuition than Northeast Community College. The college also performed well on the graduation metric, garnering a sixth-place spot out of the 24 schools considered, and aced the admissions rate metric due to its open admissions policy.
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801 East Benjamin,A fully online Bachelor of Science in criminal justice degree with a concentration in corrections is offered through Southern New Hampshire University, or SNHU. Criminal law, policies, procedures and regulations form the foundation of this degree, but students also learn about evidence-based practices and programs used within corrections facilities. Other concentrations available in the online criminal justice degree at SNHU include:
SNHU scored an impressive second-place ranking for graduation rate, the best score of any of the online schools for corrections included on this list. For percentage of degrees awarded in the field, it garnered the number five spot. Although the school does not have an open admissions policy, it still admitted more than 90 percent of all applicants to its programs in 2015.
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2500 North River Road,The online Bachelor of Science in corrections & juvenile justice studies degree available from Eastern Kentucky University, or EKU, is one of the few in the country to focus strictly on juvenile justice and adult services, according to the school. Other online corrections programs available at EKU include the:
EKU makes our list in part thanks to its multiple online corrections programs listed above, but it had other positive qualities as well. The university ranked seventh for graduation rate and ninth for the percentage of degrees it awarded in the field in 2015-16, both high scores out of the pool of 24 schools we analyzed.
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521 Lancaster Avenue,Corrections work is demanding and often dangerous, so online colleges for corrections have a big responsibility: creating programs that provide students with the skills and knowledge they need to successfully navigate this challenging environment. Continue reading this section to find some of the possible coursework that may be available and the skills graduates might have learned by completing their degree program.
Online education for corrections is designed to prepare students for the rigors of the field. While schools may focus on different areas when creating a curriculum, the following are examples of coursework that is commonly available across these programs.
In order to work with people who have been incarcerated, professionals need a variety of specific skills, which may be obtained through online education for corrections. Below are some of these skills that students may want to prioritize developing during the course of their studies.
Corrections is a demanding profession that needs highly-skilled and knowledgeable workers. In order to sharpen their skills, as well as climb up the ladder of their careers, workers can earn professional certifications. Below are a few of the credentials people in the field can earn.
People in corrections and criminal justice careers are responsible for keeping everyone safe — whether they are inside or outside of a correctional facility setting. In addition to handling people who have already been incarcerated, these professionals work to help prevent crime, as well as reduce the chances of people reoffending after their release.
During a criminal investigation, the buck stops with those in first-line supervisors of police and detectives careers, as these professionals take a supervisory role over the activities of police officers. Some of the daily duties of this job include training new staff on police procedure; managing budgets and monitoring police department expenditures; designing and updating departmental policies and procedures; selecting supplies and issuing them to personnel; and investigating allegations of staff misconduct and taking disciplinary measures as needed. In addition, first-line supervisors are involved in the safe transfer and release of prisoners. Specific job titles include police lieutenant or sergeant, commanding officer and detective supervisor.
Criminal justice and law enforcement teachers are responsible for training the next generation of the justice system. These professionals create lesson plans for their courses; administer tests and homework assignments that are designed to monitor student progress; facilitate classroom discussions; evaluate, select and order textbooks for courses; supervise student internships; and keep abreast of developments in their subject area. They may also be involved in research related to criminal justice and law enforcement, which entails creating parameters for a study and executing them; compiling and analyzing data; and sharing study results in academic journals and meetings.
First-line supervisors of correctional officers are responsible for coordinating and supervising the work of jailers and corrections officers. The specific job duties of this position include maintaining employee work schedules; performing roll calls of corrections officers; enforcing procedures and policies of a corrections facility; searching inmates and their cells for contraband; responding to escapes; and training employees. Professionals in first-line supervisors of correctional officers careers require a variety of skills, such as strong communication abilities that allow them to effectively supervise their employees, handle inmates and coordinate with administrators in charge of a jail or prison. Other required skills include instruction, time management, writing and critical thinking skills.
Correctional officers and jailers work to maintain the law and order inside of a correctional facility by overseeing the activities of those who are awaiting trial or have been sentenced to serve time. These professionals are required to report inmate misconduct, handle prisoner disputes, conduct contraband searches, complete head counts to ensure all inmates are present, and process people into the facility. Correctional officers and jailers careers are dangerous, so people who pursue these jobs should have the physical strength needed to subdue inmates if necessary. In addition, written and verbal communication, problem solving and monitoring skills are desirable in this job.
When children and families need services to help them improve their physical and emotional well-being, they may receive the help they need from people in child, family, and school social workers careers. These social workers may assist people with adoptions; find foster homes for children who have been abused or abandoned; help clients get financial assistance and other services; and arrange medical or psychiatric tests. Professionals who work in schools may help young people with problems such as truancy, teenage pregnancy and bad behavior, as well as assist educators on how to deal with students who have these issues.