Educational attainment is important for economic and personal well-being. While policy makers continue efforts to increase access to higher education, a national outcomes have yet to improve. Higher education application and attendance is complex and heavily influenced by predetermined factors. Social capital and a thorough barriers analysis begin to unpack the context and issues around high school graduation and college going, specifically for minority, low income, and first-generation students. An analysis of higher education outcomes nationwide and within Arizona, specifically in the Phoenix Union High School District (highly representative of low income, first generation, and minority students) reveals that current trajectories are not enough to significantly improve educational attainment. Some notable programs exist that have implemented student, school, and scholarship centered interventions, in addition to conditional acceptances. This paper will create a simulation of a new intervention based on past efforts and their outcomes, ‘Automatic Acceptances,’ within the state of Arizona starting in the 2017-2018 school year until the 2030-2031 school year. Overall, given the increase in educational attainment as a result of the simulation, the ‘Automatic Acceptances’ intervention is validated.

The United States has an institutional prison system built on the principle of retributive justice combined with racial prejudice that despite countless efforts for reform currently holds 2.3 million individuals, primarily minorities, behind bars. This institution has remained largely unchanged, meanwhile 83.4% of those who enter the system will return within one decade and it currently costs nearly $39 billion each year (Alper 4). Because the prison institution consistently fails to address the core root of crime, there is a great need to reconsider the approach taken towards those who break our nation’s laws with the dual purpose of enhancing freedom and reducing crime. This paper outlines an original theoretical framework being implemented by Project Resolve that can help to identify and implement solutions for our prison system without reliance on political, institutional, or societal approval. The method focuses on three core goals, the first is to connect as much of the data surrounding prisoners and the formerly incarcerated as possible, the second is to use modern analytic approaches to analyze and propose superior solutions for rehabilitation, the third is shifting focus to public interest technology both inside prisons and the parole process. The combination of these objectives has the potential to reduce recidivism to significantly, deter criminals before initial offense, and to implement a truly equitable prison institution.