Indiana

Indiana State Prisoners Could Soon Access Pell Grants for Education, Training Through Ivy Tech

Published

2 years ago

February 29, 2024

Indiana State Prisoners Could Soon Access Pell Grants for Education, Training Through Ivy Tech

Ivy Tech Madison was selected by the IDOC to offer adult education and vocational services at Indiana’s 15 adult correctional facilities across the state.

INDIANAPOLIS – Ivy Tech Community College today announced the Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) has approved two of its programs for federal Pell Grants for prison education. If approved by the U.S. Department of Education and Ivy Tech’s accrediting agencies, people incarcerated in Indiana state prisons will have the opportunity to access need-based financial aid for high-quality education and training aligned to Indiana’s high-wage, high-demand workforce sectors, such as business, manufacturing, logistics and automotive.

Ivy Tech will collaborate with IDOC to ensure graduates are placed in employment with felony-friendly employers seeking skilled workers. Graduates of short-term certificate programs will have the opportunity to further their education at any one of Ivy Tech’s 19 campuses and 41 sites statewide.

For the first time in nearly 30 years, students enrolled in approved prison education programs (PEPs) are now eligible for federal Pell Grants under the FAFSA Simplification Act. Indiana is one of the first states to participate in the expansion of Pell Grants for incarcerated individuals.

“Ivy Tech is committed to providing accessible, affordable and high-quality education to all Hoosiers, including those who are justice involved or incarcerated,” said Dr. Sue Ellspermann, president, Ivy Tech Community College. “Helping incarcerated individuals earn postsecondary credentials of value not only reduces recidivism, increases employment, supports successful reentry and enhances public safety, it also reflects our ideals as a nation of second chances and limitless possibilities. Ivy Tech is Indiana’s workforce engine and provides stackable credentials that allow these Hoosiers to continue their education after release as well.”

The Indiana Department of Correction approved two business administration certificates offered by Ivy Tech Madison and Ivy Tech Terre Haute’s automotive technology technical certificate for Pell Grant eligibility. The U.S. Department of Education and Ivy Tech’s accrediting agencies must also approve the programs before individuals in prison can apply for and receive financial aid for them.

Ivy Tech has a long history of serving justice-involved adults and youth in Indiana. In 2021, Ivy Tech Madison was selected by the IDOC to offer adult education and vocational services at Indiana’s 15 adult correctional facilities across the state. Each year, more than 5,000 people currently or previously incarcerated in Indiana have received high-quality instruction in fields such as logistics, welding, cosmetology, hospitality and culinary arts, building trades, and English literacy through Ivy Tech. Ivy Tech and the IDOC also offer skills training programs at 8 sites statewide equipping soon to be released offenders with an industry certification aligned to employer demand for entry-level skilled workers.

Prison education programs have shown to reduce recidivism rates, increase employment rates and create meaningful opportunities for rehabilitation among incarcerated people. What’s more, these programs have also been proven to positively transform the culture and climate of correctional facilities — enhancing the health and safety of people who reside and work there.

“For incarcerated individuals, having the opportunity to earn a college certificate has the potential to permanently change the trajectory of their lives,” says Christina Reagle, commissioner, Indiana Department of Correction. “These two programs will not only positively impact individuals while they are incarcerated but will set them up for success when they are released back into the community.”

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Indiana

Indiana's Curt Cignetti becomes the first back-to-back winner of AP coach of the year

Published

3 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Indiana's Curt Cignetti becomes the first back-to-back winner of AP coach of the year

Curt Cignetti has been named The Associated Press coach of the year in college football for the second consecutive season. He is the first coach to win the award back-to-back since it was first presented in 1998. Cignetti has led Indiana to unprecedented success, with a 24-2 record over two seasons. The Hoosiers are 13-0 this year, Big Ten champions for the first time since 1967, and the top seed in the College Football Playoff. Cignetti received 47 first-place votes. Texas Tech’s Joey McGuire and Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea received two each, and Virginia’s Tony Elliott got one.

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Indiana

Central Indiana schools announce closures, delays planned for Tuesday

Published

15 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Central Indiana schools announce closures, delays planned for Tuesday

INDIANAPOLIS — Some schools in central Indiana are planning to close or delay the start of their classes on Tuesday.

