Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State

The Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS) is a four-year degree completion program administered and delivered inside two California state prisons through a partnership of California State University, Sacramento, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. TOPSS is a Sacramento State’s Division of Academic Affairs program under the auspices of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies.

TOPSS provides a robust educational experience that advances student success. The program is grounded in the values of access, integrity, positive self-awareness, and humanitarianism.

People incarcerated at Folsom State Prison and Mule Creek State Prison apply to TOPSS after completing the CSU transfer requirements through a community college. Once admitted, they are official Sacramento State students and take four courses a semester. Classes are taught by Sacramento State faculty live and are made up of students in both prisons.

TOPSS students are earning their BA degrees. TOPSS also offers the remainder of the courses the students need to complete their BA degrees. The typical time to degree for TOPSS students is a little more than two years.

Students who are paroled or released from incarceration transition onto the Sacramento State campus or to another CSU, where Project Rebound at Sacramento State assists them in their transition.

Benefits of Higher Education for Incarcerated People

The California Legislative Analyst’s Office reports that it costs Californians $81,203 a year to incarcerate an adult. Since 2010, that cost has increased by about 58%. A study by the UCLA Department of Policy (Bazos & Hausman, 2004) found that prison education reduces crime by nearly half compared to the same expenditure of funds for incarceration. Simply put: Education lowers recidivism.

According to Christopher Zoukis (2016), the benefit to society increases with the amount of education an incarcerated person completes:

High school courses: Recidivism rates drop to 54.6%.
Completion of an Associate's degree: Recidivism rates drop to 13.7%.
Completion of a Bachelor's degree: Recidivism rates drop to 5.6%.
“And for prisoners who attain a master's degree: 0 percent recidivism. Zero!” (Zoukis, p. 13).

While recidivism is an important benefit of TOPSS, it is not the only concern. The TOPSS program positively impacts the incarcerated students and can improve the social climate within the prisons. As McCorkel and DeFina (2019) explain, “higher education in prison enhances self-knowledge and empathy, bolsters social capital and collective efficacy, and facilitates the development of just and democratic communities, both inside and outside prison walls.” TOPSS benefits the student and the prison, even prior to the student’s release.