In-Custody Education
College credit that follows students — wherever they go.
Campus Credit gives colleges one secure workflow to manage in-custody enrollment, attendance, grades, and credit handoff — from intake inside the facility through reentry and transfer. No more paper packets. No more lost records. No more starting over.
Incarcerated students now eligible for Pell Grants — most still managed on paper
Reduction in recidivism from postsecondary education in prison (RAND, 2013)
In avoided incarceration costs when 500,000 learners complete postsecondary programs
Cost to the correctional facility — colleges pay only per enrolled student
Why It Matters
Second Chance Pell opened the door. Most colleges still don't have the infrastructure to walk through it.
Over 750,000 incarcerated students are now eligible for Pell funding. That's an enormous opportunity to do meaningful work — and to serve a population that postsecondary education has consistently left behind. But the operational reality is that most colleges manage prison education programs on spreadsheets, paper rosters, and phone calls between staff members.
Credits get lost when students move facilities. Records don't make it out when students are released. Faculty lose access to rosters. There is no single system anyone can point to and say "here is who is enrolled, here is what they've earned, here is where they're going next."
The students most affected by gaps in the enrollment infrastructure are the ones who can least afford to start over. Campus Credit was built to close that gap.
Reduction in recidivism from postsecondary education in prison (RAND, 2013)
In avoided incarceration costs when 500,000 learners complete postsecondary programs
Incarcerated students now Pell-eligible — most still managed on paper
Financial aid compliance requires documented enrollment, attendance, and satisfactory academic progress — nearly impossible to demonstrate when programs run on paper
When a student moves facilities mid-semester, courses get dropped and credits get lost — not because the work wasn't done but because no system tracked it
When students are released, their credit record should follow them — ready for an advisor to build on, not buried in a facility's filing system
State and federal grant programs increasingly require structured completion and equity data — which paper-based programs simply can't produce
The Problem Today
Most in-custody college programs still run on paper, phone calls, and last-minute lists.
Faculty lose access to rosters when they enter a facility. Grades and credit lag weeks behind when students move or are released. No single system shows who enrolled, who earned credit, or what followed them out the door.
The result isn't just operational friction — it's students losing credit they already earned because no one could produce a clean record at the moment it mattered.
Applications and enrollment rosters managed on paper — no audit trail, no shared visibility, no way to track changes when students move
When a student transfers or is released, their in-progress coursework often doesn't follow them — forcing them to restart classes they were close to completing
College instructors, custody liaisons, and financial aid staff each manage their piece separately — no shared system showing the complete picture
One secure shared system — enrollment tracked, grades logged, credit portable, and records ready to follow students wherever they go
750K+
Incarcerated students now eligible for Pell Grant funding under the Second Chance Pell Act
43%
Reduction in recidivism from postsecondary education in prison — RAND Corporation, 2013
$2.9B
In avoided incarceration costs when 500,000 incarcerated learners complete postsecondary programs
How It Works
End-to-end in-custody enrollment — six structured stages
Every in-custody student moves through the same structured workflow — from eligibility and enrollment inside the facility through credit posting, transfer, and reentry — with clear ownership at every stage and a clean record at the end.
Colleges configure approved facilities, programs, seat counts, eligibility rules, and security-level restrictions — before the first student applies.
Students complete guided college intake using facility-approved devices or paper workflows. Applications route to college reviewers without relying on mail or ad hoc packets.
Instructors get secure access to rosters, syllabi, assignments, and attendance tracking — without relying on open internet or personal devices inside the facility.
Roster changes, housing moves, and drops are tracked inside Campus Credit — so custody has up-to-date movement lists and faculty always know who should be in the room.
Instructors record attendance and grades in a secure workflow. Colleges export grades directly into Banner or Colleague — so credit is ready to post even if a student has already transferred or been released.
When a student transfers or is released, Campus Credit produces a clean academic record — verified courses, credits earned, and next-step information that reentry advisors can use immediately.
Who It's Built For
Designed for every partner in the process
In-custody education involves three distinct organizations that rarely share a system. Campus Credit gives each of them what they need — without asking anyone to compromise their security requirements, institutional policies, or workflow.
Admissions, financial aid, registrars, and faculty share one system instead of parallel spreadsheets and email threads — with structured Pell compliance documentation, credit tracking, and SIS integration built in. Campus Credit handles the in-custody enrollment complexity so your staff doesn't have to.
Facilities keep control over who participates, security rules, and what data is visible to which parties. Clear dashboards on enrollment, attendance, and program outcomes — without requiring a dedicated IT project or custom integration. The facility is the customer. Campus Credit costs nothing to the correctional partner.
Advisors can see what students actually completed and what credit they've earned — ready to build a degree plan from day one of release rather than starting over. Campus Credit's handoff record travels with the student, not in a paper file that stays at the facility.
Pricing Model
The facility pays nothing. The college pays $9 per enrolled student, per semester.
One flat number. No tiers, no modules, no per-feature costs. If a student isn't actively enrolled in a class, you pay nothing.
Facility Partner
$0
No cost contract — ever. The facility is the partner, not the customer.
Colleges Running In-Custody Programs
Per actively enrolled in-custody student, per semester. No enrollment, no charge. 50 students = $450/semester — less than 0.2% of annual Pell revenue for that cohort.
