Photo by Babita Patel/Hudson Link
By Rachel Sander, Prison Education Director, SUNY System Administration
and Dan Knox, Assistant Provost for Academic Planning and Student Success, SUNY System Administration
College-in-prison programs improve the lives of incarcerated individuals as well as transform families and communities inside and outside of prison. Beyond the widely cited research about lowering recidivism rates that save taxpayers money and increase public safety, college-in-prison programs can help ensure incarcerated individuals live full and meaningful lives by providing opportunities to pursue education. These programs can also have a lasting family impact, as an incarcerated individual’s decision to attend college can help disrupt cycles of incarceration and inspire other family members to pursue their own academic endeavors. Additionally, college-in-prison programs can be a positive management tool inside prisons, as facilities with prison education programs have fewer disciplinary incidents and can help instill a sense of social responsibility among participants.
For higher education institutions, college-in-prison programs are a way promote equity by ensuring access to students that have historically been denied access to educational opportunities. There has never been a more urgent time for higher education institutions to respond to the needs of justice-involved students, who are often people of color from poorer communities and who have traditionally been overlooked and underserved by colleges and universities.
New York has a long history of college-in-prison programs and a diverse community of public and private college providers offering degree programs in over 30 of New York’s 50 state correctional facilities. In the absence of Pell grants, due to the 1994 ban on Pell for incarcerated individuals, these programs have since relied on private funding to offer programming inside prisons. And while New York currently has a variety of programs, access to college-in-prison is limited in scope, as not all correctional facilities have programs, and the ones that do serve a small segment of the population. Out of a statewide prison population of 35,000, NYS college in prison programs serve an estimated number of 1400 incarcerated students, 700 of these students are enrolled in degree programs with The State University of New York (SUNY).
However, in January 2021, the Consolidated Appropriations Act restored Pell grants for incarcerated individuals, a policy change that has the potential to transform the prison education landscape and increase opportunities for incarcerated individuals to have access to quality higher education across the country. Pell reinstatement will allow higher education institutions to serve justice involved students by building and expanding programming inside jails and prisons.
As this field continues to expand, institutions that are interested in starting or expanding prison education programs should be aware of the unique challenges of working inside a prison environment. Teaching inside prison comes with technological limitations, navigating Department of Corrections rules and regulations, changing security protocols regarding acceptable course materials, school supplies, and dress code policies, mid-semester student transfers due to security concerns, and limited supports for student services. Colleges must also be mindful of the vulnerable nature of incarcerated students and be aware of the power dynamics at play inside the prison setting. Providing appropriate training and support for faculty teaching inside is critical, as is creating a community of support for faculty and program administrators to listen and learn from their peers in the field. It is also essential to include the voices and perspectives of formerly incarcerated students and leaders whose lived experiences can help inform program design and contribute to program success.
Upon release, justice-involved students need continued support and resources to pursue their educational journeys. Higher education institutions can benefit from working with community partners to establish pathways and connections to build systems of support for formerly incarcerated students, as well as identify and reduce barriers in the admissions and transfer processes for formerly incarcerated individuals.
To effectively deal with these challenges, there is a need for coordination and standardization across institutions in delivering high quality prison education both within facilities and following release. Public systems of higher education are uniquely positioned to perform this coordinating role to support justice-involved students and the colleges that serve them. As with other student success initiatives, NASH can serve as an effective network for research, advocacy, and sharing best practices for prison education. Given NASH’s recent focus on closing equity gaps, expanding access to higher education for justice-involved students aligns well with these ongoing efforts.
As a system, SUNY has recently been focused on expanding prison education through several grant-funded initiatives. SUNY’s Higher Education for the Justice Involved (HEJI) team has received funding from the District Attorney of New York’s Criminal Justice Investment Initiative to provide technical assistance to seven educational providers working inside of 17 New York State prisons. A second grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation aims to improve college-in-prison within SUNY by enhancing data systems, expanding educational programming to include correctional facilities not currently served, and streamlining college and professional reentry processes for formerly incarcerated students.
Currently, thirteen SUNY campuses are delivering college programming across twenty state prisons and one federal prison. Our vision is to achieve fair and inclusive access for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated persons to college programs that meet the same high academic standards and offer equivalent student supports available to other SUNY students. We believe SUNY has the capacity to create, coordinate, and lead an effective, transparent, and sustainable statewide system of programs for justice-involved students in New York. This system will expand and strengthen educational pathways for students inside correctional facilities as well as those returning to their communities. As this field continues to expand, we look forward to learning alongside other higher education institutions pursuing this important work.
Contact information:
Rachel Sander, Rachel.sander@suny.edu
Dan Knox, Daniel.knox@suny.edu
SUNY Higher Education for the Justice-Involved Team
Teresa Miller, Senior Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Chief Diversity Officer
Marianne Hassan, Chief of Staff, Provost Office & Acting Director, SUNY Impact Foundation
Phillip Ortiz, Assistant Provost for Undergraduate and STEM Education
Daniel Knox, Assistant Provost for Academic Planning and Student Success
Rachel Sander, Prison Education Director
Rebecca Grace, Director of Academic Project Management and Strategic Analysis
Thomas Gais, Provost Fellow and Senior Research Scientist
Klarisse Torriente, Researcher
Katie Zuber, Research Scientist
Paul Wilner, Associate for University Planning and Analytics
Further Reading and Resources:
SUNY’s Vision of Educational Equity for Incarcerated People
HEJI Faculty Recruitment Toolkit and Training Resource Guide
Changing Minds: The Impact of College in a Maximum-Security Prison
Needed Specialists for a Challenging Task: Formerly Incarcerated Leaders’ Essential Role in Postsecondary Programs in Prison
Equity and Excellence in Practice: A Guide for Higher Education in Prison Report
Unlocking Potential: Pathways from Prison to Post-Secondary Education
Mapping the Landscape of Higher Education in New York State Prisons
A Second Chance College-in-Prison Programs in New York State