Education Programs
Western Mass CORE coordinates a range of educational opportunities inside local jails, including college-level courses, Inside-Out classes that bring justice-impacted and campus-based students together, and facilitated book groups that create space for learning, reflection, and dialogue.
Book Groups
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We recruit, train, and partner with local jails to run 4-week book groups, providing system-impacted learners the opportunity to read, reflect, and engage in thoughtful discussion. These groups promote learning, personal development, and a sense of community.
College Courses
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We work with local jails, colleges, and workforce development programs to open up educational opportunities for system-impacted learners. We support college educators through offering training to teach in carceral settings, practical support with materials and logistics, and ongoing partnership to support students through tutors and academic advising.
Colleges and Universities Offering Post-Secondary Courses Behind the Wall
Amherst College
Inside-Out Liberal Arts Courses in Local Jails
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Amherst College offers liberal arts courses inside local jails. Many of these courses follow the Inside-Out Prison Exchange model, enrolling Amherst students and incarcerated students together as peers in a shared classroom setting. Courses are credit-bearing for both incarcerated and Amherst students.
Amherst College programs also include faculty-led seminars which focus on critical inquiry across disciplines, including social justice, history, literature, and the social sciences.
Within the broader Western Massachusetts jail-to-college landscape, Amherst’s participation expands access to rigorous liberal arts engagement and contributes to the academic ecosystem supporting incarcerated learners.
Affiliated faculty ( Prof. Bumiller and Jared Loggins).
Holyoke Community College
Academic Reentry & Community College Pathways
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Holyoke Community College (HCC) has invested in supporting learners transitioning from jail to campus.
Between 2020 and 2024, HCC offered college coursework inside local jails. Building on that experience, HCC now focuses on strengthening academic reentry and on-campus retention for formerly incarcerated and justice-impacted students.
Through CORE @ HCC, the college provides:
- Enrollment and financial aid navigation
- A dedicated retention counselor
- A formerly incarcerated peer support community
- Referrals to housing, food, counseling, and other essential services
HCC serves as a primary entry point into the regional jail-to-college pathway, providing the advising, credential options, and transfer routes that sustain long-term educational mobility.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst: Jail Education Initiative (JEI)
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The UMass Amherst Jail Education Initiative (JEI) is a cross-campus collective of faculty, students, and community partners engaged in higher education programming in jail and in research and scholarship on jail and prison education, incarceration and social inequality. The JEI offers tuition-free, credit-bearing UMass courses inside jails in Hampshire, Hampden, Franklin and Bristol Counties and seeks to clear pathways for formerly incarcerated students to continue their education. The JEI is guided by a broad vision in support of equity and access to higher education for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people.
Interested in Partnering?
Western Mass CORE continues to explore partnerships that strengthen jail-based college access and community reentry pathways across Western Massachusetts.