MCC Daily Tribune
Chancellor King Announces Expansion of SUNY Higher Education in Prison Opportunities
SUNY Currently Offers Academic Programs and Services at 24 DOCCS Facilities, through 20 SUNY Campuses, and will Grow to 29 Facilities in Fall 2026
New Website will Help Inform New Yorkers about SUNY Opportunities and Offer Best Practices to Academic Institutions
Albany, NY — State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. announced Tuesday that SUNY's Higher Education in Prison Program (OHEP) will expand academic opportunities for incarcerated New Yorkers from 24 state-run facilities to 29 facilities starting in Fall 2026 and increase the number of programs offering Bachelor’s degrees, in partnership with the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS).
“There is a place for every New Yorker at SUNY, and that includes incarcerated individuals seeking to earn a degree and undertake career development opportunities,” said SUNY Chancellor King. “Empowering incarcerated New Yorkers with an excellent higher education will help provide the tools and job training necessary to succeed upon their release, reduce recidivism, and will help strengthen communities as a result. Together with DOCCS leadership, we are pleased to expand opportunities for more students by bringing our life-changing programs to five additional facilities next fall.”
The SUNY Board of Trustees said, “The Higher Education in Prison program has worked tirelessly to coordinate with SUNY campuses and law enforcement agencies to ensure academic offerings would be provided that will help incarcerated students rebuild their lives and unleash their full potential. Expanding this successful program will help more New Yorkers earn a degree and will benefit our entire state. SUNY’s experience will also help other states and academic institutions successfully offer affordable excellence and world-class higher educational opportunities to incarcerated individuals looking to advance their careers going forward.”
In addition to expansion plans for Higher Education in Prison programming, Chancellor King announced the launch of The Office of Higher Education in Prison (SUNY HEP) which will provide practical information for currently incarcerated New Yorkers on academic opportunities and recently incarcerated New Yorkers on job training and applied learning opportunities, and offer best practices to other academic institutions around the nation who follow SUNY’s example on how to successfully offer excellent academic programs in prison environments. SUNY will also expand its bachelor's degree program offerings to include, once approved, more degree options for eligible students.
SUNY is the largest provider of higher education prison programs in New York State. The expansion effort launched by Chancellor King will help provide educational opportunities for up to 1,200 New Yorkers as they complete their time under incarceration. In this expansion, incarcerated New Yorkers will also have access to academic re-entry navigators, ensuring continuity in their experience returning to their communities in re-entry. The expansion will be possible through state investment and support of private donors working directly with SUNY’s Office of Higher Education in Prison and participating SUNY campuses through the newly launched Fair Chance Scholarship Fund that will help support eligible students.
NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III said, “Education is one of the most effective tools we have to reduce recidivism and strengthen public safety. The expansion of SUNY’s college-in-prison programs to additional facilities, along with broader access to academic re-entry services, reflects our shared commitment to providing individuals with meaningful opportunities for success both during incarceration and after release. By connecting people to higher education and supporting their transition back into our communities, we are helping to build safer, more stable futures.”
State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Chair of the Higher Education Committee, said, “Education changes lives. That is true inside a classroom, and it is true inside a prison. SUNY's expansion to 30 facilities will reach up to 1,200 incarcerated New Yorkers with the chance to earn a degree, build a career, and come home ready to contribute back to the community. I thank Chancellor King and SUNY for their leadership and for showing the rest of the country that this is possible.”
State Assemblymember Alicia L. Hyndman, Chair of the Higher Education Committee, said, “Providing high-quality academic opportunities within our correctional facilities is a common-sense investment in New York’s future. The expansion of SUNY’s OHEP program ensures that incarcerated individuals can earn bachelor’s degrees in high-demand fields like sociology and interdisciplinary studies, preparing them to meet the needs of our workforce upon release. As Chair of the Higher Education Committee, I believe that the addition of academic re-entry navigators is a game-changer for student persistence, ensuring that the transition from the classroom back into our neighborhoods is seamless, dignified, and successful.”
State Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz said, “I have seen firsthand the benefits Higher Education in Prison (HEP) has had for incarcerated individuals. HEP allows individuals to focus on bettering themselves and puts them on a path towards success. Expanding these academic programs and services to more facilities will pay dividends not only to the students themselves but to the communities those individuals return to when released.”
State Assemblymember Eddie Gibbs said, “SUNY OHEP represents the best of what prison programs should be. Students are challenged to learn and grow, and ultimately graduate with a degree from some of the top public universities and colleges in the country, giving them a huge leg up in successful reentry. OHEP has also been shown to improve overall condition in our prisons. Today’s announcement moves us towards a safer and more effective prison system.”
State Assemblymember Scott Gray said, “By expanding SUNY's Higher Education in Prison Program to more facilities across the state, we are doing more than just providing a classroom; we are investing in the transformative potential of the human spirit. Education offers incarcerated individuals a path to personal growth and a sense of purpose that is essential for a successful transition back into our communities. When we empower these individuals with the knowledge and skills to build a better future for themselves, we aren't just reducing recidivism—we are strengthening the very fabric of our North Country families and the state as a whole."
The announcement of plans to expand Higher Education in Prison opportunities at more state prisons is part of SUNY’s long-term commitment to ensuring all New Yorkers have access to affordable excellent educational opportunities, and that incarcerated individuals are able to achieve upward mobility when they return to their communities. In December 2025, Chancellor King announced a new post-release fellowship, the Teaching Forward Fellowship Program, to offer individuals with lived experience of incarceration paid opportunities to gain professional experience and develop essential skills for long-term career success.
Since 2017, the SUNY Office of Higher Education in Prison has led the SUNY System Administration's efforts to expand and improve college opportunities for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, guided by longitudinal data collection and data analysis.
Kathleen Bernier, CEO at Exodus Transitional Services, said, “When programs like SUNY’s Office of Higher Education in Prison (OHEP) and Exodus enter correctional facilities, the impact is immeasurable. The expansion of OHEP will undoubtedly help to improve correctional facility culture. We are often the only visit that some incarcerated individuals receive. To bring humanity in reminds people that when they are released, there are authentic resources that they can connect with. This often keeps people grounded to the fact that they are not forgotten while they are incarcerated.”
Trent Griffin-Braaf, Founder of Success Map Initiative, “Education has the power to change how someone sees themselves and what they believe is possible. Through our partnership with SUNY’s Office of Higher Education in Prison, incarcerated individuals are developing entrepreneurial mindsets, leadership skills, and earning three college credits that create a real pathway into higher education and career opportunities. SUNY continues to demonstrate leadership and innovation in expanding access to education and opportunity across New York State, and we are proud to be part of this work.”
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state's only college of optometry, 12 Educational Opportunity Centers, over 30 ATTAIN digital literacy labs, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.7 million students across its portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2025, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and annually one in three New Yorkers who earn a college degree is a SUNY alum.
Veronica Chiesi Brown
Community Relations
04/29/2026