What is TRiO?
The Federal TRIO Programs are educational opportunity outreach programs designed to motivate and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds in accessing post-secondary education. Federal TRIO Programs (Talent Search, Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math/Science, Veterans' Upward Bound, Student Support Services, Educational Opportunity Centers, and the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program) help students to overcome class, social, academic, and cultural barriers to higher education.
The history of TRIO is progressive. It began with Upward Bound which emerged out of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 in response to the administration's War on Poverty. In 1965, Talent Search, the second outreach program, was created as part of the Higher Education Act. In 1968, Student Support Services, which was originally known as Special Services for Disadvantaged Students, was authorized by the Higher Education Amendments and became the third in a series of educational opportunity programs. By the late 1960's the term "TRIO" was coined to describe these federal programs.
Over the years the TRIO Programs have been expanded and improved to provide a wider range of services and to reach more students who need assistance. The Higher Education Amendments of 1972, 1976 and 1990 created additional programs to the TRIO group to include programs to support Veterans, Adult Learners and STEM programs.
TRIO services include - assistance in choosing a college; tutoring; personal and financial counseling; career counseling; assistance in applying to college; workplace and college visits; special instruction in reading, writing, study skills, and mathematics; assistance in applying for financial aid; and academic assistance in high school or assistance to reenter high school or college.
Southern Utah University is proud to host three TRIO programs: Upward Bound, Talent Search and Student Support Services. These three programs have been exemplary over the decades in bringing educationally or economically disadvantaged students into higher education and lifelong learning.
Our Mission
Student Support Services seeks to support promising students from disadvantaged backgrounds in meeting the challenges of higher education by strengthening and developing their academic and self-management skills. The SSS program's focus is to ensure that participants persist in school, graduate from Southern Utah University with an associate degree, and move on to a baccalaureate program. To accomplish these objectives SSS provides services to enhance students' academic success, personal skills, and social skills. Providing services in these areas corresponds to the University's mission to foster lifelong learning.
To fulfill the program's focus, as we've outlined in our mission statement, the Southern Utah University Student Support Services program focuses on these following goals:
- Recruit eligible students who meet federal low income, disability, and/or first generation guidelines:
- Increase retention & graduation of SUU students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
SSS Vision
The Student Support Services program and its personnel will provide opportunities for participants to practice self-direction, resourcefulness and resiliency through one-on-one advising focused on academic skills development and personal enrichment. Through our involvement we hope that participants will become successful students, college graduates, respected professionals, and ultimately global citizens who will practice lifelong learning, essentially being students of life.