Strategic Planning for Higher Education in Prison in Virginia
In 2026, the Virginia Consensus for Higher Education in Prison (VCHEP) is leading a statewide strategic planning process to strengthen and expand postsecondary education opportunities for incarcerated Virginians. The VCHEP is a multi-sector coalition-building initiative of the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, with generous support from the Ascendium Education Foundation.
Guided by a Steering Committee and a set of focused Working Groups, the effort brings together leaders from higher education, corrections, workforce development, state agencies, advocacy organizations, faith communities and individuals with lived experience of incarceration. Participants are working together to develop roadmap for a coordinated, equitable and sustainable expansion of higher education in prisons across the Commonwealth.
This planning effort comes at a pivotal moment, shaped by:
The restoration of Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated students in 2023
Ongoing workforce shortages
Growing recognition of education as a public safety strategy
Ongoing inequities and collateral consequences facing justice-impacted individuals
The work coincides with Virginia’s aspiration to establish itself as the “Top State for Talent,” in part by ensuring that justice-impacted Virginians are fully included in the Commonwealth’s education and workforce strategies. It also conforms to the Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s Blueprint 2030, which recommends, “Creat[ing] economic and employment opportunities for previously incarcerated individuals and remov[ing] barriers to allow them to more easily become workers for in-demand jobs.”
Similarly, State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), in its recently released strategic plan for higher education in Virginia notes that, in the Commonwealth, “To sustain enrollment and meet workforce demands, institutions must expand access and better support all learners. including adult learners, military-affiliated students, incarcerated students, indigenous students and nontraditional populations.”
The 2025-2030 strategic plan of Virginia Works also calls for, “Connect[ing] justice impacted individuals with job training, apprenticeships and credentialing opportunities aligned with in-demand industries.
Steering committee members include Virginia Community College System (VCCS), Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC), State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), Virginia Works and Resilience Education.
2026 Planning Timeline and Focus
Between January and June 2026, the strategic planning process will follow a structured and collaborative cadence:
January 9 (Friday): Meeting of the Whole – Launch Session Recap Here
February: Virtual Working Group meetings
March 30 (Monday): Meeting of the Whole
April: Virtual Working Group meetings
May 27 (Wednesday): Meeting of the Whole
June: Virtual Working Group meetings
July 10: Working Group recommendations due
August: Final strategic report completed and disseminated
Meetings of the Whole will include collective learning, guest speakers and breakout sessions, while Working Group meetings will focus on topic-specific analysis and recommendation development.
The planning effort will center on identifying Virginia-specific challenges and opportunities, examining national and peer-state best practices, addressing informational gaps through targeted research and developing actionable, evidence-based recommendations that can be implemented within a 1–3 year horizon.
Working Groups
Four Working Groups serve as the analytic and policy-development engines of the strategic plan. Together, they function as ethical and applied think tanks, drawing on lived experience, practitioner expertise, research and cross-sector collaboration. Each Working Group will produce three to five implementable recommendations designed to inform agency action, institutional policy, funding strategies and potential legislative or budget proposals.
Group 1: Expanding Access (with Technology Subcommittee)
Charge: This group examines how Virginia can equitably and responsibly scale access to high-quality postsecondary education for incarcerated individuals, ensuring more eligible Virginians can enroll, persist and succeed.
Areas of focus include access, admissions practices, geographic disparities, disability accommodations, credit transfer, degree completion and the role of technology in instructional delivery.
“It is important for all individuals in VDOC prisons to have the opportunity to pursue college, regardless of which facility they happen to be in, or wherever they are moved to,” said Quadaire Patterson, senior advisor for the Access Working Group.
Group 2: Policies and Partnerships
Charge: This group focuses on aligning policies, regulations and institutional practices across corrections, higher education and workforce systems to support ethical, effective and durable higher education in prison.
Key considerations include Pell and PEP compliance, interagency accountability, data sharing, ethical collaboration and coordination between traditional and workforce-focused Pell funding.
“Pell grants are a godsend, but they have complex regulations for incarcerated students, so getting agencies and institutions in synch with their policies will make everything smoother,” said Blake Via, senior advisor on the Policy team.
Group 3: Employment and Workforce
Charge: This group is dedicated to ensuring that higher education in prison leads to meaningful employment outcomes, supporting economic mobility and alignment with Virginia’s labor market needs.
The group explores employer engagement, fair-chance hiring, work-based learning, credential alignment, underemployment and barriers such as occupational licensing restrictions.
“While offering certificates and degrees to incarcerated learners is a monumental first step in aiding their successful re-entry to society, we must ensure that these lead to meaningful career paths upon release—paths that enable HEP graduates to earn a livable wage and support their families. It is our duty to ensure that HEP programs lead to life-sustaining careers upon release,” said Steph, senior advisor on the Employment and Workforce group."
Group 4: Sustainability
Charge: This group examines what is required for higher education in prison to persist, adapt and scale over time, delivering long-term benefits for individuals, communities and the Commonwealth.
Areas of focus include financial and political sustainability, academic pipelines, integration with other prison education programs and adaptability to changing workforce demands.
”If this is to remain a long-lasting change in how Virginia supports incarcerated individuals to advance in their lives, we have to address the business model for it and also give people ways to prepare themselves academically and move toward the opportunity when it’s available,” said Kenneth Hunter, senior advisor on the Sustainability group.
Looking Ahead
The January convening set a strong foundation for a year of collaborative, equity-centered planning. The recommendations developed through this process will be presented in a final report in August 2026, offering a clear roadmap for advancing high-quality, sustainable higher education in prison across Virginia.