HEPI facilitates an associate degree program at SCI Greene in partnership with Waynesburg University. Upon completion of the sixty-credit curriculum, students will earn an Associate of Arts degree in Professional Studies from Waynesburg University.
Though not located in West Virginia, SCI Greene emerged as the best location for
HEPI’s degree program because of its proximity to both WVU and Waynesburg University.
Waynesburg University, which offers an associate degree, will provide half the
general education courses remotely and confer the degree. WVU instructors will
teach the rest of the courses in person.
Course History
HEPI is committed to reciprocal modes of learning, to broadening horizons and hopes, and to joy. Classes are taught by WVU faculty who experience a revitalized commitment to teaching and, without access to technology, develop more interactive and collaborative classroom strategies. Below is a list of all courses WVU has so far hosted at SCI Greene.
ARSC 293B: Inside-Out Think Tank
Dr. Rayna Momen
This experiential learning course allows students the opportunity to earn college credit for the work they are doing to enhance educational opportunities at SCI Greene, through participation in an Inside-Out Think Tank. The Think Tank is composed of WVU faculty and graduate students, undergraduates who have completed at least one WVU Inside-Out Prison Exchange course, and prison staff. Working individually and collaboratively, students may develop a Think Tank structure, devise and pitch proposals, seek organizational support, work on actionable steps to implement approved ideas, and reflect on their experiences throughout the process.
CRIM 461: Issues in Crime & Justice
Dr. Jim Nolan
What is crime? How do we understand it? How do we respond to it? This course introduces students to the field of criminology. By surveying criminological theory as well as empirical studies, students acquire a “criminological imagination": the ability to think beyond our personal lives and to connect the experiences of individuals with large social structures. The course introduces students to various theories of crime causation, including an examination of classical, biological, psychological, and sociological perspectives on the etiology of crime. Readings will focus on defining criminal acts, learning the theories that can be used to explain the participation or reason for perpetrating criminal acts, and exploring the public policies that are developed to respond to the threat and existence of criminal behavior. We examine common-sense assumptions of gender, race, ethnicity, and social class related to deviant acts and crimes, and empower students to replace them with evidence-based reasoning. By emphasizing reading, writing, and critical thinking skills, this course helps students build the foundation for a deeper understanding of theory and methods in the social sciences.
ENGL 101: Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric
Dr. Laura Brady
Writing helps us share stories, solve problems, and develop ideas. Writing helps us create, reflect, and collaborate. When you write, you connect with others. To help build those connections, this course will ask you to consider goals and purposes for writing; what readers might need or expect; conventions for different writing situations; and ways to avoid trouble spots. Since this course strives to create an environment where you can strengthen your writing, speaking, and reading skills, please think of yourselves as a supportive community of writers.
ENGL 102: Composition, Rhetoric & Research
Destinee Harper, M.A.
This course focuses on developing your knowledge of writing in several areas beyond what you learned in English 101. In this course, we will examine how arguments are made through a variety of writing purposes including writing to persuade, evaluate, propose ideas, share research, and test ideas. This course will also place a specific emphasis on conducting research and understanding and assessing information in the digital age. Finally, we will develop a richer sense of how your own research can give your writing power and purpose so that you can confidently apply what you know in your personal, professional, academic, and civic lives.
ENGL 234: Inside-Out Drama
Dr. Katy Ryan
This course focuses on twentieth-century and contemporary American plays that invite audiences to think about matters of justice, human connection, social transformation, and pathways to peace. Students read, write about, and perform plays across a range of theatrical forms such as social realism, epic theatre, workers’ theatre, the choreopoem (a mix of poetry, music, song, dance), and documentary theatre. Part of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange program, this course brings on-campus students and incarcerated students together to learn in a dynamic space.
FCLT 281: Vampire: Blood and Revolution
Dr. Lisa Di Bartolomeo
This course examines the phenomenon of vampirism in verbal and visual culture from different periods in various cultures (Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Russia, Serbia, France, England, America).
- Why do vampires capture the imagination, especially of Anglophone readers and viewers?
- What qualities does the vampire incarnate?
- Which historical events or customs have triggered particular enthusiasm for depicting the undead?
- How has the depiction of the vampire evolved over centuries?
Students analyze stories, novels, films, legends, fairy tales, television shows, and historical studies.
FCLT 380: The Holocaust in East European Literature and Film
Dr. Lisa DiBartolomeo
Extending beyond familiar representations of the Holocaust in the context of several nations of Eastern Europe.
HIST 261: Recent America: The United States since 1918
Dr. Jessie Wilkerson
In this course students will explore major topics in the history of modern America, from the rise of capitalism, industry, and the labor movement to the expansion of civil rights and liberation struggles across the twentieth century. The course will use the framework of social history and social movements—that is, how ordinary people collectively organized and fought to make their lives better—to analyze major events in the twentieth century United States. Learning goals and outcomes: Identify major events in modern American history; Contextualize primary source materials; Analyze and explain arguments in secondary sources; Strengthen writing and communication skills; Develop a project rooted in historical analysis; Foster a collaborative environment in which to discuss challenging ideas.
MATH 122: Quantitative Skills & Reasoning
Dr. Jennifer Kearns
Introductory study of quantitative and reasoning skills needed for success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
MATH 124: Algebra with Applications
Dr. Clark Metz
Study of algebra with an emphasis on applications for science, business, technology, and social science. Topics include graphing and solving problems using linear, quadratic, square-root, logarithmic, and exponential functions, solving equations, performing operations on matrices.
WRIT 490: Tutoring Practicum
Dr. Nathalie Singh-Corcoran
All new Writing Studio consultants participate in a one-semester practicum (English 490) as a way of joining the global writing center community and supporting fellow writers. The practicum introduces you to writing center theory and practice and also asks that you engage in writing consulting for your peers.
Along with increasing your understanding of yourself as a writer, you will develop a range of consulting strategies to help you work effectively with diverse students and varied writing situations.
Goals
By the end of the course, you should:
- Understand basic writing center theory and how it applies to practice.
- Develop flexible writing tutoring strategies.
- Demonstrate the value of listening and the attendant qualities of empathy and respect for our diverse community.
- Conduct basic research in writing studies.
- Develop an emerging philosophy of writing tutoring.