U.S. Education Department Selects BSU for Second Chance Pell Experiment

Incarcerated Students Can Now Use Federal Pell Grants at BSU

MEDIA CONTACT: Damita Chambers, dchambers@bowiestate.edu, 301-832-2628 mobile

(BOWIE, Md.) – The U.S. Department of Education selected Bowie State University as a Second Chance Pell Experiment site to help expand postsecondary educational access for incarcerated students, reducing the likelihood that they would return to prison once released.

Maryland’s first historically black college or university (HBCU), Bowie State University is one of 67 colleges or universities invited to participate in the program’s expansion. Originally created in 2015, the Second Chance Pell Experiment enables individuals incarcerated in federal and state prisons to use need-based Federal Pell Grants at 130 schools in 42 states and the District of Columbia. Out of the 67 new institutions, one-third are minority-serving institutions.

“Bowie State University has always been a university that takes pride in serving underserved populations. I am grateful for the Second Chance Pell Experiment for making those federal dollars available to justice-involved individuals to seek higher education,” said Dr. Charles Adams, a criminologist and chair of BSU’s Department of Behavioral Sciences & Human Services, who aided the request to join the program. “All the data suggest that it works to give an individual the opportunity for higher education to change their narrative and life course.”

More than 4,000 credentials—including postsecondary certificates, associate degrees, and bachelor's degrees—have been awarded to Second Chance Pell students over the past three years, according to the Vera Institute of Justice. Incarcerated people who participate in educational programs are 43 percent less likely to return to prison than those who do not, according to the Rand Corporation.

“Bowie State is making sure that we invest in our communities and in the future, giving hope to the hopeless,” said Dr. Adams. “This is an opportunity to turn people into productive citizens and to allow them to accomplish their dreams and mission. I truly believe we’re talking about generational change.”

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About Bowie State University
Bowie State University (BSU) is an important higher education access portal for qualified persons from diverse academic and socioeconomic backgrounds, seeking a high-quality and affordable public comprehensive university. The university places special emphasis on the science, technology, cybersecurity, teacher education, business, and nursing disciplines within the context of a liberal arts education. For more information about BSU, visit bowiestate.edu.