Current Programs
How It Started and Where We Are Now
History of Pell Grants in Higher Education in Prison
Pell grants are a form of federal student aid that helps people with low incomes go to college as a means of increasing their opportunities. Prior to the 1994 Crime Bill, incarceration was not a disqualification for Pell, and 1200 prison college programs operated across the US, run by about 800 colleges. After Pell eligibility was rescinded in 1994, only seven programs survived by 1997. Over the years, schools and philanthropies supported some college programs, but Pell grants are a crucial backbone of programs serving people who are incarcerated.
Second Chance Pell (2015-2023)
Four colleges (listed below) from the Virginia Community College System emerged as national leaders by establishing early educational partnerships with Virginia Department of Corrections prisons. These collaborations became part of the federal Second Chance Pell experiment, in which select colleges were permitted to utilize Pell grants for incarcerated students.
In 2023, Pell eligibility was reaffirmed for all American citizens meeting lower-income guidelines, without regard to incarceration status. Colleges that didn’t participate in the pilot program may now apply to become (Pell fundable) Prison Education Programs (PEP), a process involving approvals from accrediting bodies, corrections and the federal Department of Education.
Programs in Operation in 2024
Danville Community College: Second Chance Pell Program
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Danville Community College enrolls students at Green Rock Correctional Center in Chatham, Virginia. Instructors travel to the correctional center to offer in-person college coursework and career-focused training. The college, an early participant in the Second Chance Pell program (2015), enrolls students for degrees and certifications in Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, Drafting, Surveying, Electrical, and Custodial Maintenance.
Since 2017, more than one hundred Danville Community College students at Green Rock Correctional Center have earned Career Studies Certificates!
Danville Community College is in the process of transitioning from the Second Chance Pell Program to become an approved Prison Education Program (PEP), which grants it permission to offer Pell grants to any income-eligible student enrollees, whether on campus or at Green Rock Correctional Center.
CONTACT: Melissa Mann, Dean of Career & Technical Education, Melissa.Mann@danville.edu
Piedmont Virginia Community College: Higher Education in Prison Program
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The Higher Education in Prison Program at Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville offers opportunities for incarcerated learners to transform their lives through participation in quality post-secondary education programs at three Virginia Department of Corrections prisons: Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women (in Troy) and Buckingham and Dillwyn (for men, in Dillwyn). Each semester, about 120 students are active in Piedmont Community College’s degree programs.
The degree program consists of 63 credit hours of in-person instruction, allowing students to design a curriculum that meets their individual goals. Students earn associate’s degrees (AS) in General Studies, with credit mobility, that is, accumulating transferable credits to bachelor’s degree programs at 4-year institutions.
Piedmont Community College is transitioning from the pilot Second Chance Pell program to the “full Pell” program, which means incarcerated students and on-campus students will qualify for Pell grants upon completion of the same FAFSA and by meeting the same income criteria. This transition is occurring nationally, as the Second Chance Pell program is ceding to complete reinstatement of Pell eligibility for incarcerated learners, as of July 1, 2023.
CONTACT: Julie Olive, Higher Education in Prison Program Coordinator, JOlive@pvcc.edu
Southside Virginia Community College: Campus Within Walls
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The Southside Virginia Community College Campus Within Walls enrolls students at four Virginia Department of Corrections prisons for men in Central Virginia, including Baskerville Correctional Center, Lunenburg Correctional Center, Nottoway Correctional Center, and State Farm Correctional Center. The fifth program is for women at the Virginia Correctional Center for Women.
In total, about 250 students every academic year pursue associate’s degrees in General Studies or Business Management with Southside while incarcerated in Central Virginia. Many obtain income-based, federal Pell grants to cover their tuition and fees — paralleling a percentage of on-campus students who similarly meet the income qualifications for Pell grants.
Southside Virginia Community College was selected for an early cohort of Second Chance Pell colleges in 2016, but it has partnered with the Virginia Department of Corrections since 1985, offering associate’s degree programs, vocational training, and personal development workshops tailored to the needs and interests of students whose college experience takes place behind bars. By integrating rigorous academic curricula with practical skills training, Campus Within Walls works to equip students with knowledge, skills, and credentials to help them succeed when they come home to enter the job market or transfer credits toward bachelor’s degree completion at a 4-year college.
CONTACT: Amanda Cox, College Behind Walls Coordinator, amanda.cox@southside.edu
Rappahannock Community College: Haynesville Correctional Center Educational Program
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Rappahannock Community College’s educational partnership with Haynesville Correctional Center began in 2008, as a small college program was implemented on-site at the correctional facility on the Northern Neck, funded primarily by the Sunshine Lady Foundation. With further support from the Laughing Gull Foundation the program grew, leading to approval as one of the first Second Chance Pell Grant Experimental Sites in 2015.
Until 2023, the program consisted entirely of academic coursework for the associate’s degree, enabling credits to transfer to bachelor’s degree programs. The transferable academic program currently serves more than 70 students a year.
Haynesville Correctional Center is a re-entry facility, and in 2023 the partnership with Rappahannock Community College expanded to include short-term workforce training courses geared toward helping students find a first job upon release. Workforce training courses are available to students who are within six months of release. The program has included certifications in OSHA 10, solar utility installation, and customer service/soft skills and has enrolled over 100 students since inception.
Both programs – academic and workforce training-- are delivered in-person on grounds at Haynesville Correctional Center and are focused on helping students transition successfully back into society.
CONTACT: Barbara Schaab, RCC Haynesville Program Director, bschaab@rappahannock.edu
Four-year Colleges and Universities
Virginia Wesleyan University: Center for Urban Leadership Education
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In 2024, Virginia Wesleyan University (VWU), in Virginia Beach, established the Center for Urban Leadership Education in partnership with the Urban League of Hampton Roads (ULHR). The initiative reflects a shared hope of reducing repeat incarceration by providing post-secondary educational opportunities to individuals while they are in prison.
The Center will include the Incarcerated Persons Reentry Program, developed with the Urban League of Hampton Roads and the Virginia Department of Corrections. Congressman Bobbie Scott was instrumental in securing a federal earmark to support the new programs. VWU is in the process of applying to become a Pell-fundable prison education program.
CONTACT: Deirdre Gonsalves-Jackson, PhD; Vice President for VWU Global Campus; Globalcampus@vwu.edu
University of Virginia: Resilience Education Prison Reentry Education Program & Resilient Professional Community
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Resilience Education pairs the University of Virginia MBA and law students with incarcerated learners in the Darden School Prison Reentry Education Program (PREP) for business and finance courses. Use of the Socratic case study method generates discussion-based, probative, and dynamic forms of dialogue to encourage learners to explore ideas, challenge their own beliefs, and voice their opinions. Students earn six UVA credits from the School of Continuing and Professional Studies.
In addition to classroom experience, Resilience offers access to valuable post-incarceration professional networking in their Resilient Professional Community, made up of formerly incarcerated individuals and graduates who served as their instructors, now in the business world.
Resilience Education has launched a consortium of business schools and law schools in other states that utilize the Resilience model in their own settings, aiming to expand the creative network at the interface of system-impacted and business school communities.
CONTACTS:
Jessica Turner; Program Manager, In-Prison Education; jessica@resilience-education.orgNashid Mateen, Coordinator, Resilient Professional Community: nashid@resilience-education.org