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A work-based learning initiative of the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison
Read the EiA Implementation Guide"Education in Action" (EiA) initiatives integrate meaningful work-based learning opportunities for incarcerated students, enabling them to apply knowledge and skills gained through higher education in prison (HEP) programs through participation in remote employment. These are private sector positions that incarcerated individuals can hold remotely (though some are offered as in-person positions) while they are still incarcerated, allowing them to build experience and skills prior to release.
Over the past few years, the Alliance has been at the forefront of EiA initiatives across the country in multiple states.
Maine currently has dozens of correctional residents involved in work-based learning (WBL) opportunities, making as much as $25/hour, with several residents working in salaried, full-time positions with benefits.
Maine started small, and being at the forefront of EiA exploration has not been without its challenges. But Maine has found EiA to be worth the effort in how it can improve facility conditions, expand the impact of HEP programs, and increase wellbeing for residents and their families.
Kansas partnered with the Alliance to pilot work-based learning with one resident, selected for their proven success and active participation in various programs. including educational initiatives. As an Alliance Fellow, they earn approximately $25/hour with 25% deducted for room and board. The success of this initial exploration of remote work has encouraged Kansas to explore expanding similar opportunities.
Ohio is pioneering work-based learning (WBL) through a partnership between the Vera Institute of Justice, Sinclair Community College, and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC). The pilot program employs an incarcerated individual as a remote intern for the Vera Institute, earning $21–$22 per hour, aligned with Vera’s graduate student intern rate. While logistical challenges have been significant, this initiative has sparked interest in expanding WBL within Vera and beyond.
Utah is integrating work-based learning into its correctional education landscape through the Education Advocate program at the Utah State Correctional Facility. Funded by the University of Utah, this initiative employs incarcerated students as peer educators, earning $12 per hour for up to eight hours a week. By fostering a culture of learning, this program not only supports literacy and tutoring but also strengthens pathways to post-secondary education inside the facility.
Maryland is piloting work-based learning with a small-scale approach, integrating internships into the Goucher College Prison Education Program (GPEP). These internships are compensated at the same rate for incarcerated students as for non-incarcerated students, at $17.50/hour. The initiative has already demonstrated how such employment opportunities can support educational goals, foster leadership, and improve reentry preparation.
Tennessee stepped through the door opened by Maine, testing WBL by remotely employing an individual incarcerated in a Maine facility. The Tennessee Higher Education in Prison Initiative (THEI) employs a research fellow who is also a resident at Maine State Prison, compensating him at $25/hour as an independent contractor, directly paid by THEI. The success of this small experiment has contributed to THEI’s continuing efforts to expand such opportunities to other incarcerated individuals as well as advocate for policy change within the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC).
We were joined by two of the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated lead authors of the guide as well as panelists representing various stakeholder groups: HEP programs, employers, and corrections.
If you're thinking about how to implement remote employment and work-based learning opportunities and want to learn more after reading the guide linked above, start here!
Maine currently has dozens of correctional residents involved in work-based learning (WBL) opportunities, making as much as $25/hour, with several residents working in salaried, full-time positions with benefits.
Maine started small, and being at the forefront of EiA exploration has not been without its challenges. But Maine has found EiA to be worth the effort in how it can improve facility conditions, expand the impact of HEP programs, and increase wellbeing for residents and their families.
Kansas partnered with the Alliance to pilot work-based learning with one resident, selected for their proven success and active participation in various programs. including educational initiatives. As an Alliance Fellow, they earn approximately $25/hour with 25% deducted for room and board. The success of this initial exploration of remote work has encouraged Kansas to explore expanding similar opportunities.
Ohio is pioneering work-based learning (WBL) through a partnership between the Vera Institute of Justice, Sinclair Community College, and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC). The pilot program employs an incarcerated individual as a remote intern for the Vera Institute, earning $21–$22 per hour, aligned with Vera’s graduate student intern rate. While logistical challenges have been significant, this initiative has sparked interest in expanding WBL within Vera and beyond.
