Functional Area & Contemporary Issue: TRIO and College Access Programs

Daniela Chavez, Alejandro Llamas and Vanesa Sierra

Higher Education Administration & Leadership Program, California State University of Fresno

HEAL 221 (01) - Student Affairs in Higher Education

 TRIO and College Access Programs

TRIO and College Access Programs were established to provide educational

opportunities for students of disadvantaged backgrounds such as low-income, first generation

and individuals with disabilities (About TRIO 2021). This program emerged from the Economic

Opportunity Act of 1964 in response to the administration's War on Poverty (U.S. Department of

Education. 2021). Originally, there were three programs; Upward Bound, Talent Search, and

Student Support Services (About TRIO 2021). Through the years, TRIO has expanded and new

programs have become available such as; Educational Opportunity Centers, Ronald E. McNair

Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, Upward Bound Math & Science and Veterans Upward

Bound (About TRIO 2021). Some of the key services that this program provides are academic

advising, educational workshops, college application and financial aid assistance, after school

tutoring, college visits and cultural field trips (U.S. Department of Education. 2021). All eight

programs are strategically designed to help and guide the students to successfully navigate into

higher education. Of course, with every supportive program, comes underlying issues. Through

research and course material, we were able to distinguish the issues college access programs

have and provide recommendations to better support programs like TRIO.

Student Services

Many students partake in programs during their early educational journeys in order to

help them succeed as they navigate the possibility of higher education. These programs serve as

the main function in helping students reach the highest level of education. A functional program

that aims to provide this level of completion is the Federal Program of TRIO. TRIO, as well as

many College Access Programs, were established to provide educational opportunities for
students who are at a disadvantage. In order for a student to qualify, they need to have parents

that did not complete a post-secondary education.

Once enrolled into the program, the students receive a wide variety of services. Like

mentioned before, students are able to receive assistance with their financial aid application

process, assistance with their academics through after school tutoring and assistance with making

sure they are on track before they begin their application process for college. Students get to

interact with staff that most likely have been through similar situations they have, creating a

sense of community and belonging. Not only do students receive these services at no cost, but

they get to count with a support system that they possibly may not have at home. The author

Stephen John Quaye discusses how first generation students are “less likely to enroll in college”

and all because there are concerns about affordability, inadequate targeted college counseling and

more than anything else, students are unfamiliar with the process of attending college (Quaye et.

al., 2020). Therefore, programs like TRIO are the best fit to help targeted first generation

students to overcome the barrier of pursuing higher education.

Program Issues

In 1965 under the Johnson Administration's Great Society came the establishment of the

Higher Education Act and the first Trio Program, Talent Search (Trio and GEAR Up Programs,

n-d.). In the following years came the addition of Upward Bound and Student Support Services.

(Trio and GEAR Up Programs, n-d.). This program is geared to helping students navigate the

high school to higher education pipeline. However, with every good program comes problems

and issues that might not be easy to resolve. TRIO is a beautiful program; however, it fails to

provide consistent funding and support to students after high school graduation.
 As seen in most cases, funding plays a huge role in success programs like TRIO. In 2006

under the Bush Administration, there were long-term reductions to student loan programs and

lawmakers agreed to raise interest rates on parents’ loans (Dervarics,1997). This change angered

several education advocates as they noted that the cost of public colleges was increasing.

Additionally, President Bush signed two bills that directly affected many financial aid programs

that same year. This included TRIO programs and other services, resulting in a 1 percent cut

(Dervarics,1997). That year, TRIO had an 8 million dollar cut, which meant that fewer students

received the resources needed to succeed. The whole education system suffered from the cut of

these findings as there was a bigger need for money, yet it was not being supplemented through

financial aid. According to the National Education Association, President Reginald Weaver

stated that congress shouldn't be asking students to strive for college without funding (Dervarics,

1997). Since the beginning of TRIO and other services that low-income students benefit from

due to funding, unfortunately, depending on the administration in the office determines whether

the TRIO program continues.

