Currently, 30 men are enrolled in the Augustana Prison Education Program. Classes for the second year of the program started last week.
Doctor Sharon Varallo is the Executive Director of the Augustana program. She says it's the first in Illinois to implement a Second Chance Pell Experimental Site program. That designation allows the students at the prison to benefit from Pell Grant federal funds which has been banned for 28 years.
The approval process included lots of paperwork, accreditation, and collaboration across campus and with state agencies.
One goal is for Augustana to share best practices with other colleges and universities in Illinois. Varallo says that's because next summer, full Pell Grant funding will be restored to prisoners.
She's with the Illinois Coalition for Higher Education in Prison (IL-CHEP) which has already created a pamphlet for colleges and universities that want to begin offering courses for credit in prisons.
Varallo also says an essential part of the Augustana program's success is its partnership with East Moline prison employees and the Illinois Department of Corrections.