Utah is integrating work-based learning into its correctional education landscape through the Education Advocate program at the Utah State Correctional Facility. Funded by the University of Utah, this initiative employs incarcerated students as peer educators, earning $12 per hour for up to eight hours a week. By fostering a culture of learning, this program not only supports literacy and tutoring but also strengthens pathways to post-secondary education inside the facility.
Maryland is piloting work-based learning with a small-scale approach, integrating internships into the Goucher College Prison Education Program (GPEP). These internships are compensated at the same rate for incarcerated students as for non-incarcerated students, at $17.50/hour. The initiative has already demonstrated how such employment opportunities can support educational goals, foster leadership, and improve reentry preparation.
Tennessee stepped through the door opened by Maine, testing WBL by remotely employing an individual incarcerated in a Maine facility. The Tennessee Higher Education in Prison Initiative (THEI) employs a research fellow who is also a resident at Maine State Prison, compensating him at $25/hour as an independent contractor, directly paid by THEI. The success of this small experiment has contributed to THEI’s continuing efforts to expand such opportunities to other incarcerated individuals as well as advocate for policy change within the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC).
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EiA is an essential step towards building a movement that shifts beliefs and narratives about the value of incarcerated people’s work and challenges the slavery-based model of prison employment. The continued pursuit of our mission and vision underscores the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison's unwavering commitment to shaping an intellectual landscape that recognizes inherent human potential for advancement and growth within the confines of prisons. As conduits for hope, resilience, and opportunity, we are adamant that internships and fellowships possess a transformative power that can engender lasting societal change and disrupt the perpetuation of cycles of criminalization and incarceration.
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Maine currently has dozens of correctional residents involved in work-based learning (WBL) opportunities, making as much as $25/hour, with several residents working in salaried, full-time positions with benefits.
Maine started small, and being at the forefront of EiA exploration has not been without its challenges. But Maine has found EiA to be worth the effort in how it can improve facility conditions, expand the impact of HEP programs, and increase wellbeing for residents and their families.
Kansas partnered with the Alliance to pilot work-based learning with one resident, selected for their proven success and active participation in various programs. including educational initiatives. As an Alliance Fellow, they earn approximately $25/hour with 25% deducted for room and board. The success of this initial exploration of remote work has encouraged Kansas to explore expanding similar opportunities.
Ohio is pioneering work-based learning (WBL) through a partnership between the Vera Institute of Justice, Sinclair Community College, and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC). The pilot program employs an incarcerated individual as a remote intern for the Vera Institute, earning $21–$22 per hour, aligned with Vera’s graduate student intern rate. While logistical challenges have been significant, this initiative has sparked interest in expanding WBL within Vera and beyond.
Utah is integrating work-based learning into its correctional education landscape through the Education Advocate program at the Utah State Correctional Facility. Funded by the University of Utah, this initiative employs incarcerated students as peer educators, earning $12 per hour for up to eight hours a week. By fostering a culture of learning, this program not only supports literacy and tutoring but also strengthens pathways to post-secondary education inside the facility.
Maryland is piloting work-based learning with a small-scale approach, integrating internships into the Goucher College Prison Education Program (GPEP). These internships are compensated at the same rate for incarcerated students as for non-incarcerated students, at $17.50/hour. The initiative has already demonstrated how such employment opportunities can support educational goals, foster leadership, and improve reentry preparation.
Tennessee stepped through the door opened by Maine, testing WBL by remotely employing an individual incarcerated in a Maine facility. The Tennessee Higher Education in Prison Initiative (THEI) employs a research fellow who is also a resident at Maine State Prison, compensating him at $25/hour as an independent contractor, directly paid by THEI. The success of this small experiment has contributed to THEI’s continuing efforts to expand such opportunities to other incarcerated individuals as well as advocate for policy change within the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC).
