Prison Education Program a Pioneer for Pell Grants
Oct. 18, 2024
Central Oregon Community College (COCC) recently received Pell Grant certification from the U.S. Department of Education for its newly designed associate degree prison education program (PEP) at Deer Ridge Correctional Institution in Madras — one of just several such programs in the entire country, and the first in Oregon, to earn that distinction.
“To our knowledge, we are the third school in the nation to receive this approval,” said Tony Russell, instructional dean at COCC.
The certification will allow adults in custody pursuing an associate of arts Oregon transfer degree at COCC, which received accreditation last December, to apply for Pell Grant support. Congress last year lifted a 26-year ban on Pell Grants for incarcerated individuals, and in July of 2023 the new grant eligibility took effect, with higher education prison programs nationwide able to apply for certification.
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American Association of Community Colleges
Image: COCC biology professor Emma Chaput, who has spearheaded the transfer degree program, teaching at Deer Ridge. Photo by Tiffany Camhi/OPB.
