Our Locations and Key Contacts
The CU Denver Prison-Education-Program (PEP) runs in partnership with the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC). If you wish to contact the PEP, please email Dr. Stephen J. Hartnett at stephen.hartnett@ucdenver.edu, or call at 303-315-1914.
If you need to contact the CDOC about any educational issues, please email Leigh Burrows, the Assistant Director of Prison Programs. Her email is leigh.burrows@state.co.us; her phone number is 719-619-7691.
The CU Denver Prison Education Program has been approved by the Regents of the University of Colorado, the Colorado Higher Learning Commission, and the federal Department of Education.
As of Fall 2025, we will be offering college classes at these two facilities:
| Facility | Educational Liaison |
|---|---|
| Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility (CTCF), 275 US-50 Cañon City, CO 81215 |
emily.belllujan@state.co.us 719-275-4181 |
| Sterling Correctional Facility (SCF) 12101 CO-61 Sterling, CO 80751 |
nicole.armstrong@state.co.us melinda.saffer@state.co.us 970-521-5010 |
The Admissions Process
Please speak to your facility’s educational liaison about when the next application period will begin. As part of the application process, CU Denver will run both orientation and recruitment sessions where we will try to answer all of your questions.
To apply for admission to our PEP, you will need to provide proof of either high school graduation or successful completion of a GED. Some applicants may have already completed their AA degree while incarcerated; for those students, we will need to see a copy of your transcript from your prior school(s). Our admissions process does not consider your crime or your sentence.
For the admissions process, you are asked to write a 2-page essay answering these questions:
Name: __________________________________________
Date of Birth: _____________________________________
CDOC #: ________________________________________
Essay Questions: Please tell us about:
- Your past educational experiences
- Your reasons for wanting to join the program
- Your dream job upon release
- Your commitment to working in teams and modeling an “ethic of care” for yourself and your classmates.
You will submit your application to your facilty liaison.
How Tuition Works
Once you are admitted to the PEP, your first important task is to become eligible for using federal Pell Grants to pay for your tuition. To do this, you must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (called a FAFSA).
Go to https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa to access helpful information about the FAFSA.
Please note that throughout the year, the PEP will run FAFSA Awareness Workshops, held in conjunction with the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE), wherein the PEP and the CDHE will help you complete this task.
The PEP has created a discounted tuition scale so that incarcerated students using Pell Grants can work toward their BA degrees without accruing any debt or loans. There will be no financial cost to you. The PEP will provide all necessary learning materials.