What is TRiO?
The Federal TRiO Programs are educational opportunity outreach programs
designed to motivate and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
TRiO includes seven outreach and support programs targeted to serve and assist
low-income, first-generation college students, and students with disabilities to
progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to college.
An estimated 2 million students have graduated from college with the special
assistance and support of TRiO Programs.
Many TRiO professionals also have had to overcome class, social, academic and
cultural barriers to succeed in higher education. Consequently, they can effectively
relate to their participants, and know how to motivate them in spite of the obstacles
that often serve to discourage students from low-income families. Each TRiO staff
person works to create a climate of support for students as they strive to move out
of poverty and dependence.
-Excerpt from "What is TRiO," Council for Opportunity in Education
http://www.coenet.us
History of the Federal TRiO Programs
The history of TRiO is progressive. It began with
Upward Bound, which emerged
from the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 in response to President Lyndon
Johnson's War on Poverty. The second outreach program,
Educational Talent Search, was created as part of the Higher Education Act of
1965. In 1968, Special Services for Disadvantaged Students, now known as
Student Support Services, was authorized by the Higher Education Amendments
and became the third in a series of educational opportunity programs. By the late
1960's, the term "TRiO " was coined to describe these programs.
Over the years, the TRiO Programs have been expanded and improved to provide
a wider range of services and to reach more students who need assistance. The
Higher Education Amendments of 1972 authorized the fourth and fifth TRiO
programs, the Educational Opportunity Centers and
Veterans Upward Bound.
Amendments in 1986added the sixth program, the
Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate AchievementProgram . Additionally, in 1990,
the Department created the seventh TRiO program, Upward Bound Math/Science,
to address the need for specific instruction in the fields of math and science. Finally,
the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2001 amended the Student
Support Services (SSS) program to permit the use of program funds for direct
financial assistance (Grant Aid) for current SSS participants who are receiving
Federal Pell Grants.
The legislative requirements for all Federal TRiO Programs can be found in the
Higher Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Part A, Subpart 2.
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