The National College Attainment Network (NCAN) is excited to announce their newest cohort of Justice Fellows, a group of 10 member organizations seeking to strengthen their support of justice-impacted students. Building on the first cohort, NCAN’s new two-year Justice Fellow Program will support college access and success programs and state higher education agencies with developing and implementing plans, tools, and programs to address the specific concerns of incarcerated and re-entering scholars as they pursue postsecondary education.
The National Association of Higher Education Systems reports the rise in justice-impacted students pursuing a college degree is directly connected to the Federal Pell Grant being fully restored for this population in 2020 through the Second Chance Pell, which now supports roughly 12,000 students. Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students pursuing a college degree need specific support to navigate barriers to obtaining financial aid, transferring coursework, receiving mental health services, securing housing, and obtaining short- and long-term employment. Students who have access to these specific supports are more likely to obtain a college degree. The following NCAN members are committed to providing intentional support for this population and will receive financial support through funding provided by the Ascendium Education Group.
College Now Greater Cleveland (CNGC) provides integrated college and career advising, financial aid counseling, scholarships, and retention programs that empower student success. Since the 1990s, they have helped current and formerly incarcerated individuals access postsecondary education, and plan to expand their efforts as new resources become available. Through this fellowship, CNGC is excited to build meaningful partnerships, deepen their expertise to provide more informed direct services, and learn best practices from other organizations to better support justice-impacted students.
Goodard Riverside Options Center is a community-based organization that provides advisement, professional development training, and collective impact and advocacy so that all people have opportunities to make choices that lead to better lives for themselves and their families. As part of their strategic plan and in response to the federal legislation that expanded access to the Pell Grant for justice-impacted students, they began supporting current and formerly incarcerated students to navigate the college enrollment process. Through this fellowship, Goddard Riverside is excited to continue to learn from experts that support students in Prison Education Programs (PEPs), as well as cross-reference best practices with their fellow cohort members.
The Illinois State Assistance Commission’s (ISAC) mission is to provide all Illinois students with information and assistance to help make education beyond high school accessible and affordable, which includes addressing the needs of students enrolled in PEPs. Through this fellowship, ISAC is excited to join a learning community of organizations who are implementing effective initiatives to address the needs of justice-impacted students.
Maine Community Foundation (MCF) supports justice-impacted students through their Adult Learner Program. Under this initiative, they support workforce development programs in Maine's correctional facilities through block grants that provide workforce skills and credentialing. Through this fellowship MCF is excited to build capacity within their current programs and learn from others in the field to be more impactful and provide additional resources and programming to further support justice-impacted students.
Michigan College Access Network (MCAN) believes it is important to prioritize learners with diverse life circumstances, including learners who are justice-impacted. MCAN works closely with the Michigan Consortium for Higher Ed in Prison (MiCHEP) with an increased focus on how higher education can be a catalyst for successful reentry. Through this fellowship, MCAN is excited to explore how Michigan can strengthen educational pathways for justice-impacted students, from expanding access to GED/HSE completion to improving transitions to campus and connecting graduates to meaningful employment after release.
myFutureNC’s strives to remove systemic barriers, strengthen cross-sector collaboration, and improve postsecondary pathways, particularly for populations historically excluded from education and workforce systems, including justice-impacted students. This focus is aligned with a statewide goal of 2 million North Carolinians aged 25–44 earning a high-quality credential or degree by 2030. Through this fellowship, myFutureNC is excited about the opportunity to collaborate with peers across the country and learn more promising practices to develop solutions that can be scaled statewide to support justice-impacted students.
Southern California College Attainment Network (SoCalCAN) aims to center equity and seeks to address gaps in service, reaching students and families who face the greatest systemic barriers to higher education, including social-justice impacted students. As new contributors to PEPs, they are looking to systematically address barriers that prevent current and formerly incarcerated students from educational opportunities. Through this fellowship, SoCalCAN is excited to work with a peer learning community to share knowledge, tools, and build relationships with organizations and higher education institutions in their coalition to support justice-impacted learners.
The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) is the coordinating body for higher education in Virginia, and they believe in access to higher education for all students, regardless of the situation. SCHEV is seeking to provide a more coordinated approach to encourage broader engagement in PEPs from both two- and four-year colleges and universities. Through this fellowship, they are excited to learn from others, gather resources to help inform their approach to statewide coordination, and develop a shared position between SCHEV and the Virginia Department of Corrections.
United For College and Career Success (UFCS) is committed to ensuring that all learners, particularly those who have been historically marginalized, have access to educational and career pathways that lead to economic mobility. Their decision to invest in supporting students enrolled in PEPs stems from their belief that education is one of the most effective tools for reducing barriers, creating opportunities, and strengthening communities. Through this fellowship, they are excited to learn about proven strategies that improve student persistence, completion, and career outcomes for justice-impacted students as well as build strong partnerships with higher education institutions, correctional facilities, employers, and community organizations.
Woodward Hines Education Foundation (WHEF) invests in and supports its program, Mississippi Consortium for Higher Education in Prison (MCHEP), which operates as a collaborative network, coordinating efforts across institutions. MCHEP supports faculty training, credit transfer, reentry planning, and Pell Grant implementation, building the infrastructure needed to sustain and scale PEPs across the state. Through this fellowship, WHEF is excited to collaborate with a diverse cohort of leaders, share the work of Mississippi’s PEPs, and identify approaches to expand postsecondary opportunities for justice-impacted students and other underserved learners.
In addition to the 10 fellows, Dr. Taffany Lim will join this group as NCAN’s lead consultant. Dr. Lim is the Deputy Director of the Prison Education Program at UCLA. She has been dedicated to establishing higher education in prison programs, creating seamless pipelines between incarcerated college students and four-year universities, and developing career pathways for formerly incarcerated college graduates for more than a decade. Dr. Lim and 13 formerly incarcerated college grads recently collaborated on The Ripple Effects of College Programs in Prison: Hope, Humanity, and Transformation.
Dr. Lim participated in the first cohort of Ascendium Fellows and found the opportunity to network and collaborate with like-minded organizations from all over the country extremely valuable. She's excited to learn even more innovative practices from the second cohort and apply what she learns to refine her own programs.