Georgia State University blames federal rules regarding Pell Grant refunds as a key reason for its decision to close. prison education program This summer.
While the program will not admit new students, the university said it plans to help students currently enrolled in two state prisons complete the program (which can take up to two years to complete). ).
Officials cited administrative challenges securing federal financial aid and a $24 million budget shortfall as factors in the university's decision to suspend classes at three correctional facilities, according to a statement sent to Open Campus. listed. This program has been in place since 2016.
Pell Grants are federal financial aid for low-income students. In July 2023, Incarcerated students are now widely targeted. It's the first time the grants have been awarded since the 1994 crime bill, which prohibited federal funding for prison education. Currently, more than 750,000 students are eligible for aid, but they must be enrolled in a correctional facility that offers a college program approved by the federal Department of Education.
Georgia State's decision means about 60 current students enrolled in two state prisons and one federal facility may have to postpone their dreams of earning a degree, according to numbers provided by faculty. means. Incarcerated college students already face significant challenges in completing their degrees due to course interruptions and other disruptions beyond their control.
“Time and time again, students have been disappointed in life,” said Katherine Perry, an English professor at Georgia State University's Perimeter College. She was one of three faculty members who co-founded the prison education program in 2016.
“For me, it's very important that they don't put their education in a bucket that's going to let them down, because that's why most of them haven't been educated before.”
When faculty received an email from Cynthia Lester, interim dean of Perimeter College, announcing the decision in late November, Perry felt blindsided. The email cited “financial constraints and substantial administrative demands” on Pell's request for approval from the federal Department of Education.
“This decision was not taken lightly, but reflects the University’s commitment to responsible fiscal management and ensuring that existing educational initiatives receive the support and resources they need,” Professor Lester said in an e-mail. I wrote it by email.
Perry said the program has faced financial challenges in the past, but funding has always been granted. “In this case, we went back and said, 'Can we make that difference even higher?' And they said no,” she said. “And that gives me a headache.”
The program has received at least $700,000 in grants starting in 2022, which could help fund the program for continued students. 2023, Georgia Also received a $669,000 grant Donated by the Mellon Foundation to fund literary magazines through prison education programs.
Starting in 2020, students at two state prisons will also be eligible for Pell Grants.
Georgia State University faces a significant budget cut of $24.4 million in fiscal year 2024, with further budget shortfalls expected next year, according to a statement. The university estimates it will cost about $180,000 in education and administrative costs to operate the prison education program at the three correctional facilities, plus donations from donors.
The university also cited the “complex requirements” and “ongoing commitment” to the Pell application process, which includes completing paperwork with the federal Department of Education, accreditation process, job placement, and meeting key indicators such as expected income. He also mentioned the challenge of meeting the requirements. Recidivism rate and completion rate. The spokesperson also expressed concern about Georgia State University's ability to provide incarcerated students with services such as tutoring, counseling and career guidance.
According to a statement, Georgia State is exploring alternatives to recognize “the importance of supporting the educational needs of individuals affected by incarceration,” including those with personal experience of incarceration. It will also include discussions with donors to establish new programs for students.
big questions about the future
Last week, Georgia State University students campaign has started They called on the university to rescind its decision. As of Wednesday, 46 teachers had also signed. letter of support We asked President Nicole Parsons Pollard to continue the program.
Some experts in the field are also concerned about how Georgia State University's decision to cancel the program will affect other prison college programs in the state and across the country.
“We have the fourth largest prison system in the country, and we have a truly underserved population,” said Stacey Bell, an English professor at Emory University and director of the Georgia Prison Higher Education Coalition. “And without Georgia State University, there are very big questions about what would be happening to the higher education movement inside the prisons here in Georgia.”
Approximately 50,000 people are currently incarcerated in the state. The Georgia Department of Corrections did not respond to a request for comment.
Ruth Delaney, director of the Unleashing Potential initiative at the Vera Institute, a nonprofit that provides technical assistance to prison education programs, expressed disappointment with the decision.
“Federal regulations regarding Pell-funded prison education programs require the university to provide higher education programs of comparable quality to those received by students at the university's other locations,” she wrote electronically. I wrote it by email. “Many of the services, reports, and processes that GSU describes are standard practices that accredited universities already follow to serve non-incarcerated student bodies.”
Last May, nine men were arrested at Walker State Prison in Rock Springs. earned an associate's degree He graduated from Georgia State University, becoming the first class to graduate within the university. Three more of his students incarcerated at Phillips State Prison in Buford graduated in December.
Approximately 19 students at the United States Federal Penitentiary Atlanta earned an associate's degree Passed through Georgia in September. In January, university authorities announced that they would no longer continue offering classes at the prison. Tiffany Parsons, a sociologist and West Georgia prison warden, said Georgia State University will then offer associate professorships to West Georgia University, which plans to begin a Pell-funded bachelor's degree program at the federal facility in the fall. He asked if he would accept it. Educational program.
West Georgia is currently offering bachelor's degree classes to one population at Hays State Prison, a maximum-security men's prison. Parsons said it is one of two prison bachelor's degree programs in the state.
Another four-year program is offered at Leigh Allendale, a women's prison, through Life University.This program is also in flux due to correctional authorities. announced last year They were downsizing prisons.
Parsons said faculty work with students at the prison to help them with the transition. She plans to enter the federal facility to better understand what students' needs are and what support services West Georgia can provide in the future. “We need to be there for a while and earn the trust of the students,” she said.
The incarcerated students were informed of the decision in mid-February. Perry, the English professor, said that even though Georgia State University had assured him that it had an “educational plan” that included the possibility that another university in the state would adopt the program, Walker College students would not receive a degree. He said that he seems to be afraid that he will not be able to obtain the prison.
“Perhaps it's because they're so used to a system that's letting them down,” Perry said.
The education plan outlines how students will be supported to graduate if the institution ceases operations before all students have completed their program. Georgia State did not respond to additional questions about the details of the plan.
Many of the students graduating in 2023 began the associate program in 2016, when the program began, so it is unclear how current students will complete what most of them started last fall within two years.
Perry said her students asked her to quantify the odds of finishing at Georgia State. One student felt particularly strongly about graduating from the same university as her own children were also enrolled there.
Similar to appearance, incarcerated students also feel that being at a particular university is part of their identity as a student. “That's what it means to be a proud Panther,” Perry said.
This article is published with the help of open campus, a nonprofit newsroom focused on higher education.apply Inside the universityOpen Campus Newsletter on the future of post-secondary education in prisons.