MORE EDUCATION FOR MORE PEOPLE. UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stout are part of the University of Wisconsin Coalition for Higher Education in Prison (UW CHEP) and have each launched their first bachelor's programs this fall, at the Stanley Correctional Institution. (Oakhill Correction Institution graduates from Spring 2025, pictured. Photo by Taylor Kirby)

This fall is one for the books as UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stout, and not just on campus. The Chippewa Valley four-year universities have each kicked off their first semesters offering bachelor's degree programs at Stanley Correctional Institution.

Although both universities have been offering in-person coursework the past few semesters, the 2025-26 school year marks the first semester where participating students are officially part of a bachelor’s degree program with either university – the first bachelor’s programs being offered in Wisconsin prisons since the 1980s.

Along with UW-Green Bay and UW-Madison, both UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stout are part of the newly established University of Wisconsin Coalition for Higher Education in Prison (UW CHEP). Across the four UW institutions, various programming is offered in a total nine prisons, ranging from college jumpstart courses to associate degrees, and now, bachelor’s degrees.

All programming is supported by the Prison Education Initiative (PEI) out of UW-Madison's Division of Continuing Studies.

According to the Department of Corrections (DOC), nearly 40% of all individuals being released from prison in Wisconsin will return to prison within three years. One study on the impact of prison education estimates that individuals who participate in higher education programming while incarcerated are nearly 40% less likely to be re-incarcerated.

What does this mean for the Chippewa Valley? The benefits could be big – both for participants and community members.

UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stout are now part of a growing prison education system that will positively impact Wisconsin; by supporting safer communities, reducing the stress on the state criminal justice system, and providing better opportunities for future graduates upon their release from prison.

Stephan Johnston pictured studying for a credit course through the UW-Madiosn Odyssey Beyond Bars program. (Photo by Chris Bacarella)

According to the DOC, Wisconsin’s prisons hold about 23,000 individuals with an average cost of $50,000 annually per individual. The RAND report estimates that every dollar invested in prison-based education saves anywhere from four to five dillars in re-incarceration costs. 

Professor Jamie Tester Morfoot of UW-Eau Claire’s Social Work Department taught an Introduction to Social Welfare course at Stanley Correctional Institution last fall and said they are looking forward to teaching another course this coming spring.

“Being able to be a part of an opportunity that shifts the way the students think about themselves and what they are capable of has been a humbling experience,” Tester Morfoot shared. “Education and knowledge doesn’t end with the learner. It trickles down to their children, their siblings, their nieces and nephews, and other people in prison.”

Further, UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stout anticipate awarding the programs' first bachelor’s degrees in May 2026 – caps off to that!

Samantha Kobs is a longtime contributor of Volume One magazine and is an advisor in the College of Business at UW-Eau Claire. Learn more about the UW Prison Education Initiative online.