Aug 14, 2020

WNCC awarded $400K for TRIO Student Support Services

Posted Aug 14, 2020 3:52 PM

SCOTTSBLUFF - Western Nebraska Community College will recieve a $400,554 federal Student Support Services (SSS) grant from the U.S. Department of Education to fund its TRIO SSS program. 


TRIOS SSS help low-income, first-generation, and disabled students succeed in and graduate from college. WNCC's TRIO SSS program was established in 1987 and serves 200 students annually. The grant will provide five years of funds for an array of services that include academic tutoring, financial aid advice, career and college mentoring, help in choosing courses, and more. These services enhance academic success and make it more likely that a student will graduate or transfer to without accruing massive student-loan debt. 


"We are very pleased to have the opportunity to continue to serve the needs of WNCC and the Panhandle for another five years," said Norman Coley, WNCC's dean of students and TRIO programs director. "Our students are dynamic and the TRIO programs are a wonderful tool to empower them to launch themselves into a career or educational pathway of success."


SSS is one of eight federal TRIO programs authorized by the Higher Education Act to identify and provide services to individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Department of Education awards this grant every five years to higher education institutions, public and private agencies, and community-based organizations with experience in serving disadvantaged youth and secondary schools. 


For more information about WNCC's TRIO SSS program, visit wncc.edu/student-life/student-services/trio-sss.