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The Alliance for Higher Education in Prison is pleased to announce that the second annual Incarcerated Scholars Conference (ISC) will be held virtually October 21-22, 2025. The theme that will frame this year’s conference is Pathways to Possibility. We invite students and alumni of higher education in prison programs who are currently incarcerated to contribute to our conference by submitting a presentation proposal. We also invite incarcerated artists to submit their creative works for consideration (you do not have to be a current or former student to participate in this portion of the conference).
The Alliance for Higher Education in Prison is pleased to announce that the second annual Incarcerated Scholars Conference (ISC) will be held virtually October 21-22, 2025. The theme that will frame this year’s conference is Pathways to Possibility. We invite students and alumni of higher education in prison programs who are currently incarcerated to contribute to our conference by submitting a presentation proposal. We also invite incarcerated artists to submit their creative works for consideration (you do not have to be a current or former student to participate in this portion of the conference).
The Understanding the Landscape of Higher Education Prison Survey (Landscape Survey) was designed as a confidential follow-up to the 2020 Annual Survey of Higher Education in Prison Programs, distributed by the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison. The Landscape Survey contained 93 questions designed to collect both descriptive and open-ended responses from participants about their college-in-prison programs during the 2018/2019 academic year. Included within this survey were specific questions about student, staff and volunteer demographics, program funding, student enrollment and admissions, program goals, and program evaluation.
The Understanding the Landscape of Higher Education Prison Survey (Landscape Survey) was designed as a confidential follow-up to the 2020 Annual Survey of Higher Education in Prison Programs, distributed by the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison. The Landscape Survey contained 93 questions designed to collect both descriptive and open-ended responses from participants about their college-in-prison programs during the 2018/2019 academic year. Included within this survey were specific questions about student, staff and volunteer demographics, program funding, student enrollment and admissions, program goals, and program evaluation.
BAZAAR in partnership with PEN America's Prison Writing Program, the women reflect on finding community behind bars, seeking refuge in the arts, and the liberating power of language.
BAZAAR in partnership with PEN America's Prison Writing Program, the women reflect on finding community behind bars, seeking refuge in the arts, and the liberating power of language.
Visit the Higher Education in Prison Research website and explore this digital space centered around the creation of a robust, ethical, and sustainable higher education in prison research infrastructure.
Visit the Higher Education in Prison Research website and explore this digital space centered around the creation of a robust, ethical, and sustainable higher education in prison research infrastructure.
The insidious use of background checks in employment, licensure, housing, and education is yet another example of the perpetual punishment endured by millions of Americans who have conviction records. The user-friendly design of this guide is intended to help people with conviction records navigate individual, institutional, and systemic barriers erected by the practice of background checks. While many valuable guides exist that help people with convictions understand their legal rights, this guide is unique because it aims to help people develop their own narrative. This guide is a continuation of our work to support people with convictions in navigating barriers to education and economic opportunity. Last year, we released Getting to Work with a Criminal Record: New York State License Guides (2020 Expanded Edition), which explains the process for obtaining licenses in 25, high-demand occupations and professions for people with conviction records. We remain committed to increasing access to opportunity for the millions of people impacted by the criminal legal system.
The insidious use of background checks in employment, licensure, housing, and education is yet another example of the perpetual punishment endured by millions of Americans who have conviction records. The user-friendly design of this guide is intended to help people with conviction records navigate individual, institutional, and systemic barriers erected by the practice of background checks. While many valuable guides exist that help people with convictions understand their legal rights, this guide is unique because it aims to help people develop their own narrative. This guide is a continuation of our work to support people with convictions in navigating barriers to education and economic opportunity. Last year, we released Getting to Work with a Criminal Record: New York State License Guides (2020 Expanded Edition), which explains the process for obtaining licenses in 25, high-demand occupations and professions for people with conviction records. We remain committed to increasing access to opportunity for the millions of people impacted by the criminal legal system.
Mourning Our Losses is a crowd-sourced memorial to honor the lives of people who died in prisons, jails, and immigration detention facilities in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. We remember the lives of people who died from exposure to abominable public health conditions, as residents and as employees. Mourning Our Losses seeks to restore dignity to the faces and stories behind the statistics of death and illness from behind bars. We believe that a loss of any human life warrants mourning. We are united in our effort to honor our fallen brothers and sisters by telling their stories. We offer a platform for grief, healing, community, and reflection for all those touched by this preventable tragedy.
Mourning Our Losses is a crowd-sourced memorial to honor the lives of people who died in prisons, jails, and immigration detention facilities in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. We remember the lives of people who died from exposure to abominable public health conditions, as residents and as employees. Mourning Our Losses seeks to restore dignity to the faces and stories behind the statistics of death and illness from behind bars. We believe that a loss of any human life warrants mourning. We are united in our effort to honor our fallen brothers and sisters by telling their stories. We offer a platform for grief, healing, community, and reflection for all those touched by this preventable tragedy.
