CRESTON,IOWA. (August 14, 2020) – The U.S. Department of Education announced that Southwestern Community College will receive a federal TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) grant of $312,549 to help more students succeed in and graduate from college. Southwestern’s SSS program services 180 students each year and has helped hundreds of students graduate and transfer to four-year universities throughout the years. The college has had a successful TRIO-SSS grant since 1997.
SSS helps college students who are low income, first generation (those whose parents do not have a four-year college degree) or students with disabilities. The array of services the grant will provide are comprehensive and will include academic tutoring, financial aid advice, career and college mentoring, help in choosing courses, and other forms of assistance. Such services enhance academic success and make it more likely that students will graduate or transfer with the lowest possible debt. Many Student Support Services alumni have gone on to great success, among them Emmy, Tony and Academy-Award winning actress Viola Davis, U.S. Rep. Gwendolyn Moore of Wisconsin’s 4th District and Franklin Chang-Diaz, the first Hispanic astronaut.
SSS began in 1968 and is one of the eight federal “TRIO” programs authorized by the Higher Education Act to help college students succeed in higher education. It recognizes that students whose parents do not have a college degree have more difficulties navigating the complexity of decisions that college requires for success; it bolsters students from low income families who have not had the academic opportunities their college peers have had, and helps students with disabilities remove obstacles preventing them from thriving academically.
“We are very fortunate the Student Support Services grant was funded at Southwestern,” said Dr. Barb Crittenden, Southwestern president. “Student success is a high priority for the college, and the funds provided through this grant build a support network for students we would otherwise be unable to provide.”
Crittenden continued, “The grant provides much-needed services for students, as well as activities that enrich and expand their experiences while at Southwestern.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the systemic inequality and financial hardship which keep promising students from succeeding in college. Student Support Services is needed now more than ever,” said Maureen Hoyler, president of the non-profit Council for Opportunity in Education in Washington, D.C. The council is dedicated to furthering the expansion of college opportunities for low-income, first-generation students, and students with disabilities.
For more than 50 years, the Student Support Services program has made important contributions to individuals and society as a whole by providing a broad range of services to help students succeed. This vital program can and does make all the difference.