Part of this effort has been to deny inmates the access they formerly had to college-level courses

这句话单独挑出来要解释很困难,因为有可能会被误导.deny inmates the access they formerly had to college-level courses用了 deny sb access to sth 的句型,在这里应被理解为：“取消了原有的为受刑人提供的大专程...