Skip to main content
  • About IHEP
    • About IHEP
    • Message from our President
    • History
    • What We Do
      • What We Do
      • Current Initiatives
        • Current Initiatives
        • Postsecondary Data Collaborative
        • Degrees When Due
        • Assessing The Impact of Prison-Based Postsecondary Education Programs
      • Previous Initiatives
        • Previous Initiatives
        • Global Initiatives
        • IHEP Champions of Access and Success
        • College Not Prison
        • Minority-Serving Institutions-Models of Success Program
        • Film Series: Federal Student Aid History
        • Summer Academy
        • Community Partnership for Attainment
        • Symposium on Financial Literacy and College Success at Minority-Serving Institutions
        • Walmart Minority Student Success Initiative
        • BEAMS
        • Project Win-Win
        • Redefining Access for the 21st-Century Student
        • Reimagining Aid Design and Delivery
        • Pathways to College Network
    • Who We Are
      • Who We Are
      • IHEP Staff
      • Board of Directors
      • Emeritus
    • Partners
      • Partners
      • Funding Partners
    • Working at IHEP
      • Working at IHEP
      • Career Opportunities
  • Policy Priorities
    • Policy Priorities
    • Affordability & Need-Based Aid
    • Data & Transparency
    • Degree Completion
    • Higher Education for Students Impacted by the Criminal Justice System
  • Research
    • Research
    • Publications
    • Search Publications
  • Press
    • Press
    • News Releases
    • Letters, Opinions, and Statements
    • Press Clips
  • Donate
  • Contact Us

25 Years of Equity

Twitter Facebook

  • About IHEP
    • Message from our President
    • History
    • What We Do
      • Current Initiatives
        • Postsecondary Data Collaborative
        • Degrees When Due
        • Assessing The Impact of Prison-Based Postsecondary Education Programs
      • Previous Initiatives
        • Global Initiatives
          • Global Policy Fellows Program
        • IHEP Champions of Access and Success
        • College Not Prison
        • Minority-Serving Institutions-Models of Success Program
        • Film Series: Federal Student Aid History
        • Summer Academy
          • Participating Institutions
        • Community Partnership for Attainment
          • Participating Communities
        • Symposium on Financial Literacy and College Success at Minority-Serving Institutions
          • Participating Institutions
        • Walmart Minority Student Success Initiative
          • Participating Institutions
        • BEAMS
          • Participating Institutions
        • Project Win-Win
        • Redefining Access for the 21st-Century Student
        • Reimagining Aid Design and Delivery
        • Pathways to College Network
    • Who We Are
      • IHEP Staff
      • Board of Directors
      • Emeritus
    • Partners
      • Funding Partners
    • Working at IHEP
      • Career Opportunities
  • Policy Priorities
    • Affordability & Need-Based Aid
    • Data & Transparency
    • Degree Completion
    • Higher Education for Students Impacted by the Criminal Justice System
  • Research
    • Publications
    • Search Publications
  • Press
    • News Releases
    • Letters, Opinions, and Statements
    • Press Clips
  • Donate
  • Contact Us

You are here

Home / Press / News Releases

New IHEP Research Initiative to Assess Impact of Prison-Based Postsecondary Education Programs

.

Washington, D.C., July 19, 2018 --The Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), with support from Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation & Affiliates, today announced a new research initiative to assess the impact of Higher Education in Prison (HEP) programs on promoting successful re-entry and post-release outcomes among incarcerated students. The two-year research initiative will identify key performance indicators that yield invaluable data to inform program quality, develop robust standards of practice, and, ultimately, improve student outcomes.

“Currently, the success of prison-based postsecondary education programs is rarely measured by indicators beyond reduction in recidivism,” said IHEP Vice President of Applied Research Julie Ajinkya, Ph.D. “But the impact of these programs can be remarkably transformative and extends to employment outcomes, civic engagement and increased participation in education after release. Practitioners and policymakers alike will benefit from a comprehensive set of performance indicators to guide their efforts at ensuring successful re-entry for incarcerated students.”

Little is known about the quality of higher education offered in prisons around the country and the impact of these programs on students’ post-release outcomes. A $1.8 million-dollar grant from Great Lakes will support the development of a Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) framework to aid HEP practitioners assess the impact of their programs and processes. The final framework will be informed by HEP practitioners, researchers and advocates committed to developing a common set of indicators that detail the impact of postsecondary education on re-entry outcomes.

This investment builds on IHEP’s 2016 National Postsecondary Metrics Framework, which prompted the strategic use of data among the broader postsecondary field to improve student success, especially among underserved students. The framework has informed how leading postsecondary institutions use high-quality data to implement strategies that improve student learning and degree completion.

“We know that prison-based higher education programs can transform students’ lives, but they also hold the unique potential to close equity gaps and fundamentally transform our society,” said IHEP President Michelle Asha Cooper. “We are grateful to Great Lakes for supporting this new research, which builds on our longstanding commitment to expanding access to high-quality higher education for incarcerated students.”

IHEP’s research efforts on the impacts of access to higher education for incarcerated students date back almost 25 years. In 1994, IHEP released Pell Grants: Are Prisoners the Program’s Biggest Problem?, a seminal analysis which concluded that Pell Grants awarded to incarcerated students represented less than one percent of the total program budget. In 2005, IHEP released Learning to Reduce Recidivism, which examined postsecondary correctional education and policy, and argued that postsecondary correctional education programs offer the potential to provide incarcerated individuals with a second chance at productive citizenship. IHEP’S 2011 report Unlocking Potential: Results of a National Survey of Postsecondary Education in State Prisons, included a state-by-state analysis of correctional education policy, detailed the complexity of postsecondary correctional offerings, and sought to provide meaningful strategies to advance policy innovations. Most recently, IHEP’s 2017 #CollegeNotPrison social media awareness campaign sought to educate policymakers, campus leaders, and the public about the financial aid barriers justice-involved students face when pursuing higher education.

About the Institute for Higher Education Policy

The Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization committed to promoting access to and success in higher education for all students. Based in Washington, D.C., IHEP develops innovative policy- and practice-oriented research to guide policymakers and education leaders, who develop high-impact policies that will address our nation’s most pressing education challenges.

Media Contact

Piper Hendricks
202-372-7204

News Archive

  • 2021 (3)
  • 2020 (8)
  • 2019 (11)
  • 2018 (4)
  • 2017 (7)
  • 2016 (12)
  • 2015 (15)
  • 2014 (8)
  • 2013 (10)
  • 2012 (14)
  • 2011 (14)
  • 2010 (21)
  • 2009 (13)
  • 2008 (14)
  • 2007 (16)
  • 2006 (11)
  • 2005 (10)
  • 2004 (9)
  • 2003 (6)
  • 2002 (6)
  • 2001 (5)
  • 2000 (7)
  • 1999 (3)
  • 1998 (8)
  • 1997 (4)

Press

  • News Releases
  • Letters, Opinions, and Statements
  • Press Clips

© Institute for Higher Education Policy 1993-2020.
1825 K Street, N.W., Suite 720 Washington, DC 20006
(202) 861-8223 TELEPHONE (202) 861-9307 FAX
institute@ihep.org  |  Join Our Mailing List | Read Our Privacy Policy | Read Our Informed Consent Policy

© Institute for Higher Education Policy
1993-2014.
1825 K Street, N.W., Suite 720 
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 861-8223 TELEPHONE
(202) 861-9307 FAX
institute@ihep.org
Join Our Mailing List