Partnership for College Completion Receives Grant from ECMC Foundation to Strengthen Higher Education in Prison Across Illinois

Partnership for College Completion Receives Grant from ECMC Foundation to Strengthen Higher Education in Prison Across Illinois

CHICAGO  – The Partnership for College Completion (PCC) has received an 18-month planning and coalition-building grant from ECMC Foundation to support expansion of equitable, high-quality higher education opportunities for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated Illinoisans.

With this investment, PCC will work with partners to spark a statewide effort that strengthens Illinois’ higher education in prison (HEP) and reentry ecosystem. The project will focus on identifying structural barriers to student enrollment and completion of degree programs, aligning partners around a shared policy agenda, and laying the groundwork for sustainable, data-informed systems that improve access, degree attainment, and reentry outcomes.

The investment by ECMC Foundation comes on the heels of PCC’s work with the 104th General Assembly to invest in HEP programs in the most recent budget legislation. Split between IBHE and ICCB, $500,000 will be dedicated to HEP programs that assist students in earning bachelor’s and associate degrees.

“This investment from ECMC Foundation comes at a critical moment in higher education and for our neighbors returning home after incarceration,” said PCC Executive Director Kyle Southern, Ph.D. “Illinois has the opportunity to bolster access for incarcerated learners, but doing so requires coordinated action, strong partnerships, and policies that center the needs of justice-impacted students. We are honored to help lead that work.”

Prison education programs reduce recidivism, prepare incarcerated people for successful reentry, and boost economic prospects for reentering individuals. Access to postsecondary education–especially degree programs–for incarcerated individuals in Illinois declined dramatically in recent years. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 3,300 incarcerated students were enrolled in degree programs. That number had fallen to an estimated 384 students by 2024, despite the restoration of federal Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated learners. Providing rehabilitation opportunities for people who are incarcerated is in the state’s best interest according to national policy research and voters across the political spectrum.

As Illinois’ only nonprofit research and advocacy organization dedicated exclusively to systemic higher education policy reform, PCC brings a unique combination of policy expertise, convening power, research capacity, and an equity-centered approach to the initiative. PCC serves on the steering committee of the Illinois Coalition for Higher Ed in Prison (IL-CHEP), which gathers key stakeholders including HEP program directors, members of the business community, and reentry organizations. Through convenings with practitioners and those at the grassroots level, as well as coordinating with partners at the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE), Illinois Community College Board (ICCB), and the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), PCC will help translate program-level challenges into actionable policy solutions, strengthen statewide data infrastructure, and elevate the voices and experiences of justice-impacted students.

A key component of the project will be the integration of a justice-impacted fellow into PCC’s project team. The fellow will contribute firsthand expertise to research, policy development, partner engagement, and narrative strategy, ensuring that the perspectives of those most directly affected by higher education in prison policies remain central to statewide planning and implementation efforts.

“By strengthening cross-sector partnerships, advancing policy solutions, and building stronger data systems, we aim to help create a future in which all justice-impacted learners in Illinois have meaningful access to educational opportunities that support success during incarceration and beyond,” Dr. Southern added.

This work aligns closely with ECMC Foundation’s growing portfolio focused on Higher Education in Prison and Reentry (HEPR), which seeks to study, strengthen, and scale effective approaches to postsecondary persistence and completion for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students.

About the Partnership for College Completion

The Partnership for College Completion (PCC) champions policies, practices, and systems that increase college completion and eliminate degree completion disparities for low-income, first-generation, and students of color in Illinois – particularly Black and Latinx students.

About ECMC Foundation

ECMC Foundation is a national foundation whose North Star goal is to eliminate gaps in postsecondary completion by 2040. The Foundation’s mission is to improve higher education for career success among underserved populations through evidence-based innovation. ECMC Foundation makes strategic grants and program-related investments to support both nonprofit and for-profit ventures, guided by a strategic framework that aims to advance systemic change by removing barriers to postsecondary completion; building the capacity of organizations, institutions and systems; and transforming the postsecondary ecosystem. Learn more about ECMC Foundation by visiting ecmcfoundation.org.

Latest Stories

Latest Podcast

Victor Love- Mentalhood Cultural Initiative