HARTSVILLE, S.C. (courtesy coker.edu) — Coker University was recently awarded a 2020 TRIO Student Support Services Program Grant for $261,888 annually for the next five years. The funding will help the institution provide additional academic and support services to first-generation students, low-income students, and students with disabilities.
Federal TRIO Student Support Services Programs (SSS) are designed to identify and provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, including opportunities for academic development, assistance with college requirements, and motivating students toward the successful completion of their bachelor’s degree. More than half of Coker students would be eligible for services under the grant.
Coker’s SSS programming will include comprehensive activities to help ensure the students’ academic needs are met and they complete their degree requirements, including academic tutoring, financial literacy education, intensive academic advising, career advisement, academic workshops, cultural/educational trips/events, and graduate school advising. The University is working to staff the SSS program and hopes to begin serving students by the Spring semester.
Coker University has a department dedicated to Student Success initiatives, including a team of Student Success Coaches that offer individual advising to help students successfully navigate the college experience.
“Over the last several years, Coker University has undergone an organizational restructuring and programming overhaul in an effort to better meet the needs of our students, many of whom are first generation students and students from underrepresented or disadvantaged backgrounds,” says Brianna Douglas, vice president of Student Affairs and Contract Services at Coker University. “The TRIO Student Support Services Program grant will both bolster our existing offerings and allow us to expand on those critical services that have proven benefits for helping students persist to graduation and have successful post-graduation outcomes.”