TRIO Student Support Services
Wayne County Community College District is proud to participate in TRIO-Student Support Services. TRIO-SSS is a federally funded grant program created by the United States Department of Education to serve eligible low-income, first-generation, and disabled students.
The Mission for TRIO-SSS is to foster an institutional climate supportive of the success of students from traditionally underrepresented groups in postsecondary education, individuals with disabilities, homeless children and youth, foster care youth, or other disconnected students.
The goal of TRIO–SSS is to increase the retention and graduation rates of its eligible participants and help them transition from one level of higher education to the next. TRIO-SSS is designed to Increase the transfer rate of eligible students from two-year to four-year institutions. To meet that goal TRIO–SSS provides opportunities for academic development, assists students with basic college requirements, and motivates them to complete their postsecondary education.
Students participating in TRIO-SSS are those who plan to graduate with an Associate’s Degree from WCCCD and transfer to a four-year college or university to complete a Baccalaureate Degree.
A student is eligible to participate in TRIO-SSS if the student meets all of the following requirements:
- Is a citizen or national of the United States or meets the residency requirements for Federal Student Financial Aid.
- Is currently enrolled at WCCCD.
- Has a need for academic support (as determined by TRIO-SSS) in order to complete an Associate Degree program at WCCCD.
- The student must also meet the definition of at least one of the following qualifying criteria:
- A low-income individual: Low-income individual means an individual whose family's taxable income did not exceed 150 percent of the poverty level amount in the calendar year preceding the year in which the individual initially participated in the project. The poverty level amount is determined by using criteria of poverty established by the Bureau of the Census of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
- A first-generation college student:
- A student neither of whose natural or adoptive parents received a baccalaureate degree;
- A student who, prior to the age of 18, regularly resided with and received support from only one parent and whose supporting parent did not receive a baccalaureate degree; or
- An individual who, prior to the age of 18, did not regularly reside with or receive support from a natural or an adoptive parent.
- An individual with disabilities: Individual with a disability means a person who has a disability, as that term is defined in section 12102 of the Americans with Disabilities Act
Eligible participants receive support in the following categories:
- Academic Tutoring to enable students to complete postsecondary courses.
- Academic Advisement and assistance in postsecondary course selection.
- Educational and counseling designed to improve students' financial and economic literacy, including financial planning for postsecondary education.
- Providing information and awareness on both the full range of Federal Student Aid programs and benefits (including Federal Pell Grant awards and loan forgiveness) and resources for locating public and private scholarships.
- Assistance in completing financial aid applications, including the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
- Transfer Activities designed to assist students enrolled in two-year institutions of higher education in applying for admission to, and obtaining financial assistance for enrollment in, a four-year program of postsecondary education.
TRIO-SSS Transfer Coordinator work with eligible participants to facilitate activities designed to meet the purpose of the TRIO-SSS program:
- Individualized advising for personal, career, and academic matters.
- Information, activities, and instruction are designed to acquaint eligible participants with the range of career options available.
- Exposure to cultural events and academic programs not usually available to disadvantaged students.
- Increase basic economic decision-making skills in the areas of personal budgeting, household money management, and financial planning skill leading which lead to self-sufficiency.
- Mentoring, leadership development, and service learning opportunities to support non-cognitive growth.
To find out if you maybe eligible to participate in TRIO-SSS please contact us at (313) 496-2634 or triostudentsupport@mail.wcccd.edu
Ready to apply to TRiO-SSS?
- Complete the online TRiO-SSS application
- Once we receive your completed application, a TRiO-SSS advisor will contact you with instructions on the next steps, and/or may request eligibility documentation.