The closures and delays come in the wake of a difficult weekend of severe winter weather in the Hoosier State. On Saturday, a wintry system dumped more than six inches of snow in some portions of the state.

Points north of Indianapolis like Lafayette received between three and four inches of snow. Towns south of the Circle City like Seymour saw similar snowfall totals. As for Indianapolis itself, more than five inches of snow were recorded in some portions of the city.

After Saturday’s snow, frigid temperatures took hold in the area. A Cold Weather Advisory was issued for much of the state as wind chill values dipped well below zero.

The cold and snow triggered a bevy of school closings and delays for Monday. Schools began to announce delays and closures for Tuesday late Monday night as snow removal crews across the state continued to try to keep roadways clear.

Though some schools plan to close or delay the start of classes on Tuesday, temperature improvements are forecasted. High temperatures are anticipated to exceed the 32-degree freezing threshold and hit 36 degrees. The warming trend is expected to continue on both Wednesday and Thursday, with high temperatures forecasted to reach 40 and 50 degrees, respectively.

Precipitation is forecasted for Thursday, though temperatures are expected to remain warm enough for Indiana to get rain instead of snow.

FOX59/CBS4 is tracking the closures and delays schools plan to implement on Tuesday. Check out the latest available list of closings below:

Jump To: A–Z

A

Area 30 Career Center

Putnam

Charles A Beard Mem School Corp

Henry

School

Delayed 2 hours

Cloverdale Community Schools

Putnam

School

2-Hour Delay, No AM Preschool

D

Decatur County Community Schools

Decatur

School

Delayed 2 hours

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Indiana

AwardsWatch – Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) Awards: ‘Sinners’ Named Best Picture

Published

1 day ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

AwardsWatch – Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) Awards: ‘Sinners’ Named Best Picture

The Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) has named Sinners the best film of 2025, also awarding the film original screenplay, score, cinematography, editing and ensemble.

Paul Thomas Anderson was named best director for One Battle After Another, which also picked up acting wins for Benicio Del Toro (supporting performance) and Chase Infiniti (breakout of the year).

Here is the complete list of winners and runners-up.

Best Picture
Winner: Sinners
Runner-up: One Battle After Another

Best Director
Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Runner-up: Ryan Coogler, Sinners

Best Lead Performance
Winner: Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
Runner-up: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet

Best Supporting Performance
Winner: Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another
Runner-up: Amy Madigan, Weapons

Best Vocal / Motion-Capture Performance
Winner: Will Patton, Train Dreams
Runner-up: Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Best Ensemble Acting
Winner: Sinners
Runner-up: One Battle After Another

Best Animated Film
Winner: K-Pop Demon Hunters
Runner-up: The Legend of Hei 2

Best Foreign Language Film
Winner: No Other Choice
Runner-up: Sentimental Value

Best Documentary Film
Winner: The Tenderness Tour
Runner-up: Orwell: 2+2=5

Best Original Screenplay
Winner: Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Runner-up: Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme

Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another
Runner-up: Mike Flanagan, The Life of Chuck

Best Musical Score
Winner: Ludwig Göransson, Sinners
Runner-up: Jonny Greenwood, One Battle After Another

Breakout of the Year
Winner: Chase Infiniti (performer), One Battle After Another
Runner-up: Miles Caton (performer), Sinners

Best Cinematography
Winner: Autumn Donald Arkapaw, Sinners
Runner-up: Michael Bauman, One Battle After Another

Best Editing
Winner: Michael P. Shawver, Sinners
Runner-up: Andy Jurgensen, One Battle After Another

Best Stunt / Movement Choreography
Winner: Wade Eastwood (second-unit director / stunt coordinator), Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning
Runner-up: Brian Machleit (stunt coordinator), One Battle After Another

Best Special Effects
Winner: Dennis Berardi, Ayo Burgess and Ivan Busquets (visual effects supervisors) and José Granell (miniatures / models supervisor), Frankenstein
Runner-up: Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl and Guido Wolter (visual effects supervisors) and Donnie Dean (special effects coordinator), Sinners

Original Vision Award
Winner: Good Boy
Runner-up: The Testament of Ann Lee

The Edward Johnson-Ott Hoosier Award
Chase Infiniti, One Battle After Another

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.