Charlotte West

Earning a degree behind bars is difficult. Finding housing after release can be harder. - Open Campus Some prison education programs are expanding to provide their alumni with a place to live alongside job assistance and other support.

"For formerly incarcerated people ... earning a degree is ... the first step toward rebuilding their lives. But without stable housing, the rest becomes nearly impossible." One prison ed program hires its own alums to renovate houses. @charlottewest.bsky.social www.opencampus.org/2026/02/20/e...

When you're talking to someone inside about how the new phone provider might be better and the call drops.....

For every person in an Illinois prison college class, another waits their turn. Research shows getting educated in prison helps prevent people from going back. In Illinois, new state data shows higher education opportunities inside are sparse.

“‘The fact that around 2,000 individuals are on waitlists — almost the same number as are actually enrolled — suggests that we need to greatly scale up [higher education in prison] in Illinois,’ Ginsburg said.” @charlottewest.bsky.social for @opencampus.org & @wbez.org www.wbez.org/public-safet...

I can't be the only one who has gotten confused on the difference between SurveyMonkey and Mailchimp.

Looking at the decisions coming out of the SC this morning and I have a question for lawyers. If some parents can argue that it's against their religion for their kids to be exposed to LGBTQ literature, isn't there a parallel argument that others don't want their kids to read heteronormative books?

Indianapolis Local Education Alliance priorities: collaboration, student focus At its first meeting, the group said it is starting with data research as it examines how IPS and charter schools can share transportation, facility resources.

Last night, I covered the first meeting of the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance. Here's how it went: www.chalkbeat.org/indiana/2025...

Hear one man’s 18-year journey to get his GED while locked up in Illinois prisons Juan Hernandez was a teenager when he was sentenced to prison. He was 32 when he finally completed his high school education.

This story, written by me and produced by @prisoncast.bsky.social, tell a story of bureaucratic barriers, arbitrary rules, and one man’s refusal to give up on earning his education. Done in partnership with @wbez.org www.wbez.org/criminal-jus...

Undocumented students in Texas are no longer eligible for in-state tuition after Texas agreed last with the federal government’s demand to stop the practice. From our local partner @texastribune.org www.opencampus.org/2025/06/04/t...

Say clearly why specific coverage is relevant This weekly Trust Tips newsletter shares quick, actionable tips for how journalists can earn and sustain trust. Subscribe to get it in your inbox at trustingnews.org/newsletter.

Here's why local higher education coverage matters. Our managing editor Colleen Murphy talked to @trustingnews.bsky.social about why we do the work that we do and how journalists can better explain their coverage to their communities. trustingnews.org/journalists-...

Ohio State deactivates LGBTQ+ website  - Open Campus The state’s flagship university also issued guidance around celebrations such as Pride Month, saying that the university’s official stance is limited to simply recognizing it.

Ohio State University removed a website offering support for LGBTQ+ students as leaders respond to an anti-DEI law set to take effect in late June. It’s unclear what, if any, programming or support remains for LGBTQ+ students at the state’s flagship university. www.opencampus.org/2025/06/03/o...

How San Francisco State is educating its students — and the community — about life after prison - Open Campus A reentry simulation at San Francisco State University was designed to educate the campus and community about the challenges people face when rebuilding their lives after prison.

San Francisco State recently hosted a reentry simulation to educate the campus and community about the challenges that people face after prison. My latest for @opencampus.org www.opencampus.org/2025/06/09/h...

We want to hear about your experience with college and career during reentry. Thank you for being willing to share your insights with College Inside, an Open Campus newsletter exploring the intersection of higher education and criminal justice. We're excited to receive so many ...

If you are formerly incarcerated, please take our survey about college and career during reentry. It will help inform future coverage in my newsletter, College Inside: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Open Campus reporters win Colorado feature-writing award - Open Campus The reporters partnered on a story about an incarcerated professor teaching incarcerated students in Colorado.

@charlottewest.bsky.social & @byjasongonzales.bsky.social won 1st place in the Top of the Rockies education feature-writing category for their Jan 2024 profile of David Carrillo, the first incarcerated professor in the country to teach students inside. www.opencampus.org/2025/04/07/o...

In my Documenting Carceral Injustice class Northwestern Undergraduate students collaborated with incarcerated students at Sheridan #Prison on short documentaries about their lives.

Auburn University's prison education program ‘indefinitely suspended’ - Open Campus Auburn University's college program for incarcerated students was suspended indefinitely after the Alabama Department of Corrections barred college staff from entering the state prisons due to alleged...

After the Alabama DOC banned key staff members from Auburn University from correctional facilities due to alleged security concerns in Aug, the college suspended its credit-bearing classes, effectively shutting down the state's only bachelor's program in prison. www.opencampus.org/2025/04/04/a...

