Dear ,

I am Terri Erwin, Director of the Virginia Consensus for Higher Education in Prison, an initiative of the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy. We are working to make college accessible to Virginians who are incarcerated, helping motivated individuals rebuild their lives, starting right where they are. 

We are excited to launch this newsletter to keep you informed about higher education in prison in Virginia. This first edition provides a legislative update from the General Assembly. 

But first, some background:

Roughly 14,000 incarcerated Virginians are academically eligible for college and can use federal, income-based Pell Grants to pay for tuition. Yet, only 700 incarcerated people are enrolled, because most Virginia prisons do not yet have the benefit of college partnerships.

While 25% of prisons offer quality college programs, they are modest in size, and demand is high. One new program turned to a lottery when over 200 hopeful students applied for 70 openings.

The Virginia Consensus seeks to scale up college access in prisons across the Commonwealth. Founded in 2024, the Consensus was established to build public awareness and to convene and facilitate collaboration among partners in business, higher education, corrections, the justice-impacted community, public officials and agencies, and the faith community. These thoughtful partners recognize the many benefits of college programs, like increasing career options and wages, elevated self confidence and pride, reduced reincarceration, and increased public safety and workforce expansion. 

We invite you to visit the Virginia Consensus website and join us. You'll contribute to a growing momentum for expanding transformative educational programs.

Terri Erwin, PhD
Director, Virginia Consensus for Higher Education in Prison

P.S. Take a look at this OpEd on College in Prison, published this week.

We value your input. Please click the link above to share your ideas about topics, resources, insights, and updates that you would like to see in our monthly newsletter. 

Earlier this week, House Bill 2158, patroned by Delegates Betsy Carr (D) and Carrie Coyner (R) passed the House with bipartisan support (81-Y 18-N), and it is now in the Senate. 

HB 2158 strengthens the entire educational pathway for incarcerated learners, from basic literacy, through GED completion, to college degrees. Today, 62% of individuals incarcerated in the Virginia Department of Corrections system are college-eligible.

Several Virginia Consensus members and allies testified during a House hearing on January 27.

We fully support this bill. We’re happy to be named in the bill and partner with the Department of Corrections. We already have four colleges offering Second Chance Pell in 11 prisons and we look forward to expanding to all 45.
– Dr. David Doré, Chancellor, Virginia Community College System 

Research backs this up [...] it will serve the Commonwealth well, as it will strengthen our workforce and give opportunities to individuals who are incarcerated to have meaningful and gainful employment upon release.
– Kenneth Hunter, Organizer, Virginia Consensus  

I was sentenced to 24 ½ years in federal prison. I believe part of my success is because while I was incarcerated, I was able to take 33 college credits […] I know that after coming out those courses helped to set me up for success and allowed me the ability to thrive. We have so much untapped and underutilized talent within our prison system.
– Kemba Smith Pradia, Author and Criminal Justice Advocate  

We encourage you to forward this newsletter to colleagues and friends. This will help connect the Virginia Consensus with potential supporters from business, higher education, corrections, the justice-impacted community, public officials and agencies, and the faith community.