Central Oregon Community College is among just a handful of higher education institutions in the nation that can now offer federal Pell Grants to people who are incarcerated.
Jordan Gamroth (left), Sam Hannah (center) and Jordan Tippet (right) discuss a research article in their health class at Deer Ridge Correctional Institution on April 29, 2024.
Tiffany Camhi / OPB
COCC was the first school in Oregon to receive approval for its Prison Education Program, or PEP, at Deer Ridge Correctional Institution in Madras.
Pell Grants are the U.S. Department of Education’s single largest source of need-based funding for undergraduate students. The grants, which do not have to be paid back, typically go directly to students for them to use toward college expenses. But PEP Pell Grant money will instead head straight to higher education institutions, rather than to incarcerated students.
Congress restored federal student aid for incarcerated people in 2021, but approval of PEP applications did not start coming down the line until this year.
The green light from the Education Department comes after COCC launched a new associate of arts transfer degree program at Deer Ridge this spring. This type of degree allows students to easily transfer into any one of Oregon’s seven public universities.
The program’s inaugural cohort included 18 students. That number is now down to 17 because one student is being released from DRCI this week. Deer Ridge students began fall term last week, said Emma Chaput, COCC biology professor and transfer degree program lead.
“They’re excited because we’re among the first to get [PEP] approval and I think they’re a little proud about that,” said Chaput. “And they’re just thrilled to be able to continue moving forward with their education.”
Chaput said students at Deer Ridge can expect the full cost of the COCC transfer degree to be covered by Pell Grants.
Chaput began the process for COCC to become a PEP institution last year, sending in application materials in December 2023. She said the school was notified of its approval this July, after nearly eight months of waiting for a response. A second Oregon program followed shortly after, with Portland State University receiving approval for its Prison Education Program application in August.
Although students at Deer Ridge now have access to federal Pell Grants, that doesn’t mean the new transfer degree program can comfortably expand. Chaput said she would like to welcome a new cohort of Deer Ridge students into the program each academic year but it must first overcome some technical, physical and personnel constraints before growing further.
“A lot of that will depend on space availability at Deer Ridge and expanding staffing support,” said Chaput. “In order to make this program sustainable for the long term, we’re going to need to have permanent staff who are dedicated to the administration of this program.”
At the very least, Pell Grant funding for students at Deer Ridge is secured for the foreseeable future. COCC does not have to reapply for PEP approval. But program leaders are required to submit data every two years to the Oregon Department of Corrections, outlining how students are doing.