Columbia College Rising Scholars

Rising Scholars Program (formerly ISP)

The Rising Scholars Program (RSP) at Columbia College, formerly known as ISP, exists to serve justice impacted students with targeted resources and provides a supportive and inclusive community. We serve juveniles and adults who have ever experienced an arrest, detainment, probation, or incarceration in our on-campus Rising Scholars Center. In addition, we also provide college courses and services to students currently residing at Sierra Conservation Center (SCC), Vallecito Conservation Camp, Pine Grove Youth Conservation Camp, and Mother Lode Regional Juvenile Detention Facility. Our services are confidential, tailored to the needs of individuals, and are guided by the belief that every person has a right to quality education regardless of their personal background.

First Person Language Guide

Columbia College's Rising Scholars Program strives to use best practices in the way we interact with students who have been impacted by the legal system. One of those best practices is adapting the way we refer to our students. Below is a language guide provided by the Formerly Incarcerated College Graduates Network that our program has adopted.

Do Say	Don't Say
Formerly incarcerated person or system impacted person	Ex-or former: Offender, inmate, convicted felon
Person in recovery or who has overcome addiction	Former drug addict
Incarcerated person	Inmate, offender, prisoner
Criminal Legal System or Penal System	Criminal Justice System
Person on parole or person under community supervision	Parolee
Person recently released from prison	Returning citizen
Students who are incarcerated	Prisoner students

Rising Scholars Network - Inside CDCR Video

Faculty Resources

Underground Scholars Language Guide

An Educator's Guide to Prison

Summer 2021 ISP Correspondence Faculty Training

Fall 2022 ISP Faculty Training

Spring 2023 ISP Faculty Training

Summer 2023 ISP Faculty Training

Carrying Hope blog post

CDCR Canvas

Rising Scholars at Sierra Conservation Center now have laptops and have access to a CDCR version of Canvas. Please inquire with Kelsey about the process for getting cleared to start, restrictions of the CDCR Canvas instance, and course vetting to get started.

CDCR Canvas Login

Rising Scholars Newsletters

Fall 2022 Rising Scholars Newsletter