HEP Program Operations

Led by the inaugural cohort of the Justice Fellows Policy Program, The Education Trust, in partnership with local higher education and justice advocates, analyzed state support for currently and formerly incarcerated students in eight states—California, Illinois, Louisiana, New York, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas—and developed state-specific toolkits to help advocates and policymakers tear down the remaining barriers for justice-impacted students.

This 50-state comparison provides a look at the specific criteria employed in the top two largest aid programs by state. It includes details about which state programs are linked to measuring need through the federally calculated Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) or purely family income.

This policy analysis provides descriptive information about incarcerated youth populations, explores their educational challenges, reviews currently enacted state and federal policies designed to address their needs, and provides policy considerations for state governments.

This Special Report examines four principles for state leaders to consider as they develop or evaluate financial aid redesign reform efforts. The financial aid redesign principles, identified through a Thinkers Meeting that included experts from across the country, fall into four areas: Financial aid programs should be (1) student-centered, (2) goal-driven and data-informed, (3) timely and flexible, and (4) broadly inclusive.

Led by the inaugural cohort of the Justice Fellows Policy Program, The Education Trust, in partnership with local higher education and justice advocates, analyzed state support for currently and formerly incarcerated students in eight states—California, Illinois, Louisiana, New York, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas—and developed state-specific toolkits to help advocates and policymakers tear down the remaining barriers for justice-impacted students.

Led by the inaugural cohort of the Justice Fellows Policy Program, The Education Trust, in partnership with local higher education and justice advocates, analyzed state support for currently and formerly incarcerated students in eight states—California, Illinois, Louisiana, New York, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas—and developed state-specific toolkits to help advocates and policymakers tear down the remaining barriers for justice-impacted students.

Led by the inaugural cohort of the Justice Fellows Policy Program, The Education Trust, in partnership with local higher education and justice advocates, analyzed state support for currently and formerly incarcerated students in eight states—California, Illinois, Louisiana, New York, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas—and developed state-specific toolkits to help advocates and policymakers tear down the remaining barriers for justice-impacted students.

In February of 2021, Ascendium supported Open Campus Media’s virtual convening of more than 100 attendees exploring the future of technology in postsecondary education in prison. Representatives from universities, advocacy groups, funders, and state corrections systems examined such topics as student perspectives on technology in prison education and the lifting of the Pell Grant ban. This summary highlights the day’s discussions.

These videos are presentations from a virtual convening in February 2021 of more than 100 attendees who explored the future of technology in postsecondary education in prison. The convening was produced by Open Campus Media with support from Ascendium. Participants included representatives of universities, advocacy groups, funders and state corrections systems.

The goal of this resource is to enable stakeholders to compare eligibility requirements pertaining to justice system impact across major aid programs and states.