Second Chances on the College Campus: Implementation of Pell funding at a SCP Site

• In Event: Reinvigorating Prison Education: Early Lessons from the Second Chance Pell Pilot Program

Abstract

Holy Cross College (HCC) was the only campus in the state of Indiana to win the Second Chance Pell award in 2016 for its program at Westville Correctional Facility. Although institutional support for the program has remained consistently high since inception, implementation of the SCP has proven cumbersome, and sometimes prohibitive, due the need to interface with new and different departments across campus—including Admissions, Financial Aid, and the Business offices. On the other hand, being a SCP recipient has allowed for a more robust educational experience and enriched growth of the college at Westville. Holy Cross College has been able to engage many colleagues and centers at the University
of Notre Dame to invest in the Westville Education Initiative (WEI). In many ways, WEI has been on the cutting edge of campus development for HCC, and students involve at WCF have had a better education than their counterparts on the main campus. Unfortunately, SCP cannot sustain the college alone; and the
pending expiration of SCP restricts the full potential of the college. Fortunately, there is growing bipartisan support for reinstating SCP for all incarcerated college students, which would mean WEI could provide educational opportunities at WCF indefinitely.

Authors

• Alesha Seroczynski, Holy Cross College

• Sheila McCarthy, Holy Cross College