Locked up and learning: prisoners the new model uni students

At a glance, Robert Buckley doesn't seem that atypical for a student. He is mature-aged, having only commenced study after a career in the army, and has almost completed a five-year double degree in Engineering and Business. Buckley's striking difference, however, is that he began studying while behind bars. "I was serving in the army in 2011 when I went through a psychological breakdown. One thing led to another, and I ended up in prison. "It certainly wasn't planned," he chuckled. After finishing the prison's "very basic" education offering within six months, he wondered what he could do next. A relatively high achiever at school, he discovered he could commence a degree with the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) by correspondence, through its Making the Connection project. Prisoners aren't allowed access to the internet, so Making the Connection delivers study materials to them in 39 prisons in Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory via secure servers and laptops. Buckley initially chose to study Engineering. Now, five years later, he's served his sentence and has one year of his combined Engineering/Business degree left. He studies at USQ while working in an engineering and compliance role at a defence contractor company. Why make the connection? Associate Professor Helen Farley leads Making the Connection. She has encountered "heaps of opposition" to her work, but that hasn't stopped her. "Educated prisoners are up to 40 per cent less likely to re-offend," she said, explaining what drives her in this regard. Since the project commenced nearly five years ago, the rate of eligible Queensland prisoners studying has doubled. Across Australia, however, this rate is only 1.5 per cent. Buckley thinks he might know why there's such a small uptake. "Not having access to resources is the biggest challenge," he said. "Also, not being able to ask questions. You don't have access to tutors or lecturers ... so you really have to work hard and basically build skills on your own." In fact, this is why he decided to add a Business degree to his study portfolio; he didn't have the resources needed to complete his Engineering degree. He offered another reason for the minuscule uptake. "There were a lot of people who wanted to do more but didn't have the basic skills that you need to start uni-level courses. "Sixty per cent of prisoners will leave prison in 2018 and can't read and write at functional levels." Nevertheless, a promising fact: prisoners' university retention rate is superior to that of the general student population. Farley says this is because there's significant engagement between universities and prisoners prior to them commencing study, so by the time they're ready to study, they're committed to it. "I love seeing that look on their face when I'm talking to them about it, and they think, 'maybe I can do it'," she said. Though it can be a noisy, stressful environment, she says it helps that there are fewer distractions in prison; no girlfriend problems, for instance. Prisoners can access PCs during the day, and are allowed to take study laptops back to their cells for lockup, which is usually between 5.00 or 6.00pm and 7.00am. Buckley can vouch for the efficacy of educating prisoners. In fact, he believes in it so much he has become an advocate for this cause, and is in talks with the Queensland Department of Education to expand projects like Making the Connection. "We spend $4 billion a year on prisons yet we aren't getting results," he said. "Sixty per cent of ex-prisoners are back in prison within three years of being released. "As a society, we send people to prison and often write them off. If we invested a small amount at that point, we could save a lot of money and harm and hurt down the line."

Locked up and learning: prisoners the new model uni students

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Australian Signals Directorate

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