How the Rising Scholars Program is Redefining Student Success
by Daniel Graham
Chaffey College’s Rising Scholars program aims to provide higher education to an often-forgotten population — people in California state prisons and those affected by the prison system. The program is part of California Community Colleges’ statewide network that “is committed to supporting system impacted students both during and after incarceration,” according to Chaffey’s equity and engagement website. With Rising Scholars programs at 91 campuses and 68 correctional facilities across California, the network seeks to empower incarcerated individuals as well as students who are impacted through family in the system by providing them resources to pursue a higher education.
Formerly known as “Turning Point,” Chaffey College’s Rising Scholars program already has an established on-campus program that provides support through access to a community of educators and students that are navigating or impacted by the justice and carceral systems. The program provides access to laptops, counseling and financial aid as well.
Students within the Rising Scholars program also have access to Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS), counseling, Disability Programs and Services (DPS), and the student success centers that are led by other incarcerated students who are trained as tutors. These programs and services allow students to complete an associate’s degree within three years even when incarcerated.
Additionally, Chaffey College works with students at California Institution for Men (CIM) and the California Institutions for Women (CIW); the programs at these facilities have “served nearly one thousand students, with students passing 94% of the courses they’ve attempted,” according to their website.
Following the release from prison, students who have completed the program have reportedly gone on to continue their education at Chaffey or other community colleges, while others have pursued education at four-year universities such as UC Berkeley and San Diego State University.
Bolstered by the credentials offered by a degree, graduates have found a 10% increase in employment after gaining the skills and connections necessary to overcome recidivism.
The goal of the program is to “make it as equal as possible so they can have access to an [associate’s] degree, without any barriers," said Charmaine Phipps, who has taught at both CIM and CIW since 2018.
She claimed that that the students in the program are “the highest students that we have at Chaffey across the board … Statistically, they get more A’s and A pluses much more than any other Chaffey students.”
Beginning this year, Chaffey College began offering classes for students in the Rising Scholars program to earn their associate’s degree in journalism.
According to the Chino Champion, Professor Ian Jones said that “[they] were hoping to attract 25 students to the class and [they] ended up with 50.”
With support from journalism students at Chaffey’s Rancho Cucamonga campus, the Rising Scholars program aims to lay the foundation for students at CIM to begin their own reporting through data collection and digital publishing. Chaffey’s student publication, The Breeze, will work alongside students at CIM to help them along in their journey by developing an external support team and providing research assistance.
Following a trend in the state, there is a strong local effort to have the prison shut down. Already, the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco (just 20 minutes away from CIM) isslated to close in 2026. Despite this, the program serves as a testament to those behind the barbed-wire fence that they are not forgotten and a path to success is still available to them.