Academic offerings and inclusive social responsibility in prison: The case of the Universidad Abierta Para Adultos, Dominican Republic.

Abstract

The article presents the results of a diagnosis carried out on the training offered by the Open University for Adults (UAPA), as part of its policy of social responsibility and educational inclusion, to inmates. Its purpose: To analyze key aspects of the program's operation, to make improvements, meet the needs of direct beneficiaries and promote its implementation. The methods of analysis and synthesis, inductive-deductive, survey and focus group techniques were used with an intentional sample of 34 participants from three penitentiary centers. Among the main results are: that there is a state of positive satisfaction with the opportunity that the UAPA gives them to access higher education and have a greater possibility of entering the labor market when they complete their sentence. They recognize the follow-up to situations presented to the institution by them or their family members. There is satisfaction with the follow-up of academic activities in the virtual campus, the application of exams, the admission process, enrollment and payment of tuition fees. They positively value the attention given by the facilitators and school directors, the Social Service and the Professional Practice. As opportunities for improvement they pointed out: the need for timely feedback from the facilitators to the learning activities; that the Prison does not fully guarantee the conditions required to develop the educational activities, as they do not always pay attention to their complaints, needs or suggestions.