The United States Department of Education has awarded the University of Saint Francis a grant to fund its TRIO Student Support Services program over the next five years, totaling $1.1 million for the initiative.

The funds are intended “to provide opportunities for academic development, assist students with basic college requirements, and to motivate students toward the successful completion of their postsecondary education.”

USF’s TRIO program has been in place since 2010 and offers academic and other support services to low-income, first-generation and/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. The program currently serves approximately 10 percent of university students seeking bachelor degrees.

“This program has been crucial to so many students,” said university president Sister M. Elise Kriss, OSF. “We are pleased to report the program is working to retain first generation and low income students and help them thrive in higher education.”

To learn more about this program, visit trio.sf.edu.