The Freedom Takes is a podcast from Freedom Reads (formerly the Million Book Project), produced for listeners in prison and out, that explores the relationship between literature and freedom. The Freedom Takes podcast is available for download on Apple Podcasts. A still-image movie version of The Freedom Takes podcast is also available on YouTube for closed-circuit TV channels to broadcast the show. Higher education in prison programs and any other in-prison education programs should contact Freedom Reads at freedomreads@yale.edu for the captioned video file versions for play on closed-circuit TV channels.
The Freedom Takes is a podcast from Freedom Reads (formerly the Million Book Project), produced for listeners in prison and out, that explores the relationship between literature and freedom. The Freedom Takes podcast is available for download on Apple Podcasts. A still-image movie version of The Freedom Takes podcast is also available on YouTube for closed-circuit TV channels to broadcast the show. Higher education in prison programs and any other in-prison education programs should contact Freedom Reads at freedomreads@yale.edu for the captioned video file versions for play on closed-circuit TV channels.
The Alliance for Higher Education in Prison maintains the most comprehensive resource in the United States for people seeking information about national college in prison programs. The National Directory was launched in 2020.
The Alliance for Higher Education in Prison maintains the most comprehensive resource in the United States for people seeking information about national college in prison programs. The National Directory was launched in 2020.
In 2015, the U.S. Department of Education announced the Second Chance Pell (SCP) experiment under the Experimental Sites Initiative, which allows incarcerated students who would be eligible for Pell Grants—a form of federal financial aid—if they were not incarcerated to access them while attending an eligible academic program offered by one of the colleges participating in the experiment. But filing for financial aid while incarcerated can be a formidable challenge. Drawing on the experiences of the first group of SCP colleges, this toolkit, drafted in collaboration with the Chemeketa Community College, is designed to aid new and existing participants as they guide students through the complexities of filing for federal financial aid in prison, including completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA.
In 2015, the U.S. Department of Education announced the Second Chance Pell (SCP) experiment under the Experimental Sites Initiative, which allows incarcerated students who would be eligible for Pell Grants—a form of federal financial aid—if they were not incarcerated to access them while attending an eligible academic program offered by one of the colleges participating in the experiment. But filing for financial aid while incarcerated can be a formidable challenge. Drawing on the experiences of the first group of SCP colleges, this toolkit, drafted in collaboration with the Chemeketa Community College, is designed to aid new and existing participants as they guide students through the complexities of filing for federal financial aid in prison, including completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA.
Seats at the Table is the film portrait of Andrew Kaufman’s University of Virginia Books Behind Bars class which brings together university students with residents of a juvenile correctional center through the study of Russian literature.
Seats at the Table is the film portrait of Andrew Kaufman’s University of Virginia Books Behind Bars class which brings together university students with residents of a juvenile correctional center through the study of Russian literature.
Higheredinprison.org features a Community Events Calendar that contains current events happening in the higher education in prison community. Look for events from the Alliance for Higher Education and events hosted by the higher education in prison community.
Higheredinprison.org features a Community Events Calendar that contains current events happening in the higher education in prison community. Look for events from the Alliance for Higher Education and events hosted by the higher education in prison community.
The Alliance's COVID-19 Action page contains materials and resources created by/for or that are meaningful for higher education in prison programs from across the United States.
The Alliance's COVID-19 Action page contains materials and resources created by/for or that are meaningful for higher education in prison programs from across the United States.
In "Social, Emotional, and Academic Development Through an Equity Lens", The Education Trust outlines how to shift the focus away from “fixing kids” and toward addressing adult beliefs and mindsets as well as school and district policies to create an equitable learning environment.
In "Social, Emotional, and Academic Development Through an Equity Lens", The Education Trust outlines how to shift the focus away from “fixing kids” and toward addressing adult beliefs and mindsets as well as school and district policies to create an equitable learning environment.
College Behind Bars (originally on PBS) is now streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime and can be sent to your program.
College Behind Bars (originally on PBS) is now streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime and can be sent to your program.
Having a parent in prison is an adverse childhood experience, a childhood trauma that can lead to poor health and wellbeing as an adult. Yet, these children can thrive if they build resilience.
Having a parent in prison is an adverse childhood experience, a childhood trauma that can lead to poor health and wellbeing as an adult. Yet, these children can thrive if they build resilience.
People in prison have often been relegated to “better than nothing” education, writes Tanya Erzen, and the inequities could become more prevalent during the pandemic.
People in prison have often been relegated to “better than nothing” education, writes Tanya Erzen, and the inequities could become more prevalent during the pandemic.
