Sixteen men in a correctional facility in Illinois became the first incarcerated students in the United States to earn degrees from a top-ranked university. The inaugural graduating class of Northwestern University’s Prison Education Program received their bachelor’s degrees at Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill on November 15, 2023 C.E. — a milestone that advocates say could reshape how the country thinks about education, incarceration, and human potential.
At a glance
- Prison education program: Northwestern University, ranked ninth among U.S. national universities by U.S. News & World Report, partnered with Oakton College and the Illinois Department of Corrections to run the program across two facilities.
- Incarcerated graduates: Around 100 students are currently enrolled across Stateville Correctional Center and Logan Correctional Center, a women’s prison — meaning this first class of 16 is the leading edge of something much larger.
- Higher education access: Graduate James Soto, who plans to pursue law school, said of his classmates: “I’m not something special, there are many more like me. And I hope that they get the opportunity to be released so that we can showcase and perhaps really change the world.”
A ceremony unlike any other
Professor Jennifer Lackey, the program’s founding director, has attended many commencements. This one was different.
“Twenty years ago, some of these guys were in rival gangs, and here they are swapping poetry with each other and giving critical engagements on sociology assignments,” she said. “The love and growth that we see in the community is really unlike anything I’ve experienced at the on-campus commencements.”
For graduate Michael Broadway, 51, the moment was almost beyond words. “I have no words for this — it’s otherworldly,” he said after the ceremony. “Coming from where I came from, the things that I’ve been through and to be here is indescribable.” Broadway earned his degree while battling stage 4 prostate cancer. His release is not scheduled until 2084 C.E. — yet he is already planning to start a nonprofit focused on youth empowerment if he is freed sooner.
His mother Elizabeth, who had not seen him since he was incarcerated in 2005 C.E. due to her own ill health, watched her son walk across a stage in cap and gown. They held each other and cried. “I’m just so proud of him,” she said. “He looks so good in that gown.”
Why this milestone matters
The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with roughly 2 million people behind bars. Research consistently shows that prison education dramatically reduces reoffending. A landmark RAND Corporation study found that incarcerated people who participated in educational programs were 43% less likely to return to prison than those who did not.
Despite that evidence, access to college-level education inside U.S. prisons remains rare and uneven. Federal Pell Grants — the main source of financial aid for low-income students — were banned for incarcerated people from 1994 C.E. to 2023 C.E., a span of nearly three decades. The restoration of Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated students in 2023 C.E. is helping programs like Northwestern’s expand — but funding gaps and facility restrictions still limit how many people can participate.
Northwestern’s program is also notable for where it sits in the academic hierarchy. Many prison education efforts are run by community colleges or nonprofit partners. Having a university of Northwestern’s rank award full bachelor’s degrees signals a different level of institutional commitment — and sets a precedent other elite universities may feel pressure to follow.
What comes next
The program’s growth to around 100 enrolled students across two facilities is promising. But scaling prison education nationally will require more than individual university initiatives. Staffing inside correctional facilities, internet access restrictions, and the physical and administrative barriers of prison environments all remain real obstacles. Advocates and researchers at The Marshall Project note that even with Pell Grants restored, many incarcerated students still struggle to access coursework that meets their needs or aligns with their release plans.
Still, what happened at Stateville on November 15, 2023 C.E. will not be easy to unsee. Sixteen people earned degrees that no one can take from them. One of them wants to go to law school. Another is planning a nonprofit. A mother and her son held each other for the first time in nearly two decades.
The program’s founding director may have said it best: the love and growth she witnessed in that room was unlike anything she had seen anywhere else.
Read more
For more on this story, see: Reuters
For more from Good News for Humankind, see:
- U.K. cancer death rates fall to their lowest level on record
- Marie-Louise Eta becomes the first female head coach in men’s top-flight European football
- The Good News for Humankind archive on education
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