Resource Community Higher Education in Prison

This document outlines the State University of New York's (SUNY) commitment to educational equity for all incarcerated students in New York State correctional facilities.

"With the reinstatement of Pell and TAP funding, and in collaboration with the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) and other identifiable stakeholders, SUNY seeks to increase and expand incarcerated individuals access to quality post-secondary education, both during and after incarceration."

Written by Open Campus staff reporter Charlotte West, this biweekly newsletter from Open Campus is about the future of postsecondary education in prisons. This online archive contains PDF versions of previous issues of the newsletter.

This news article from Open Campus describes the experiences of an incarcerated student using an illicit cell phone to take college courses from prison. The person interviewed is incarcerated in the South and currently works as a hospice volunteer and mentors justice-involved young adults. No identifying information is included in order to protect him from potential consequences for possessing a contraband cell phone.

This toolkit from the State University of New York (SUNY) Higher Education for the Justice-Involved (HEJI) program serves as a guide for administrators in recruiting and training staff for their prison education programs. 

The first goal of this document is to help guide programs through developing, hiring, and training practices that can support quality programming inside the correctional facility. The second goal is to generate a larger conversation about what programs consider to be best practices and how hiring, training, and supporting faculty contribute to the overall goals of building and maintaining quality college-in-prison programming. 

To that end, Part I of this toolkit is designed for program administrators who are developing or overseeing hiring for their college-in-prison program. It outlines the role of the professor in prison settings and identifies the qualities to look for in candidates applying to teach in prison. 

Part II, which was created for both faculty and program administrators, speaks to training for faculty once they’ve been hired and ongoing professional development. It offers a set of best practices for faculty who are considering teaching in prison.  These materials are created with the acknowledgment that programs need to develop their own unique processes and practices conducive to their campus settings and capacities, and thus there should be expected variation.

This news article from Open Campus examines how disabled students in prison have not only been denied access to extra supports, like extended testing time or having text read aloud to them, but also didn’t even know they might qualify.

This news article from Open Campus features an interview with Donnie Veal, a formerly-incarcerated student who recently found himself on the job market.

In this radio segment from NPR and WBUR's Here & Now, Deepa Fernandes speaks with Jennifer Lackey, the founding director of the Northwestern Prison Education Program. This segment runs approximately 8 minutes and 50 seconds.

This article from Reuters announces the graduation of the first class of incarcerated students from Northwestern University's Prison Education Program on November 15, 2023.

"Twenty years ago, some of these guys were in rival gangs, and here they are swapping poetry with each other and giving critical engagements on sociology assignments," said Professor Jennifer Lackey, the program's founding director. "The love and growth that we see in the community is really unlike anything I've experienced at the on-campus commencements."

This news article from Open Campus discusses the compounding issues of technology troubles inside prisons. When prison tech stops working, those inside are left with limited recourse.

This news article from Open Campus discusses the impact of prison closures on incarcerated students. 

As California closes three more prisons and downsizes six others, some prisoners aren’t ready to go. They are worried about the future of their education. California Governor Gavin Newsom is closing and downsizing prisons across the state, putting the future of over a thousand incarcerated students at risk. College administrators say they have few resources to help.

This news article from Open Campus discusses the impact of prison closures on incarcerated students. 

As California closes three more prisons and downsizes six others, some prisoners aren’t ready to go. They are worried about the future of their education. California Governor Gavin Newsom is closing and downsizing prisons across the state, putting the future of over a thousand incarcerated students at risk. College administrators say they have few resources to help.

This news article from Open Campus discusses the potential affects of culturally-relevant content on Indigenous students.

This news article from Open Campus discusses the potential affects of culturally-relevant content on Indigenous students.

This news article from Open Campus takes us inside a prison education program in the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

This news article from Open Campus takes us inside a prison education program in the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

In this news article from Open Campus, four formerly incarcerated people share their experiences with Pell Grants prior to 1994—when Congress eliminated access to federal financial aid for incarcerated students. Their stories have been edited for length and clarity.

