Blog Content
August 19, 2026
The New England Prison Education Collaborative (NEPEC), with support from Ascendium Education Group, announces the award of subgrants of $100,000 each to four New England institutions for projects that will support the mobility of credits earned in Prison Education Programs (PEPs).
The Request for Proposals was released on April 30, 2026, and was open to eligible postsecondary institutions in all six New England states. The awardees detailed actionable plans to improve credit mobility for incarcerated and reentering learners through projects focused on the creation or expansion of transfer pathways, the development of staff training on transcript evaluation, and the use of Credit for Prior Learning practices. The Request for Proposals was developed with the support of NEPEC’s Higher Education Working Group, whose members have substantial regional and national knowledge in higher education in prison.
“Across the nation, providers of higher education in prison programs are beginning to intentionally grapple with the credit mobility barriers that their students face,” says Molly Lasagna, Director of External Engagement and Partnerships at Ascendium Education Group. “With a strong history of investing in holistic credit mobility work, Ascendium is proud to support NEPEC’s investments to institutions seeking to accelerate the pace of this work and expand its impact for students with a history of incarceration in New England.”
NEPEC is a five-year Ascendium-funded initiative, led by the New England Board of Higher Education and established to implement the recommendations from the 2023 New England Commission on the Future of Higher Education in Prison. To deliver its ambitious mandate, NEPEC engages a diverse array of regional and national stakeholders through state strategic planning, capacity-building workshops, research, and subgranting.
This is the second year of NEPEC Accelerator Grant funding. The inaugural round of NEPEC Accelerator Grants supported five New England institutions with $100,000 awards to expand access to Pell-eligible higher education in prison programming and support reentry efforts. A Request for Proposals for the third cycle of Accelerator Grants will be released in the spring of 2027.
This year’s Accelerator Grant recipients were selected by a panel of expert reviewers sourced primarily from the New England region, including multiple currently incarcerated students.
“The creation of seamless transfer pathways has been a long-standing priority for NEBHE, with its years of work on the New England Transfer Guarantee,” says Sarah Kuczynski, NEPEC’s Director. “We are thrilled to be able to support these four Accelerator Grant awardees, who are building on the significant advances in credit mobility made over the last decade and ensuring those gains translate into meaningful opportunities for students—both those who are completing coursework while incarcerated and those seeking to apply those credits in new learning environments post-release.”
Recipients
The following proposals were selected for funding:
Connecticut State Community College – Connecticut
CT State will use the grant to: (1) formalize an existing transfer pathway between Connecticut State Community College and Wesleyan University at York Correctional Institution in Niantic, Connecticut; and (2) extend this pathway to CT State Middlesex and CT State Three Rivers campuses. This enhanced pathway will enable students to progress from a marketing certificate to an associate degree and ultimately to Wesleyan University's Bachelor of Liberal Studies program, while expanding access to coordinated advising and reverse transfer opportunities.
Massasoit Community College – Massachusetts
Massasoit Community College will use their Accelerator Grant funds to create a 2+2 transfer pathway with Bridgewater State University at Old Colony Correctional Center, thereby expanding access to bachelor's degree pathways for incarcerated students in the Commonwealth. The initiative will align curriculum, streamline credit transfer, and provide coordinated advising to support seamless transition from Massasoit's Liberal Arts Studies associate degree to workforce-aligned bachelor's programs in fields accessible to those with a criminal record.
Middlesex Community College – Massachusetts
Middlesex Community College (MCC) will offer the Community Leadership Certificate—a credential with a work-based learning component—to students at Middlesex House of Correction (MHoC). As with the Entrepreneurship Certificate, this credential will be delivered on-site at MHoC and earned directly as MCC coursework. The work-based learning component will be developed with UTEC in Lowell, Massachusetts, and adapted for correctional settings. Building on UTEC's existing on-site presence at MHoC, students will fulfill this component while still incarcerated, co-facilitating support groups or serving as peer mentors under UTEC supervision—removing one of the most significant barriers justice-impacted students face: completing work-based learning while confined. MCC will also train staff and faculty on transcript evaluation and Credit for Prior Learning practices, ensuring consistent, equitable evaluation of coursework and helping students carry momentum from certificate completion into degree-seeking status.
White Mountains Community College – New Hampshire
White Mountains Community College will use Accelerator Grant funding to establish two new 2+2 transfer pathways with the University of New Hampshire at Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility. The pathways will enable students to transition from WMCC programs into bachelor's degrees in business management and human services at UNH. This will be the first opportunity for incarcerated individuals to access baccalaureate-level programming in facilities in New Hampshire.
NEPEC is collaborating with Ithaka S+R to provide periodic convenings and ongoing technical assistance for this cohort of grantees.
To learn more about the four selected institutions and how they plan to use their Accelerator Grant funding to progress their meaningful work, check out NEPEC’s LinkedIn page for grantee highlights over the next month. Project profiles will be posted online at the end of August at www.nebhe.org/higher-education-in-prison. For additional questions or inquiries, please email nepec@nebhe.org.
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About NEPEC
The New England Prison Education Collaborative (NEPEC) is a regional initiative directed by the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE). In February 2024, NEBHE was awarded five years of grant funding from Ascendium Education Group to establish NEPEC in an effort to build upon the recommendations of the 2023 New England Commission on the Future of Higher Education in Prison, a nine-month regional convening of leaders from across multiple sectors aimed at preparing the region for the reinstatement of federal Pell Grant eligibility for all currently incarcerated learners.
Through NEPEC, NEBHE seeks to accelerate, support, and collaborate to realize a future in which every incarcerated person in New England has access to high-quality, workforce aligned postsecondary opportunities with a diverse range of educational pathways. Stay updated on NEPEC’s work at www.nebhe.org/higher-education-in-prison/ and follow them on LinkedIn.
About NEBHE
Higher education is New England’s most critical sustainable resource. The region’s governors knew that over 70 years ago when they founded the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE). Today, NEBHE promotes greater education opportunities and services for the residents of New England and its more than 250 colleges and universities. Its mission is to advance postsecondary outcomes through convening, research and programs for students, institution leaders, and policymakers. NEBHE’s vision is that everyone in New England will have lifelong access to affordable, high-value postsecondary education. Stay updated on NEBHE’s work online at www.nebhe.org and on LinkedIn.
About Ascendium Education Group
Ascendium Education Group® is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization driven by the belief that learning after high school gives people the power to build better futures. Our national philanthropy focuses on increasing opportunities for learners from low-income backgrounds to achieve upward mobility through postsecondary education and workforce training. We partner with organizations whose objectives align with our core strategies to expand opportunity, support learner success, and connect and align systems. Our grantees include postsecondary education and workforce training providers, intermediaries, researchers, and media organizations from across the U.S. To learn more, visit ascendiumphilanthropy.org.
About Ithaka S+R
Ithaka S+R provides strategic advice, conducts rigorous research and evaluations, and develops and incubates nonprofit tools and services to advance the academic mission of colleges and universities and expand access to the benefits postsecondary education confers. We work at the state, system, and institutional levels to improve policies and practices and co-develop innovations, partnering with government agencies, foundations, and nonprofit organizations. Learn more about how we work with higher education and workforce leaders, researchers, academic libraries, and policymakers at sr.ithaka.org.