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Event Information
The annual National Conference on Higher Education in Prison (NCHEP) is not only an event—it's a lifeline for the community of people who are committed to expanding educational opportunities for students who are currently or formerly incarcerated. NCHEP 16 will take place over three days from March 30–April 1, 2027 at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center in Long Beach, CA.
Anchored in Justice
'Anchored in Justice' begins with the field’s core work: providing rigorous higher education in prison. Justice can be evident in the existence of meaningful academic choice, high quality instruction, credits and credentials with lasting value, and opportunities to continue learning. Justice needs to be reflected in institutional structures, environments, and how the value of education is upheld and reinforced.
This theme invites us to consider not only what is just about this work, but what it means to carry this work forward within a complicated system as the scale and structure of the field are in constant flux. Decisions about curriculum, faculty support, advising, data, governance, and institutional responsibility increasingly cross organizational boundaries. NCHEP pushes the field to consider how to adapt and grow without becoming unmoored.
Education is shaped by the environments in which it occurs. Facility routines, health, family responsibilities, and access to materials all shape what educational participation looks like. Program design and resources steer the education students experience, and how that work is described informs public understanding of the relationship between education and incarceration. Anchored in Justice asks for a wider view, and what it takes to stay centered within a storm while helping students reach towards a possibility horizon.
