Press release
ASHLAND, Ohio – The Department of Education announced today 67 colleges and universities, including Ashland University, have been selected to participate in the new Second Chance Pell pilot program, an experiment announced in July 2015 to test whether participation in high quality education programs increases after expanding access to financial aid for incarcerated individuals.
The pilot program will allow eligible incarcerated Americans to receive Pell Grants and pursue post-secondary education with the goal of helping them get jobs and support their families when they are released. Today’s announcement builds on the Obama Administration’s commitment to create a fairer and more effective criminal justice system, reduce recidivism, and combat the impact of mass incarceration on families and communities through educational opportunity.
Ashland University will serve one of the largest student populations in this Pell pilot program, working with 1,040 students in Ohio, Louisiana and West Virginia. AU’s program utilizes secure, corrections grade Android tablets to deliver an Associate of Arts degree program to students.
Ashland University, which offers the longest operating post-secondary correctional program in the nation, first established a correctional program at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio, in 1964.
“Ashland University believes strongly in its mission to support incarcerated persons’ academic ambitions and works diligently to prepare and assist them in making a successful reentry following their release,” said AU President Dr. Carlos Campo. “Since its founding in 1964, the program has stayed true to its original vision of an intellectual exchange that enriches lives both inside and outside correctional boundaries and affirms the transformative power of education. We believe this program will have a salutary impact on communities across the nation, and we are proud to participate.”
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 2013 study from the RAND Corporation, funded by the Department of Justice, found that incarcerated individuals who participated in correctional education were 43 percent less likely to return to prison within three years than prisoners who did not participate in any correctional education programs. RAND also estimated that for every dollar invested in correctional education programs, four to five dollars are saved on three-year re-incarceration costs.
“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 become active and engaged citizens.”
Selected colleges and universities will partner with 141 Federal and state penal institutions to enroll roughly 12,000 incarcerated students in educational and training programs. Through the Second Chance Pell pilot program, these institutions may provide Federal Pell Grants to qualified students who are incarcerated and are likely to be released within five years of enrolling in coursework.
“Access to high quality education is vital to ensuring that justice-involved individuals have an opportunity to reclaim their lives and restore their futures,” said Attorney General Loretta Lynch. “Through this partnership with the Department of Education and institutions of higher learning around the country, this program will help give deserving incarcerated individuals the skills to live lives of purpose and contribute to society upon their release. The Department of Justice will continue to pursue additional efforts to reduce recidivism, promote opportunity, and give justice-involved individuals a meaningful second chance.”
The vast majority of selected schools are public two-year and public four-year institutions that will offer classroom-based instruction on-site at the corrections facilities. Others will offer online education, or a hybrid of classroom and online instruction. More than 10 percent of participating educational institutions are Minority-Serving Institutions and approximately 37 percent will offer prison-based education for the first time. Selected schools may begin offering education and training as early as July 1.
Strong partnerships between postsecondary institutions and correctional institutions
The selected sites all demonstrate strong partnerships between the postsecondary institution and correctional institution(s). These partnerships will help to facilitate high-quality educational programs, strong academic and career support services, and re-entry support. Many state department of corrections indicated strong support for the proposed postsecondary educational programs at both the leadership level and in the coordination of day-to-day operations such as scheduling, staffing and facilities.
Robust Academic, Career, and Social Support Services
Recognizing that incarcerated students require additional support, many of the selected sites provide robust academic, career, and social support services to facilitate postsecondary persistence and completion. In some cases, this includes remedial or supplementary instructional services to ensure the incarcerated students served will be able to benefit from the postsecondary education and/or training provided. Many partnerships also work with a variety of community-based organizations and non-profit organizations that support successful reentry. Finally, all of the sites will provide counseling or guidance to potential students to assist them in completing the FAFSA.