12,000 Prisoners to Receive $30M in Financial Aid for College Classes - Non Profit News For Nonprofit Organizations | Nonprofit Quarterly

12,000 Prisoners to Receive $30M in Financial Aid for College Classes - Non Profit News For Nonprofit Organizations | Nonprofit Quarterly:

Last Thursday, 67 colleges and universities were selected to participate in the pilot program. Most are public community colleges and four-year universities, including some “big name” institutions like Rutgers University. Nonprofit universities are represented as well: Bard College, Goucher College, and Villanova University. None of the participating institutions is a for-profit. Tellingly, 200 applications were submitted by schools interested in participating in the project, illustrating that at least some higher education institutions see value in the program or its premise. Indeed, Goucher College already has a privately funded program that is currently helping about 100 inmates receive bachelor’s degrees through the small liberal arts college. The Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison also runs a similar program, and comprises several prestigious universities, including Bard College, Wesleyan University, and Grinnell College.

The selected schools and the Department of Education will work with 100 federal and state prisons from across 27 states to enroll approximately 12,000 eligible inmates and provide either classroom instruction, online classes, or both. To qualify for the program, the inmate must be eligible for release within five years of enrollment.