ISC

The Incarcerated Scholars Conference (ISC) emerged from the 13th National Conference on Higher Education in Prison (NCHEP), held in Atlanta in November 2023, which marked the first time a full day of programming was dedicated exclusively to presentations by currently incarcerated scholars.

That day took the form of a virtual “teach-in,” featuring 23 presentations from incarcerated students across 15 states and streamed live via videoconferencing technology. The sessions were well received, revealing a clear demand for more opportunities for incarcerated scholars to share their research, creative work, and lived expertise with a national audience.

Building on this response, the organizer of NCHEP, the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison (the Alliance), launched ISC as a standalone conference. This event expands access and engagement while more fully centering incarcerated scholars as knowledge producers within the field of higher education in prison.

ISC advances the Alliance’s mission to convene the field, amplify system-impacted voices, and mobilize knowledge and resources to strengthen higher education in prison. Consistent with the Alliance’s 2025–2028 Strategic Plan, ISC functions as a core convening that centers incarcerated scholars as academic innovators, encourages innovation and expanded access through its virtual format, and contributes to shared learning and field-building across institutional, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries.