Dear HEP Community,
The Vera Institute of Justice is committed to our mission to end mass incarceration and the criminalization of people of color, immigrants, and people experiencing poverty. Our work supports our vision of safe, healthy, empowered communities and a fair, accountable justice system.
To that end, our initiative at Vera is currently working on a project aimed at building a tool that calculates the real cost of reentry people face upon release from incarceration, in order to shift public narratives and advocate for increased wages pre-…
We are now accepting proposals for the third-annual Incarcerated Scholars Conference (ISC), which will be held virtually on October 28–29, 2026. This year's theme is "Learning in Motion."
Currently incarcerated students and currently incarcerated alumni of higher education in prison programs can submit a Presentation Proposal. Presenters (even those self-submitting) should be prepared to identify a proxy, who must be affiliated with an educational program currently in operation at the prison.
All…
With generous funding from the ECMC Foundation, the Colorado Coalition for Higher Education in Prison (C-CHEP) has produced a research study of HEP coalitions. The report draws upon interviews with 33 leaders from statewide alliances, national advocacy groups, and leading HEP practitioners. Produced in collaboration with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students, the report offers a nuanced dive into the opportunities, challenges, and joys of building education-based coalitions rooted in a commitment to social justice.
MDRC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that studies programs and policies that affect people with low incomes and works directly with programs to help improve their effectiveness. MDRC recently launched a portfolio of new studies related to higher education & prison. The higher education & prison team is encouraging scholars connected with this community to apply for opportunities MDRC offers for summer 2026. If you do apply using the…
The Cornell Prison Education Program will be hosting a one-day, pre-NCHEP research symposium designed for researchers and practitioners who study or aspire to study higher education in prison.
This day-long event will be held in conjunction with the 2025 NCHEP conference on Wednesday, April 8th, 2026, at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown hotel (connected to the Cleveland Convention…
Earning a postsecondary credential is a critical pathway to economic success. However, for more than 70 million people with a history of arrest, conviction, or incarceration, involvement in the criminal legal system results in a series of collateral consequences that limit their upward economic mobility. Limited access to education is one of these consequences. For decades, individuals who were incarcerated were not eligible for Pell Grants, a form of federal financial aid to help eligible students pay for college. As a result, higher education in prison was rare.…
A New Path: Deportation to Honduras is a new guide from the Education Justice Project that provides clear, practical information for individuals facing deportation to Honduras.
The guide covers:
- What to expect upon arrival in Honduras, including how to stay safe;
- Information on housing, employment, education, and more;
- Practical tips for navigating the return and reintegration…
The 2026-2027 Incarcerated Applicant Form of the FAFSA is now officially available for our Prison Education Program and Second Chance Pell students who are using the paper form.
Go to nasfaa.org/pep to access both the English and Spanish versions of the paper FAFSA.
If your student is completing the online version for 2026-2027, that is accessible at https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
Teaching and learning centers—encompassing writing centers, academic support services, tutoring programs, and faculty development hubs—are home to experienced staff committed to inclusive pedagogy, student success, and continuous faculty learning. Yet many of these educational developers are unaware of their university’s own HEP program and the students who could benefit tremendously from their support.
…The Puttkammer Center for Educational Justice at the Petey Greene Program is launching a new working group focused on academic co-creation with incarcerated scholars. We hope to gather a diverse group of scholars, faculty, and advocates, including and especially those who are impacted by the criminal legal system, to share theories and practices of co-creation that engage incarcerated scholars. We look forward to learning from each other, and we are especially interested in exploring…
