Access to postsecondary opportunities is a critical component of the educational programming offered within the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC). Thank you for your work to provide these resources. The CDOC takes seriously the responsibility to ensure that programs offer students the opportunity to succeed and grow academically, professionally, and personally.
This page contains information for new and existing programs. The Postsecondary Education Program Application must be completed by all colleges/universities interested in providing post-secondary education opportunities within a CDOC facility. The Postsecondary Education Program Annual Report must be completed by each current program at the conclusion of the academic year. The Postsecondary Education Program Resources tab provides information and learning opportunities for all higher education in prison programs (emerging and existing programs). The Timeline provides an overview of the most important dates for the Application and Annual Review process.
Please use the dropdown menus below to access the required information for each set of materials.
Please direct questions about CDOC programming and policies to: doc_postsecondary@state.co.us
Federal Student Aid maintains a website and an email address for questions about Pell, FAFSA or the Department of Education's Pell regulations. Please direct specific questions related to these topics to: pep@ed.gov and visit the FSA Knowledge Center or US Department of Education Question and Answer for Prison Education Programs for more information.
This application is for all postsecondary programs (colleges/universities) interested in offering educational opportunities within the Department of Corrections in the State of Colorado (CDOC). The Postsecondary Education Program Application was created in collaboration with current and former students, CDOC staff, higher education in prison practitioners, and community stakeholders.
Applications will be reviewed by the Postsecondary Education Stakeholder Committee, whose membership includes students who are currently incarcerated, community members, state agency representatives, and DOC staff. Applicants will be notified of questions, additional information needed, and/or approval or decline within a reasonable timeframe (approximately 4 weeks). This process is consistent with the guidelines established by the US Department of Education and is part of a two year process to ensure that programs are working "in the best interest of students.
Please direct questions to: doc_postsecondary@state.co.us
Before completing the application, please use this link to download a full copy of all of the questions. Completing this step will ensure that the person submitting the application has all of the necessary information before starting the application process.
*Note about saving your work: The application is a Google Form. When you fill out a Google Form in your Google account, your progress is automatically saved as a draft for 30 days. When you save a draft, "Draft saved" appears at the top of the form. Learn more about "autosave" here. The CDOC is not responsible for lost content and recommends that programs download the application first and prepare a draft before completing the online version.
Applications are received on a rolling basis, but must be completed by January 31st. The Stakeholder Committee will review applications and programs will be notified of approval/decline no later than March 31st.
The Postsecondary Education Program Rubric is a document designed to support the review committee in reading the Postsecondary Education Program Application for the Colorado Department of Corrections. This document is a guide that provides considerations of what type of answers applicants may provide in each section of the application form. By no means is this guide the sole evaluation of Postsecondary Education Programs. Rather, committee members should use this guide in conjunction with their collective expertise, experiences, and understanding of what a program should include. Furthermore, in assessing applicants, committee members will review each aspect of the application in five categories: Excelling, Achieving, Implementing, Planning, Unknown. The point of these categories is to help assess each aspect of the program application from a holistic perspective rather than offer a singular assessment of the application as a whole. It is the expectation of the Steering Committee that programs will vary in this progress in each area of the application. It is the intention of the CDOC (and Steering Committee) to use this review approach as a way to offer feedback to programs and then to work together to support programs in their continued development. Over the two-year review period that the CDOC and the Stakeholder Committee have to make a “best interest” determination, it is the goal to support programs through planning and implementation and into achieving status. When making the “best interest” determination, the Stakeholder Committee and the Colorado Department of Corrections will take into consideration a program’s development over time and understand that some of the planning and implementation requested in the application will emerge with the growth of the program.
The Stakeholder Review Committee uses the following scale: Excelling, Achieving, Implementing, Planning, Unknown
The Postsecondary Education Program Application is due by January 31st and the Stakeholder Review Committee will provide feedback to programs no later than March 31st of the same year.
View the Review Rubric Here.
Each year the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) will collect an Annual Report from every college or university offering postsecondary education programming in a CDOC facility. The Annual Report must be completed with information related to the most recent academic year (July 1-June 30) and should be submitted no later than October 31st of the same calendar year. The purpose of the Annual Report is to offer programs an opportunity to reflect on their accomplishments, as well as on the challenges encountered throughout the year; for the Department of Corrections and Stakeholder Committee to better understand what programming was offered and to whom, and to consider the ways in which programs might need more support or help in overcoming potential challenges. The Annual Report will also aid the Department of Corrections in their own efforts to reflect upon the services and support being provided to students and their own practices within the CDOC Education Department. The Annual Report is intended to encourage meaningful conversations between the DOC and the postsecondary education program as well as to help ensure that programming is serving the 'best interest' of students.
Please return completed Annual Reports, no later than October 31st, to: doc_postsecondary@state.co.us
The Postsecondary Education Program Application and Annual Report process was created in 2022/2023. The following timeline is for programs applying for Fall 2024 and later. For colleges/universities interested in starting programming in advance of Fall 2024, please contact doc_postsecondary@state.co.us for the appropriate timeline. Updates to the timeline will be posted here.
Postsecondary Education Program Application Opens: Rolling
Postsecondary Education Program Application Due: January 31st
Stakeholder Committee Application Review: February - March
Prison Education Program Approval/Decline Notification: March 31st
Postsecondary Education Program Annual Report Opens: July 1st
Postsecondary Education Program Annual Report Due: October 31st
Stakeholder Committee Annual Report Review: October - December
Postsecondary Education Program Feedback: December 15th
The resources listed below have been curated with all types of postsecondary in prison education programs in mind (i.e., 2-year/4-year, various modes of engagement, and degree pathways). The resources are not intended to be the only educational materials available to programs and program leadership, but instead as a starting point for learning more about postsecondary prison education and getting more engage with the higher education in prison community. The CDOC makes an effort to update the resources as often as possible.
If you would like to add a resource to any of these lists, please email: doc_postsecondary@state.co.us
Postsecondary Education in Prison Program Resources - This information is intended to support learning about administering a higher education in prison program. There are also important materials about the reinstatement of Pell and the process for administering Pell Grants for incarcerated learners.
Postsecondary Education in Prison Learning Library - This information is intended to support learning about the higher education in prison community and the practices, philosophies and ideas that guide this work. This page includes a link to a Document Library hosted by the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison, including resources and materials that have been shared by higher education in prison programs from across the country.
Pell Reinstatement and CDOC PEP Fact Sheet - This information is intended to answer frequently asked questions about the CDOC's postsecondary education programs and practices as well as some common questions about the reinstatement of Pell Grants for learners who are incarcerated.