THE EVALUATION FOCUSES ON PROJECT NEWGATE PROGRAMS IN KENTUCKY, MINNESOTA, NEW MEXICO, OREGON, AND PENNSYLVANIA. COLLEGE PROGRAMS AT PRISONS IN ILLINOIS, TEXAS, AND CALIFORNIA ARE ALSO INCLUDED. EACH PROGRAM STUDIED OFFERED A STANDARD UNDERGRADUATE LIBERAL ARTS CURRICULUM. ALL COURSES WERE ACCREDITED AND WERE TAUGHT BY INSTRUCTORS FROM NEIGHBORING COLLEGES OR UNIVERSITIES. THE PROGRAMS DIFFERED IN THE EXTENT TO WHICH SUPPORTIVE SERVICES (E.G., ACADEMIC AND PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING) WERE PROVIDED AND IN THE EXISTENCE OF AN OUTSIDE PROGRAM FOR CONTINUING COLLEGE EDUCATION AFTER RELEASE FROM PRISON. THE EVALUATION COVERS THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE PROGRAMS, A COMPARISON OF THE POSTPRISON CAREERS OF PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS AND NONPARTICIPANTS, A COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MODEL PROGRAM. DESPITE METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS, THE EVALUATION SHOWS THAT PRISON COLLEGE PROGRAMS CAN HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON PARTICIPANTS THROUGH REDUCING ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE, RAISING ASPIRATIONS AND OCCUPATIONAL GOALS, AND INCREASING OCCUPATIONAL AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. THE NEWGATE PROGRAMS, WHICH WERE DIRECTED TO LOW-INCOME AND MINORITY HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS, HAD THE MOST DRAMATIC IMPACT. SUPPORTING DATA AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE INCLUDED. (LKM)