Washington – When Savannah State University president Cheryl Dozier addressed a U.S. House subcommittee Wednesday about the impact of cuts to the federal TRIO programs, she said there was “no doubt” that TRIO helps students succeed.
“TRIO programs are an important component of an opportunity infrastructure that allows all of our citizens to reach their full potential,” Dozier told a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations.
She said TRIO programs—which serve nearly 800,000 students from low-income families nationally but are likely to serve less in the wake of a $42 million cut it suffered under across-the-board federal program cuts known as sequestration—both “complement and leverage our federal investment in financial aid programs.”
“There is no doubt about it,” Dozier told the U.S. House subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. “TRIO is the fiscal insurance policy that helps ensure that our state and nation’s students succeed.”
Despite Dozier’s enthusiasm for TRIO, deciphering with clarity just how effective TRIO is at her institution is not an easy task.
Savannah State University hosts three TRIO programs: Upward Bound, Talent Search, and Student Support Services. The first two are pre-college service programs meant to help prepare disadvantaged students for college through tutoring and counseling, as well as standardized test preparation and assistance with college admission and financial aid applications.
Nearly 1,000 students in middle and high schools near Savannah State University participate in Upward Bound and Talent Search.
