ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Inmates at three prisons in South Carolina will be eligible to study for a bachelor's degree thanks to a federal program.
Claflin University's "Pathway From Prison Program" will allow inmates at Camille, Trenton, and Ridgeland Correctional Institutions to receive bachelor's degrees free of charge.
"Earlier this year, Claflin University was announced as a United States Department of Education Second Chance Pell Site," explained Claflin's Program Director, Dr. Belinda Wheeler.
Claflin will offer three different degree programs: criminal justice, psychology, and organizational management. Due to the pandemic, the school will provide the facilities with tablets so inmates can do their school work.
"The instructors will be zoomed in into the actual facility so there can be some engagement," explained Dr. Wheeler. "Once they are accepted in our program, and they get approved by the U.S Department of Education, those classes that they take with us are at the Pell rate."
Which inmates can qualify for the program?
Eligible inmates, but they must go through a specific screening before being accepted.
Claflin will have its own screening before they become students.
The SC Corrections Director says this program will allow inmates to leave prison with a college degree and hopefully transform their lives.
"Eighty-Five percent of inmates get out in under five years, and they are back in the community," said director Bryan Stirling. "If they can better themselves while they are here, they are less likely to return to prison or commit a crime."
Corrections Department Deputy Director, Nena Staley, says it doesn't stop with inmates receiving higher education. She says the Department of Corrections sets the inmates up resources to find jobs that will match their new degrees.
"It's one thing to get a job, and it's just enough to get by," said Nena Staley. "However, to secure a job to help pay for the necessities in life, Director Stirling has been proactive in finding companies looking for those skills."
Claflin and the Department of Corrections plan to launch the program in early 2021.