College in Prison

In 1994, inmates were prohibited from participating in the federal Pell grant program. Yet only 1 percent of the $6 billion spent on the Pell grant program went to inmates, and a non-incarcerated student had never been denied a Pell grant due to inmate participation. [1]
Only 12.7 percent of incarcerated individuals in the United States have had some experience with post secondary education compared to 48.4 percent of the general population.
Only 27 percent of state facilities and 80 percent of federal facilities offer college level programs. [2]
Most inmates participating in post secondary correctional education programs are participating in vocational training programs. Inmates are not earning associates or bachelor degrees in significant numbers. [3]
College prison programs have been shown to help reduce recidivism up to 22 percent. [4]
Differences between recidivism rates are significant: re-arrest: 48 percent for participants vs. 57 percent for non-participants; reconviction: 27 percent participant vs. 35 percent non-participant; and reincarceration: 21 percent vs. 31 percent non-participant. [5]
Only college participation has a significant negative effect on recidivism when compared to other types of education programs. [6]
College level programs can have great effects on an individual's self-perception by boosting their self-esteem and providing them with a sense of accomplishment. [7]

Sources

[1] Pell Grants: Are Prisoners the Program's Biggest Problem? Institute for Higher Education Policy, Policy Steps, 1(1) (Spring 1994)

[2] Education and Correctional Populations Caroline Wolf Harlow, U.S. Department of Justice, Buearu of Justice Statistics (January 2003)

[3] Learning to Reduce Recidivism: A 50-state Analysis of Postsecondary Correctional Education Policy Wendy Erisman and Jeanne Bayer Contardo, The Institute for Higher Education Policy (November 2005)

[4] Changing Minds: The Impact of College in a Maximum Security Prison Michelle Fine, et al.,
The Graduate Center of the City University of New York and Bedford Hills Correctional Facility (2001)

[5] The Three State Recidivism Study Stephen Steurer, Linda Smith, and Alice Lanham, Correctional Education Association (2001)

Facts and Figures