California leads the nation in offering college opportunities to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students, according to a recent joint study by the Stanford Criminal Justice Center and The Opportunity Institute.
As of fall 2017, nearly 4,500 incarcerated state prison inmates in California were enrolled in face-to-face community college classes in 34 of the state’s 35 prisons, the study showed.
The new findings are a sharp contrast to 2014, when only one California prison had a face-to-face college program, run by a private university.
“In just three short years, California has built a new generation of college students and graduates, creating onramps to redemption and prosperity for thousands. Early data shows that incarcerated students are doing as well as or better than their on-campus counterparts, including earning higher grades,” said Debbie Mukamal, executive director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center and co-author of the report.
Hundreds more are waiting to enroll, she said.
Corrections to College California is a project of “Renewing Communities,” a four-year initiative undertaken jointly by the center and the institute and funded by 13 state and national foundations.
Mukamal said the new educational opportunities are expected to benefit the students and society in the long run.
