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The impact of college on women in a maximum-security prison was examined in a 3-year study of current and former inmates of New York's Bedford Hills Correctional Facility (BHCF). The data sources were as follows: (1) a review of program records; (2) one-on-one interviews of 65 inmates conducted by 15 inmates; (3) focus groups with 43 women in BHCF (including dropouts, women in adult basic education, women in college, and college leaders/mentors); (4) interviews with 20 former inmates of BHCF; (5) interviews with 6 corrections administrators and officers; (6) focus groups with and surveys of 50 educators; (7) qualitative tracking of women who did and did not attend college while at BHCF; and (8) a cost-benefit analysis of BHCF's college-bound program. The recidivism rates for women with and without college in prison were 7.7% and 29.9%, respectively. The interviews with prison officials, inmates, and faculty confirmed that college programs make the prison environment safer and more manageable. College was credited with heightening the female inmates' sense of personal responsibility and promoting successful transitions out of prison. (The racial/ethnic distribution of the inmate and former inmate samples and a 21-item annotated bibliography are appended. Eighty-four report references and 72 suggestions for further reading are listed.) (MN)