By Dianne Frazee-Walker
The Center for Legal Studies (CLS), founded by an attorney in 1980, is a 33-year-old nationwide legal education company that provides Live Lecture, Online, DVD, and Text-Only flexible curriculums for inmates or the public. Upon finishing a course students earn a certificate of completion from one of 150+ participating accredited colleges and universities throughout the country. Image courtesy www.merchantcircle.com
From California to New York – Montana to Texas; 51 college and universities that partner with CLS offer the “Text Only” versions, specifically designed for inmates. These correspondence courses enable an incarcerated student to take a variety legal education courses without the use of computers or on-site instructors. Opportunities are available for students to gain exceptional legal training and earn certificates from well named schools from just about anywhere in the country.
Two leading universities have paved the way for text-only education directed towards incarcerated students. Adams State University located in Alamosa, Colorado (ASU), and Ohio University in Athens, Ohio (OU) have taken special interest in marketing the text-only division. ASU offers CLS’s courses as part of a degree program which if a student qualifies would enable them to utilize Federal Student Aid. Ohio University was the first college to develop “College for the Incarcerated” and exclusively markets CLS courses as well as many other courses that are custom-tailored for inmates.