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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.

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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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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.

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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.

Higher Education in Prison Landscape Project

Exploration
Alliance for Higher Education in Prison|$925,000|7/2019 - 8/2021
This grant supports the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison in building a national database of higher education in prison programs and associated data.

Optimizing Delivery Systems for Higher Education in Prison

Exploration
CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance|$150,000|1/2020 - 6/2021
This grant supports City University of New York’s Institute for State and Local Governance, in partnership with the New York State Department of Corrections & Community Supervision, in bringing together key stakeholders to coordinate and align the educational offerings of 47 college and vocational programs operating across 30 prisons to eliminate programmatic gaps, increase transferability and ensure broad access to high quality postsecondary education across New York facilities.

Teaching and Learning Initiative

Exploration
Mount Tamalpais College|$958,700|7/2018 - 6/2021
This grant supports the Prison University Project (PUP) in developing and implementing trauma-informed teaching practices in prison-based college programming and assessing their impact. The grant will also enable PUP to develop and disseminate training materials based on the lessons learned.

Alliance for Higher Education in Prison Capacity Building

Exploration
Alliance for Higher Education in Prison|$300,000|6/2018 - 5/2021
This grant supports the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison as it works toward a 501(c)(3) designation, hires core staff, builds infrastructure, solidifies key partnerships and develops three primary strategic focus areas: programmatic support, resource and information sharing, and research and data.

Optimizing Delivery Systems for Higher Education in Prison

Exploration
State of Minnesota Department of Corrections|$150,000|1/2020 - 4/2021
This grant supports Minnesota Department of Corrections, in partnership with the "Just Education" Collaborative at the Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Minnesota, Inver Hills Community College/Dakota County Technical College and Augsburg University, in preparing to launch their “College at Prison” effort to reimagine postsecondary education offerings across all prison facilities in Minnesota.

Career Navigator Initiative

Exploration
State of Minnesota Department of Corrections|$1,692,430|1/2018 - 12/2020
This grant supports the Minnesota Department of Corrections in increasing access to high-quality career and technical education for incarcerated students at four prisons in Minnesota. New certification (OSHA and Forklift) and training (Heavy Equipment Operation) opportunities will be combined with advising to help students obtain gainful employment post-release.

Ensuring High Quality Higher Education in Prison Programs

Exploration
Institute for Higher Education Policy|$1,903,426|6/2018 - 10/2020
This grant supports the Institute for Higher Education Policy in developing a set of key performance indicators for higher education in prison that will help practitioners use data strategically to improve programs and promote student success.
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Latest News

January 31, 2023

$69 Million+ in New Grants Highlighted by Investments in Job Pathways, Partnerships and More

Ascendium’s philanthropy is off to a fast start in 2023 with the recent approval of 34 grants totaling over $69 million. Included in these grants is support for initiatives to connect learners from low-income backgrounds with good jobs, strengthen conditions for partnerships to emerge between colleges and employers, invest in high-quality postsecondary education in prison systems and more.

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January 19, 2023

Trends We’re Watching in 2023, Promising IT Career Training Pathways for Learners and More

  • Postsecondary Education Trends We’re Watching in 2023
  • Investing in IT Career Training Pathways Shows Promise for Adult Learners
  • Partnership with The Chronicle of Higher Education Elevates Learner Voices
Read More
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Resources

How Pell Restoration Can Foster Postsecondary Education Opportunities for Learners in Prison

On July 1, 2023, 1.5 million people in U.S. prisons become eligible for federal Pell Grants. In this episode of the Future U. podcast, hosts Jeff Selingo and Michael Horn talk to a scholar in prison education and a formerly incarcerated student who went on to earn his degree about how colleges benefit from offering and what it takes to provide meaningful opportunities for these learners to achieve their postsecondary education goals.

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Beyond Pell Restoration

This report from the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison outlines the potential impacts of Pell Grant restoration on the field of postsecondary education in prison. The analysis uses original qualitative data from interviews with 12 postsecondary education in prison programs and quantitative data from the 2020 Understanding the Landscape of Higher Education in Prison national survey to illuminate persistent funding challenges that the Pell Grant alone cannot address.

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Molly
Lasagna

Senior Program Officer,
Expand Postsecondary Education in Prison

Maryann
Rainey

Program Officer,
Expand Postsecondary Education in Prison

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