CCRI receives $554K federal grant to help disadvantaged students

U.S. SEN. Jack F. Reed said the federal grant will help students acclimate to college life. / PBN FILE PHOTO
U.S. SEN. Jack F. Reed said the federal grant will help students acclimate to college life. / PBN FILE PHOTO

PROVIDENCE – More than $554,000 in federal funding has been awarded to help disadvantaged students succeed at the Community College of Rhode Island.
The funding was announced by U.S. Sens. Jack F. Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, and U.S. Reps. James R. Langevin and David N. Cicilline in a news release.

The U.S. Department of Education, which administers the TRIO Student Support Services program, notified the community college that grants are anticipated for a total of five years, meaning CCRI could receive as much as $2.7 million through 2020, pending annual appropriations by Congress.

First-generation college students, those who meet low-income qualifications, or those with a disability, are eligible to apply for TRIO.

To help those students acclimate to college life, the program offers specialized tutoring, along with workshops on financial literacy, leadership development and finding a career path.
The federal program is designed to increase graduation rates and help students transfer from two-year to four-year colleges.

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First launched in 1980, CCRI’s TRIO SSS program, known as “Access to Opportunity,” serves approximately 440 students annually, ranging in age from 19 to 57.

CCRI’s graduating Class of 2015 included 85 TRIO SSS students, 51 percent of whom completed their degree in three years. Fifty-six percent of these graduates will transfer to four-year institutions this fall, the release stated.

“TRIO helps students acclimate to college life and prepares them to overcome some higher education hurdles. Through skills workshops and other support services, this program can be a real lifeline for first-generation college students. It teaches them things like time management, good study habits, and helps set them up for success in the college classroom and beyond,” Reed said in a statement.

Said Langevin, “CCRI does an exceptional job educating and preparing Rhode Island students for a brighter future, and this funding will help level the playing field for first-generation and low-income students, and students with disabilities. These individuals face tremendous challenges outside the classroom, but they are no less capable of achieving great things, and the TRIO program empowers them to overcome these obstacles.”

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