The 1994 Crime Bill barred incarcerated students from receiving Pell Grants. In 2015, the Second Chance Pell Experiment began allowing a select number of institutions of higher education to provide Pell Grants to eligible incarcerated students. The Research Collaborative on Higher Education in Prison conducted a three-year study with participants at select Second Chance Pell sites to learn about their experiences with implementation. The administrators and program leaders, as well as currently and formerly incarcerated students and alumni, participating in our Exploring the Experiences of…
The Second Chance Pell Experimental Sites Initiative, launched in 2015, has already impacted the landscape of prison higher education by increasing the number of colleges and universities providing in-prison postsecondary 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 include data collected from the staff at four higher education institutions in financial aid, admissions, and the registrar or related unit. The larger study focused on nine…
On January 31, from 2:00-3:15 ET, NASFAA (National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators) will host a free and publicly available webinar. See below for a description and links to register.
Workshop: Completing the Paper 24/25 FAFSA With Students Who Are Incarcerated
Financial Aid advising is an essential component of Prison Education Programs (PEPs). Many PEPs rely on the paper FAFSA when serving students who are incarcerated. We expect many new Prison Education Programs (PEPs) will…
A biweekly newsletter from Open Campus about the future of postsecondary education in prisons. This edition features coverage from the National Conference for Higher Education in Prisons held in Atlanta in November 2023. We also take a trip to a spa in Thailand that trains incarcerated women, and we share more results from our reader survey on technology. Finally, Kunlyna Tauch in California writes about how access to a laptop after 17 years inside changed everything.
Open Campus, a nonprofit newsroom focused on higher education, produces College Inside, a newsletter focused on the future of postsecondary education in prison. We publish a biweekly email and a monthly print PDF edition for inside distribution. You can get the email version in your inbox here (check your spam for a confirmation email if you don't see it right away), and you can sign up incarcerated friends…
This brief is part of a series that highlights key issues and best practices discussed at Bridging the Gap: Postsecondary Pathways for Underprepared Learners. Other topics include support services to help underprepared students balance school and daily life, and engaging employers to help build effective pathways to work.
This 50-state comparison provides a look at the specific criteria employed in the top two largest aid programs by state. It includes details about which state programs are linked to measuring need through the federally calculated Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) or purely family income.
This Special Report examines four principles for state leaders to consider as they develop or evaluate financial aid redesign reform efforts. The financial aid redesign principles, identified through a Thinkers Meeting that included experts from across the country, fall into four areas: Financial aid programs should be (1) student-centered, (2) goal-driven and data-informed, (3) timely and flexible, and (4) broadly inclusive.
