Over the years we have discovered that TUMI sites in prisons require a specialized understanding of prison culture. Further, because the word travels quickly within the world of prison officials (wardens, chaplains, departments of corrections), it is especially important that no TUMI class begins in a prison without proper screening to ensure the quality of the TUMI program. In other words, one negative report about a TUMI program in a prison could affect the credibility of TUMI in all prisons nationally.

For this reason, we require a separate application and acceptance process before anyone can start a TUMI class in a state or federal prison. Even those TUMI sites that have already received authority to conduct TUMI classes outside prisons must apply for permission to launch a TUMI class inside a prison. Without expressed written authority to start a class in prison, no student-inmate will receive credit toward a certificate.