Miami Regionals awarded TRIO grant for student support services

by Ruth Orth, Miami Regionals

Miami University Regionals recently received a five-year, $1.1 million ($220,000 per year) grant from the United States Department of Education through the TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) program.

The goal of the program is to support and graduate eligible, highly motivated students by providing academic coaching, intensive advising, tutoring, mentoring, financial literacy workshops and much more as students work toward their academic and career goals. The program is all about student success.

The program is specifically designed to support students who are typically the first in their families to attend college, returning to college or just starting college after more than five years away from high school. Many of the participants will be recipients of the Pell award or students who would benefit from academic support in reading, writing or math.

An important program objective is to help students graduate in a timely fashion while accumulating as little debt as possible. With intensely guided academic coaching, the students will avoid some common mistakes, learn strategies to overcome roadblocks and stay focused on the goal of graduation.

Students outside of Mosler Hall, Hamilton campus (photo by Scott Kissell)

All SSS students will participate in a Financial Frontiers program, a program that provides basic instruction regarding student loans, financial management and ways to avoid debilitating debt burden. Also a network of tutors will help the students achieve their academic goals with additional support from the ambassadors (SSS student leaders), who will guide, motivate and monitor the students’ progress.

The program will start with the planning and implementation stages this fall and be fully up and running by spring semester 2016, with 140 participants working toward their academic and career goals.

“Many students can clearly articulate what they want to accomplish. Executing that plan might be another story altogether,” said G. Michael Pratt, associate provost and dean of the regional campuses. “This program is designed to help students make it to the end line — to earn their degrees and to move into the workforce without wasting time, energy or money.

“We are very fortunate to be one of the recipients of the TRIO grant as the SSS program goals are completely in alignment with the university’s goals, and this money affords us the opportunity to support students who need it the most.”

 If you are interested in learning more about the program, please contact Suesann Sepela at sepelase@miamioh.edu or 513-785-3027.