Many TRIO programs around the country fail to receive the funds necessary in order to

best support students. This is an issue that was prevalent as the PROSPER Act impacted the

TRIO program and brought up many concerns about the changes it could create (Darville, 2018).

The PROSPER act “eliminating the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant and Public

Service Loan Forgiveness”(Grieve, 2018) affected low-income students who benefited from

student loans. Furthermore, the act would mandate the institutions to match 20% of the

non-federal dollars for their TRIO programs, knowing that their campus is majority serving

low-income, first generation students and taking away from other programs.
 Secondly, many of the TRIO programs focus on students as they navigate their middle

and high school years, in many instances, failing to support after the scholar gets admitted into a

college or university. The Journel of Negro Education (1998) states, “look at the degree of

collaboration that exists between K-12 and postsecondary institutions” noting the lack of support

from the program as students transition into higher education. College access programs have

mastered to support students academically and educate them in college and universities, but lack

support programs to maintain them in higher institutions.

TRIO targets high schoolers that pertain to marginalized communities and who may

identify as first-generation and or low-income. Even though these students are assisted the most

during high school, it seems to be that they are the same students that are impacted and suffer the

most during college, especially during the first year. “We work with students throughout their

high school year, getting them prepared for college. All of our work is really designed for that,

[so] when they step into the doors in college, they will be successful.” (Hallman, 2014) This

previous quote states how “all the work” is designated to working with students throughout high

school. This holistic view does not take into account how academics in a higher educational

system are completely different to those of high school. Therefore, when students are in college

they lack the one-on-one support that they may have been accustomed to, creating emotional and

psychological stress. Not only are the students impacted, but so are first year counselors and

advisors.

Advisors and counselors are the point of contact between students and the campus. They

are there to serve students and assist them in following the correct academic plan. However, how

do you help students that have been left without, probably, the only support they ever had?

Counselors are now left to try to assist students to the same extent they were being assisted prior
to going into college. “States with performance-based funding models may starve the institutions

most in need of improvement of the funding they might need to implement new practices. As a

result, practitioners often lack the resources—or incentive—they need to implement such

practices.”(New America, 2021) Again, one can see how the practitioners are impacted, not only

are they trying to assist students, but they have to make sure they are meeting performance levels

in order to receive funding.

According to the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) TRIO is the first federal

program to address the social and economic issues that low-income, first-generation students

face in higher education. As mentioned previously, it provides an educational opportunity for

students who face systemic obstacles like low-income students, military veterans, and students

with disabilities (COE, n.d). TRIO is a federal program with bipartisan support, meaning that

both political parties support the program. Based on the political administration in office, the

funding fluctuates, which affects the program as a whole and fails to demonstrate the economic

need to support students that are marginalized.(COE, n.d.-a). At the end of the day, the students

whom the program is designed for, are the ones affected due to funding.

Professional Interview

One can assume through research how TRIO works, but what better way to understand

this program than through a professional who has dedicated most of his life to it. In order to

better comprehend TRIO’s abilities to assist students, we decided to interview a person that has

made it very clear in his professional life that he is all about supporting his students and his staff.

Sam Blanco III is the current director at UC Davis School of Education and is in charge of two of

TRIO’s core programs: Talent Search (ETS) and Upward Bound. He has worked with TRIO for

over 30 years and has been able to build a valuable network of higher education professionals.
 Through our conversation with Sam, we were able to distinguish the good things and the

downside of the program. With over 790,00 students being served through TRIO, we were still

able to establish enough rapport about the program. Although TRIO has multiple programs, Sam

runs UpwardBound and Talent Search (ETS) so our research focused on those specific programs.

We learned that even though these programs are supposed to offer the same services, they have

differences that can affect their delivery of adequate services. We discussed funding issues,

limitations and most importantly the actual work that TRIO does for the students.

