Resource Community Higher Education in Prison

An abridged account of the keynote address at the 2013 National Conference on Higher Education in Prison at Saint Louis University, which focused on the power of prison higher education to bring about an end to this society’s grossly excessive reliance on incarceration.

Using data for a cohort of Federal prison releasees, the hypothesis tested is that inmates who actively participate in education programs have lower likelihoods of recidivating, defined as a rearrest or parole revocation within 3 years after release, controlling for several background and post-release measures, including post-release employment. Results show that inmates who actively participate in education programs have significantly lower likelihoods of recidivating.

Using data for a cohort of Federal prison releasees, the hypothesis tested is that inmates who actively participate in education programs have lower likelihoods of recidivating, defined as a rearrest or parole revocation within 3 years after release, controlling for several background and post-release measures, including post-release employment. Results show that inmates who actively participate in education programs have significantly lower likelihoods of recidivating.

Using data for a cohort of Federal prison releasees, the hypothesis tested is that inmates who actively participate in education programs have lower likelihoods of recidivating, defined as a rearrest or parole revocation within 3 years after release, controlling for several background and post-release measures, including post-release employment. Results show that inmates who actively participate in education programs have significantly lower likelihoods of recidivating.

Estimates of post-release economic effects of participation in prison-based General Educational Development (GED) programs using a panel of earnings records and a rich set of individual information from administrative data in the state of Florida.

Estimates of post-release economic effects of participation in prison-based General Educational Development (GED) programs using a panel of earnings records and a rich set of individual information from administrative data in the state of Florida.

Estimates of post-release economic effects of participation in prison-based General Educational Development (GED) programs using a panel of earnings records and a rich set of individual information from administrative data in the state of Florida.

Report that uplifts the voices of formerly incarcerated students in California's public colleges and universities.

Report that uplifts the voices of formerly incarcerated students in California's public colleges and universities.

Blog post describing the reality of prisons being used as cages or schools.

Research brief presenting data on the impact of education on crime and crime prevention. This brief also examines the debate on providing higher education to people who are incarcerated.

Guidebook for re-entering society with technology

This report aims to stimulate conversation about the benefits of HEP in the state, describe the development of HEP nationally and in Illinois, and provide a blueprint for overcoming existing barriers to expanding quality HEP in all Illinois Prisons.

A Guide to re-entering society. Made by members of the EJP.

A guide to successful re-entry for audiences nationwide.

A guide to re-entry in countries outside of the US.

This report seeks to expand college opportunities for currently and formerly incarcerated students in California.

This study is a longitudinal, mixed-methodological effort to document the effects of participation in the college program at San Quentin State Prison. The college program is administered
by a non-profit called the Prison University Project and has served thousands of
incarcerated individuals since its founding.

A research paper describing the Prison University Project. The Prison University PRoject (PUP) at San Quentin State prison, an accredited college program administered through Patten University, offers an associate's degree in liberal arts to prisoners with high school degrees or GEDs.

The campus scan is an examination of the policies and practices of campus units with which formerly incarcerated individuals are likely to have contact. This document seeks to better understand the obstacles and challenges formerly incarcerated people (FIP) may have in navigating campus, and where on campus they are likely to encounter resources, support, and points of encouragement.

One-pager on how to measure success in prison higher ed programs

Research on the importance on in-person instruction in prison higher education programs

Guidelines prepared by EJP students to assist those with responsibility for representing students enrolled in higher educations programs in prison.

This resource highlights existing higher education programs in Illinois state prisons and uplifts the need for additional programs and supportive policies across the state.

FAQ document describing higher education in prison in Illinois

A compiled list of terms that replace oppressive institutional terminology with empowering and uplifting language.

Established in 2019, the Journal of Higher Education in Prison is the only open-access, peer-reviewed journal that publishes exclusively on topics and issues affecting the field of higher education in prison. Our goal is that the journal will serve as a tool to facilitate conversation on theory, praxis, and teaching and learning in prison.

