It's Time for TRIO/EOP BLAST!
Are you wondering what is TRIO/EOP Blast?? It is our time to give you a BLAST of information about our TRIO/EOP Programs! We want to educate and bring awareness to the KU community on who we are and what we do!
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 Opportunity Act and are referred to as the TRIO Programs. The name “TRIO” was given to them when the first three programs were established over a period of four years during the 1960’s under President Lyndon B. Johnson. 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.
KU was awarded their first TRIO Grant, Student Support Services, in 1973, and today is funded to serve individuals in each of the seven federal TRIO Programs, but The Institute in the School of Education has also expanded their commitment to educational access by hosting Harvest of Hope Leadership Academy and two federal GEAR UP grants. Together, these ten KU TRIO/EOP Programs serve more than 3,800 participants annually:
¨ GEAR UP: works in partnership with communities to provide services to large cohorts that are intended to increase the number of low-income students in who pursue postsecondary education. KU first received GEAR UP funding in 1999.
¨ Harvest of Hope Leadership Academy: annually serving fifty students from migrant families across Kansas. It was first funded by the Kansas State Department of Education Migrant Education Program in 2008.
¨ TRIO Educational Opportunity Center: has assisted 1,000 displaced or underemployed workers with college selection and financial aid information since 1998.
¨ TRIO Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program: provides research opportunities and faculty mentors for thirty KU students preparing for doctoral study; it was first funded in 1992.
¨ TRIO Student Support Services (known on KU’s campus as Supportive Educational Services): assists 250 KU undergraduate students in college persistence through tutoring, counseling, and a myriad of academic services and has been funded since 1973.
¨ TRIO Talent Search: provides 1,100 students in grades six through twelve with guidance and information about college admission and financial aid and has been doing so since 1988.
¨ TRIO Upward Bound: helps high school students prepare for college by providing tutoring and enrichment activities after school, on Saturdays, and during a six-week summer experience on a college campus. KU’s program was first funded in 1983 and serves 76 students annually.
¨ TRIO Upward Bound Math Science: has been funded since 1995 to help high school students strengthen math and science skills to prepare for careers in these areas; the program serves 67 students.
¨ TRIO Veterans Upward Bound: was first funded in 1999 and provides skill development and resource information to 120 veterans to help them transition to college.
In 1986, Congress passed a resolution naming the last Saturday in February as National TRIO Day, a day to focus "attention on the needs of disadvantaged young people and adults aspiring to improve their lives, to the necessary investment if they are to become contributing citizens of the country, and to the talent which will be wasted if that investment is not made." (http://www.coenet.us).
KU will recognize all of our TRIO/EOP programs during the week of February 20-26 and will “kick off” the week with a BIG Trivia Event for the Lawrence community on Sunday, February 20 (at the Lawrence Community Building, 115 W. 11th) to raise awareness of EOP and scholarship funds for EOP students (contact Stacy Mendez at smendez@ku.edu for more information).
Additional information about EOP Programs can be found at the following links:
GEAR UP: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/gearup/index.html
TRIO Programs: http://www.coenet.us or http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/trio/index.html
