Description

When you join the SUNY Corning Community College (CCC) team, you are helping to positively transform the lives of our students, their families and our communities.

We are a premier two-year College, offering degree programs, certificates, and continuing education classes. We promote intellectual and personal growth through individualized education, inspire innovation to meet the educational and workforce needs of the community and leverage a variety of partnerships to help our students and community succeed.

The Prison Education Program Specialist is responsible for overseeing the college-in-prison program. This position requires time and skilled relationship building as prisons are constantly changing environments. Managing the diverse stakeholders and cultivating the necessary relationships within the facility and the college is a challenging and rewarding role. Coordinating resources and advocating for a diverse incarcerated student body with complex and varying needs is time consuming and requires a highly organized, customer service oriented and motivated individual. Like outside students, our incarcerated students are diverse in their interests, backgrounds, and needs. However, unlike outside free world students, incarcerated students lack freedom and agency to handle college logistics on campus or online the way other college students are expected to. The Prison Education Program Specialist serves as a point of contact for the College (for program, degree, funding and course planning) and students who are unable to access the various offices and departments of the main campus.

This position will be located primarily at both the Academic and Workforce Development Center in Elmira and Elmira Correctional Facility. Occasional meetings at different CCC locations and in the community may be required; travel to conferences and/or recruiting events may be required.

Prolonged time sitting/standing working with computers and monitors, ability to walk/move across campus including walking up and down stairs, ability to lift up to 20 pounds (occasionally may be more), repeated motions may include keyboard typing

This position will have regular weekly hours at the Elmira Correctional Facility which will require all safety procedures of employees in a prison setting. For campus, typical office and indoor building environments, occasional outdoor activity may be required.

Incumbent must perform the essential duties and responsibilities with or without reasonable
accommodation. The summary is intended to describe the general nature and level of work and is not intended to be a comprehensive list of duties and responsibilities.

SUNY CCC embraces diversity and values an inclusive culture where every person is able to succeed to their full potential. If you require an accommodation for the recruiting process, please contact hr@corning-cc.edu or 607.962.9229.

Essential Functions

Relationship Building with DOCCS Personnel (25%)

• Serving as the College’s primary point of contact and on-site presence with Elmira
  Correctional Facility.
• Collaborating with the appropriate college and correctional facility personnel to
  support the recruitment, matriculation and registration process for students.

• Provide college recruitment support for new students, including:
  • Application process,
  • Transcript review,
  • Assessment testing,
  • Financial aid forms completion & processing.
• Support systems to track incarcerated student progress and connection to appropriate
  services and supports:
  • Course planning/offerings (working with campus, division and instructors on planning for these offerings),
  • Advising, including running degree audits,
  • Course registration, add/drop, and withdrawal forms,
  • Identifying and supporting tutoring needs,
  • Library support and access to research materials, and
  • Graduation planning.

• Assisting in the process for getting faculty/volunteers /educators approved for Prison entry for educational purposes.
• Providing orientation for faculty/educators about teaching/working in prison setting.
• Execute processes that ensure students have materials necessary for success including: seeking approval (from DOCCS) for educational materials, purchasing and distributing books and supplies.

• Provide timely feedback to college and correctional facility administration to drive program effectiveness.
• Prepare reports and complete special assignments, as required.
• Presentations to campus and community groups, as requested.
• Manage College-in-Prison program budget.
• Other duties as assigned.

• Connecting with the SUNY College-in-Prison community across the state is an invaluable way our program can stay current, expand and innovate. Additional time needs to be spent learning from other campuses and sharing our successes to contribute to SUNY’s growing national leadership in this field.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Excellent interpersonal communication skills, critical thinking, organizational and writing skills.
• Must have an ability to engage with people of diverse backgrounds.
• A high level of energy, professionalism, enthusiasm and a commitment to collaboration and teamwork.
• Ability to travel with a valid driver’s license with a clean record.
• A flexible schedule including evening/weekend work throughout the calendar year is required.
• Ability to work independently.
• Candidate should have an understanding of community college philosophy.
• Management and teamwork skills.
• Strong knowledge of Excel, and other database software; knowledge of College Banner system preferred.
• Ability to effectively utilize above systems to provide reports.
• Excellent work ethic with the willingness to take initiative, be self-directed, and ability to follow through with completion of tasks and projects.
• Must be cleared by DOCCS and maintain this status.
• Demonstrates commitment to accomplishing work in an ethical, efficient, and cost-effective manner
• Ability to effectively convey information verbally and in writing, demonstrate effective listening skills, and display respect for and openness to other people’s ideas and thoughts
• Ability to accept changes to job requirements, policies, workload, etc., as well as learn new methods, procedures, or techniques resulting from change with the ability to clearly approach problems and find solutions
• Demonstrates support for the College’s goal of becoming a more diverse, inclusive, and culturally aware community and practicing anti-racist/biased behaviors

Minimum Qualifications

• Associate degree (bachelor’s degree preferred)
• Notary Public registration or ability to obtain

• Counseling, academic advising, and/or general student services experience in a higher education setting preferred.
• Previous experience in a prison education system preferred but not required.