The U.S. Department of Education has approved a $1.3 million grant that will fund Neumann University’s TRIO/Student Support Services program for the next five years.

TRIO funding provides enhanced support to low-income-eligible, first-generation students and students with documented disabilities who have enrolled. Its goal is to increase retention and graduation rates by offering specialized services such as academic coaching, financial aid and literacy counseling, individual tutoring, career counseling, and more.

Neumann has received TRIO funding for the last 15 years, assisting 140 students each year – from freshmen to seniors - in their pursuit of a college degree. The new grant maintains the funding level that the university received during the last five years, from 2021 to 2025.

“I am confident that our TRIO program’s track record of success over many years played a role in the renewal of this grant by the Department of Education,” said Dr. Chris Domes.

Evidence of the program’s success is captured in the metrics that Oreanthy Hionis Junier, director of the TRIO/SSS program, and her colleagues meticulously track. During the 2024-25 academic year, 21 TRIO students graduated, more than 30 percent earned Dean’s List recognition in the fall and spring semesters, and 91 percent achieved a GPA of 2.5 or above.

“The program seeks to elevate and support SSS-eligible students who have been granted acceptance to Neumann University on their own merit and engaged in TRIO programming to enhance what they can achieve through their effort and education,” explains Junier. “Our belief is that learning empowers them with tools, possibilities, and economic mobility that our TRIO students may not have previously imagined.”

The grant supports four staff positions at Neumann: director, coordinator/counselor, financial literacy counselor, and a 16-hour-per week counselor. It also funds the services of three professional tutors.

The university’s grant application survived a months-long Congressional debate about whether to continue funding for the TRIO/SSS program.

“We remain deeply grateful for the unwavering support of everyone at Neumann University, as well as the bipartisan members of the Senate and Congress who champion TRIO programs,” Junier says.

Prospective and current students can explore their eligibility for the program by visiting Neumann’s TRIO/SSS website.