The TRIO program at Ivy Tech Community College Northeast has received a $1,155,515 grant over a five-year period, which equates to $231,103 a year.

The grant, from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs, is part of the Student Support Services Program, whose purpose is “to provide academic and other support services to low-income, first-generation or disabled college students to increase students’ retention and graduation rates, facilitate their transfer from two-year to four-year colleges, and foster an institutional climate supportive of the success of low-income and first-generation college students and individuals with disabilities,” according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Annually, TRIO at Ivy Tech Northeast serves 160 students who are first-generation, low-income, and/or have a disability; and the funds will be used to provide academic support services to those students. Those services include tutoring, financial literacy instruction, and course selection assistance.

Receiving this grant opens the future to TRIO, according to Ivy Tech Northeast’s TRIO. Without this renewal, the department would close. This continued funding means the program can continue to offer the personalized, relational services those students rely on.

“We look forward to continuing the relationships we have with our students and seeing them get to graduation,” says Beth Clemens, Ivy Tech Northeast TRIO director. “We welcome the new TRIO students this grant gives us the chance to serve.”

During this 2015-20 grant cycle, TRIO plans to expand its service to students, planning avenues to help students build and maintain the academic mindset that leads to success, according to Ivy Tech Northeast’s TRIO. The program also plans to upgrade its financial literacy component for students.