(WBBM NEWSRADIO) --A program that offers degrees from Northwestern University to inmates in Illinois state prisons will hold its first graduation ceremony next month.
Professor Jennifer Lackey is the founding director of the Northwestern Prison Education Program.
She said next month, 16 men serving time in Illinois prisons will receive Bachelor's degrees in social sciences from Northwestern.
Lackey said this is the first program in the country to help inmates earn Bachelor's degrees from one of the nation's top 10 universities.
She also said the benefits of the program far outweigh the costs.
"That's because the recidivism rate goes down dramatically for students who participate in prison education programs and the data shows the higher the degree the student receives while incarcerated the lower the recidivism rate."
Lackey expects the first women inmates to graduate from the Northwestern Prison Education Program in a couple of years.
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