In collaboration with Ithaka S+R, NEPEC will guide and assist recipients on programming implementation. 

The RFPs for future cycles of Accelerator Grant funding will be released in the same time frame in 2026 and 2027 and may seek to incentivize different activities in applicants.  

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To learn more about these programs, read the full press release here, and check out the grantee project profiles at https://nebhe.org/higher-education-in-prison/our-work/higher-education-engagement/accelerator-grants/.  

On Wednesday, July 16, 2025, NEPEC Director, Sarah Kuczynski, traveled to Warren, Maine to attend the 4th Maine State Prison Undergraduate Symposium. The event highlights the academic work and efforts of currently incarcerated learners inside Maine State Prison through their educational partnership with the University of Maine at Augusta (UMA). The event featured nine of UMA's currently incarcerated students presenting academic, creative, and personal work on four student-moderated panels. The day also included a keynote address and concluded with an opportunity for attendees to mingle.  

Sarah relished the opportunity to hear from a dynamic and talented group of students as part of the formal programming. In addition to admiring exciting visual art projects and engaging papers about subjects like the myth of meritocracy, Sarah enjoyed having the ability to connect with students, faculty, and facility staff individually during breaks in the programming.  

“It is one thing to know that folks like Dan McGloin [Director of UMA’s Prison Education Partnership and Adjunct Professor] are doing amazing work, but it is a different thing entirely to have the opportunity to be in the facility and able to engage directly in the vibrant academic communities being created there.” – Sarah Kuczynski, NEPEC Director, New England Board of Higher Education. 

“Student-centered events like this are vital in any higher education setting and it should be no different when that setting happens to be a prison. The hard work and rich intellect of these students deserves to be recognized, and our community needs to hear their voices.” – Dan McGloin, Director of the Prison Education Partnership and Adjunct Professor, University of Maine at Augusta. 

From August 12 to 13, 2025, NEPEC Director, Sarah Kuczynski, joined professionals from across the country working to advance educational programming for incarcerated learners at the 79th Correctional Education Association (CEA) International Conference and Training Event. This year’s theme, “Paving the Bridge to Success,” highlighted the unique role education can play in one’s reentry journey. The event’s location in Pittsburgh, PA—known as the “City of Bridges”—further underscored this theme. 

The conference included engaging sessions, workshops, and panels, spanning a wide range of topics, including adult education, youth learners, higher education, career and technical education, technology in corrections, special populations, college and career readiness, transition and reentry, and professional development. 

Sarah attended sessions on the role of tutors in correctional education, innovative programs that engage Corrections Education Navigators as bridges between corrections education and the broader college community, and a session on ways to navigate disciplinary policies that can impact educational access. Sarah also participated in a workshop facilitated by Ess Pokornowski (Ithaka S+R), Jenna Dreier (Jobs for the Future), and Stacy Holliday (Jobs for the Future).  

The workshop, “Research in Practice: Activating New Resources for Advancing Educational Technology in Corrections,” invited participants to explore two new resources—JFF's Transformative Edtech Solutions for Prison Learning Programs and Ithaka S+R's Technology Implementation for Higher Education in Prison—developed to aid student-centered decision-making as it pertains to education technology. 

Sarah found the conference to be insightful and informative, and left Pittsburgh with a renewed sense of our shared purpose and collective impact. 

Connecticut 

On July 10, 2025, Connecticut's Criminal Justice Policy Advisory Commission (CJPAC) met for the second time this year to discuss various pertinent updates. CJPAC, which is chaired by the Undersecretary for the Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division (CJPPD) within the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) was established by Public Act 06-193 to prevent prison overcrowding and implement a comprehensive reentry strategy that maximizes community supervision and, among other things, invests the savings from population reductions in employment opportunities. CJPAC is tasked with deliberating, advising, and voting on matters concerning the incarcerated population and broader criminal legal system in Connecticut.  

During the meeting, Undersecretary Daniel Karpowitz provided an overview of the Needs Assessment of Higher Education in Connecticut Correctional Facilities Report, which was submitted to the CT Legislature in March 2025 pursuant to Public Act 24-81. The report, which is the only one of its kind in the country, provides recommendations that were grouped into five categories: (1) student capacity and agency goals, (2) systematic opportunities at the Department of Corrections (DOC), (3) officers are mission-critical, (4) executive interagency leadership and private sector collaboration, and (5) higher education systems change. In addition to the report overview, Undersecretary Karpowitz provided an important legislative update on the expansion of OPM CJPPD’s duties.  

