Targeting some of Mission College's most vulnerable populations, the TRIO program will see a boost in its services by receiving two grants totaling $2.9M over the next five years to help those students get through community college.
The two U.S. Department of Education grants will bring in close to $580,000 a year for TRIO students. It bolsters students from low-income families who have not had the academic opportunities that their college peers have had.
The grants will increase the program's size by an additional 120 from 165 to 285 students.
TRIO provides academic counseling, education planning, tutoring, workshops, and university and company tours.
TRIO students are the first generation in their families to go to college (aka "first-gen"), low income, and/or students with disabilities.
Throughout its previous five-year grant cycle, Mission's TRIO program has seen more than 57 percent of his students graduate and 35 percent of its students transfer.