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What is TRiO?
TRIO is Educational Opportunity for Low-Income and Disabled Americans.
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 Act of 1965 and are referred to
as the TRIO Programs (initially just three programs). 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.
Who is served?
As mandated by Congress, two-thirds of the students served must
come from families with incomes under $24,000, where neither parent graduated
from college. Over 2,700 TRIO Programs currently serve nearly 873,000
low-income Americans. Many programs serve students in grades six through
12. Thirty-seven percent of TRIO students are Whites, 35% are African-Americans,
19% are Hispanics, 4% are Native Americans, 4% are Asian-Americans, and
1% are listed as "Other," including multiracial students. Sixteen
thousand students with disabilities and more than 25,000 U.S. veterans
are currently enrolled in the TRIO Programs as well. For more race and
ethnicity data for each TRIO Program (Upward Bound, UB Math/Science, SSS,
Talent Search, EOC, and McNair), see “Racial and Ethnic Diversity
in the Federal TRIO Programs,” a News You Can Use fact sheet from
the National TRIO Clearinghouse.
How it Works
Over 1,200 colleges, universities, community colleges and agencies now
offer TRIO Programs in America. TRIO funds are distributed to institutions
through competitive grants.
Evidence of Achievement
Students in the Upward Bound program are four times more likely to earn
an undergraduate degree than those students from similar backgrounds who
did not participate in TRIO; nearly 20 percent of all Black and Hispanic
freshmen who entered college in 1981 received assistance through the TRIO
Talent Search or EOC programs; students in the TRIO Student Support Services
program are more than twice as likely to remain in college than those
students from similar backgrounds who did not participate in the program.
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