Includes links to HEP program stats by state, map view of HEP program locations across the country, a directory of HEP programs across the country, data archives from previous years, a how-to guide on using the directory, and other relevant links/resources.

Webpage includes links to each HEP newsletter.

This communication plan is intended to help the Alliance (its board and staff)
deliver timely, relevant and engaging information to its members and the public. By delivering consistent and engaging communication, the Alliance hopes to inspire more people to join its collaborative and inclusive work. This plan is a living document that will change over time as the organization grows. The plan aligns public outreach activities with the goals, objectives and key communication messages of the organization.

This strategic plan outlines the core projects that fall under each of the Alliance's focus areas - Building Community, Producing Knowledge, Supporting Quality Practice, Shaping Dialogue, Ensuring Sustainability - and the impact the Alliance seeks to have in these areas.

This document consists of two types of pages:
1. Instructional pages like this one with a grey bar along the left margin explain how to use the toolkit, provide guidance about how to conduct a strategic planning process, and describe how the output of your process might look.
2. Worksheet pages provide space to write. The worksheet pages have
page numbers in the bottom corner that correspond to the document’s
pre-formatted table of contents. You can type your responses into the
spaces provided in the PDF worksheet pages. When the PDF is completed
electronically, you will have the option to save/print your completed plan
(eliminating the instructional pages).

The overall purpose of NCHEP is to provide an annual opportunity for the higher education in prison community to gather and mobilize the talent, resources, and energy needed to expand access to quality higher education and academic reentry support services to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people.

A sampling of academic studies and research articles about colleges and universities providing higher education for formerly incarcerated individuals and the range of considerations this work entails.

The Exit Report offers the full portrait and findings of the 2018 NCHEP conference experience.

The annual NCHEP Exit Report has become, since 2017, one of the primary ways in which the Alliance for Education in Prison reviews, assesses, and prepares the groundwork for planning the National Conference for Higher Education in Prison. The “Exit Report” additionally serves as an opportunity to reflect on the current state of the field of higher education in prison and to make observations about its future trajectory.

This report details the higher education in prison community’s experiences with its first-ever “virtual” conference, featuring daily presentations hosted online via Zoom March 1-5, 2021, and under the theme “Amplifying Access.” Since first hosting the annual conference in 2017, the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison has published an Exit Report as part of its reporting in the days and weeks following the annual National Conference on Higher Education in Prison.3 The annual Exit Report presents an opportunity for both reflecting on the state of the field of higher education in prison, and for making observations about where it might be heading.

The annual NCHEP Exit Report has evolved, since 2017, to serve as one of the primary ways in which the Alliance for Education in Prison reviews, assesses, and prepares the groundwork for planning the NCHEP. The “Exit Report” offers a recurring opportunity to reflect on the current state of the field of higher education in prison, and to make observations about the field’s future trajectory. It provides an important sense of history and context for the conference, while enabling a sense of accountability in planning as the field continues to evolve.

The Alliance for Higher Education in Prison’s First Annual Report introduces you to our mission, goals, values, and everyday work. Along the way, we’ll also orient you to our many ongoing projects, as well as the many people who make the Alliance what it is. Our First Annual Report covers the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison’s broader operations for the fiscal calendar year between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021.

This Report introduces you to our mission, goals, values, and everyday work. We’ll orient you to our many ongoing projects, our work for the 2021 fiscal
year, and identify some of the exciting work and transitions that lie ahead. Our Second Annual Report covers the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison’s broader operations for the fiscal calendar year between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022.

The Journal of Higher Education in Prison (JHEP) is a space to raise the kinds of questions that wrestle with the histories and circumstances of coordinated human removal and privilege futures in which prisons, jails, detention centers, and all other locations designed to confine and cage people are not permanent fixtures in our world or imagination. We hope that this journal can be of service to those futures, and we think that there should be a venue where practitioners, scholars, activists, and students can come together to share ideas, stories, research, experiences, theories, and practices toward the end of prisons and punishment. Unlike publication outlets that focus on the site of prisons or jails and the people inside them as unique places for education to occur, we approach this journal with criticisms of our current conditions and deep knowledge of and respect for educational theory and praxis.

