TRiO Programs
Opportunity - Access - Hope - Success
Our nation has affirmed a commitment to providing educational opportunity for all Americans regardless of race, ethnic background or economic circumstance.
In support of this commitment, Congress established a series of programs to help low-income Americans enter college, graduate and move on to participate more fully in America's economic and social life. These Programs are funded under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and are referred to as the TRIO Programs (initially just three programs). While student financial aid programs help students overcome financial barriers to higher education, TRIO programs help students overcome class, social and cultural barriers to higher education.
Who is Served?
As mandated by Congress, two-thirds of the students served must come from families who are low-income and where neither parent graduated from a four-year college. More than 2,700 TRIO Programs currently serve nearly 866,000 low-income Americans. Many programs serve students in grades six through 12. Thirty-seven percent of TRIO students are Whites, 35% are African-Americans, 19% are Hispanics, 4% are Native Americans, 4% are Asian-Americans, and 1% are listed as "Other," including multiracial students. Twenty-two thousand students with disabilities and more than 25,000 U.S. veterans are currently enrolled in the TRIO Programs as well.
Nebraska currently has 29 TRIO Programs, located on the campuses of Southeast Community College, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Doane College, University of Nebraska – Omaha, University of Nebraska – Kearney, Central Community College, Chadron State College, Creighton University, Metropolitan Community College, Nebraska Indian Community College, Peru State College, Wayne State College, Western Nebraska Community College, and Applied Information Management Institute. These 29 programs, with a combined budget of $8,011,315 of federal funding for educational opportunity services, have provided support services that enhance the prospects of educational excellence for those who are disadvantaged and served approximately 7,690 students during the 2004-2005 program years
Evidence of Achievement
Students in the Upward Bound program are four times more likely to earn an undergraduate degree than those students from similar backgrounds who did not participate in TRIO; nearly 20 percent of all Black and Hispanic freshmen who entered college in 1981 received assistance through the TRIO Talent Search or EOC programs; students in the TRIO Student Support Services program are more than twice as likely to remain in college than those students from similar backgrounds who did not participate in the program.
