Think Tank: Higher Education in Prisons

Higher education in prison improves the ability of those released to find employment, and greatly reduces the likelihood of recidivism. Every dollar spent on adult college education programs saves the taxpayer approximately five dollars. Since the 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill, prison inmates are no longer eligible for Pell Grants, and the responsibility of such higher education as still exists in prisons has fallen to colleges and universities, usually partly underwritten by the private sector. On April 11, a panel of experts convened at Bennington to discuss the ways in which liberal arts colleges contribute to higher education in prisons, and what that contribution may mean for both the incarcerated and for the participating colleges.