History of the Campbell University Second Chance Initiative
The Campbell University Second Chance Initiative (SCI) was established through a unique public–private partnership between the Bob Barker Company Foundation (BBCF), the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction (NCDAC), and Campbell University. The initiative originated from BBCF’s interest in replicating the success of Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison, a New York based program that had demonstrated significant reductions in recidivism through access to quality postsecondary education for incarcerated individuals.
Seeking to bring a similar model to North Carolina, BBCF approached representatives from Campbell University and NCDAC to explore their interest in creating a higher education program within the state’s correctional system. Both partners expressed strong support for the concept, recognizing its alignment with Campbell University’s mission to prepare students for purposeful lives and meaningful service, and NCDAC’s goal of fostering rehabilitation and reentry success.
In 2019, this partnership gave rise to the Campbell University Second Chance Initiative, with Sampson Correctional Institution, an adult male medium- and minimum-custody facility in Clinton, North Carolina selected as the inaugural site. The Associate of Science in Behavioral Science (ASBS) degree launched that fall, marking the beginning of the university’s in-prison higher education program. Two classrooms in the facility’s Educational/Vocational building were dedicated to Campbell courses, allowing incarcerated students to participate in a full college experience within the correctional environment.
In response to student demand for continued education, the partners collaborated again in 2021 to expand the program to include a Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies – Training and Development with a minor in Addiction Studies, enabling SCI graduates to pursue a four-year degree while incarcerated.
Building on the success at Sampson Correctional, Campbell University extended the ASBS program to women at Anson Correctional Institution—a medium- and closed-custody facility in Polkton, North Carolina in Spring 2023. Two large classrooms were designated for instruction, and by Summer 2025, Anson students advanced into the bachelor’s degree program in Communication Studies – Training and Development with a minor in Addiction Studies.
Campbell University Partnership with Arise Collective: Re-entry Higher Education Initiative
In January 2023, Campbell University entered into a partnership with Arise Collective, a non-profit organization based in Raleigh, North Carolina whose mission is to equip women with the tools and support they need to heal, grow, and thrive, both in prison and in the communities to which they return. Campbell University serves as the educational partner for this initiative to provide student support services, tutoring, academic advising, and enrollment management for eligible women who are beginning or continuing their education upon re-entry.