Corrections

As a Tiffin University graduate with a major in Corrections, you’ll be part of the backbone of the American justice system. The Bachelor of Criminal Justice (BCJ) Corrections major is designed for students who are interested in understanding and working with criminal offenders. Through this major, you’ll be equipped to handle the dynamic nature of the largest facet of the criminal justice system. The program focuses on the relationship of the field of corrections to the broader criminal justice system, as well as the evaluation and treatment of offenders in community supervision, custodial and community-based facilities.

The major is structured to give you sufficient background in legal issues, management, history, social work and counseling that effectively augment the knowledge and skills they develop in the criminal justice core curriculum. A strong emphasis is placed on providing the latest perspectives on offender reentry, population management strategies, offender motivation, theory and policy that will provide you with the requisite educational foundation to effect positive outcomes in offender management.

PROFESSIONAL CORRECTIONS TRAINING

• TU’s corrections program is a unique major, as very few schools offer this specialization.
• You’ll study with full-time faculty with professional experience, as well as adjunct faculty who are current practitioners.
• Offering a mix of general criminal justice classes and specific corrections courses, the major gives you a comprehensive view of corrections.
• Courses allow you to focus on key issues in both institutional and community corrections as well as offender reentry.
• TU’s network of alumni in corrections provides you flexibility for employment.

Our corrections program offers you the unique opportunity to interact with working professionals from the field. Our faculty come from the correctional environment and bring to the classroom their professional experiences from working in prisons, jails, parole, court security, counseling and international field work.

One of our faculty members worked for six years at Auburn Correctional Facility, a New York State maximum-security prison.

Another worked 32 years in the corrections field with males, females, juveniles, victims and offender families. Our corrections faculty also includes adjunct faculty who are currently working in the field.

Our faculty’s professional practice experience offers you an innovative blend of theory and practice that is crucial for a professional corrections education. Their understanding of offenders and the prison environment provides you with real-world examples and explanations of the prison and correctional settings. In addition, our faculty will take you into the field and let you explore the correctional environment firsthand, bringing real-world insights to your classroom instruction.

A PRACTICAL, PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

• Acquire current, in-depth knowledge of institutional and community corrections as well as offender reentry.
• Tour correctional facilities.
• Engage in one-on-one conversations with inmates and correctional staff.
• Learn firsthand from people in the field on both sides of the walls.
• Hear from guest speakers who are working professionals in the field.
• Learn to present yourself well in a professional setting with dress and speech.

OHIO POLICE OFFICER TRAINING ACADEMY (OPOTA)

To be a sworn police officer in Ohio, you must successfully complete the Ohio Police Officer Training Academy (OPOTA). Tiffin University partners with Terra State Community College to include the cost of the academy in tuition and can be earned in just one semester.

This unique training academy is state mandated for all police officers and covers firearms, legal administration, human relations, traffic, patrol, driving, subject control, investigations, civil disorder, physical conditioning and other aspects of law enforcement. Students apply direct, hands-on practice in the crime lab, firing range and police cruisers. With experienced, certified instructors and hands-on application, our students consistently achieve passing rates on the state-certified exam. Once graduates of the program earn the certification, they are immediately eligible for full-time employment.

In TU’s corrections major, you’ll learn by doing as part of an immersive program. In the classroom, you’ll engage with faculty who bring professional experiences to every discussion. You’ll share knowledge and ideas in group activities, class presentations and debates. You’ll develop critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making skills through role play. You’ll analyze movies and other media for major corrections concepts. You’ll hear from guest speakers who are working professionals in the field.

Participating in professional internships, you’ll gain greater knowledge of the field and invaluable experience. In group projects and research projects, you’ll learn to work with others, to delegate responsibility, and to deal with conflict in a group setting.

These hands-on immersive experiences will equip you with an in-depth knowledge of the corrections field, while also preparing you as an effective collaborator, innovative problem solver, persuasive negotiator and communicator and strong, confident leader.

BRINGING KNOWLEDGE TO PRACTICE

• Pursue a major field project, identifying and solving current problems in the field.
• Participate in public service projects related to educating people on the corrections field.
• Develop effective writing skills – an ability to produce clear and concise reports.
• Gain a global perspective, conducting research on practices in other countries and other states.
• Collaborate on group projects, learning to work with others from different backgrounds.
• Interact with offenders from different races, cultures, genders and gender identities.