I've never written or read so many stories that include sentences that start with "It is unclear what......" (fill in the blank)

Canada’s federal prisons are introducing the internet to their prisoners for the first time, in a limited way geared to providing some inmates with educational courses and even virtual reality www.ctvnews.ca/canada/artic...

Catholic University Law Students Challenged to Assist Indigent Prisoners Malawi 24 | Latest News from Malawi Catholic University Law Students Challenged to Assist Indigent Prisoners Malawi 24 | Latest News from Malawi | Stay up-to-date with the latest news from Malawi and around the world, 24/7.

Students from the Faculty of Law at the Catholic University of Malawi have been challenged to assist prisoners who cannot afford legal representation for their cases malawi24.com/2025/04/02/c...

Join Study and Struggle & the Utah Prison Education Project for a screening of "Calls From Home," plus a powerful panel on the fight to Free The Mississippi Five. Don’t miss a special one-night-only art exhibit by Mississippi Five art fellow Corey Devon Arthur.

Please share this call on your networks about prison and/or education www.ucu.org.uk/media/14950/...

Inside Cook County Jail, DePaul students learn alongside incarcerated peers

Illinois - Inside Cook County Jail, DePaul students learn alongside incarcerated peers www.wbez.org/wbez-news/20...

Eastern Michigan University gives incarcerated students platform to present research projects Eastern Michigan University is giving incarcerated students the opportunity to present at an annual event that showcases research projects.

Eastern Michigan University gives incarcerated students platform to present research projects

12 students in College in Prison program to present www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2...

Supporting Students After Incarceration: The Higher Education in Reentry Reimagined Initiative — CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance (ISLG) Many incarcerated students are unable to finish their degree before they are released, meaning they must continue their college education once they return to the community to earn the degree they work...

Incarcerated students are often released before earning their degree. But reenrolling to finish can be complicated, especially with other post-release priorities.

We’re working with @publicpolicylab.bsky.social, SUNY OHEP & @nycopportunity.bsky.social to better support them:

Aligning Efforts: Navigating the Intersection of Student Services and Prison Education. June 4-7 | Washington, DC

NASFAA will host its 2nd annual #PrisonEducationProgram (PEP) Convening June 4-7 in Washington, D.C. This event will explore strategic and practical approaches to best support college students who are incarcerated.

Applications are due April 16: ow.ly/jTrZ50VpLoU

Two-day Emerson Prison Initiative conference spans importance of education in prison, hope, and justice The Emerson Prison Initiative held a multiday conference last week that provided a platform for formerly incarcerated individuals, prison reform advocates, and program facilitators to discuss the impo...

Appreciation to @EmersonCollege journalism students at @BeaconUpdate for their coverage of the Emerson Prison Initiative conference last week, highlighting the impact of college access for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people: berkeleybeacon.com/two-day-emer...

Sargent College Team Helps Design New Middlesex Jail Unit for Incarcerated Older Adults Faculty advise on a wide range of issues, from accessible furniture to treatment, education, and training

BU's Sargent College is pioneering rehab for incarcerated older adults. Partnering with Middlesex Jail, faculty and students helped develop the Older Adult Re-Entry Unit (OAR), the nation’s first program combining specialized accommodations with rehab programming for those 55+.

Teaching incarcerated students is much like teaching any students, write @columbiauniversity.bsky.social scientists Tessa Montague and Shai Berman. Learn more about their experience teaching neuroscience at Sing Sing: tinyurl.com/yfkyjfej

Our prisons and higher ed reporter @charlottewest.bsky.social will be chatting with @prisoncast.bsky.social on Sunday's special broadcast of Prisoncast! with our local partner @wbez.org. Tune in at 2 pm central for the two-hour show on wbez.org or your local Illinois public radio station.

Students who were not U.S. citizens should avoid publishing work on Gaza, Ukraine and protests related to their former classmate’s arrest, urged Stuart Karle, a First Amendment lawyer and adjunct professor. With about two months to go before graduation, their academic accomplishments — or even their freedom — could be at risk if they attracted the ire of the Trump administration. “If you have a social media page, make sure it is not filled with commentary on the Middle East,” he told the gathering in Pulitzer Hall. When a Palestinian student objected, the journalism school’s dean, Jelani Cobb, was more direct about the school’s inability to defend international students from federal prosecution. “Nobody can protect you,” Mr. Cobb said. “These are dangerous times.”

Great. Columbia J-school students from abroad are being told to obey in advance by their dean. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/n...

Our experience of teaching neuroscience in a maximum-security prison Making our way through security each week is a slog, but teaching incarcerated people has been an incredible career experience.

Shai Berman and I wrote about our time teaching neuroscience in prison - one of the best experiences of my career.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Writing this was prompted by one of our students, Chris, bringing a copy of Nature to class, and asking for more journal recommendations... [1/4]