Working with FirstGeneration LowIncome Students: A model of success

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Working with First-Generation/ Low-Income
Students A model of success
TRIO A Collaboration of School, College
Community

• E. Jim Oree, Director TRiO Programs, Piedmont
  Technical College

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What are TRiO Programs?
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• The Federal TRIO Programs are educational
  opportunity outreach and on-campus programs
  designed to motivate and support students from
  disadvantaged backgrounds.
• TRIO includes six outreach and support programs
  that help low-income, first-generation college
  students and students with disabilities to
  progress through the academic pipeline from
  middle school to post baccalaureate programs.

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What programs do we offer?
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• The Talent Search program identifies qualified
  youths with potential for education at the
  postsecondary level and encourages them to
  complete secondary school and undertake a program
  of postsecondary education. The program also
  publicizes the availability of student financial
  assistance for persons who seek to pursue
  postsecondary education, and it encourages
  persons who have not completed education programs
  at the secondary or postsecondary level, but who
  have the ability to do so, to reenter these
  programs.

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• The purpose of the Upward Bound Program is to
  generate, in low-income and first generation high
  school students, the academic strength, skills,
  and motivation required to ensure their success
  in postsecondary education. The pro-gram is
  designed to better prepare selected students to
  enter and complete a post-secondary educational
  program after the completion of high school.

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• The goal of SSS is to
• Increase the retention and graduation rates of
  eligible students.
• Increase the transfer rate of eligible students
  from two-year to four-year institutions and
• Foster an institutional climate supportive of the
  success of low-income and first generation
  college students and individuals with
  disabilities.

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• The goal of the Educational Opportunity Centers
  program is to provide
• Information regarding financial and academic
  assistance available for individuals who desire
  to pursue a program of postsecondary education
  and
• Assistance to individuals in applying for
  admission to institutions that offer programs of
  postsecondary education, including assistance in
  preparing necessary applications for use by
  admissions and financial aid officers.
• EOCs serve adults and high school students.

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• The goal is to increase the attainment of Ph.D.
  degrees by students from underrepresented
  segments of society.
• This program prepares participants for doctoral
  studies through involvement in research and other
  scholarly activities.

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• Some Common Practices of large institutions that
  do a good job of retaining FG/LI students from a
  study by the Pell Institute for the Study of
  Opportunity in Education.
• www.pellinstitute.org

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• Designated faculty or staff members as first
  responders to students needs, helping students
  navigate these large, complex institutions.
• Relatively high levels of student involvement and
  engagement in campus activities and programs,
  which personalize the college experience for
  students.

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• Well-developed first-year programs, such as
  freshman orientation programs, freshman success
  courses, freshman interest groups, and first-year
  learning communities, in which student
  participation is mandatory or high.
• Efforts to improve instruction in gatekeeping
  introductory courses, particularly in
  mathematics, such as reducing class sizes or
  keeping class sizes small through supplemental
  instruction.

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• Special programs for at-risk student populations
  that incorporate many of the best practices in
  the retention literature.
• Strong leadership from top administrators who
  create an institutional culture that promotes
  student success by using rhetoric that
  demonstrates their commitment to retention,
  providing adequate resources to fund programs,
  and offering rewards to faculty and staff for
  getting involved in retention efforts.

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• A central person, office, or committee that
  coordinates undergraduate education and/or
  retention activities across academic and student
  affairs staff and programs in order to foster
  collaboration.
• An emphasis on using data about retention in the
  decision-making process as well as on evaluating
  new retention programs in order to improve
  delivery of services, outcomes, and the efficient
  use of limited resources.

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What can you do?

• Create an open environment
• Be approachable
• Listen
• Look within
• Be honest

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Questions?
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E. Jim Oree, Director TRiO Programs, Piedmont
Technical College 864.941.8608 ph 864.941.8598
fax oree.j_at_ptc.edu