This news article from Open Campus examines how the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center's Prison to Employment Connection (P2EC) program helps men learn how to put the work they've done inside into context for prospective employers. P2EC is a 14-week job-readiness training program for people who are within one year of a release date or have a scheduled parole board hearing in the next six months. The curriculum includes an assessment to help participants identify possible careers, workshops on identifying strengths and transferable skills, and résumé editing.

This news article from Open Campus examines the use of tablets in prison. 

This news article from Open Campus examines a pre-apprenticeship program in Washington State that introduces incarcerated women to the trades. 

These best practices from Jobs for the Future (JFF) can help those involved in prison education build post-release educational pathways for incarcerated students. 

For many people who are incarcerated, postsecondary classes offered by the facility in which they’re serving their sentences represent a first step on an educational journey that is likely to continue after they are released—one that could ultimately lead to an industry-recognized credential, an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, or even a master’s degree or a PhD. To facilitate the process of moving from incarceration to on-campus or online classes, colleges and their partners must develop structures and programs that are intentionally designed to support people who are navigating this transition. This brief offers practitioner-informed recommendations from Rutgers University’s New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons (NJ-STEP) initiative, the higher education in prison program at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) in Iowa, and Prison-to-Professionals (P2P) that can help colleges create pathways that honor and support students’ visions for reentering their communities and continuing their educations.  

These best practices from Jobs for the Future (JFF) can help those involved in prison education build post-release educational pathways for incarcerated students. 

For many people who are incarcerated, postsecondary classes offered by the facility in which they’re serving their sentences represent a first step on an educational journey that is likely to continue after they are released—one that could ultimately lead to an industry-recognized credential, an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, or even a master’s degree or a PhD. To facilitate the process of moving from incarceration to on-campus or online classes, colleges and their partners must develop structures and programs that are intentionally designed to support people who are navigating this transition. This brief offers practitioner-informed recommendations from Rutgers University’s New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons (NJ-STEP) initiative, the higher education in prison program at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) in Iowa, and Prison-to-Professionals (P2P) that can help colleges create pathways that honor and support students’ visions for reentering their communities and continuing their educations.  

This resource from Jobs for the Future (JFF) can help students, advocates, and other stakeholders better understand the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

FERPA is a federal law that protects the privacy of students’ education records. The term “education records” means those records that are (1) directly related to a student and (2) maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

At the postsecondary level, FERPA affords “eligible students” the right to have access to their education records, the right to seek to have the records amended, and the right to have some control over the disclosure of information from the records.  

The information provided here from Jobs for the Future (JFF) is a snapshot of factors to consider when offering programs to students who are incarcerated and who are not eligible for Pell Grants. Universities and colleges are individually operated, and not all strategies are equally applicable.

This resource from Jobs for the Future (JFF) is designed to help prison education programs, correctional agencies, and financial aid departments establish the critical partnerships necessary to effectively administer the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to incarcerated students. Keep in mind that the details may vary depending on state and local context.

This resource from Jobs for the Future (JFF) can help postsecondary institutions capitalize on existing national data sources to obtain information on prison education programs and students.

In this resource, overviews for the following data sources are provided:

• Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
• Federal Student Aid (FSA) Data
• Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) Survey of Incarcerated Adults
• Education Justice Tracker (EJT)
• National Student Clearinghouse (NSC)
• National Directory of Higher Education in Prison Programs

This resource from Jobs for the Future (JFF) can help postsecondary institutions capitalize on existing national data sources to obtain information on prison education programs and students.

In this resource, overviews for the following data sources are provided:

• Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
• Federal Student Aid (FSA) Data
• Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) Survey of Incarcerated Adults
• Education Justice Tracker (EJT)
• National Student Clearinghouse (NSC)
• National Directory of Higher Education in Prison Programs

In this article from RealClearEducation, Rebecca Villarreal (senior director at Jobs for the Future) makes the case for prison education programs to hire more alumni upon release.

