Education: Administration and Implementation

With Pell Grant access fully restored as of July 2023, the Formerly Incarcerated College Graduates Network (FICGN) has identified a gap in the existing resources and support available for instructors teaching in a prison setting for the first time. Orientations and trainings offered by correctional institutions tend to lack comprehensive guidance for instructors on effectively engaging students from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds and tailoring their pedagogical approaches to support students as they pursue their studies within the unique context of a correctional facility.

In response to this identified gap, FICGN has collaborated with Jobs for the Future’s (JFF) Center for Justice & Economic Advancement to support the development of high-quality postsecondary education programs in prisons that pave the way to economic advancement. The recommendations presented in this resource are designed to enhance the effectiveness of future orientation and training initiatives.

This Best Interest Determination (BID) Toolkit was created by the Vera Institute of Justice, in partnership with a BID Council and the members of the 2024 Corrections Education Leadership Academy (CELA), to be a resource for corrections agencies to prepare their BID system with all processes, procedures, and stakeholders in place, as necessary, to assess postsecondary institutions offering a PEP, according to federal regulations. To maintain their PEP status, postsecondary institutions must work with their correctional partner, otherwise known as the oversight entity, to complete a program review termed the Best Interest Determination (BID). The final regulations require that the BID must take place, at minimum, within two years of the PEP being approved by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and must be repeated every time the postsecondary institution renews its Program Participation Agreement or earlier if required by the oversight entity. 

This Toolkit is designed to assist oversight entities with meeting the BID requirements, as outlined in 34 CFR
668.241 of the final regulations, ED’s FAQs that outline the BID process in more detail, and referenced in ED’s
optional form, “Best Interest Determination- Prison Education Program.” Some of the specific suggestions
outlined in this Toolkit are not required by regulations; however, based on a review of the regulations, Vera
recommends oversight entities create the following four tools: 

1. Create a policy describing how the BID will be conducted,
2. Develop template reports for postsecondary institutions offering approved PEPs to complete,
3. Design a BID feedback template for participating stakeholders to complete, and
4. Create a response letter to the postsecondary institution offering the PEP that documents the BID
   outcome.

A growing body of research documents the barriers faced by incarcerated students—such as limited access to technology and conflicts with correctional staff—but far less attention has been paid to the role of the built environment in shaping educational experiences. This project, led by Ennead Lab and Ithaka S+R, examines how spatial, architecture, and design features impact learning inside prisons. It draws on qualitative interviews with formerly incarcerated students and prison education program staff, and site visits to five correctional facilities, to advance both research findings and a portfolio of design interventions aimed at improving these educational environments. This report features a series of actionable strategies to integrate educational best practices in the redesign of these spaces. Ultimately, Ithaka S+R proposes that architects and designers working in correctional education should not just foster better learning experiences for incarcerated students, but shift the balance from punishment toward rehabilitation in carceral settings.

Launched in 2019 with support from the Tennessee Higher Education Initiative (THEI), the Tennessee Prison College Coalition (TPCC) seeks to increase collaboration between Tennessee state agencies, higher education institutions, and nonprofit partners building postsecondary education pathways for students who are justice-impacted, both in prison and the free world. TPCC brings together leaders from THEI, the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC), Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC), Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR), Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD), and the Governor’s Office to improve program quality and equity. Drawing from interviews with state agency and nonprofit representatives participating in TPCC, this case study examines the relationships and strategies that have driven Tennessee’s success, and highlights lessons learned to guide advocates and policymakers in other states as they work to expand access to quality credentials for justice-impacted students.

With generous support from Ascendium Education Group and over ten years of experience facilitating college programming in Tennessee’s prisons, THEI has created Navigating Forward, a collection of clear, digestible, and comprehensive college navigation materials explicitly designed for learners in the carceral context, with special consideration for the unique challenges and needs of Prison Education Program (PEP) students. Each collection comprises individual resources that can stand alone or be shared collectively. A Glossary of Terms also accompanies the three collections to help make the resources accessible for as many students as possible, regardless of their starting point. The collections include Navigating the College Landscape, Navigating Financial Aid, and Navigating the Transfer Process. 

PEPs that are new to supporting incarcerated students, or lack the time and capacity to develop their own resources, will also benefit from these ready-to-use tools. While a toolkit is no substitute for robust, direct support, THEI is grateful for this opportunity to lend support to strengthening the growing PEP community by informing and empowering students and other stakeholders.

