WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Missouri State University-West Plains will receive $1.1 million over the next five years in renewed funding from the federal TRiO Program to continue providing comprehensive academic support services to low income, first generation and disabled college students in an effort to increase their postsecondary educational success.
Officials with the U.S. Department of Education announced July 17 that Missouri State-West Plains was among this year’s list of grant recipients through TRiO’s Student Support Services Program. The grant gives the university $220,000 each year for the next five years to provide academic and other support services to 140 eligible students in an effort to increase student retention and graduation rates, facilitate their transfer from two-year to four-year colleges, and foster an institutional climate supportive of their success. The TRiO Program at the West Plains campus started Sept. 1, 2010, following the initial grant funding in August of that year.
“The TRiO Student Support Services Program is a critically needed cog in our efforts to serve our students and to increase their opportunities toward achieving their educational and career goals,” Missouri State-West Plains Chancellor Drew Bennett said. “Many, if not most, of our students are low-income and the first in their families to go to college, so they have to struggle to overcome obstacles that other students do not face. This grant is designed to assist our neediest students and help them succeed.”
The grant was written by a team of university officials led by Karen Ryburn, the current director of the TRiO Program on the Missouri State-West Plains campus. “Karen’s involvement in our TRiO Program can only be characterized as a personal passion on her part,” Bennett said while praising Ryburn for her commitment to the program and noting she will soon retire from her position. “She led the writing team that gave us the first grant five years ago, and she led the team this time around, too. This new, five-year award is testament to her love for and belief in these students. We are going to miss her greatly, but she leaves us with the TRiO Program in great shape for the future.”
Ryburn said the university continued to seek funding for this grant because the intensive services it helps provide are much needed by students at Missouri State-West Plains. “Approximately 80 percent of our student population is eligible for this program; however, the grant funding we will receive each year only will provide services for 140 students.”
As a result, eligible students will need to submit an application through the TRiO office, located at 304 Garfield on the Missouri State-West Plains campus. The TRiO application also can be found online at wp.missouristate.edu/trio. Eligible students are accepted into the program on a first-come, first-served basis. Each student accepted receives the following services:
• an assessment of his or her academic needs;
• development of a Personal Academic Success (PAS) plan;
• monitoring of academic progress through regular contact with student support services staff and peers, updates from faculty and grade reports;
• additional assistance with financial aid applications to ensure they are receiving the maximum amount of aid available;
• additional academic support through tutoring and supplemental instruction;
• assistance with transfer to four-year institutions, including organized campus visits.
“One of the purposes of the program is to maintain regular contact with these students to keep them in school and to help them succeed,” Ryburn explained. “To that end, students meet regularly with their adviser and have a scheduled time each week to receive additional tutoring.”
In addition, student support services staff serve as advocates for program participants, making students aware of policies and services that may affect them and connecting them with the appropriate offices and personnel. Participants also are encouraged to use the campus’ Career Services office to explore career options and to develop their leadership skills by participating in student organizations and TRiO sponsored leadership training, Ryburn said.
As an added bonus, students who complete two consecutive semesters maintaining a grade point average greater than 2.75 on a 4.0 scale and have unmet financial need are eligible to receive a grant aid scholarship, she added.
“The original intent of the TRiO Program when it was first implemented in the 1960s was to help students who are under prepared academically for college or are first generation college students with little knowledge of the higher education system and how to maneuver through its processes,” Ryburn said. “That intent continues today and is reflected in the program of services we offer.”
Students who are eligible to participate in the program or would like more information about the program are asked to contact Ryburn at 417-255-7716 as soon as possible.