With our interview, we learned that Talent Search (ETS) and Upward bound have very

different structures. Talent Search is funded to serve 500-1000 students, meaning that their

program is numbers driven. Their program specializes in assisting seniors with their college

application process, although it serves all high school grades, seniors become priority and the

others get left behind. Sam mentioned that due to the big population, most presentations and

activities are in big groups. This means that the students don’t get enough time to socialize and

form close connections with students, due to the limited time that they spend with each other.

On the other hand, we have UpwardBound which is set to assist 108 students. With

UpwardBound, students can engage in 1 on 1 relationship with the staff, while creating a sense

of trust and belonging. With a smaller number of participants, the staff has time to form relations

with the student’s family. He did mention that through the Summer Program that Upward Bound

offers, the staff helps raise these students. It is very common for students to sometimes lack

support at home, having TRIO and their staff is a help that other programs may lack. We learned

that on many occasions the staff that is hired through TRIO are those of similar backgrounds,

therefore providing the program with first-hand experience to better serve the participants.
 Of course, Sam did reinforce the fact that funding is one, if not the biggest, issue with the

college access programs, like it is for TRIO. The money that TRIO receives is federal, therefore

it is considered “soft money.” What does this mean? This means that TRIO can either get the

money each grant year or it simply won't. The president of the United States gets to decide

whether they would like to include or budget federal funds for TRIO. If the president does or

does not want to provide funding, it then goes through the house of representatives and senate.

Ultimately the president does not get the final say. In history there have only been three

presidents that tried to remove funding from TRIO; George Bush Jr as mentioned before, Ronald

Regan in 1981 and most recently, Donald Trump in 2018. “The original budget proposal sought

to cut $393.5 million from the TRIO programs and reform how funds are allocated. This is a 40

percent cut in funding to the programs” (Bombardieri, 2018). One can only imagine how much

of an effect the program could have and how many students would miss out.

Money is very important for any program, however for TRIO it not only benefits the

students, but of course it provides jobs to staff. Sam made us aware that it depends on how staff

budgets as well and how many grants they run. He personally budgets 80% of funds to salaries

and benefits. That already is the majority of the money. However he networks and is able to have

four grants giving him space to work with. However, he mentioned that the best response to low

funding is advocating and talking to congress about the need for funding. “It is all about who you

know.” The more you get out there and talk about the program, the more help you will get. At

the end of the day, students are the ones affected whether it be positively or negatively. Funding

determines whether they get to visit a college, stay in the dorms and experience college level

courses or meet a tutor that will impact their higher education path.

Conclusion
TRIO programs are pivotal for many low-income, first-generation students trying to get into

college and universities. It has been helping many students see college as a possibility and it

helps create paths to achieve it. All seven programs in TRIO work diligently to support students

as much as possible with the different challenges that arise. Financially, as mentioned, TRIO

programs run on ‘soft money’, creating uncertainty on those who run its programs. This is

heavily decided on the United States administration base and the president that holds the power.

TRIO is lucky to have bipartisan support, but the amount of money TRIO programs receive is

heavily determined by the priority education is given by the sitting president.

As we had a chance to interview Sam Blanco, we were able to learn more about the

programs he runs and how his experience helped the development of a sustainable way of

helping students. He helped us understand the different programs in TRIO and how in their own

way help middle and high school students as they navigate their journey in higher education.

Furthermore, our interview with Sam Banco revealed the importance of advocacy with our

politicians, to request for more funding and to keep the TRIO program running. He personally

shared that he is hopeful that the TRIO programs will one day be able to serve all students no

matter their legal status.

Overall, TRIO is a program that serves hundreds of thousands of students across the

United States and Puerto Rico. This program provides hope and an opportunity for many

students to view college as a possibility. Even though it still has some issues along the way, it has

worked with minimal funds to best support students. TRIO programs continue to be under attack

as different presidents prioritize education differently. It is crucial to help educate others about

TRIO programs and enlist them to advocate for the importance of TRIO.
Recommendations

As TRIO programs continue to support students across the nation, it is important to

highlight the current issues it currently faces. First, the lack of support it provides students once

they are admitted into a college or university. TRIO programs promise the support in higher

education but lack in delivering similar services as they supported students in middle and high

school years. From our personal experience working in TRIO and having had the opportunity to

support low-income, first-generation students, we can assure how beneficial many of the services

are. Sadly, the support of first-generation students is not the same once they arrive at higher

education.

