Balancing security, tech skills for college students in prison – Inside Higher Ed

Increasing students’ access to and proficiency with technology is a core issue for higher ed programs in prisons, for basic needs as well as re-entry and reintegration services. However, tech access within correctional facilities remains limited even for educational purposes.

A Dec. 9 report from Ithaka S+R provides a playbook for implementing technology for higher education within prisons, as well as a resource to help in decision-making processes for correctional leadership balancing student success with prison security.

The background: Departments of corrections determine what technology is available for education to students, as owners and operators of correctional facilities and oversight entities for higher education in prison.

“This means that correctional leaders are responsible for considering the best interests of students from both the perspective of security and safety and the perspective of educational best practices,” according to the report.

However, the reinstatement of federal Pell Grants for incarcerated students requires entities to consider if the program in prison allows students to access academic services comparable to students on the outside. This has pushed facilities to explore more digital solutions.

The report builds on Ithaka S+R’s two and a half years of research on the role of technology in education in prisons, including interviews with individuals who attended college while incarcerated and leaders in correctional education.

While the resource is designed to help correctional leaders, it can also benefit students, instructors and administrators in their “self-assessment of and advocacy for educational technology, as well as to better understand the challenges correctional leaders face,” the author wrote.

The findings: Researchers identified five key themes across their work:

1. Quality access to and use of digital technologies for higher education in prison is possible and necessary. Changes in policy, practice and funding have moved educational technology in research for prison programs. Additionally, research points to the needed element of exposure to technology for successful re-entry and educational equity.
2. Student experiences and student equity must remain centered throughout the processes. If student voices, experiences and needs are not prioritized, there may be greater inequities.
3. Begin with educational goals, then determine what technologies serve those goals. Selecting a platform, product or provider can be overwhelming for correctional facility leaders. This can be simplified by working with providers to establish tech goals and functions.

4. Implementation, maintenance and upgrades are long-term and ongoing processes. Gauging the effectiveness of educational technology requires measurable outcomes and leaders should understand that this is an iterative process. Technology also must be maintained, updated and upgraded regularly for maximum impact.
5. Collaboration and buy-in are key. Involving others in the process early allows leaders to gain insight and expertise from their partners, which in turn improves coordination and gains trust.

The report highlights a number of recurring issues that leaders may encounter, including cross-agency and cross-institution communication, coordination and collaboration and constraints related to policy, finances and budgets, and architecture, as well as cultural barriers and the balance of security concerns with educational goals.

In interviews, researchers shared that they learned that identifying and working alongside peers in other states can be important and helpful in this process, and encouraged readers to “know that you do not have to do this work in isolation, and you do not have to create everything from scratch.”

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