Rock Valley College Student Support Services (SSS) recently received additional funding for two TRIO Programs, TRIO Achieve and TRIO Complete, for the next five years through the Department of Education. The total funding for each grant per academic year is $261,888, and the total award for the five years of the grant will be over $2.6 million.

The purpose of the Student Support Services Program is to provide academic and other support services to low income, first-generation or disabled college students to increase retention and graduation rates, facilitate transfer from two-year to four-year colleges, and foster an institutional climate supportive of the success of low income and first-generation college students and individuals with disabilities.

The TRIO Achieve and TRIO Complete programs both serve first-generation students, low income students, and students with disabilities, but to participate in the TRIO Achieve program a student must have a documented disability.

SSS Program services include instruction in necessary study skills, tutorial services, academic, financial, or personal counseling, assistance in securing admission and financial aid for enrollment in four-year institutions, assistance in securing admission and financial aid for enrollment in graduate and professional programs, and career options.

RVC's SSS program has been serving students since 2015 and will now be able to continue that service for at least the next five years. Each year, TRIO Complete serves140 RVC students and TRIO Achieve assists 100 RVC students who are first-generation, income-eligible, and/or live with a disability to meet their academic goals of persisting, graduating, and transferring.

For more information regarding the Student Support Services Program at Rock Valley College please contact Elaine Shannon, Director of TRIO, at mailto:e.shannon@rockvalleycollege.edu or at 815-921-4103.

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