Jackson College is one of only three Michigan colleges selected to provide nearly 1,500 prisoners with access to higher education through a federal pilot program that provides financial aid to inmates interested in pursuing a degree.
Jackson College, Delta College and Mott Community College were among 67 higher education institutions nationwide selected to participate in the U.S. Department of Education’s Second Chance Pell Pilot Program, which helps cover the cost of postsecondary education for state and federal prisoners.
“Most incarcerated individuals in Michigan will eventually be released once they have completed their sentence, so it is important that they re-enter society with the tools they need to be successful, law-abiding citizens,” Gov. Rick Snyder said. “Education can serve as a gateway to new careers that prevents them from returning to a life of crime and encourages more positive contributions to their community.”
The program aims to help prisoners gain the education and skills they need to secure jobs and successfully rejoin the community following release.
Jackson College was awarded the most grants of any higher education institution nationwide, with financial aid available to 1,305 eligible prisoners for classes.
“A quality education is one of the most powerful tools for future success,” MDOC Director Heidi Washington said. “Providing inmates with access to higher education improves their chances for leading productive and stable lives in the community and enhances public safety by reducing the likelihood they will re-offend.”
Classes are available to prisoners at 18 state correctional facilities and Michigan’s only federal correctional facility, in Milan. Those who qualify will receive federal aid for educational expenses such as tuition, fees and books. Prisoners must be within five years of their earliest release date when enrolling in order to be eligible.
Jackson College began offering courses again in the prison in 2012 after a prior program ended in the mid-1990s due to action by the state Legislature, and currently has about 400 students enrolled from eight facilities across the state in its Prison Education Initiative. With this new experimental Second Chance program, Jackson College expects to reach 1,305 Pell-eligible students in 2016-17 – the largest number of any of the 67 institutions participating.
“We are proud that the Department of Education selected Jackson College to be part of the Second Chance Pell Grant program,” said Jackson College Dean of Arts & Sciences Todd Butler, who oversees the Prison Education Initiative. “Our partnerships with the Michigan Department of Corrections and the Vera Institute of Justice have allowed us to create one of the top postsecondary educational programs in the country.
“More importantly, being part of this program allows the Prison Education Initiative to greatly expand the number of incarcerated students who will have access to higher education and the opportunities for change that access brings with it. Individuals, families, and whole communities across the state will benefit from this second chance.”
These new Second Chance opportunities will begin in fall 2016 semester. Previously, students have participated through both self-pay and grant funding from the Vera Institute of Justice, part of the Pathways from Prison to Postsecondary Education Project. The College hosted its first prison graduation program in May, with 20 inmates graduating, two receiving associate degrees and the rest general transfer certificates.
“This is something we’ve hoped for from the start: movement on a much larger scale, and we are eager to contribute as much as we can, given the impact we see with our students and their commitment to a better way of life,” said Kevin Rose, director of prison programs.
Today’s announcement builds on the Obama Administration’s commitment to creating a fairer and more effective criminal justice system, reduce recidivism, and combat the impact of mass incarceration on families and communities through educational opportunity.
The United States currently has the highest incarceration rate in the world with approximately 2.2 million people incarcerated in American prisons and jails. Hundreds of thousands of individuals are released annually from these facilities. A Department of Justice-funded 2013 study found that individuals who participated in correctional education were 43 percent less likely to return to prison within three years than those who did not participate in any correctional education programs.
“The evidence is clear. Promoting the education and job training for incarcerated individuals makes communities safer by reducing recidivism and saves taxpayer dollars by lowering the direct and collateral costs of incarceration,” said U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. “I applaud the institutions that have partnered to develop high-quality programs that will equip these students with invaluable learning. The knowledge and skills they acquire will promote successful reintegration and enable them to become active and engaged citizens.”
Experimental sites, such as the Second Chance Pell pilot program, allow the Department to test innovative practices in the delivery of Pell Grant dollars and use the resulting evidence to inform improvements in policies and processes in federal student aid.