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Bard College is expanding its program for incarcerated students with a new enrollment and transfer initiative prompted by the recent closures of Alliance University and Medaille University.
Bard recently enrolled 80 transfer students from Alliance and Medaille, according to a college press release. Alliance and Medaille previously enrolled students from Albion Correctional Facility for women and at Fishkill Correctional Facility for men, prisons where Bard also operated (along with five other sites also in New York). Now with 80 students in those facilities transferring to Bard, the college has the largest class of incarcerated students in the nearly 25-year history of its prison education program. The news release put current enrollment of incarcerated students at over 400.
Alliance and Medaille, both small private colleges, announced closures in recent months.
Alliance, a Christian college located in New York City, lost accreditation in June amid severe financial issues. Within weeks of losing accreditation, Alliance announced it would close. However, university officials said at the time they would try to keep Alliance’s seminary open.
Medaille, which had struggled with enrollment and finances in recent years, was set to be acquired by Trocaire College—also located in Buffalo—before the deal suddenly fell through. Medaille announced a closure weeks after the acquisition deal was called off.
