Graceland University TRiO Grant Funded for Another Five Years

On July 14, 2015, Graceland University Director of Student Support Services, Cathie Hosie, received calls from Iowa Senators Tom Latham and Chuck Grassley to notify her that Graceland University was once again successful in the grant competition for the TRIO program known as Student Support Services (SSS).

Hosie, who authored the grant, submitted the 100+ page grant document to the Department of Education on Jan. 27. The grant process for TRIO programs is highly competitive with funds only available for 968 college programs throughout the entire nation.

The TRIO programs were the first national college access and retention programs to address the serious social and cultural barriers to education in America. TRIO began with the Upward Bound Program as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty.” Then the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965 created grants, loans and other programs, such as Talent Search, to help students acquire education beyond high school. In 1968, the third piece of the “trio” was the development of Student Support Services.

Graceland University is excited to continue the strong 37-year history Graceland has built with the SSS program. The new grant cycle will provide 1.5 million dollars over the next five years to provide program services to increase the retention and graduation rates of the 180 first-generation, low-income Graceland students served by the program.