SSU nets $4 million in federal funding to support two TRIO programs
The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Sonoma State University two TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) grants totaling $4.03 million to improve college retention and graduation rates among low-income, first-generation students and students with disabilities.
The funding will support two distinct but complimentary programs:
- TRIO Student Support Services (SSS): Serving 350 low-income, first-generation students and students with disabilities.
- TRIO Multilingual Achievers Program (MAP): Supporting 140 students who are low-income, first-generation, or who have a disability and whose first language is not English.
This award extends Sonoma State’s long-standing commitment to student success through TRIO programs. Since 1989, the University has served over 12,000 students through TRIO SSS. Since 2015, MAP has served 1,400 multilingual students, helping them earn their degrees, navigate college systems, and build meaningful professional and academic futures.
Through individualized services including academic tutoring, financial aid, scholarship guidance, career exploration, personal and academic counseling, and mentoring, TRIO SSS empowers students to overcome barriers to success. These comprehensive supports make it significantly more likely that students will complete their degree, with the lowest possible debt.
“This grant allows Sonoma State University to deepen our commitment to ensuring that all students – regardless of background – can thrive academically and personally,” said Rose Calzontzi, MPA, director of TRIO SSS. “Student Support Services provides wraparound services that help equip our students with the tools to not only stay in college, but also graduate with the skills and confidence to lead in their communities and careers.”
Nationally, the SSS program has a proven track record. According to a rigorous 2019 evaluation by the U.S. Department of Education, students in SSS at two-year institutions were 48% more likely to earn an associate’s degree or transfer to a four-year school, and students at four-year institutions were 18% more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree compared to similar peers not in the program.
SSS is one of eight federal TRIO programs funded under the Higher Education Act of 1965 to remove social, academic, and cultural barriers to higher education. Since its inception in 1968, SSS has helped millions of low-income, first-generation students graduate from college and contribute to their communities and the economy.
For more information about TRIO Student Support Services at Sonoma State University, visit triosss.sonoma.edu or contact Rose Calzontzi at [email protected].
About Federal TRIO Programs
TRIO programs (Talent Search, Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math-Science, Veterans Upward Bound,Student Support Services, Educational Opportunity Centers, and the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program) help students overcome academic, economic, and social barriers to higher education. TRIO services include assistance in choosing a college and tutoring; personal, financial, and career counseling; assistance in applying to college; workplace and college visits; special
instruction in reading, writing, study skills, and mathematics; assistance in applying for financial aid; and academic assistance in high school or assistance to reenter high school or college.