Navigating Forward
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. 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.
Download The Navigating Forward Collections
Navigating
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.
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.
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.
The Navigating Forward Team
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.
Kristin Paine
Project Manager
Tasha Reagon
Content Design Specialist
Tristin Slough
Project Coordinator
Rachel Zolensky
Project Director
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.