In 2023, Federal Pell Grant funding was reinstated for learners who are incarcerated, and new regulations were released to govern the eligibility of higher education in prison programs for such funding. This has driven increased interest in higher education in prison programming, as programs look to help their students access Pell grants and…

Pell eligibility for incarcerated people is a great rehabilitative opportunity, but several challenges remain. This article recaps five of the issues identified by the original research articles in this special issue. It also considers how solutions proposed in these studies may be beneficial across a variety of these issues and gathers…

The landscape of higher education in prison programming is in the midst of a sea change. After eight years of the Second Chance Pell experiment, federal Pell grant funding for students who are incarcerated was fully reinstated on July 1, 2023. While Pell reinstatement will likely increase educational access for students who are incarcerated, it…

In Fall of 2022, Ithaka S+R launched a first-of-its-kind national survey on technology access in higher education in prison programs. The survey asked respondents about student access to technology in their Higher Education in Prison (HEP) program, focusing on four thematic areas: technological devices, learning management systems and software,…

This qualitative study examines how 30 low-income students' sense of belonging is affected by financial constraints. Guided by Strayhorn's (2012) sense of belonging concept, 30 low-income participants discussed how their financial positioning shaped their belongingness experiences. Findings illustrated participants' financial position shaped sense…

Achieving prosperity for all Americans could not be more urgent. Although the United States remains the most prosperous nation on earth, millions of citizens are losing faith in the American dream of upward mobility, and in American-style capitalism itself. This crisis of confidence has widened the divide afflicting American politics and cries out…

As the Biden-Harris administration seeks to hasten the country's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, reforming the U.S. higher education system to ensure equitable access and attainment for all adults is more important than ever. Most student parents are mothers, students of color, adult and working learners, students with low incomes, and…

For several decades, education has assumed a vital role in this country's economic, social, and political development, catapulting less advantaged citizens into higher social classes and the political process. A testament to education's fundamental importance in our society are the numerous programs designed during the 1960s to eliminate the…