Inside-Out College-In-Prison Program

At the Center for the Study of Correctional Education, we believe that education is a human right, and we are working to make educational opportunities widely available to all members of our community. Your gift will provide access to higher education to incarcerated people in the Inland Empire by funding essential costs, including tuition, books, and school supplies.

The Center for the Study of Correctional Education at CSUSB has teamed up with Pitzer College’s Inside-Out Prison Education program to expand opportunities for incarcerated people to take credit-bearing college courses. This unique program brings together incarcerated (inside) students and traditional, non-incarcerated (outside) students for a transformative learning experience in a correctional facility. We believe that society is strengthened when higher education and learning are made widely accessible and, at the same time, when it allows participants to encounter each other as equals, often across profound social barriers. The practice of bringing incarcerated (inside) and non-incarcerated (outside) people together for engaged dialogue allows for transformative learning experiences that invite participants to take leadership in addressing issues of social concern.

In AY 2021-2022, we offered our first Inside-Out course at the California Rehabilitation Center. In AY 2022-2023, we expanded our program to offer 3 courses. In AY 2023-2024, we welcomed our first cohort of students in our Public and Professional Writing Certificate Program. We intend to continue to offer our certificate program and we will build toward a full B.A. in prison program, creating a prison-to-college pipeline.

What Your Gift Can Do:
• Books and school supplies for one student, one semester: $100
• Part-time tuition for one student, one semester: $3,000
• Full-time tuition for one student, one semester: $4,200

Student Experiences:

“The opportunity to collaborate with the outside students has been transformative, for it has demonstrated to me that I can contribute positively to communities. Not only can I contribute, but my ideas are actively listened to, considered, and supported by people outside of a carceral context. The interaction with outside students is essential in preparing the inside students for meaningful engagement with society upon their release. This writing workshop has enhanced my potential for occupational success outside of prison and I am eager to implement what I have learned in society—as well as to continue learning more!” (Inside Student)

“I am an older inmate who had the blessing to experience the Cal State San Bernardino’s Writing program at CRC. It has been the most important experience I’ve had since I’ve been incarcerated. The professors are not only compassionate but they are also insightful. My appreciation for the time that they have shared us is immeasurable. What I’ve learned from them in the classes are things I do not think I would have learned had I not had the experience of being incarcerated. Thus, at times, I look at my time here with gratitude, as if not for this unfortunate experience of incarceration I wouldn’t have learned the things that have made my life more meaningful.” (Inside Student)

“Every time we outside students would leave the prison, I could feel us leaving with our colleagues’ desires for a more caring world, these desires that called for more compassionate interactions with communities that are often labeled as different or even dangerous.” (Outside Student)

“The Inside-Out program changes you slowly, and— in my experience—drove me into becoming a better student, researcher, activist, peer, person, and friend. This class taught me that experiences and active initiative intertwined everything I learned from my academic classes and personal perspectives, into an extensive discussion that ultimately stayed with me for weeks at a time, and still does today.” (Outside Student)