Andrea Cantora – The Conversation

Research shows providing a college education to inmates increases their chances of finding work upon release. Tara Bahrampour/The Washington Post via Getty Images

August 3, 2021

Expansion of Second Chance Pell Grants will let more people in prison pursue degrees

Andrea Cantora, University of Baltimore

An experimental program to provide a college education in prison is about to increase its reach. Is there evidence that it will pay off?

Prison education programs have been shown to improve job prospects. Thinkstock/Getty Images

December 23, 2020

Congress lifts long‑standing ban on Pell grants to people in prison

Andrea Cantora, University of Baltimore

For the first time since 1994, incarcerated individuals can get federal aid to pay for college. A prison education scholar explains how higher education helps those who have run afoul of the law.

Research shows prison education lessens the chances that inmates will return to prison after their release. Elaine Thompson/AP

April 23, 2019

Why federal student aid should be restored for people in prison

Andrea Cantora, University of Baltimore

For people in prison to have a better chance at earning a living upon release, Congress should lift a longstanding ban on federal student aid for those serving time, a criminal justice scholar argues.

Prison education programs have been shown to lead to better employment rates for those who have served time. Elaine Thompson/AP

March 18, 2019

Teaching in America’s prisons has taught me to believe in second chances

Andrea Cantora, University of Baltimore

Through stories of redemption, a professor who oversees a Maryland prison education program says the time has come to restore federal financial aid for America’s incarcerated.

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