The Justice-in-Education Initiative (JIE) collaborates with other universities and community based organizations to run courses, workshops, and creative projects on campus, in local prisons, and at the Rikers Island jail complex. The JIE's mission is to transform the lives of people affected by incarceration. Through their programs, Columbia academics, students, communities affected by incarceration, and the general public may communicate and work together to create a higher education system that is more just and socially conscious. JIE offers incarcerated and formerly incarcerated men and women and kids from communities at the center of the imprisonment crisis opportunities for education and leadership development. They also encourage evidence-based advocacy for higher education in prisons and jails, as well as for persons coming home, in collaboration with other colleges and community organizations. Additionally, the organization seeks to change public and political perceptions of the necessity of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people having access to higher education.