West Virginia University has been awarded a five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education to continue its Student Support Services program which assists low-income students, those from first-generation college backgrounds and students with disabilities in their journey to progress and graduate from college.

Student Support Services is housed within the WVU Division of Student Life and aims to improve retention and graduation rates among student groups that have historically faced inequities in higher education. The program provides advising, tutoring, assistance with the financial aid process, financial literacy education and mentoring, as well as cultural enrichment activities. SSS helps students with all aspects of their college experience.

“This highly competitive grant process takes place every five years, and the fact that our SSS grant was re-funded is a testament to our dedicated staff members who work hard to help students overcome their barriers and achieve their educational goals, as well as the overall support and guidance received from the WVU community,” said Cynthia Drumm, director of Student Support Services. “This has definitely been a team effort and a team victory for our students.”

With the grant, SSS will continue to enhance programs that promote the academic success of 200 WVU students. The grant will help SSS further develop its peer mentoring program in which upperclassmen are trained and paired with new, incoming program participants. Funding will also be aimed at assessing the needs of program participants so that we can better individualize and prioritize the services offered to our students.”

“While this grant will allow us to serve 200 students who are enrolled in our program, we will continue to advocate for all students on the WVU campus who may face challenges in post-secondary education,” Drumm said. “Our staff is highly committed to helping students overcome the academic, financial, social and cultural barriers that may stand between them and college graduation.”

WVU has three federal TRIO grant programs, including Upward Bound, Student Support Services and the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program. This marks the sixth federal TRIO grant competition in which WVU has been awarded the Student Support Services grant; the program has been in place for 23 years.

Over the past five years, the WVU Student Support Services Program has maintained an average annual retention rate of 84 percent and an average good academic standing rate of 92 percent among all participants served.

The first year award is $292,330, with the full award totaling approximately $1.46 million over five years.

TRIO is a group of federal outreach and student services programs designed to identify and provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. The programs were created through the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and Higher Education Act of 1965 under President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty legislation to ensure equal educational opportunity for all Americans regardless of race, ethnic background or economic circumstance.

For more information on WVU’s TRIO programs, visit http://sss.wvu.edu/.

ta/07/21/15

CONTACT: Cynthia Drumm; Student Support Services
304.293.6629; Cynthia.drumm@mail.wvu.edu

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