Excerpted from https://drew.edu/stories Drew PREP, which has been offering classes in two New Jersey prisons for more than a decade, brings the Drew classroom into the prison setting with the goal of equally educating both incarcerated (“inside”) and Theological School … Continue reading →

Excerpted from https://www.state.nj.us/corrections, 12/8/21 press release Drew University will be joining the consortium of degree-granting higher education institutions, which includes Rutgers University and Raritan Valley Community College, as part of the New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons (NJ-STEP) … Continue reading →

From: https://www.insidehighered.com/ Advocates say now is the time for colleges and universities to move “beyond the box” and stop asking criminal history questions on admissions applications. A Senate bill would help make that happen… Click here for press release from … Continue reading →

From: https://thehill.com Newly confirmed Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona made some appealing promises during his confirmation hearing: Namely, that he would prioritize closing equity gaps and making education more attainable for all students. One of the most immediate ways he can accomplish … Continue reading →

From: https://www.highereddive.com From tough-on-crime to Second Chance Pell The sweeping 1994 crime bill banned incarcerated people from obtaining Pell Grants. In 2015, the Obama administration launched the Second Chance Pell program, which former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos expanded … Continue reading →

From: https://www.washingtonpost.com As the presidents of Claflin University and Langston University, two distinguished historically Black universities in America, we have seen firsthand how education provides a gateway to empowerment. As HBCUs, our schools share the core value of providing an … Continue reading →

From: https://www.ccdaily.com Providing postsecondary education to incarcerated individuals can ensure former inmates will have an opportunity to a successful life when they are released. But setting up an education system inside prison walls – where there are major security considerations … Continue reading →

From: https://www.usatoday.com We should look to the humanities to help prisoners prepare for the business of living. What reaction does the term “prison education” evoke? For many, the immediate thought is vocational training with the goal of teaching inmates practical skills that … Continue reading →

From: https://www.politico.com Dyjuan Tatro grew up in a poor neighborhood in Albany, N.Y., where gunshots were common and education inaccessible. Around 10th grade, Dyjuan dropped out and was selling drugs. A few years later, when he was 20, he was involved in … Continue reading →

From: https://www.newark.rutgers.edu/ Renaldo Chavis embodies the transformative power of education at Rutgers University-Newark (RU-N) and how it can help reshape one’s future.  The Newark native’s early roots began at Irvington High School in New Jersey.  There, he was removed and placed … Continue reading →

From: https://fredericksburg.com The NJ-STEP community mourns the loss of philanthropist Doris Buffett. As an early supporter of college in prison in New Jersey, Doris’s vision and her foundation’s contributions made our current work possible.  Her positive impact on our families and … Continue reading →

From: https://www.insidehighered.com With limited technology in their facilities, most college-in-prison programs moved to paper correspondence amid the pandemic. Others were suspended altogether. The benefits of college programs in prisons are well documented. Research shows that postsecondary programs can reduce recidivism … Continue reading →

From: https://www.themarshallproject.org When coronavirus kept college professors from teaching in person at Maine Correctional Facility, officials reconfigured a prison classroom to hold classes over Zoom using the Internet from an administrator’s computer. Officials at Saginaw Correctional Facility in Michigan waived … Continue reading →

From: https://www.njspotlight.com Higher education — like every sector of our economy — is hurting badly because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the current crisis has served to throw into sharp relief structural inequities that we have allowed to exist for … Continue reading →

From: https://www.cbsnews.com/ Dameon Stackhouse was several years into his prison sentence when he learned he would have a shot at earning his college degree. He was 37 years old and sitting inside East Jersey State Prison. “You hear things, and … Continue reading →

Courtesy of Tyler Kendall, cbsnews.com “Lavonta Bass’ khaki-colored prison uniform peeks out from beneath his cap and gown. Honor cords are draped around the 42-year-old’s neck. He has spent over a decade in prison but says he was fine delaying … Continue reading →