Unlocking Potential: Pathways from Prison to Postsecondary Education

The Vera Institute of Justice launched Unlocking Potential: Pathways from Prison to Postsecondary Education in 2012. Supported by five national foundations, the demonstration project gave colleges and state corrections agencies in Michigan, New Jersey, and North Carolina the means to offer programs in prison and build reentry pathways that would keep participants engaged in education after their release. During the project, Vera and its partners piloted numerous strategies to support incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students in their pursuit of higher education and laid the groundwork for a rigorous outcome evaluation. This report describes the project’s design and implementation as well as the experiences of Pathways partners and students, and provides recommendations on policy and practice for college programs with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students.