NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Many colleges have shifted to online classes for the remainder of the school year, but for people who are incarcerated, distance learning remains a challenge.

More than 400 people in Tennessee prisons are earning college credits. The Tennessee Higher Education Initiative pairs accredited institutions with these students and helps pay their tuition. Its executive director, Molly Lasagna, said her program is lucky as one of the few with internet access. It serves the Turney Center Industrial Complex in Hickman County and the Northwest Correctional Complex in Lake County. However, she said, in prisons across the country, the pandemic is a likely setback for people working toward degrees.

"College partners are going online for the spring and summer, and the prison facilities don't have the ability to do that," she said, "and so those students are just going to get left behind, essentially."

Her organization now is offering emergency grants to help formerly incarcerated alumni and their families pay for child care, medical costs, rent or housing, utilities and other necessities during the pandemic.

Research from an advocacy group, The Prison Project, showed that access to higher education reduces the odds a person will end up back in prison after their release.

Norm, who prefers we not use his last name, lives in Rutherford County and obtained his associate's degree a few years ago while incarcerated. He said the program has huge implications for anyone returning to society, and added that he worries about those whose college tracks might be derailed.

"I'd say the biggest thing is it gives them hope for a future when they get out," he said. "You have so many obstacles ahead of you, just having a felony and coming out of prison."

According to the Sycamore Institute, a public policy research center, Tennessee's state prisons housed more than 30,000 people in 2018, about 95% of whom eventually will be released. That data is online at sycamoreinstitutetn.org.

Education statistics for Tennessee prisons are online at tbr.edu.


Support for this reporting was made possible by Lumina Foundation.


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Nearly 1,200 Hoosiers are about to have some of their student-loan debt forgiven, as part of a multistate settlement with the student-loan-servicing company Navient.

The settlement includes more than $31 million for Indiana.

Scott Barnhart, chief counsel and director of consumer protection for the Indiana Attorney General's Office, said more than $26 million of Indiana's cut will go toward loan forgiveness for borrowers. He advised borrowers to visit navientagsettlement.com to determine if they're eligible.

"And that provides a lot of information for consumers who believe that they may be within that group," Barnhart pointed out. "To find details on whether they qualify and what they need to do."

In 2019, Indiana joined a coalition of more than three dozen states and Washington, D.C., in accusing the Delaware-based company of deceptive and unethical lending practices. Navient denied breaking the law and said the allegations were based on unfounded claims.

Barnhart noted the remainder of Indiana's portion of the settlement will go toward compensating more than 16,000 people who have already paid into their Navient-handled loans, and about $700,000 will go directly to the state.

"And I think this is a win for consumers to move forward," Barnhart contended.

The deal also requires Navient to follow several new rules going forward, including changes to its payment processing system, and limiting or reducing certain fees for late payments. Including Indiana borrowers.

More than 400,000 people across the country will have some of their loan amounts forgiven as part of the settlement, and 66,000 will have their loans cancelled.

Open-source textbooks, free for anyone to use, are a rising trend at colleges and universities looking for a way to make higher education more affordable, and now the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) is on board.

Students in the freshman seminar in the College of Liberal Arts can save $80 each by downloading the required textbook for free.

Denise Tillery, associate dean for students and professor of English in the College of Liberal Arts at UNLV, said the cost of textbooks can be a significant barrier for many low-income students.

"A lot of times, students will have to wait until their financial aid has been disbursed, or even then they can't afford it," Tillery observed. "Or they're scrambling around getting used copies that might be a different edition than the one that's being used in the classroom."

Collectively, the 375 students taking the class will save about $30,000. The average full-time undergraduate at UNLV spends more than $1,200 a semester on books. The book is one of many offered free on the internet at a site called OpenStax, run by Rice University. The University of Minnesota offers a similar service called Open Textbook Library.

Tillery pointed out other departments are taking initiative as well.

"Some faculty at UNLV in the computer science department," she explained, "are writing their own textbook, and they're going to make that freely accessible for any other class that might want to use it."

Students also should be aware of the American Opportunity Tax Credit for educational expenses, worth $2,500 a year. If the credit brings the tax you owe to zero, you can get up to $1,000 dollars in refunds.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.

The State of California is launching a new program that will pay college students $10,000 to volunteer doing public service work for a year.

Announced on Tuesday, some 6,500 students will be able to join the new Californians for All College Corps and will be required to put in 450 service hours, working on issues such as COVID-19 recovery, climate change and education.

Josh Fryday, chief service officer for the state, said it's a way to help low-income students afford college, earn credits and gain valuable work experience.

"Like the G.I. bill," he said, "if you are willing to serve your community and give back in meaningful way, we are going to help you pay for college."

Across the state, 45 campuses will take part - including schools from the University of California and California State University systems, plus community colleges and some private institutions. On a Californians for All College Corps website, you can find a list of schools and details on how to apply.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said the shared experience of giving back is intended to foster a new generation of civic-minded leaders.

"And if this thing works, we can go back to the Legislature and take it to a whole another level," he said. "We can take it to the rest of the country, because nobody else is doing this. Nobody!"

Unlike AmeriCorps, this program will be open to the "Dreamers" - undocumented students who were brought to the United States as children. Students who receive Pell Grants also will be able to count the $10,000 grant toward their required personal contribution to their education expenses.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.