Dyersburg State Community College program brings college education to inmates, reduces recidivism rates

In 2017, an initiative was undertaken by Dyersburg State Community College and the Northwest Correctional Complex that aimed to provide inmates with a path to an associate degree in business administration. Educational opportunities are known to help inmates upon release to either continue their education or find gainful employment, two factors that have been shown to reduce the chance of them becoming repeat offenders and ending up incarcerated again. This year, in addition to inmates at Northwest Correctional Complex, faculty from DSCC will also lead courses at the West Tennessee State Penitentiary and the Women's Therapeutic Residential Center. The program is sponsored by the Tennessee Higher Education Initiative, a nonprofit organization based in Nashville.

In a recent press release from Dyersburg State Community College some of the professors teaching the inmates reflected on their experiences. Bobby Solmon, Associate Professor of Mathematics said, "I enjoy teaching students at the prison. The students are hard-working and they appreciate us bringing classes to them. Students taking the math classes scored on average a letter grade higher than our non-incarcerated students." Solmon's observations were echoed by Associate Professor of Economics Mike Bowen who described his students as self-disciplined and in possession of advanced critical thinking skills, "My students have been very successful in their classes so far. I have no doubt they will have a lot to offer society when they are able to return."

Evidence suggests that Bowen is correct, with studies pointing to the value of higher education in ensuring that, once released, inmates do not return to prison. Dr. Karen Bowyer, President of DSCC, expressed her confidence in the effectiveness of the program saying, "Once they serve their sentence and are released, they can choose to continue their education if they did not finish it while incarcerated. Obtaining a postsecondary education and contributing to the workforce will dramatically reduce their chance of becoming a repeat offender." Student inmates working with DSCC will also have access to Pell grants, thanks to the inclusion of the college in a U.S. Department of Education program called the Second Chance Pell Experimental Sites Initiative. Previously, due to a federal law enacted in 1994, convicted felons were ineligible for Pell grants. Since then, studies have shown that restrictions of that sort are actually harmful to society as a whole, since released inmates are less likely to commit crimes again if they have access to tools for economic success. Programs like this are likely to also save tax dollars in the long run. While the cost of incarcerating a single prisoner is around $27,000 annually, educating them costs less than $2,000 per year.