Sandburg TRIO Student Support Services Program Receives New 5-Year Grant Worth $1.3MM
Aaron Frey
Thursday, August 20, 2020 10:00 AM
Campus News
Galesburg, IL
Carl Sandburg College’s TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) program has been awarded a new five-year grant cycle worth $1.3 million to serve Sandburg students.
Sandburg, which has hosted a TRIO SSS program since 1997, was one of 52 grant recipients from Illinois. TRIO programs are funded through grants from the U.S. Department of Education and must compete every five years for refunding. Competition for these grants is highly competitive, especially during a time when federal budgets are tight. Sandburg was awarded one of approximately 1,150 TRIO SSS grants from a pool of more than 1,700 applications nationwide.
The objective of TRIO SSS is to help students stay in school, graduate from Sandburg and transfer to a four-year college or university. During the grant cycle’s five years, TRIO SSS program must meet performance objectives for graduation and transfer rates; students in good academic standing; and student retention in the program.
Sandburg’s TRIO SSS program finished well above the performance goals for those categories in its most recent data set, from the 2018-19 academic year. Ninety-three percent of program participants finished in good academic standing (objective: 70 percent). Students also had an 86 percent persistence rate (objective: 65 percent), 61 percent graduation rate (objective: 30 percent) and 41 percent transferred with an associate degree from Sandburg (objective: 20 percent).
“At times, the college process can feel overwhelming for students and families. That’s why the TRIO SSS program is such an advantage for our participants,” Sandburg TRIO SSS Director Autumn Scott said. “We try to partner with our students every step of the way as they acclimate to Sandburg, learn how to be academically and personally successful and work toward their education goals. We are here to take the stress and uncertainty out of college as much as possible.”
Sandburg will receive $261,888 per year to serve 140 students annually on its Main Campus in Galesburg. To be eligible for the TRIO SSS program, a student must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, be a first-generation college student (neither parent has a bachelor’s degree), meet federal income guidelines and be enrolled in a transfer program at Sandburg.
Sandburg’s TRIO SSS program, which is 100 percent funded through the U.S. Department of Education, will receive $261,888 for 2020-21, the first year of the grant cycle.
To learn more about Sandburg’s TRIO SSS program, visit www.sandburg.edu/TRIOSSS.