The NEPEC Team connected with Karpowitz to get his insights on the above. He shares his thoughts below: 

"In the most recent legislative session of the Connecticut General Assembly, responsibility to develop and implement policies for the statewide delivery of postsecondary education in prisons was assigned to the Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division within the Office of Policy and Management (OPM). OPM is the Governor's staff agency and provides the analysis to formulate public policy for all executive branch agencies as well as cities and towns. In particular, OPM's Criminal Justice Division has been central to the state's nation-leading efforts to reduce the costly over-reliance on incarceration. The number of people in prison in the state has been cut in half while the rate of violent crime has dropped below any seen in over half a century.  

Vested with this new statutory authority, the Division seeks to implement the recommendations from its first-of-a-kind higher education needs assessment report, published in March 2025 pursuant to Public Act 24-81. Notably, the report's statutory elements, as outlined in Public Act 24-81, were designed in large part by Connecticut citizens who were themselves alumni of college in prison. Key goals articulated in the report include: to expand scale, quality and intensity of higher educational partnerships; to establish high-speed broadband and transform the entire information architecture accessible in every prison facility; to rigorously measure and grow the benefits of such programs for post-release employment and income; and to acknowledge and invest in the role of officers in the success of all such efforts." 

Massachusetts 

In July, NEPEC submitted written testimony to the Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security within the Massachusetts Legislature related to H.2706/S.1654: An Act relative to postsecondary education in correctional facilities, which seeks to require a comprehensive assessment for improving the delivery of postsecondary education programs in correctional facilities. H.2706 was introduced to the legislature by Representative Priscila Sousa, who sits on NEPEC’s Regional Advisory Council. A parallel piece of legislation was introduced by Senator Brendan P. Crighton. 

If passed, this legislation could address the data gap that hinders the ability to reliably report on important metrics, such as enrollment data, unmet student demand, completion rates, and credit transfer. This, in turn, would better equip the Commonwealth to advance evidence-based policy, improve existing programming, and identify inequities in access to and success within degree pathways in carceral facilities statewide.  

Representative Sousa is not alone in her efforts to expand access to higher education in prison. In fact, Senator Jamie Eldridge secured a $150,000 earmark in the Mass Fair Share Supplemental budget for this exact purpose, with the Emerson Prison Initiative, Boston College Prison Education Program, and Boston University Metropolitan College Prison Education Program each getting $50,000. Additionally, Representative Christine Barber secured $100,000 in the budget for Brave Behind Bars, Inc., to support the Tufts University Prison Initiative of Tisch College women’s education program. 

NEPEC looks forward to continuing to consult with legislators who are interested in research and insights that might support them in advocating for increased access to and success within higher education in prison programs. 

As part of our virtual quarterly workshop series, NEPEC will convene several regional experts to discuss different approaches to reentry on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, from 3 to 4:15 PM EDT. The event, “Approaches to Reentry: Programs and Pathways in New England,” will highlight current reentry practices across the region and feature insights from experts and practitioners who are actively engaged in the field. Beginning with an overview of reentry, the session will feature three experts who will explore a range of strategies employed through their programs, including pre-release career and educational advising, educational voucher initiatives, community-building efforts, and practices to improve credit mobility. 

Workshop Panelists: 

• James Monteiro, Executive Director and Founder, Reentry Campus Program (RI) 
• Patrick Flynn, Student Services Coordinator, Re-entry Specialist Prison Education Partnership, University of Maine at Augusta (ME) 
• Bryan O'Connor, Corrections Education Director, Community College of Vermont (VT) 

A portion of the session will be reserved for open discussion, offering stakeholders and attendees a chance to ask questions, raise concerns, and receive focused technical assistance. We encourage all attendees to come prepared to engage and collaborate.  

We hope to see you there! 

RSVP here: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/d9d24622-5520-4e62-a7fb-922384134dd1@b380b9ab-1b37-4852-8ea8-0b3d58a47bed.