By the summer of 2023, about 700,000 incarcerated people will be eligible for the federal Pell Grant, gaining access to a critical form of college financial aid for the first time in nearly 30 years. When the 1994 Crime Bill banned Pell for imprisoned individuals, the number of higher-education prison programs rapidly dwindled from 1,500 to just eight. With Pell back on the table, institutions are once again designing degree programs for prisoners. But colleges and universities can do more to ensure that the incarcerated are set up for success after their release: they can hire them. 

In this article from RealClearEducation, Rebecca Villarreal (senior director at Jobs for the Future) makes the case for prison education programs to hire more alumni upon release.

By the summer of 2023, about 700,000 incarcerated people will be eligible for the federal Pell Grant, gaining access to a critical form of college financial aid for the first time in nearly 30 years. When the 1994 Crime Bill banned Pell for imprisoned individuals, the number of higher-education prison programs rapidly dwindled from 1,500 to just eight. With Pell back on the table, institutions are once again designing degree programs for prisoners. But colleges and universities can do more to ensure that the incarcerated are set up for success after their release: they can hire them. 

A biweekly newsletter from Open Campus about the future of postsecondary education in prisons. This edition focuses on technology in prisons.

This news article from Open Campus highlights key takeaways from the 2023 National Conference for Higher Education in Prison (NCHEP). 

This news article from Open Campus is a first-person essay by Leo Hylton, an incarcerated graduate student in Maine who stepped out of the prison gate for the first time in more than a decade for an unusual reason: to meet his students on the campus of Colby College. 

This news article from Open Campus is a first-person essay by Leo Hylton, an incarcerated graduate student in Maine who stepped out of the prison gate for the first time in more than a decade for an unusual reason: to meet his students on the campus of Colby College. 

This news article from Open Campus explores how Kunlyna Tauch, a writer incarcerated in California, used the laptop issued to him as a student at California State University Los Angeles. It was the first computer he's used in 17 years of incarceration. 

This news article from Open Campus highlights the work of one of the first incarcerated professors in the country, David Carillo, who teaches incarcerated students in an undergraduate business program at Adams State University in Colorado.

This news article from Open Campus tells the story of James “Sneaky” White, who spent nearly four decades incarcerated in California. Mr. White's nickname “Sneaky” comes from his days as a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War. While he was incarcerated, Mr. White helped create a college program that has since graduated more than 1,500 men. At the time, San Quentin was the only other prison in the state where incarcerated people could earn degrees. 

This report from the Prison Policy Initiative offers some much-needed clarity by piecing together the data about this country’s disparate systems of confinement. It provides a detailed look at where and why people are locked up in the U.S., and dispels some modern myths to focus attention on the real drivers of mass incarceration and overlooked issues that call for reform.

Scholarships, grants, and loans are some of the many options available to help you pay for your college education. But figuring out how to access and combine them can be overwhelming.

This article will help answer questions like, “How do you qualify for a grant vs. a scholarship?” and “How do you apply for student loans vs. scholarships?” Plus, it'll show you how to apply for scholarships, grants, and loans as well as the best way to put them all together so you can save the most money.

This four-part, Emmy-nominated PBS documentary offers an intimate look at the lives and experiences of a dozen incarcerated students participating in the Bard Prison Initiative and their families. The documentary confronts and challenges conventional wisdom about the purpose of both education and incarceration.

This article was written by Katherine Mangan of the Chronicle of Higher Education.

On March 10, 2021, George Chochos, Senior Federal Policy Associate at the Vera Institute of Justice; Rev. Vivian Nixon, Executive Director of College & Community Fellowship; and Max Kenner, Executive Director of the Bard Prison Initiative, joined this webinar to discuss the historical restoration of Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated students and what the return of federal student aid funding will mean for the field of college-in-prison. Over 150 attendees from across BPI’s network including alumni, supporters, and colleagues in the field joined in the webinar.

This article is a guest essay written in the New York Times by Max Kenner, founder and executive director of the Bard Prison Initiative at Bard College. Mr. Kenner argues that the FAFSA Simplification Act "has the potential to do more good within U.S. prisons than any policy in a generation." But, he continues, the work has just begun.

