SHERIDAN – Lewis University have begun their Spring semester of classes inside Sheridan Correctional Center. The program in Sheridan is the second in the state using Pell Grant awards from the US Department of Education, following Augustana College at the East Moline Correctional Center last September. The new prison education program at Sheridan Correctional Center is the latest in many interventions and other services provided at one of the largest substance abuse treatment programs in the nation. The Illinois Department of Corrections and Lewis University are partnering to give the 19 enrolled students the chance to earn a bachelor’s degree in Professional Studies. Faculty will travel from the main Lewis University campus in Romeoville to Sheridan Correctional Center to instruct students on the same coursework.
“IDOC is proud to expand its growing list of college partners with the Lewis University Prison Education Program at Sheridan Correctional Center. The launch of this new program will not only provide high-quality education to another cohort of students – but marks a second ‘Second Chance Pell Experimental Site’ in Illinois as we prepare for full Pell restoration later this year,” said Rob Jeffreys, Director of IDOC.
The Second Chance Pell Initiative enables individuals in custody to participate in education programs with Pell grant funding. Lewis University was among 73 institutions approved in April 2022 by the U.S. Department of Education to participate in the Second Chance Pell Grant Experiment.
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