Castleton University has been awarded more than $1.7 million from the U.S. Department of Education to continue its TRIO Student Support Services program.
Castleton will receive approximately $348,000 annually for five years to fund the TRIO Student Support Services program, which serves 230 students at the University each year. Initially funded in 1984, the program will continue a 36-year tradition of supporting the success of TRIO students at Castleton.
TRIO students are the first in their family to graduate from college, come from low-income families, or have a disability. The Castleton Student Support Services program creates a supportive environment for TRIO students by providing academic tutoring, assistance in course selection, individualized academic counseling, mentoring, information about financial aid and financial literacy, and graduate school preparation.
Student Support Services is one of seven Federal TRIO Programs, which provide outreach and student services for students from disadvantaged backgrounds to help them progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to post-baccalaureate programs.
Castleton University supports TRIO students from grade nine through doctoral study with four TRIO programs: the Student Support Services program, two Upward Bound programs, and the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program.
Upward Bound is a federally funded TRIO program that offers challenging pre-college experiences to students of high academic ability. Its goal is to generate skills and motivation necessary for success in high school and college through an academic-year program and a six-week summer residential program.
The McNair Scholars program grants a limited number of colleges and universities around the country the ability to help low-income and first-generation students, as well as students from ethnic groups that are under-represented in doctoral study, to pursue graduate education. Castleton’s McNair Scholars program was established in 2017.