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There are about 30 students enrolled in the Augustana Prison
Education Program (APEP) inside East Moline Correctional Center,
a minimum-security facility. The program is the first Second
Chance Pell Experimental Site in the state to draw upon Second
Chance Pell awards from the U.S. Department of Education to pay
for tuition.
This is the first program of its type in Illinois since
incarcerated persons were banned access to Pell grants in 1994,
but that has changed, and now regular college classes are taking
place behind bars.
“Pell restoration is a tremendous opportunity to expand
partnerships between colleges and correctional agencies to
deliver high-quality education to individuals in custody,” said
Rob Jeffries, director of the Illinois Department of
Corrections.
APEP was started in 2021 with funds from the Austin E. Knowlton
Foundation and sustained with donations from community
organizations and private donors. Now, as a Second Chance Pell
Experimental Site, Augustana can utilize need-based Pell grants
to pay for the costs of college for individuals in custody.
“We have seen how providing access to excellent education sets
individuals up for success as they re-enter back into society,”
said Amber Allen, assistant warden of programs at East Moline
Correctional Center.
Next summer, full Pell Grant funding will be restored to
prisoners. As a result, Allen envisions the program expanding
elsewhere.
“By having these opportunities and seeing the success of it, we
hope that it does blossom in different opportunities throughout
the state of Illinois and also throughout the United States,”
Allen said.
Kevin Bessler reports on statewide issues in
Illinois for the Center Square. He has over 30 years of
experience in radio news reporting throughout the Midwest.
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