Navigating Forward Logo in white, which has three stacked triangles.

your guide to higher education in prison

ResourcesTPCC One-Pager

Navigating Forward
at a Glance

With generous support from Ascendium Education Group, THEI has created Navigating Forward, a collection of clear, digestible, and comprehensive college navigation materials designed specifically for incarcerated learners, with special consideration for the unique challenges and needs of Prison Education Program (PEP) students.
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Each collection is made up of individual resources that are able to standalone or be shared as a group. The three collections are also accompanied by a Glossary of Terms to help make the resources accessible for as many students as possible, regardless of their starting point.  

PEP practitioners that are new to supporting incarcerated students, or lack the time and capacity to develop their own resources will also benefit from these ready-to-use tools. While a toolkit is no substitute for robust, direct support, THEI is grateful for this opportunity to help strengthen the growing PEP community by informing and empowering students and other stakeholders.
A picture of several example pages of the resources, featured in a messy stack of colorful pages.

Download The Navigating Forward Collections

Navigating
The College Landscape

Navigating
Financial Aid

Navigating The
Transfer process

Glossary for Higher education in prison

Navigating
The College Landscape

Navigating the College Landscape is part one of the Navigating Forward resource collection, designed specifically for incarcerated students. These resources serve as a sort of "College Navigation 101" overview,  providing clear, accessible information on key topics students might have questions about. Whether they're exploring college for the first time or planning their next steps, this collection helps students better understand how college works and how to navigate it confidently.
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Types of Colleges - To explain different types of higher education institutions, like public, private, for-profit colleges, community colleges and universities. Types of Degrees - To explain three different types of postsecondary programs, how they differ and fit together: technical, undergraduate, and graduate programs. The College Ecosystem - To get familiar with the offices that make up a typical college, including admissions, registrar, bursar, financial aid, and student services. The Components of an Undergraduate Degree - To explain typical graduation requirements and foundational concepts like credit or clock hours, general education, majors, minors, electives, GPA, and residency requirements. Understanding GPA and Reading a Transcript - How GPA is calculated, when it matters, and the risks and benefits of retaking courses, or programs like Fresh Start.

Navigating
Financial Aid

With accessible explanations, definitions and practical tips, the Navigating Financial Aid collection helps incarcerated students understand their financial aid rights, responsibilities, and opportunities so they can make informed decisions about paying for college. It is designed to help students better understand what to expect and what questions to ask their financial aid office.
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Financial Aid Overview - To explain types of financial aid and the financial aid process, including questions to ask your financial aid office. FAFSA Overview - To provide an overview on what the FAFSA is, when to complete it, what you will need in order to complete it, and important correspondence you may receive from your college and Federal Student Aid. Pell Grant Overview - A broad overview of Pell Grant eligibility and policies, risks of not completing courses when using Pell, and what to ask a financial aid office. Options Beyond Pell - To give students who aren’t eligible for the Pell Grant more information and ideas for paying for college, either during incarceration or after. Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) and SAP Appeals - To explain what SAP is, the impact it can have on financial aid eligibility, and what to do if you don’t meet SAP.

Navigating
The Transfer Process

Navigating the Transfer Process is a collection designed to help students navigate a number of different transferring situations, whether a student is enrolling in a prison education program with prior college credits, is transferring from one PEP to another, is leaving incarceration and continuing college post-release, or is looking ahead for what to expect when they transfer in the future.  
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Transferring Overview - To understand how transferring works and why some credits may not transfer, with checklists and questions you can ask. Securing Past Transcripts - Strategies for procuring past high school and college transcripts with suggestions for how to overcome common challenges. Preparing to Transfer to a Traditional Campus - To know what to expect when you continue college after release, reasons some students transfer to a different college, and how to successfully complete your courses if you go home in the middle of a semester. Institutional Debt and Financial Transcript Holds - To help if you have a hold that is preventing you from getting a transcript from a previous college. College During Reentry - To help anticipate challenges that could arise outside of academics, including checklists and where you may be able to turn for help.

The Navigating Forward Team

Headshots of the Navigating Forward team in alphabetical order with their names and titles below their pictures. On the far left is Kristin Paine, Project Manager, followed by Tasha Reagon, Content Design Specialist, then Tristin Slough, Project Coordinator, and finally Rachel Zolensky, Project Director.
Navigating Forward was conceptualized and edited by Rachel Zolensky, THEI's Deputy Director of Strategy and Impact, to transform a decade of experience supporting non-traditional, incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students into tangible resources to help grow the field of higher education in prison. Kristin Paine served as the Navigating Forward Project Manager and as a lead author and researcher. Tristan Slough also served as a primary author and researcher and coordinates dissemination of Navigating Forward to THEI students. Tasha Reagon served as the project’s lead graphic designer and accessibility specialist.

Support for Navigating Forward

Generous support for Navigating Forward comes from Ascendium Education Group, which provided THEI with a grant to develop the suite of high quality, student facing resources about financial aid, college access, and college success, specifically for incarcerated students.

Ascendium is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization driven by the belief that learning after high school gives people the power to build better futures. Their national philanthropy focuses on increasing opportunities for learners from low-income backgrounds to achieve upward mobility through postsecondary education and workforce training. Ascendium partners with organizations whose objectives align with their core strategies to expand opportunity, support learner success, and connect and align systems. Ascendium grantees include postsecondary education and workforce training providers, intermediaries, researchers, and media organizations from across the U.S. To learn more, visit ascendiumphilanthropy.org.
Ascendium Education Group logo in Blue and red, with the tagline: Elevating Opportunity.
Brandon, May 2019 Graduate
“Education was the game changer that I needed.”
— Edward
For inquiries, please contact Tasha Reagon at tasha@thei.org.
1006 Shelby Avenue, Nashville, TN 37206
615-879-8857   |  info@thei.org
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