Statewide Prison Education Program Aims to Boost Economy, Reduce Recidivism
On a chilly May afternoon at Oakhill Correctional Institution, 15 people filed in wearing graduation gowns over their prison-issued uniforms. Their faces showed pride in earning a degree that will benefit them, their communities and the state.
“I see my education preparing me for reentry into the workforce in many ways,” said Brian Brennan, who is currently incarcerated and graduated with his associate degree this summer.
“It is giving me the confidence I have been lacking for quite some time. But most importantly, it is providing me with the tools and knowledge that I need to be a successful, productive member of society.”
The May ceremony marked a major milestone in the expansion of higher education access inside Wisconsin prisons. These graduates are among one of the first cohorts to earn Associate through the University of Wisconsin Coalition for Higher Education in Prison (UW CHEP), a collaborative initiative delivering college courses, certificates and degree pathways to students in person across seven correctional institutions in the state, with two more to be added this fall.
