What is Princeton Project Inside?
Princeton Project Inside is a program that began operating in 2005. We work in concert with a larger prison education program called Project Inside run by Mercer Community College. The Mercer program offers students in a number of prisons a limited selection of community college classes. Unfortunately, due to government-imposed funding limitations they can't offer courses to anyone over age 25. They also don't have the resources to offer enough courses for inmates to earn a full AA degree. The goal of the program at Princeton is to use volunteers to supplement what Mercer offers, offering more courses with no age restrictions, with the eventual goal of having enough classes to allow students to complete a degree from Mercer.

Where does Princeton Project Inside work?
Project Inside currently works with inmates in two prisons: Garden State Youth Correctional Facility, in Yardville, NJ, and Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women, in Clinton, NJ. GSYCF is about half and hour from Princeton, near Camden, and EMCFW is about an hour from Princeton, off I-78. GSYCF houses men under the age of 30, and EMCFW houses women of all ages.

How can I help?
We need volunteers to teach classes. People with master's degrees or PhDs can act as lead instructors, and people with bachelor's degrees, or in exceptional cases upper level undergraduates, can act as teaching assistants. Classes run from 6 PM to 8 PM weeknights at GSYCF, and 5:15 PM to 7:15 PM weeknights at EMCFW. Individual volunteers generally commit about one evening of work per week, which can be in the form of lecturing, grading, leading a discussion section, or something else. A course is generally taught by 4-6 volunteers, who share the workload.

Can I contribute in ways other than volunteering?
We welcome monetary contributions to help purchase textbooks and other course materials. Right now we are a fledgling program and are not organized as a non-profit, so we can't offer you a tax deduction for donations.

How can I get more information?
For more information, please contact the director of Princeton Project Inside, Dr. Mark Krumholz, krumholz (o) astro princeton edu, 609-258-2303, 103 Peyton Hall.

Links to web pages for individual courses
At GSYCF
Algebra I (MATH 135), spring 2008
Algebra II (MATH 141), fall 2007
Algebra I (MATH 135), spring 2007
Algebra I (MATH 135), fall 2006
Algebra I (MATH 135), spring 2006

At EMCFW
Introduction to College Writing (ENG 101), spring 2008
Algebra I (MATH 135), spring 2008
Algebra I (MATH 135), fall 2007
Algebra I (MATH 135), summer 2007

Links to other prison college programs
The Prison University Project at San Quentin Prison (California)