Educational Resources for Prisoners
Second Chance Pell Grants
Approval has been received for the Second Chance Pell experiment to continue for the 2019-2020 award year. Download participating institutions here.
Print-Based Prison College Program – Adams State University, Colorado
The Correspondence Education Program (CEP) provides a way for students without access to technology to meet their educational and learning goals. Our print-based courses enables you to work from study material that is mailed to you. These courses are offered for non-incarcerated, degree seeking students as well as both degree-seeking and non-degree seeking incarcerated students through our Prison College Program.
The Correspondence Education Program operates on a semester based system which includes two separate term start dates. Semester one will open at the start of the term and ends 16 weeks later. Semester two will open 16 weeks after Semester one and end 8 weeks later. Incarcerated students may take up to one year from the start date of the term to complete the course if needed.
Print-based Undergraduate Degree Programs
- Associate of Arts (AA)/Associate of Science (AS) degrees
- Bachelor of Arts degrees
- Paralegal I & II Certificate Program
- Advanced Paralegal Certificate Program
Contact:
Correspondence Education Program
Adams State University
208 Edgemont Blvd.
Suite 3000
Alamosa, CO 81101
719-587-7671
1-800-548-6679
Fax: 719-587-7974
exstudies@adams.edu
Other Prison University Programs
View the latest version of the Directory of Prison Higher Education Programs, edited by Victoria Bryan and Rebecca Ginsburg, here. Your comments and revisions are welcome!
Here are some links to just a few of the college-in-prison programs in the US. Many of them have additional resources on their websites.
Alabama Prison Arts & Education ProjectBard Prison Initiative
American Graduate University
733 North Dodsworth Avenue, Covina, California 91724
Phone (626) 966-4576 • Toll-free (877) 351-9060
FAX (626) 915-1709 • Web: www.agu.edu • Email: info@agu.edu
Ashworth College
430 Technology Parkway, Norcross, Georgia 30092
Home study program. Nationally accredited
Blackstone Career Institute
PO Box 701449, Dallas, TX 75370
Offers a well-known paralegal correspondence course and other continuing education courses. Write for cost and information.
CLEP (College Level Exam Program)
P.O. Box 6600, Princeton, NJ 08541-6600
clep@info.collegeboard.org
College credits for self-taught knowledge
College Guild
PO Box 6448, Brunswick, ME 04011
Offering free non-traditional correspondence courses to prisoners. Their mission is to stimulate in prisoners an interest in life-long learning by providing a selection of free, non-traditional correspondence courses. Courses are designed to be both thought-provoking and fun, encourage objectivity and creativity, relieve the boredom of prison life with an opportunity to spend time constructively.
Criminon International
431 N. Brand Blvd #309, Glendale, CA 91203
Criminon (which means “no crime”) is an international non-profit public benefit corporation dedicated to addressing the causes of criminality and restoring the criminal’s self-respect through effective drug detoxification, education, and common sense programs. By making them responsible for their actions, people under the Criminal Justice system can become ethical and productive citizens.
Partakers: College Behind Bars Program
230 Central Street, Auburndale, MA 02466
MA Only
The William and Ida Friday Center
100 Friday Center Drive Campus, Box 1020, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-1020
This continuing education facility offers self-paced correspondence courses to incarcerated individuals. It is a combined effort with the North Carolina Department of Corrections and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Credits are granted for courses from eight institutions in the University of North Carolina system. The Outreach program is paid for by the Inmate Wellness Fund by the North Carolina prison system. Therefore, only inmates in facilities in North Carolina are eligible for the free tuition. The course last nine months, and can have a first renewal option for free if needed. Inmates in other states can take the self-paced courses but will pay an out of state fee.
