Aug. 13, 2010

CSU Monterey Bay will receive $1.27 million from the federal government to help low-income and first-generation college students and students with disabilities complete their education.

Each year for five years, 160 incoming freshmen will benefit from the grant through academic advising, mentoring, financial assistance and special services to help them stay in school.

The money was made available through the U.S. Department of Education's TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) Program. The goal is to provide opportunities for academic development, assist students with basic college requirements and motivate them to graduate.

SSS is only one of the programs available through CSU Monterey Bay's Early Outreach and Support unit. Upward Bound, the College Assistance Migrant Program and Talent Search are other federally funded programs available to CSUMB students.

TRIO programs were created as part of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide more opportunities for low-income and first-generation students to prepare for and enroll in college. The term TRIO was coined to describe the first three programs that were created:

• Upward Bound, which provides academic help and support to high school students, and provides them with a taste of college life through a summer program at CSUMB

• Talent Search, which identifies and assists high school students who have the potential to succeed in college

• Student Support Services, which offers tutoring and other support services to college students

Other programs, such as the Ronald McNair Program and the Educational Opportunity Center followed and TRIO now refers to all of these programs.

The five-year grant will start Sept. 1.