Beyond Second Chance Pell: Metric Setting for Quality Higher Education in Prison Programs to Establish Robust Standards of Practice

• In Event: Reinvigorating Prison Education: Early Lessons from the Second Chance Pell Pilot Program

Abstract

Programs participating in the current Second Chance Pell Experimental Sites Initiative have their hands full recruiting faculty, qualifying students, and organizing curriculum, with the largest piece of their time taken by challenges completing the FAFSA for Federal Student Aid. These challenges leave little room for evaluation building, but if it comes to pass that the ban on Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated students is lifted program evaluation beyond simple recidivism tracking will be crucial. In this paper our goal is to capture the transformative impact generated by quality college in prison programs. To that end we will work to identify the key metrics of successful college in prison programs in order to establish robust standards of practice aligned with strategic program goals and how best to broadly share and distribute these metrics.

Authors

• Julie Ajinkya, Institute for Higher Education Policy

• Heather Jo Erwin, Vera Institute of Justice