Thank you for your interest in offering postsecondary educational opportunities within the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC). Access to postsecondary opportunities is a critical component of the educational programming offered within the CDOC. The CDOC takes seriously the responsibility to ensure that programs offer students the chance to succeed and grow academically, professionally, and personally.

For education programs seeking to use Pell Grant funding for incarcerated students, this application is the first step in a multi-step process that will span two years. This process includes the approval of this application by the CDOC, review, approval and post-approval site visit by the accrediting body for the college/university, approval by the US Department of Education, annual submission of program data and a final approval from the CDOC Stakeholder Committee that the higher education in prison program is acting in the "best interest" of students. The "Best Interest Determination" requirement also includes the accreditor's review of the methodology for the process. You can learn more about the process and the US DoE requirements at the FSA Prison Education Knowledge Center (General-23-52). Programs that do not intend to use Pell Grant funding for incarcerated students will engage in the same process, with the exceptions of submitting a formal application to the US Department of Education, nor is there a "Best Interest Determination" methodology review undertaken by the accreditor. 

This application is for all postsecondary programs (colleges/universities) interested in offering educational opportunities within the Department of Corrections in the State of Colorado. Applications will be reviewed by the Postsecondary Education Review 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). 

Please answer questions as completely as possible. All questions that require a response are marked with an asterisk (*). If your program is applying to work in multiple facilities and/or with multiple Programs of Study, please be sure to include the required information for each facility/Program of Study throughout the application. 

Applications with missing information are subject to return for completion. 

*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. You must be logged into a Google Account to save. 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. 

Direct questions to: doc_postsecondary@state.co.us