As noted in Student Engagement in Higher Education text (Quaye et. al., 2020), “there

needs to be a better understanding of each student within the first-generation group

membership,” reveals the importance of individual attention many students need. Higher

institutions lack in supporting our students at a more personal level affecting the retention of

first-generation students. Many institutions in higher education tend to overlook how

dimensional our students are and forget the many that are first generation have more than one

identities that challenges them as they navigate higher education. The chapter in our textbook on

Engaging First Generation Students concludes saying “The concerns and issues surrounding for

first generation students commonly cited in research and across campuses are real, and

considerable attention should be given to many engagement strategies that can be employed to

positively impact or advances and completion rates (Quaye et. al., 2020),” revealing the

importance of student engagement. Many if not most students in the TRIO program nationwide
have undergone a struggle to even begin applying to colleges and universities. Sadly, once they

are admitted, students lack support and engagement affecting their retention.

Secondly, many TRIO programs run with the uncertainty that they will have enough

funding to support their students. As mentioned, TRIO runs on ‘soft money,’ making it very

uncertain that when they renew the grant, they will be given the funding to continue the program.

With the obstacles placed on the TRIO program from different United States administrations, it

is uncertain how the support of this non-partisan program will look like. We can note this as the

Trump administration tried to revise the Prosper Act. This has brought up many concerns for

many higher institutions as it challenged funding and the support of all students. As noted in the

Darville article of the revision of the Prosper Act, “it would penalize institutions that invest their

own resources or Educational Opportunity Programs in promoting successful outcomes for

students who need assistance.” This unfair modification that was proposed, truly sets the priority

of the Trump administration as it would take away services of different programs affecting TRIO

students; services that are already cut down due to the low amount of money and different

regulations that the department of education sets for TRIO programs to comply.

As we had an opportunity to meet with a TRIO practitioner, Sam Blanco, we had the

opportunity to converse on how we can create a stronger and better TRIO Program. Some of the

recommendations that Mr. Blanco brought up the idea of educating and lobbying for the TRIO

program. He informed us on the power of networking in academia and how that is a great way to

impact many of our students. This helps us realize the power of meeting and networking with

people as we will never know who will impact our future.

 The future of the TRIO program is uncertain, currently we have many supporters from

both parties admiring the great impact it has created. It is important to note that it can be changed

as a new administration steps in the White house. For this reason it is crucial to continue to

advocate for TRIO and for the program to expand its services to target more students at a college

and university level.

 References

About TRIO. Trio programs. (2021). September 27, 2021.

https://trio.dasa.ncsu.edu/about/

Council for Opportunity in Education. (n-d.) National Trio Day Action Packet. Retrieved from

https://coenet.org/files/national_trio_day_action_packet_2020.pdf

Council for Opportunity in Education. (n-d.-a) Advocacy. Retrieved from

https://coenet.org/files/national_trio_day_action_packet_2020.pdf

Darville, S. April 11, 2018. PROSPER act’s Impact on TRIO programs concerns many schools.

Retrieved 2021

https://www.diverseeducation.com/students/article/15102326/prosper-acts-impact-on-trio

Dervarics. (1997). TRIO program improves student progress. Black Issues in Higher Education.,
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Grieve, K. February 6, 2018. The prosper act and TRIO students. Retrieved from

https://www.naspa.org/blog/the-prosper-act-and-trio-students

Hallman, C. September 6, 2014. TRIO teaches high school students the culture of college.

Retrieved 2021.

https://spokesman-recorder.com/2014/09/06/trio-teaches-high-school-students-culture-col

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Quaye, S. 2020. Student engagement in higher education. Routledge. 2020 Taylor and Francis.

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Trio and GEAR UP Programs: Status and Issues (RL31622). (n.d.).