Goucher Prison Education Partnership
Founded in 2012, the Goucher Prison Education Partnership (GPEP) is a division of Goucher College operating in two Maryland state prisons, the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women (MCIW) and the Maryland Correctional Institution – Jessup (MCIJ). Each year, around 130 GPEP students enroll in college classes taught by faculty from Goucher and other local colleges and universities. They are held to the rigorous academic standards for which Goucher is known. GPEP provides students with tutoring, academic advising, all needed books and materials, and workshops on topics such as "What are the liberal arts?" and "What is a major?" Volunteers provide academic tutoring, administrative help in GPEP's offices, and research and student hotline support, as well as supporting GPEP alumni after they come home in applying to college to complete their degree.
GPEP students who graduate while in prison earn a Goucher College bachelor's degree in American Studies. Those who return home before completing their degree can finish on Goucher's main campus or apply their college credits at any accredited college or university in the country. More than 40% of GPEP students who completed their degree with Goucher graduated with honors. Others do not complete their degree right away but instead use their college credits and knowledge to access enhanced employment opportunities to support themselves, their families, and their communities
The entire Goucher academic community is enhanced and strengthened by the inclusion of these talented, dedicated students at the two prisons. Our work together stimulates awareness and meaningful dialogue in and beyond the Goucher community about justice, incarceration, and educational access.
Our First Ten Years
To celebrate GPEP’s first decade, we created this video commemorating the milestone.
Meet Some Current Students and Alumni
GPEP offers a college education to students in prison not because there is something broken in them that needs to be repaired but because there is huge potential in them waiting to be unlocked. Hear from students directly—they are the best narrators of their own journeys.
GPEP in the News
- June 29, 2023
GPEP student James Randles III won the Rhoda M. Dorsey Leadership Award, which recognizes students for their sustained leadership, commitment, teamwork, ingenuity, and ability to work with those within and outside the Goucher community. James' mother Diane Richards, pictured here, accepted the award from Goucher President Kent Devereaux on behalf of her son.
- June 21, 2023
The Goucher Prison Education Partnership (GPEP) was featured on WYPR's "Midday." The show's host, Tom Hall, interviewed GPEP Executive Director Eliza Cornejo, who discussed the program's current focus on expanding student academic opportunities and reducing time to degree.