The New England Prison Education Collaborative (NEPEC) awarded Quinnipiac University a $100,000 grant to fund the Prison Education and Community Engagement program. Quinnipiac is one of five schools to receive this grant.
Quinnipiac has a long history of working with correctional facilities through inside-out classes and the Prison Project, made up of both incarcerated and Quinnipiac students. These programs have offered some higher education for incarcerated individuals, but it is not enough.
“There is a need so how can Quinnipiac come in and provide?” Professor of Social Work Amber Kelly said.
The Needs Assessment of Higher Education in Connecticut Correctional Facilities report, published on March 28, analyzed the unmet educational needs of the incarcerated population across all correctional facilities in Connecticut.
The report classified individuals who have completed at least one college course or a verified high school diploma as currently college-ready. Individuals who self report as testing at a 9-12 grade level are classified as potentially college-ready.
Limiting factors for the incarcerated student population are also taken into consideration, including the length of sentence, severity and nature of the offense.
The report estimates that as of Oct. 1, 2024, the sentenced population includes 3,023 individuals who are currently college-ready and 3,032 individuals who are potentially college-ready. Combined, that makes up about 56% of the total incarcerated population.
Many studies have shown that education has been proven to reduce the risk of recidivism for offenders. Providing quality higher education for incarcerated students would positively impact them and their communities upon release.
“To recognize how all of us are impacted by mass incarceration,” Kelly said. By supporting higher education of these marginalized people, “we are supporting a healthier community for all.”
She applied for the NEPEC grant last spring and is honored that Quinnipiac is one of the first recipients of the grant this fall. This puts the university at the forefront of higher education in prison.
NEPEC is an initiative that was launched by the New England Board of Higher Education in Feb. 2024 with help from the Ascendium Education Group who funded the launch with a five-year grant. It is based on the recommendations of the 2023 New England Commission on the Future of Higher Education in Prison, which was created to prepare for the reinstatement of federal Pell Grants for incarcerated students.
Its website states, “Through this initiative, NEBHE seeks to accelerate, support, and collaborate to help create a future where every incarcerated person in New England has access to high-quality, workforce-aligned, equitable postsecondary opportunities with a diverse range of educational pathways.”
Quinnipiac offers programs in partnership with Trinity College and through the Prison Project, but “we are hoping to expand these programs in the future,” Kelly said.
This grant will be used to implement the next steps for expanding Quinnipiac’s programs and creating something that goes beyond what is offered by other institutions: the Prison Education and Community Engagement program.
The money will be used for various stipends and to pay for the time of professors leading programs. The grant has also enabled Quinnipiac to hire a Community Coordinator for the program, Shakur Collins.
Collins, who was formerly incarcerated, is looking to use his lived experiences to build this program into an effective tool to help others in similar situations.
Mass incarceration is a problem within the country that has an effect on everyone, even if we don’t realize it.
“Socially it has an impact, economically it has an impact,” Collins said. Education is an effective tool to help prevent re-offenses and allow formerly incarcerated individuals to make a positive impact in their community.
“This is just one part of it, one step towards a larger goal.” Collins said. His goal is “making pathways to higher education accessible to everybody” to help incarcerated individuals use the lessons learned in the classroom to benefit them as they return to the community.
The program’s next steps include applying to become an institution that can offer degree-granting programs for incarcerated individuals. This would allow Quinnipiac to offer a bachelor’s degree program in facilities that lack a four-year college option.
Kelly stated that informal polling is being conducted to see what kinds of programs incarcerated students are looking for. The results reveal that they are looking to “be leaders in their community when they come home,” she said.
She and Collins will be hosting an open house in the next few weeks to highlight and discuss the Prison Education and Community Engagement program. They encourage all students to stop by.
“(It’s) an invitation to participate,” Collins said. “Take the first step and come see what it is about.”
