“Why Do I Have to Pay for That?”: Pell Recipients on the Costs of Participating in Prison Higher Education

This research brief draws upon three years of data collection through a national mixed-methods project,
Exploring the Experiences of Participants in Second Chance Pell. Here we highlight the perspectives of Pell recipients enrolled at four institutions of higher education participating in the federal Experiment. Specifically, we focus on students’ perceptions of the costs of postsecondary education and the Pell Grant. Overall, students report that they incur many expenses to participate in postsecondary education that are not covered by Pell.