MISSOULA –

Low-income and first-generation high school students will continue to receive crucial college prep assistance through 2017 thanks to a renewed grant to fund the TRiO-Upward Bound program at The University of Montana.

Joseph Hickman, director of UM’s TRiO Programs, received a letter May 8 from the office of U.S. Sen. Max Baucus confirming the program received more than $1.6 million in funding for the next five years.

TRiO-Upward Bound is a U.S. Department of Education program that serves high school students from low-income families and those from families in which neither parent holds a bachelor’s degree. Its main goal is to increase the rate of participants graduating from high school and enrolling at and succeeding in higher education institutions. It is a component of the federal TRiO Programs, designed to identify and provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.

“UM’s TRiO-Upward Bound program has a long history of helping at-risk students, who do not normally attend college, prepare for college and succeed in their post-secondary education goals,” Hickman said. “This announcement allows us to continue that legacy and assist students in Montana who need our program.”

Established in 1966, UM’s TRiO-Upward Bound program serves at least 75 students each year from Hellgate, Big Sky and Browning high schools. It provides all participants with academic-year support services at the high schools and a summer instructional program at UM. Qualifying students also are able to get a head start on college by enrolling in UM courses during the summer after their senior year through the Bridge Scholars Program.

More than 95 percent of UM TRiO-Upward Bound participants graduate from high school every year, and 75 percent pursue postsecondary education immediately after graduation. Nationally, only 24 percent of low-income and first-generation high school graduates immediately pursue higher education. 

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ALS

Western Montana, Glacier Reporter

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