The national push to graduate more students excludes no demographic group, and those with lagging completion rates become particular targets of attention. Now some community colleges are zeroing in on another underserved population: ex-offenders. Roughly 1.6 million people are in state and federal prisons across the country, and each year, about 700,000 inmates are released. In fact, more black men get out of prison annually than receive a college degree: 260,000 compared with 150,000 in 2009, according to the College Board Advocacy and Policy Center. Ex-offenders often leave with little more than the personal belongings they brought--and the hope, if not the preparation, to become productive citizens. Educating the formerly incarcerated has become more important as less federal and state money flows into postsecondary correctional education programs, leaving inmates with fewer academic opportunities while in prison. A lack of education and skills can compound stigmas and make it difficult for many ex-offenders to land jobs. Ex-offenders are offered 50 percent fewer jobs and earn less than people who have never been incarcerated, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts. Without gainful employment, many return to a life of crime: About half of all released inmates return to jail or prison within three years, according to the College Board's center. But two-year institutions are looking to change that. Chemeketa Community College, in Oregon, and Wayne County Community College District, in Michigan, are offering academic and personal-development programs on their campuses to help ex-offenders gain skills and start new lives. Two-year colleges are poised to play a central role in reducing recidivism. Many already partner with correctional facilities to provide GED classes and vocational or associate-degree programs in prisons. But as resources for such programs dwindle, and the labor market increasingly demands higher levels of education and training from prospective employees, the colleges' work with ex-offenders has taken on more urgency. Budgets for and public interest in educating the formerly incarcerated may be low, but college leaders are committed to the cause--and recognize its role in the national completion agenda.