TRiO Mission Logo

U.S. Department of Education

The rich history the TRiO program can be traced all the way back to Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty, with the Upward Bound Program being established as part of the Educational Opportunity Act of 1964, and TRiO Student Support Services being created in 1968. Together with the Talent Search Program, these three programs were known as “TRiO.”  Since then, several other programs have been developed including: Upward Bound Veterans, Ronald McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, Upward Bound Math/Science, and the TRiO Dissemination Partnership. The Term TRiO” serves as an umbrella for all of these programs. More than 5 million students have graduated from college as a result of the services and support that TRiO offers.

According to the Council for Opportunity in Education (2021), “The TRiO programs have been providing valuable supportive services to students to successfully enter college and graduate for over 50 years.”

Current National Statistics:

  • Total Number of TRiO programs ~ 3,100
  • TRiO Students Now Being Served ~ 800,000 low income Americans
  • TRiO is a diverse program as 35% of TRiO students identify as White, 35 % identify as African American, 19% identify as Hispanic, 4% identify as American Indian, 3% identify as Asian American or Pacific Islander 7,000 students with Disabilities and 6,000 U.S. Veterans are enrolled in TRiO Programs.

2020-2025 Grant Cycle Objectives

  • 63% of all participants served by the SSS project will persist from one academic year to the beginning of the next academic year or graduate.
  • 92% of all enrolled participants served by the SSS project will meet the performance level required to stay in good academic standing.
  • 39% of new participants served each year will graduate within six(6) years.

Please visit the U.S. Department of Education for more information on the TRiO program: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/trio/index.html