This article from USA Today discusses the expansion of Pell Grants, which were eliminated in the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 for incarcerated people and ended the majority of prison education programs.

The Reentry Myth Busters are a series of fact sheets created by the partner agencies within the Federal Interagency Reentry Council's (FIRC) and intended to clarify existing federal policies that affect individuals who were formerly incarcerated and their families.

This fact sheet addresses the following:

Myth: A Veteran with criminal convictions or a history of incarceration is not eligible for VA health care.

Fact: An eligible Veteran, who is not currently incarcerated, can use VA care regardless of any criminal history, including incarceration. Only when an otherwise eligible Veteran is currently incarcerated, or in fugitive felon status, is he or she not able to use VA health care.

The Reentry Myth Busters are a series of fact sheets created by the partner agencies within the Federal Interagency Reentry Council's (FIRC) and intended to clarify existing federal policies that affect individuals who were formerly incarcerated and their families.

This fact sheet addresses the following:

Myth: Veterans cannot request to have their VA benefits resumed until they are officially released from incarceration.

Fact: Veterans may inform VA to have their benefits resumed within 30 days or less of their anticipated release date based on evidence from a parole board or other official prison source showing the Veteran’s scheduled release date.

The Reentry Myth Busters are a series of fact sheets created by the partner agencies within the Federal Interagency Reentry Council's (FIRC) and intended to clarify existing federal policies that affect individuals who were formerly incarcerated and their families.

This fact sheet addresses the following:

Myth: An individual cannot apply for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program) benefits without a mailing address.

Fact: A person can get SNAP benefits even if he or she does not have a mailing address.

The Reentry Myth Busters are a series of fact sheets created by the partner agencies within the Federal Interagency Reentry Council's (FIRC) and intended to clarify existing federal policies that affect individuals who were formerly incarcerated and their families.

This fact sheet addresses the following:

Myth: An individual cannot apply for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program) benefits without a valid State-issued identification card.

Fact: A person can get SNAP benefits even if he or she does not have a valid State ID.

The Reentry Myth Busters are a series of fact sheets created by the partner agencies within the Federal Interagency Reentry Council's (FIRC) and intended to clarify existing federal policies that affect individuals who were formerly incarcerated and their families.

This fact sheet addresses the following:

Myth: Individuals convicted of a felony can never receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program) benefits.

Fact: This ban applies only to convicted drug felons, and only thirteen States have kept the ban in place in its entirety. Most States have modified or eliminated the ban.

The Reentry Myth Busters are a series of fact sheets created by the partner agencies within the Federal Interagency Reentry Council's (FIRC) and intended to clarify existing federal policies that affect individuals who were formerly incarcerated and their families.

This fact sheet addresses the following:

Myth: Medicaid agencies are required to terminate benefits if an otherwise eligible individual is incarcerated.

Fact: States are not required to terminate eligibility for individuals who are incarcerated based solely on inmate status. States may suspend eligibility during incarceration, enabling an individual to remain enrolled in the state Medicaid program, thereby facilitating access to Medicaid services following release. 

The Reentry Myth Busters are a series of fact sheets created by the partner agencies within the Federal Interagency Reentry Council's (FIRC) and intended to clarify existing federal policies that affect individuals who were formerly incarcerated and their families.

This fact sheet addresses the following:

Myth: A parent with a felony conviction cannot receive TANF/welfare.

Fact: The 1996 Welfare ban applies only to convicted drug felons, and only eleven states have kept the ban in place in its entirety. Most states have modified or eliminated the ban.

The Reentry Myth Busters are a series of fact sheets created by the partner agencies within the Federal Interagency Reentry Council's (FIRC) and intended to clarify existing federal policies that affect individuals who were formerly incarcerated and their families.

This fact sheet addresses the following:

Myth: Non-custodial parents who are incarcerated cannot have their child support orders reduced.

Fact: Half of all states have formalized processes for reducing child support orders during incarceration. Three-quarters of all states have laws that permit incarcerated parents to obtain a reduced or suspended support order.