Educational Opportunity Programs (TRiO)
WHAT IS TRIO?
TRIO is Educational Opportunity for Low-Income and Disabled Americans.
Our nation has asserted 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.
As mandated by Congress, two-thirds of the students served must come from families with incomes under $24,000, where neither parent graduated from college. Over 2,600 TRIO Programs currently serve nearly 872,000 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. Sixteen thousand students with disabilities and more than 25,000 U.S. veterans are currently enrolled in the TRIO Programs as well. For more race and ethnicity data for each TRIO Program (Upward Bound, UB Math/Science, SSS, Talent Search, EOC, and McNair), see “Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Federal TRIO Programs,” a News You Can Use fact sheet from the National TRIO Clearinghouse.
How it Works
Over 1,200 colleges, universities, community colleges and agencies now offer TRIO Programs in America. TRIO funds are distributed to institutions through competitive grants.
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.
TRIO PROGRAMS AT A GLANCE
Students enrolled in today's TRIO Programs mirror our nation's
mutli-cultural and multiethnic society. Thirty-seven percent
of TRIO students are
White, 35% are African-American, 19% are Hispanic, 4% are Native
4% are Asian-American. Sixteen thousand TRIO students are disabled.
TRIO college graduates are working in business, industry, government, medicine, law, education, communcations, sales, finance, politics, transportation, publishing, law enforcement, computer science andtechnology, engineering and accounting.
Talent Search programs serve young people in grades six through 12. In addition to counseling, participants receive information about college admissions requirements, scholarships and various student financial aid programs. This early intervention program helps people from families with incomes under $24,000 (where neither parent graduated from college) to better understand their educational opportunities and options. Over 387,604 Americans are enrolled in 471 Talent Search TRIO programs.
Upward Bound helps young students to prepare for higher education. Participants receive instruction in literature, composition, mathematics and science on college campuses after school, on Saturdays and during the summer. Currently, 770 programs are in operation throughout the United States.
Bound Math Science
Upward Bound Math Science helps students from low-income families to strengthen math and science skills. In addition, students learn computer technology as well as English, foreign language and study skills. Over 123 programs are serving students throughout the country.
Veterans Upward Bound programs provide intensive basic skills development and short-term remedial courses for military veterans to help them successfully transition to postsecondary education. Veterans learn how to secure support from available resources such as the Veterans Administration, veterans associations, and various state and local agencies that serve veterans.
Student Support Services helps low-income students to stay in college until they earn their baccalaureate degrees. Participants, who include disabled college students, receive tutoring, counseling and remedial instruction. Students are now being served at 938 colleges and universities nationwide.
Educational Opportunity Centers located throughout the country primarily serve displaced or underemployed workers from families with incomes under $24,000. These Centers help people to choose a college and a suitable financial aid program. There are 139 Educational Opportunity Centers in America serving 217,836 individuals.
E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement
Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement programs are designed to encourage low-income students and minority undergraduates to consider careers in college teaching as well as prepare for doctoral study. Students who participate in this program are provided with research opportunities and faculty mentors. This program was named in honor of the astronaut that died in the 1986 space-shuttle explosion. Currently there are 156 programs, serving 3,774 students.
LINKS TO OTHER TRIO PROGRAMS
For more information on educational opportunity programs at your college or university, click on the links below.
The following information was provided by Council for Opportunity in Education (COE).