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EDUCATION PHILANTHROPY DIVISION OF ASCENDIUM EDUCATION GROUP

Expand Postsecondary Education in Prison

Our philanthropy addresses barriers facing currently incarcerated adults who don’t have equitable access to high-quality postsecondary education.

A formerly incarcerated person operating a forklift.

How We See the Problem

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the prison population in the U.S. has skyrocketed in recent decades, with one in a hundred adults — about 2.3 million — currently incarcerated. Nearly all of those individuals will return to their communities at some point, and research has demonstrated that postsecondary education dramatically improves the odds of successful reentry into the community and the labor force.

However, access to programs and cost of programs are obstacles, and often the programming is disconnected from career opportunities.

The majority of incarcerated individuals — 64% — have a high school credential. They’re academically eligible for a postsecondary education program; but for most, it’s out of reach. Unfortunately, 93% of colleges don’t provide postsecondary education in prison. Of those that do provide programs, many have limited capacity to serve all interested individuals.

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Graph showing: 64% of the people in prison are academically eligible to enroll in a postsecondary education program. Graph showing: Of the approximately 4500 degree-granting colleges and universities, less than 7% provide in-prison higher education

Ready for Pell

This two-year initiative is designed to support and strengthen postsecondary education in prison programs in advance of the full restoration of Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated learners, coming in the 2023-24 academic year.

Learn More about Ready for Pell

Our Three Investment Priorities

Implement new practices and scale proven high-quality postsecondary education in prison models.

  • Identify and amplify promising approaches to delivering postsecondary education in prison.
  • Encourage decision makers to advance the replication and responsible scaling of quality postsecondary education in prison programs.
  • Identify promising technology innovations to address barriers to success, optimize program design, support further pedagogical innovation and increase equitable student choice.

Develop a better understanding of incarcerated learners through data and research.

  • Support systems, institutions and program providers in developing ethical data collection methodologies and building data infrastructure.
  • Support research to evaluate program design, delivery and impact.
  • Build a body of evidence so that decision makers within postsecondary education and corrections agencies are equipped with critical information on reforming policies and practices that increase program quality, impact and learner outcomes. 

Support strategic partnerships between postsecondary education, corrections systems, employers and community-based organizations.

  • Strengthen postsecondary education in prison systems by seeding and nurturing alliances and coalitions among organizations that have shared missions to support incarcerated learners' success.
  • Support states and intermediary organizations to create stronger systems of postsecondary education in prison delivery, which may include developing data collection standards, data infrastructures and supports, providing direct technical assistance and facilitating well-structured peer learning opportunities.

Grants to Expand Postsecondary Education in Prison

To learn about our approach to grantmaking (Exploration, Validation, Scaling), visit our How We Fund page.

Identifying and Scaling Programmatic Technical Assistance Resources in Higher Education in Prison

Exploration
Unlocked Labs|$324,750|12/2024 - 12/2026
This grant supports Unlocked Labs in refining and packaging a toolkit for implementing education technology in prisons to support program implementation and address digital equity issues for learners who are incarcerated.

Establishing a State University of New York Prison Education Network

Exploration
The Research Foundation for SUNY|$3,751,200|1/2024 - 12/2026
This grant supports the State University of New York (SUNY) in expanding its postsecondary education in prison programs and solidifying the SUNY Office of Higher Education in Prison as the convener of and technical assistance provider for programs on 20 SUNY campuses.

Identifying and Scaling Programmatic Technical Assistance Resources in Higher Education in Prison

Exploration
Resilience Education|$325,000|12/2024 - 12/2026
This grant supports Resilience Education in refining and packaging its instructor training program to effectively prepare instructors to teach in carceral settings.

Identifying and Scaling Programmatic Technical Assistance Resources in Higher Education in Prison

Exploration
Emerson College|$324,200|12/2024 - 12/2026
This grant supports Emerson College in refining and packaging a suite of resources aimed at program implementation and continuous improvement. These resources contribute to the field by illustrating high-impact practices in program implementation and provide program benchmarks that other programs can adapt and replicate.

Identifying and Scaling Programmatic Technical Assistance Resources in Higher Education in Prison

Exploration
Loyola University New Orleans|$325,000|12/2024 - 12/2026
This grant supports Loyola University in refining and packaging their data collection inventory tool to help define metrics and track the progress and success of incarcerated learners.

Identifying and Scaling Programmatic Technical Assistance Resources in Higher Education in Prison

Exploration
University of Baltimore|$320,800|12/2024 - 12/2026
This grant supports the University of Baltimore in refining and packaging its Reentry Support Services Roadmap to support incarcerated students’ preparation for reentry and successful degree or certificate completion after release. This reentry roadmap and peer-navigator model will contribute to the field by sharing a statewide approach to providing students with in-prison
peer support, guides to support reentry, and formalized postrelease peer supports.

Identifying and Scaling Programmatic Technical Assistance Resources in Higher Education in Prison

Exploration
Saint Louis University|$108,600|12/2024 - 12/2026
This grant supports St. Louis University in refining and packaging the curriculum for a Prison Education College Preparation Program to support incarcerated learners’ success in a postsecondary program.

EnGAge: Building and Mobilizing a Community of Practice for Higher Education in Prison in Georgia

Exploration
Georgia Coalition for Higher Education in Prison|$1,019,166|11/2023 - 11/2026
This grant supports the Georgia Coalition for Higher Education in Prison in convening stakeholders in Georgia to streamline and strengthen prison education across the state. In addition to increased state-wide cooperation, the project will result in the successful launch of two new postsecondary education in prison programs in facilities with high need and few current postsecondary offerings.

Unlocking Pathways to Upward Mobility: Building Bridges from Prison to Employment with Unlocked Labs

Exploration
Unlocked Labs|$1,720,000|11/2023 - 10/2026
This grant supports Unlocked Labs in continuing to develop innovative new tech-focused educational content and pathways to employment for justice-impacted individuals, as well as exploring funding models that can effectively sustain its programming.

Integrating Financial Literacy into Higher Education in Prison Programming

Exploration
Social Good Fund Inc|$747,900|10/2024 - 10/2026
This grant supports Beyond Savvy Consumers in collaborating with postsecondary education partners to integrate financial literacy instruction into programming for incarcerated learners.
View All Ascendium Grants

Molly
Lasagna

Senior Strategy Officer ,
 Incarcerated Learner Initiatives

Ashley
Parker

Program Officer ,
 Expand Postsecondary Education in Prison

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