Best Online Bachelor's in Corrections for 2019
If you have an interest in law, criminal justice, and serving your community, an online correctional officer college degree may be for you. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of correctional officer jobs is projected to grow by 4% between 2014 and 2024.
The following guide discusses what you can expect to learn should you decide to pursue an online bachelor's in corrections. It also contains information about your potential career prospects and type of salary you can expect to earn after you graduate.
What are the Best Online Bachelor's in Corrections Programs?
Top 10 Online Bachelors in Corrections Online for 2019
Admissions Rate
57%
Graduation Rate
56%
Online Enrollment
21%
Retention Rate
86%
Default Rate
7%
UMass Lowell offers an online bachelor's in corrections as an extension of its nationally ranked undergraduate criminal justice program. Students gain a thorough understanding of criminality and corrections while acquiring a broad education in the liberal arts. All coursework can be completed online, with no on-campus visits. Students may customize their degree through electives; available minors include English, history, business, economics, political science, and psychology. The program features unique classes that focus on the technological end of criminal justice, including crime mapping, statistics, and data analysis. Of the 120 required credits, 36 to 60 must be in criminal justice coursework. Students must maintain a 2.2 overall GPA and a 2.5 GPA in major courses. Most instructors teach asynchronously.
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What Will I Learn in an Online Corrections Program?
Online corrections programs don't all have the same curriculum. For example, some schools may offer a specialization that is particularly well suited for you, while others may have a relatively limited range of classes. Before you choose where to pursue your bachelor's in corrections online, you should look into the courses offered and make sure the curriculum meets your educational and employment goals.
Research Methods for Criminal Justice: Students in a research methods for criminal justice course learn how to conduct social science research and how these methodologies can be applied to contemporary criminal justice issues.
Judicial Administration: A judicial administration course covers various sectors of the tribunal hierarchy with respect to jurisdiction and administration. Students learn about the phases of civil and criminal litigation.
Juvenile Justice System: This course focuses on how the processes of the justice system differ between juvenile offenders and adults. Topics include due process standards, youth classifications, and suitable types of punishment.
Criminal Law: A course in criminal law serves as an introduction to the legal, philosophical, and social origins of the development of the criminal code. Particulars may include different parties to crimes, specific crimes, and elements of the defendant's perspective.
What can I do with an Online Corrections Degree?
Graduates with an online bachelor's in corrections can look forward to many options for employment after they earn their degree. Depending on what type of work a prospective employee is seeking, this field can also be relatively lucrative. The following chart provides descriptions and median salaries for parole officers, corrections officers, probation officers, public safety officers, and police officers. Students may want to compare the different positions available in their particular region.
A parole officer is tasked with helping offenders who are released before their full sentence is served, helping individuals re-acclimate themselves to the outside world. Officers may be responsible for helping parolees secure housing, job training, and employment. A parole officer must also monitor the behavior of parolees to ensure that they don't violate their parole.
Median Salary: $42,548
Job Outlook and Salary
The BLS projects that the number of available jobs for correctional officers will grow by 4% between 2014 and 2024. For this reason, many students choose to earn an online correctional officer college degree. Job growth and availability are compelling reasons to select a degree in a particular field of employment, but students should be aware that other factors can also alter their expected salary.
Individuals with an online bachelor's in corrections can pursue employment in several fields, and the particular positions and industries they choose to work in will influence their earning potential. The geographic location where they live and work also affect their wages.
| Employment, 2014 | Projected Employment, 2024 |
|---|---|
| 474,800 | 492,700 |
Salary Growth by Experience
In most cases, the more experience one gains in a particular field, the more money they make. The field of corrections is no exception to this rule. Employers often conclude that a professional who has worked in corrections for some time has better learned how to respond to various situations; experienced workers have useful skills and knowledge that serve as assets to an organization or community. The following table lists the median salaries for various experience levels for corrections officers, probation officers, and police officers.
To determine the best online bachelor's in corrections programs, we looked at the most important factors prospective students, mainly common predictors of future success and a school's commitment to online programs. This boils down to admissions rate, student loan default rate, retention rate, graduation rate, and the percent of students enrolled in online classes. All data points are taken from information provided by colleges and universities to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Each factor is weighted evenly in order to give an objective view and determine the best online bachelor's in corrections programs. To calculate our rankings, we looked at a school's ranking when organized by a single factor, and then averaged each category's ranking to find an overall score: Admissions Rate (20%) + Default Rate (20%) + Retention Rate (20%) + Graduation Rate (20%) + Percent of Students Enrolled in Online Classes (20%) = Final score.