Ashland University has officially signed a corporate agreement with the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, which ultimately grants tuition discounts and other various benefits to individuals.

“The Louisiana department, which is headquartered in Baton Rouge, La., has more than 6,000 employees,” according to the Oct. 19 AU press release, “AU Signs Corporate Agreement with Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety.”

Dan Lawson, the associate vice president of corporate relations, has served in this position since July of 2016.

He discussed what benefits individuals receive through the corporate partners program.

“We are able to offer tuition discounts to the employees and the employees’ dependent families; that would include a spouse, or dependent children,” Lawson said. “That tuition discount can go on any degree [that] Ashland University offers- it can be any undergrad degree, it could be in a masters-level class, [or] it could be in the doctoral program.”

In addition to discounts and financial aid, a $1,000 scholarship is granted to those who qualify, according to the AU press release.

David Webb, the director of correctional programs, has worked at the university for 27 years.

“We started a pilot program in Louisiana, back in spring of 2016, with our online program for incarcerated students,” Webb said. “We have developed that into 10 sites where incarcerated students are taking our classes via an Android tablet and pursuing their associate’s degree. We already had that relationship developed, and this was just the next logical step, in how we could benefit their staff and employees.”

Specific corporations that have decided to participate in a corporate partner agreement have the opportunity to give the university an endorsement.

From there, they will have their company endorsement hung, complete with a corporate logo and description, on the “wall of fame” in the Dauch College of Business.

To date, there are 20 partners, with the list continuing to grow all the time.

Initially created by Lawson and President Carlos Campo in July 2016, they began setting up all of their corporate partners, which includes companies such as the J.M. Smucker Company and the Westfield Insurance Group, among others.

Webb said the overall reaction from inmates knowing that they have the ability to further their education has been extremely positive.

He said that not only will hitting the books allow them to get a better paying job, but it will also allow these offenders to lead more productive, healthy lives, and reduce the rates of recidivism as well as incident reports overall.

“Our hope is that we can change their thought process, their decision-making and have them look at the big picture,” Webb said.

With AU offering a wide range of academic courses, specifically, 140 courses and 28 sections between Louisiana, Ohio and West Virginia, plenty of options are available for those interested in furthering their education, including general studies curriculum and religion.

“Ashland University really is looked at as a leader in this field,” Webb said. “Across the country, we are the longest, continuously operating post-secondary program for offenders, which started in 1964. At this point, we are the only online program for incarcerated students in the U.S.”

In total, around 40 individuals involved in this program graduated with their associate’s degree last year, and Webb said they are “looking forward to many, many more.”