College Unbound's Prison Education Program, founded in 2015, is designed to enable students to complete a BA in Organizational Leadership in Change, regardless of their incarceration status. CU awarded its first BA inside the ACI in 2022. Bonnie Clarke serves as Prison Initiative and Transition Coordinator, reporting directly to Jose Rodriguez, the Assistant Vice President for Community and Belonging.

It is critical that College Unbound’s mission be felt by any learner the institution touches. Working in partnership with the ACI, the Prison Education Program supports incarcerated students in four facilities on the campus (Men’s Minimum, Men’s Medium, Men’s Maximum, and Women’s Facility) but also with students as they navigate re-entry, and with the extended families of incarcerated peoples. The program is not simply a series of course offerings– but stands as an integral part of College Unbound through cohort-based and community connected support. The work CU does inside the ACI, in-transition, and with learners in-relation to the generational trauma of incarceration, is the truest reflection of the words of its mission and vision statements.

The students in the Prison Education Program have the same degree requirements as other College Unbound students. They take the same courses, with the same learning objectives and expectations for rigor in student work. When the instructional delivery happens in the correctional facility, faculty reproduce, to the extent possible, pedagogical and community-building approaches emphasized in all of the College’s courses: learning as members of cohorts is emphasized; prior learning and students’ lived experience are lifted up; and students do exhibitions each semester and are recognized as knowledge creators.

PHOTO by Sindayiganza Photography- Kyle Campbell, CU Alum, PEP Graduate

College Unbound Prison Education Program (PEP)

By College Unbound

College Unbound Prison Education Program (PEP)