Ivy Tech approved for use of Pell Grants for inmates
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The Indiana Department of Correction has approved the use of Pell Grants for three Ivy Tech Community College certificates available to inmates.
If approved by the U.S. Department of Education and Ivy Tech’s accrediting agencies, the initiative would make inmates eligible to receive financial aid through the Federal Pell Grant Program, Ivy Tech said in a news release Thursday. Inmates pursuing either of two business administration certificates offered by Ivy Tech Madison or an automotive technology technical certificate at Ivy Tech Terre Haute would be eligible to apply for the aid.
“Helping incarcerated individuals earn postsecondary credentials of value not only reduces recidivism, increases employment, supports successful reentry and enhances public safety, it also reflects our ideals as a nation of second chances and limitless possibilities,” college President Sue Ellspermann said in the news release. “Ivy Tech is Indiana’s workforce engine and provides stackable credentials that allow these Hoosiers to continue their education after release as well.”
For the first time in nearly 30 years, students enrolled in approved prison education programs are now eligible for Pell Grants under the FAFSA Simplification Act, the news release said.
“For incarcerated individuals, having the opportunity to earn a college certificate has the potential to permanently change the trajectory of their lives,” Correction Department Commissioner Christina Reagle said in the news release.
Each year, more than 5,000 people currently or previously incarcerated in Indiana have received instruction through Ivy Tech Madison in fields such as logistics, welding, cosmetology, hospitality and culinary arts, building trades, and English literacy, the college said. Ivy Tech and the Correction Department also offer skills training programs at eight sites statewide.