This initiative follows the U.S. Department of Education’s reinstatement of Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated students in 2023, which reversed a nearly three-decade Pell ban on Pell access for incarcerated students.

Ithaka S+R designed a playbook to help correctional education leaders center student learning as they navigate the education technology landscape. The guide, created with support from Ascendium Education Group and in dialogue with several correctional education leaders, provides decision-making tools and frameworks to assist leaders as they consider how to implement new education technology in prisons. 

The playbook includes:

• A framework to help correctional leaders clarify goals and objectives for implementing education technology
• A downloadable set of tools and interactive exercises to guide strategy and strategically plan decision making
• Considerations about the benefits and drawbacks of using different technologies for education
• Ranges of technical specifications to help leaders compare devices

Our aim with the playbook is to provide strategies and approaches that will make it easier to incorporate new education technology to improve educational outcomes, educational equity, and student educational experiences. While the playbook was designed with correctional leaders in mind, we hope it will be of broader value to the higher education in prison field.

While end-of-course surveys are standard in most colleges and universities, they’re often designed for traditional students and overlook the unique needs of incarcerated students and the educators who serve them. This guide bridges that gap, offering evaluation questions tailored to the prison education context. Developed with input from students enrolled in prison education programs, it’s a tool to help ensure course evaluations are both meaningful and relevant. 

This guide was developed in collaboration between the Formerly Incarcerated College Graduates Network and Doug Walcerz, the Provost and Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at Lee College. 

This research paper examines the development and administration of Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison, an in-prison college program run and staffed primarily by its own formerly incarcerated graduates. This paper also explores the impact of lived experience on managing and teaching in the program, as well as strategies for academic partners looking to best support interventions led by those who are closest to the problem and, in turn, closest to the solution.

Getting the approval for the technology and equipment necessary to operate high-quality postsecondary education in prison programs can present challenges. The steps in this resource from Jobs for the Future can help postsecondary and corrections education leaders develop a strategic approach to gaining buy-in for, implementing, and growing the use of technology to enhance and expand opportunities for quality postsecondary education in facilities. 

While correctional institutions provide orientation and training sessions to help instructors navigate the logistical and security aspects of teaching in such facilities, these efforts often have limitations. Notably, they tend to lack comprehensive guidance for instructors on effectively engaging students from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds and tailoring their pedagogical approaches to support students as they pursue their studies within the unique context of a correctional facility. 

In response to this identified gap, FICGN has collaborated with Jobs for the Future’s Center for Justice & Economic Advancement to support the development of high-quality postsecondary education programs in prisons that pave the way to economic advancement. Together, they have formulated this guidance to offer support to program staff members and instructors. The recommendations presented in this resource are designed to enhance the effectiveness of future orientation and training initiatives. Their aim is to ensure that these programs adequately address the needs of instructors and other key stakeholders who will directly interact with students who are incarcerated for the first time.  

This resource explores essential guidelines and best practices for data use agreements in postsecondary education in prison programs.

This fact sheet from the State University of New York (SUNY) Higher Education for the Justice-Involved (HEJI) program provides actionable steps that postsecondary education administrators can take to support justice-involved students on their campuses.

If your State University of New York (SUNY) campus is interested in finding ways to serve justice-involved students in your community, the following information may help you in planning and navigating critical conversations. We know everyone's path is different and some of these activities may occur simultaneously and/or on an ongoing basis.

This report from the State University of New York (SUNY) Higher Education for the Justice-Involved (HEJI) program links administrative data collected by SUNY and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) between 2010 and 2020 to reveal student engagement and outcomes in SUNY-involved college in prison programs.

This report is one part of a SUNY initiative to expand and improve its services to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people in New York. With funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the SUNY system administration is working with its campuses to build a supportive community of college in prison programs, develop resources to strengthen the programs, ease pathways for formerly incarcerated students to continue
their education, and create a data system that reveals key features of the programs and their performance. 

The research component of the initiative also includes interviews with college administrators, faculty, and formerly incarcerated students to understand how students view college in prison programs, the challenges colleges face in implementing their programs (including during the pandemic), and the ways SUNY can better support incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students. Although this report includes references to some interviews, forthcoming reports will offer a more complete summary of those findings.