College Access, Persistence, and Completion within SUNY and the New York State Correctional System

• In Event: Division J Vice Presidential Session: College Students With Incarceration Histories: A Discussion on the Landscape of Data Infrastructure and Research

Abstract

Objectives or purposes: To describe higher education access, program characteristics, and student outcomes for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals within the State University of New York; and the implications of our findings for policy and practice aimed at equity in education opportunity for persons in a statewide correctional system.

Perspective(s) or theoretical framework: The study is organized around the question of equity in higher education opportunity for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, including i) open and unbiased access to program participation; ii) program completeness and quality; iii) student persistence and completion; and iv) college re-enrollment in diverse communities post-release.

Methods: The study relies mostly on quantitative, descriptive data on students and college programs. The study shows changes between 2015 and 2024 in student enrollment, classes taken, persistence, completion, and post-release enrollment. It analyzes differences across programs in program characteristics and outcomes, and it performs simple bivariate and multivariate analyses, such as differences in student outcomes across student cohorts, program characteristics, and student characteristics and their carceral situations.

Data sources: Analyses draw on a longitudinal data system linking individual-level administrative data on incarcerated SUNY students with data from the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. To track post-release education and employment outcomes, data are merged with student information from non-SUNY institutions from the National Student Clearinghouse and on quarterly wage data from the New York State Department of Labor.

Current analyses include data from nearly 3,000 unique individuals enrolled in a SUNY higher education in prison program anytime between academic years 2015-2016 and 2022-2023. Data for the conference paper is expected to include 2023-2024 AY. Fourteen SUNY institutions, largely community colleges, offer programs in 23 state prisons and one federal facility.

Results: Based on prior analyses (Authors, 2023), we expect significant differences in higher education participation between students of different age, race, ethnicity, and carceral conditions, and between different types of college programs. Prior analyses also found considerable variance in student momentum, persistence, and degree completion while students were incarcerated, and limited college enrollment and graduation post-release. If students graduated, it typically required several years and often transfers between HEIs during and after incarceration. Overall, student outcomes were best understood and assessed at a state-wide system level rather than at a program level.

Scholarly significance: The paper will demonstrate the feasibility and value of analyzing college-in-prison programs at a system level; articulate how equity in higher education opportunity can be assessed for incarcerated people; and identify specific challenges in providing equitable education.

Reference

Authors. (2023). Anonymized for peer review.

Authors

• Thomas L. Gais, State University of New York System

• Rebecca Grace, State University of New York System

• Paul G. Wilner, State University of New York System