CURRICULUM

Core Curriculum of the School of Criminal Justice = 18 hours

Corrections Major = 42 hours

Tiffin Campus and Online major courses, 3 hours each – unless noted (to be taken in addition to Criminal Justice Core):

• COR120 Correctional Thought and Practice
• COR231 Juvenile Justice Systems
• COR245 Probation, Parole, and Community Corrections
• COR336 Constitutional Rights of Prisoners
• COR420 Agency Management
• ENF293 Criminology (w)
• FOR105 Victimology
• FOR344 Psychology of Violence and Aggression (w)
• FOR423 Case Management
• FOR430 Crisis Intervention Strategies
• FOR347 Sex Crimes
• FOR365 Drugs and Society
• PSY101 Introduction to Psychology
• PSY362 Abnormal Behavior

Total = 42 hours

Total Bachelor of Criminal Justice hours = 121

This is a sample course sequence to illustrate course offerings for this major. Consult the official Academic Bulletin for detailed registration and advising information.

SAMPLE COURSES

Correctional Thought and Practice (COR120) – An in-depth analysis of correctional alternatives available for the treatment of the offender. Emphasis will focus on the traditional correctional facilities as well as probation, parole and community corrections alternatives.

Juvenile Justice Systems (COR231) – The history, concepts, and scope of the juvenile justice system and its contrast with the adult system of justice. Includes an analysis of the juvenile justice process from initial intervention of delinquency and status offenses by law enforcement personnel and others through release from intervention.

Probation, Parole, and Community Corrections (COR245) – Course is designed to address the two common options to the imprisonment of a convicted offender. Theoretical approaches regarding the philosophical as well as the practical aspects of these alternatives are considered.

Constitutional Rights of Prisoners (COR336) – An in-depth study of the wide range of court decisions that have had an effect on the offender. Concentrates on due process in the institutions, parole and probation hearings and classification procedures.

Agency Management (COR420) – This course analyzes some of the distinct differences between public and private management. The theory of controlling, organizing, planning, directing and assembling resources is covered. Students will develop a course project designed to cover the concepts explored in this course.

FORMAT

On Campus – Offered in a 15-week semester format with start dates of January and August

Online – Offered in two terms per semester starting in January, March, May, July, August and October

Departments of corrections are among the largest employers in states across the U.S., giving you the ability to work in any state, and if you are willing to be mobile, virtually unlimited employment opportunities.

CAREERS

• Correctional Administrator
• Correctional Case Manager
• Correctional Officer
• Correctional Treatment Specialist
• Corporate Security
• County Sheriff’s Deputy
• Criminal Investigator/Detective
• Fraud Investigator
• Highway Patrol Officer
• Intelligence Analyst
• Parole Officer
• Police Officer
• Prison Warden
• Probation Officer
• Prosecutor’s Office Investigator
• Special Agent

WHERE TU GRADS HAVE WORKED

While it is extremely competitive to obtain such appointments, TU alumni have gone on to careers in these agencies:

• Allen County Child Support
• AmeriCorps
• County of Seneca
• County Sheriff’s Offices
• Federal Bureau of Prisons
• Federal Probation Offices
• Greene County Juvenile Court
• Department of Pubic Safety
• Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections
• Department of Youth Services
• Kentucky Department of Corrections
• Local Jails
• Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections
• Ohio Department of Youth Services
• Seneca County Jail
• State Correctional Facilities
• State Probation Offices

Both the Tiffin Chief of Police and Seneca County Sheriff are Tiffin University Criminal Justice alums.

GRADUATE SCHOOL

If graduate school becomes part of your career plan, Tiffin University has a large online graduate program in criminal justice with a variety of concentrations. Our students in these graduate programs often have decades of experience in the field and come to us to get their master’s degrees to attain top administrative positions, such as Chief of Police.

Tiffin University brings in instructors that have the education and the experience to pass on to our students.  Our instructors come from departments in Ohio: Toledo Police Department, Perrysburg Police Division, Norwalk Police Department, Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, Lucas County Sheriff’s Office; as well as Weirton Police Department (West Virginia), United States Secret Service, United States Army, United States Navy, United States Air Force, Ohio Army National Guard and Ohio Air National Guard.

Our instructors have held roles as homicide detectives, crimes against person detectives, internet child pornography detectives, command officers, general detectives, chiefs of police, special agents, undercover narcotics agents, military police officers, road patrol officers, federal task force members and homeland security agents.