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New Faculty Members

The Massachusetts Deparment of Corrections views Boston University faculty as volunteers. Newly hired faculty should review the DOC Volunteer Handbook and visit the Department of Correction website. On their site, you can navigate to the institution at which you will be teaching. They provide valuable information, including details on volunteer dress code and directions. Additional information specific to the Department of Correction is found on the Faculty Support page. Many other questions for new faculty are addressed on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Program Structure and Faculty

The Boston University Prison Education Program is part of Metropolitan College (MET). One of seventeen degree-granting bodies that make up Boston University, MET offers rigorous academic programs and cutting-edge professional training in evening, part-time, and online formats.

The Prison Education Program is overseen by Dr. Jay Halfond, Dean of Metropolitan College and Extended Education and former Prison Education instructor; Dr. Carl Sessa, Assistant Dean of Metropolitan College; and Dr. Tanya Zlateva, Academic Dean of Metropolitan College.

Dr. Robert Cadigan is Director of the Prison Education Program as well as a full-time faculty member at MET. Dr. Jenifer Drew, Program Coordinator, is a full-time faculty member at Lasell College in Newton, Massachusetts. Both have taught in the Program and are in frequent contact with Department of Correction staff and school faculty. Prison Education Program faculty members should feel free to contact either Dr. Cadigan or Dr. Drew with any questions: rcadigan@bu.edu or jdrew@lasell.edu.

The Prison Education faculty is comprised of professors from Boston University, Harvard University, Bridgewater State College, Brandeis University, Cambridge College, University of Massachusetts, Boston, and Lasell College, among others. Approximately twenty faculty members teach classes each semester, and many return to the program as time and career allow.

Ordering Your Textbooks

Orders for books can be placed with Dr. Cadigan. He will process the order and the books will be sent directly to the prison. The earlier you can specify the books you wish to use in your class, the better. All textbooks must pass through security inspections at the prison, which can slow down the process of getting books to your students. It is advisable to bring photocopied material to your first class (observing copyright regulations), just in case your books have not yet arrived at the school.

Boston University strives to reuse previously purchased books whenever it is pedagogically justifiable, and the professor is amenable. All faculty members will receive a listing of previously used books owned by Boston University. Please review the list to see if there is a book you were planning to use, or one which you would like to order for your class. Click here for our textbook inventory list.

Setting up with Boston University

Getting a Password for Webgrading

Grading of Prison Education Program students is conducted in the same way as the grading of students in BU's Metropolitan College. At the end of each semester, grades must be entered via the BU website. In order to log on to the BU web-grading page, you must have an ACS Account with a Kerberos password. To obtain a Kerberos password and establish a login name for your ACS account, visit BU’s IT center at 111 Cummington Street during the semester prior to grading. Please visit the BU ACS Account website for more information.

Obtaining a Kerberos Password

To learn more about working with your BU e-mail account, and special features such as setting up a mailing list and message forwarding, visit the BU Computing Web site.

Having a BU e-mail account is required in order to use the Faculty Link—which allows faculty to access student records. This website contains useful information pertaining to class schedules, class lists, textbook information, and final exam schedules. A BU login name and valid password are required in order to access the Faculty Link.

Proofing Class Lists

Registration in prison programs can be more complex than registration on a campus. Computerized class lists may contain errors that are hard to correct when grades are due, and are even more difficult to repair after the semester is complete.

In the middle of the semester, we require that you check your class lists on the Faculty Link. You may note that some students in your class are not listed, while others are listed but not present in your class. It is important that you take a moment to report any discrepancies to Dr. Cadigan or Dr. Drew. They will ensure that these errors are corrected.