The 2025 Higher Education in Prison Census, produced by researchers at the Prison Education Action Research Lab (PEARL) at the University of Utah, is, according to the report's authors, the most comprehensive account to date of postsecondary education in prison and campus-based reentry programs in the United States.

In April 2025, researchers with the Prison Education Action Research Lab (PEARL) distributed the 2025 Higher Education in Prison Census (2025 Census) to all known institutional representatives of prison higher education programs.1 Data and information for this update are drawn from two primary sources: 1) unique program responses to the 2025 Census (n=147) and 2) unique manual entries to the 2025 Census with institution and program information gathered by the research team using the internet, email communication, news publications, and collaboration with state and regional liaisons (n=401).

To support transparency, accuracy, and continued information-sharing, additional information about data, method, and limitations are at the end of this report, including data-related documents available for download.

PEARL’s 2025 Census data was used to update the National Directory of Higher Education in Prison Programs in the summer of 2026.