This discussion guide is a useful tool for facilitators leading thoughtful conversations about the content in the report, and for note takers seeking to capture important ideas and action items. You’ll find questions, materials and guidelines as well as instructions and tips for both facilitators and note takers. The purpose of the discussion guide is to: create a dialogue among people who care about improving equity, access and excellence in higher education in prison programs. Staff and program administrators can use this discussion guide to:
• Discuss opportunities and talk with students and other stakeholders about your program and
higher education in prison, more broadly.
• Support efforts to continuously improve the Equity and Excellence in Practice report.
• Guide the ongoing work of the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison.
The discussion guide ends with an invitation to share your feedback with the Alliance in an effort to help improve our programming efforts.

With support from an anonymous donor, Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison and the Saint Louis University Prison Program have spearheaded a year-long planning process related to the formation of a national organization for higher education in prison. Throughout the process, input was gathered from a broad range of stakeholders and key partners related to
the purpose and promise of higher education in prison, its role in addressing larger issues of injustice in our society, and ways in which a national organization could serve to increase access to higher education in prison. The process included research and interviews with other national organizations, stakeholder feedback collected via surveys (online and paper) and focus groups, and three distinct strategic planning workshops. The planning process has culminated in this Prospectus, a working document to support further planning for and the launch of the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison (AHEP), a national organization with a mission to support the expansion of quality higher education in prison, empower students in prison and after release, and shape public discussion about education and incarceration.

With support from an anonymous donor, Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison and the Saint Louis University Prison Program have spearheaded a year-long planning process related to the formation of a national organization for higher education in prison. Throughout the process, input was gathered from a broad range of stakeholders and key partners related to
the purpose and promise of higher education in prison, its role in addressing larger issues of injustice in our society, and ways in which a national organization could serve to increase access to higher education in prison. The process included research and interviews with other national organizations, stakeholder feedback collected via surveys (online and paper) and focus groups, and three distinct strategic planning workshops. The planning process has culminated in this Prospectus, a working document to support further planning for and the launch of the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison (AHEP), a national organization with a mission to support the expansion of quality higher education in prison, empower students in prison and after release, and shape public discussion about education and incarceration.

This document provides highlights from data collected prior (e.g.: online registration and scholarship application), during (e.g.: onsite registration, panel attendance) and after (Exit Report and unsolicited feedback/emails) the 2017 NCHEP.

Programs (2020 Annual Survey), distributed by the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison.

The Landscape Survey contained 93 questions designed to collect both descriptive and openended responses from participants about their college-in-prison programs during the 2018/2019

The Understanding the Landscape of Higher Education Prison Survey (Landscape Survey) was
designed as a confidential follow-up to the 2020 Annual Survey of Higher Education in Prison
Programs (2020 Annual Survey), distributed by the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison.
The Landscape Survey contained 93 questions designed to collect both descriptive and open-ended responses from participants about their college-in-prison programs during the 2018/2019
academic year

The Understanding the Landscape of Higher Education Prison Survey (Landscape Survey) was
designed as a confidential follow-up to the 2020 Annual Survey of Higher Education in Prison
Programs (2020 Annual Survey), distributed by the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison.
The Landscape Survey contained 93 questions designed to collect both descriptive and open-ended responses from participants about their college-in-prison programs during the 2018/2019
academic year

The Understanding the Landscape of Higher Education Prison Survey (Landscape Survey) was
designed as a confidential follow-up to the 2020 Annual Survey of Higher Education in Prison
Programs (2020 Annual Survey), distributed by the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison.
The Landscape Survey contained 93 questions designed to collect both descriptive and open-ended responses from participants about their college-in-prison programs during the 2018/2019
academic year