Contract Canceled

Expanding Pell Grant Eligibility to Incarcerated Students: A Study of Early Implementers to Inform Roll Out of the FAFSA Simplification Act

NCEE Evaluation Division Postsecondary, Adult Education, and Choice Studies

Program: Higher Education Act

Evaluation topic(s): Pathways to Career or College – College Access, Success, and Financial Aid

Award amount: $900,000

Awardee:

Abt Associates, Inc.

Year: 2021

Duration: 3 years 5 months (09/01/2021 - 02/10/2025)

Project type:

Exploration, Other

Contract number: 91990019D0003

Background

Although enrolling in postsecondary education programs while in prison may reduce recidivism and improve the employment prospects of incarcerated individuals after release, the costs and availability of such programs can be barriers to participation. Making financial aid available to incarcerated individuals is one way to encourage more colleges to offer and promote access to prison education programs. To facilitate this goal Congress extended Pell Grant eligibility to incarcerated students as part of the 2020 FAFSA Simplification Act, a policy that will be operational in 2023. This effort built on an earlier pilot of the policy change conducted with 63 colleges by the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) under the Experimental Sites Initiative. The FAFSA Simplification Act requires the Institute of Education Sciences to conduct an external evaluation, which was intended to inform improvement of key activities under the new law.

Project Activities

Research question

What were the factors colleges considered when deciding which postsecondary education programs to offer in prisons under the new provisions in the FAFSA Simplification Act?
What were the practices and services colleges thought might encourage access to and success in Pell-eligible postsecondary education programs?
What were the challenges colleges might have faced complying with reporting requirements under the new provisions in the FAFSA Simplification Act and how likely were they to limit college participation, either initially or over time?
How expansive were Pell-eligible prison education programs likely to be under the FAFSA Simplification Act, given the experiences of early implementing colleges and students?

Structured Abstract

Design

This descriptive study would have drawn on the experiences of early implementing colleges and students who participated in a pilot of the policy change. The analysis was to have been based on surveys of all participating colleges, in-depth interviews with approximately 40 of them, and data from annual reporting to the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA).