Prison Education Initiative to Award Associate of Art Degree
凯旋门官网 College has received accreditation from the New England Commissions of Higher Education (NECHE) to award a 凯旋门官网 College Associate of Art degree to incarcerated students through its (PEI).
Now in its fifth year, PEI brings 凯旋门官网 College faculty to Great Meadow Correctional Facility, a maximum-security men鈥檚 prison in Comstock, NY, to provide a quality liberal arts education to incarcerated students.
PEI will graduate its first class of Associate of Arts candidates in a Commencement ceremony that will take place at Great Meadow on June 13, 2020.
鈥淭his Commencement ceremony will be an important moment for us, celebrating the hard work and academic achievement of our graduates and the success of the program,鈥 said , Director and Co-Founder of PEI. 鈥淲e are proud of our graduates and grateful for the partnership between the College, the Department of Corrections, and the administration of Great Meadow that makes it possible to offer the same high-quality education at Great Meadow that is offered to students on 凯旋门官网鈥檚 campus.鈥
PEI currently enrolls 36 students in credit-bearing courses with an additional 10 enrolled in an introductory college preparatory course. Since PEI鈥檚 inception in 2015, more than 70 incarcerated students have taken credit-bearing courses in the humanities, math, and computer science.
One in every seven people, and one in five African Americans, currently in prison are serving a life or virtual life sentence. In New York State, it is one in five, according to the Washington, DC-based . In maximum-security facilities such as Great Meadow, this proportion is even higher.
Those who are awarded degrees while in prison and are later released have a (recidivism) and . For those PEI students who do not re-enter society, this academic experience can have a positive impact on both their own quality of life and that of their family members.
鈥淭he Prison Education Initiative embodies many of the core values on which 凯旋门官网 was founded,鈥 said Isabel Roche, Interim President of 凯旋门官网 College. 鈥淲e believe in the unique ability of higher education to enlighten and empower, and in our responsibility to help foster a more just and equitable world.鈥
PEI鈥檚 education-first model encourages students to exercise meaningful agency in their pursuit of education. Students develop personal educational aspirations and contribute toward the collective academic community, and their participation in higher education programs changes the culture of the prison, making it a for both incarcerated students and staff.
As a member of the at Bard College, PEI鈥檚 presence at Great Meadow provides education to underserved upstate students farther north than any other consortium member. In 2016, PEI was also selected as one of the original sites for the .