Billed per semester based on active enrollment at the start of each term. No long-term contract required. Colleges with existing Campus Credit subscriptions receive a bundled rate — ask about it in your demo.
The Student Experience
From inside the facility to enrolled at a college — in six clear steps
Every student in Campus Credit Justice follows the same guided path — from browsing available programs on a tablet inside the facility through earning credit that follows them after release.
Browse DOC-approved college offerings by facility, interest, and program type
Submit digital college and Pell applications offline — no paper, no mail, no waiting
Access syllabus, assignments, and quizzes via the tablet — offline-capable, no internet required
View attendance, grades, and completion status in real time — student and advisor see the same record
Credits and transcripts securely sync with the college's SIS — even if the student transfers facilities mid-semester
Reentry partners access verified credits to help students re-enroll at a college seamlessly — no starting over
The Student Experience
The market is accelerating — and most colleges still don't have infrastructure.
As of 2024, about 160 colleges are approved to offer Pell-eligible programs in correctional facilities. The restoration of Pell Grant eligibility in July 2023 opened access to nearly 750,000 incarcerated students — the most significant expansion of higher education access in decades.
In California alone, more than 90 colleges in the Rising Scholars Network — including over 30 with active in-prison instruction — demonstrate how quickly participation is scaling. Nationally, participation is projected to grow 15–20% annually.
From 160 colleges today to an estimated 450–600 within five years. Most will need infrastructure to manage enrollment, Pell compliance, and credit tracking they don't currently have.
Colleges currently approved for Pell-eligible in-custody programs as of 2024
Projected colleges offering in-custody programs within five years
California Rising Scholars Network colleges — 30+ with active in-prison instruction
Projected annual growth in college participation in correctional education programs
The Financial Case for Colleges
50 enrolled students generates $370,000 in Pell funding. Campus Credit costs a fraction of that.
Second Chance Pell creates a real financial opportunity for colleges running in-custody programs. Here's what the math looks like for a mid-size cohort — and where Campus Credit fits in the budget.
Campus Credit is designed to be covered by a small slice of existing aid funding. It replaces manual workflows across enrollment, attendance, grading, and Pell/FAFSA document handling — without requiring a dedicated administrator for each function.
Annual Pell funding (50 FT students × $7,395 max award)
Full-time faculty cost (4 courses, benefited)
Remaining Pell capacity for operations, materials, tech
Campus Credit cost (50 students × $9 × 2 semesters)
Campus Credit as % of remaining Pell capacity
Based on 50 actively enrolled students at $9/student/semester, 2 semesters/year = $900 annually. Pell estimates based on maximum award. Actual figures will vary by institution and enrollment mix. Sources: RAND (2013, 2014); U.S. DOJ (2013).
Technology Integration
Secure by design. Lightweight to deploy. Built for facility constraints.
Campus Credit is designed to integrate with tablet-based access systems already deployed in correctional facilities — including the facility technology partner and similar secure access platforms. Infrastructure remains under the facility's secure environment. Campus Credit provides the academic layer.
Integration is lightweight. There is no requirement for open internet access, personal devices, or major IT infrastructure changes at the facility level.
The facility's hardware and access provider remains in control. Campus Credit becomes the academic engine — handling enrollment, instruction, grading, and transcript workflows that sit on top of the secure infrastructure already in place.
Financial aid compliance requires documented enrollment, attendance, and satisfactory academic progress — nearly impossible to demonstrate when programs run on paper
Course materials, assignments, and progress sync when connection is available — students aren't blocked when facility connectivity is intermittent
Faculty manage rosters, post assignments, track attendance, and provide feedback through a secure instructor-facing interface
Grade and completion data exports directly to Banner or Colleague — no manual rekeying, no lag when students transfer or are released
Facility leadership sees enrollment, participation, and credit completion across all programs and units — real-time, structured, and ready for state-level reporting
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions from colleges and DOC partners
Campus Credit Justice integrates seamlessly with any facility-approved tablet or computer environment. The system operates entirely within DOC-approved infrastructure as a secure Android-based application. It requires no new hardware on the facility's side and works within existing firewalled networks.
The Department of Corrections retains full control over all facility and student data within custody. Colleges maintain ownership of their academic and financial aid records under FERPA. Campus Credit functions solely as a secure data processor — all data remains within DOC or college-controlled environments and is never shared outside authorized networks.
Yes. Campus Credit Justice is offline-first. Course materials, assignments, and student progress are cached on the tablet and sync securely when connectivity is available — students are never blocked by intermittent facility network access.
Yes. By connecting multiple colleges and correctional education programs in one platform, advisors can view each student's complete academic record, identify transferable credits, and recommend the most efficient path to degree completion — instead of reconstructing records from paper files.
Colleges complete a partnership agreement with their local facility or state DOC system, submit their programs and courses for review, and enter into a license agreement with Campus Credit. Faculty and staff complete facility-specific compliance forms. Most colleges are fully live within 30–60 days.
Campus Credit generates structured enrollment records, attendance documentation, and satisfactory academic progress (SAP) records required for Pell compliance — all in formats ready for the college's financial aid office without manual reconstruction from paper forms.
Ready to talk?
Let's build something that actually works inside.
Whether you're a college running an existing prison education program or a state correctional agency looking for infrastructure — we'd like to talk through what this could look like for your context.
