As an institution of access and opportunity, Wayne State University is constantly pursuing ways to extend the reach of higher education. Beginning in the next academic year, that will include offering classes and a degree to students behind bars through a new Prison Education Program (PEP).
The five-year bachelor of arts in sociology program will launch in 2025-26 at Macomb Correctional Facility in Lenox Township, Michigan.
“Our goal is to support the university’s mission to educate a diverse body of students and make an impact in our local community,” said Michelle Jacobs, associate professor of sociology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and leader of the Prison Education Program initiative.
Funding comes from the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC), as well as support from Pell grants.
“Now that Pell grants are accessible to incarcerated students, we were able to apply for consideration to offer this one-of-a-kind in-prison education program,” said Jacobs “It’s important to me, and the university, that we tackle educational gaps that exist in our community.”
Bringing education to prisons isn’t without its challenges. In what will essentially be a satellite Wayne State campus at the correctional facility, professors will need to present course materials with limited technology or completely without it. The bachelor’s program and courses offered will have to be accredited through the Higher Learning Commission and the Department of Education, just like any other program.
“We want to be a leader in this,” said Stephanie Hartwell, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “Adult learners are a large pocket of learners. At Wayne State, we believe in educating all, teaching students who have an array of lived experiences in and outside of the classroom. Students learn better if there’s diversity among them – veterans, parents, folks of different age groups; they really enrich our classes, as well as our ability to educate.”
According to Jacobs, Detroit has roughly 1,500 community members who return to the city every year from carceral institutions. By educating and helping them return to their communities with a purpose and a plan, they’re less likely to recidivate.
“We want to make a difference in our community,” said Jacobs. “Based on decades of research, we know that when we support inmates with education, it increases employment opportunities, which increases wages, a cycle that benefits all.”
Research also shows that children with parents who went to college are much more likely to go to college. According to Jacobs, more than 50% of incarcerated people have dependent children. Supporting parents while they’re incarcerated can make a big difference at the family as well as the community level.
“This is an emerging area of higher education,” said Hartwell “There’s a huge evidence base that speaks to how transformative it is to communities when its members don’t recidivate.
“Most folks who are released without any re-entry services and supports recidivate within three months — 75% within three years — and that costs taxpayers a tremendous amount of money. So, helping them succeed while they’re still in prison doesn’t only benefit them personally and the communities they’re returning to, but it’s cost-effective.”
Envisioning the students learning in their designated space and preparing them in a way that they wouldn’t otherwise have access to is what propels Jacobs. Having worked in prisons in an educational capacity before via the Inside Out Prison Exchange Program, Jacobs is excited and eager to lead this initiative.
“This group of students do not take the privilege of education for granted. They are excited and willing learners. This is an incredible opportunity for them, and they recognize that.”
By Katheryn Kutil