Westfield State University awarded $1.5 million federal grant for student support services

Westfield State University awarded $1.5 million federal grant for student support services

Westfield State University will receive a $1.57 million Student Support Services (SSS) grant from the U.S. Department of Education to help low-income and first-generation college students and students with disabilities succeed in and graduate from college.

At Westfield State, the money will go toward supporting the University’s TRIO SSS Program (SSSP), which offers eligible students free academic and personal support designed to encourage students to graduate, and to prepare them for graduate school and/or a career. Services include academic tutoring, financial aid advice, career and college mentoring, and course selection assistance. Such services enhance academic success and make it more likely that students will graduate or transfer with the lowest possible debt.

Westfield State’s 2020–21 grant award is $314,604. Over its five-year cycle, the total grant award is expected to be approximately $1.57 million, depending on budget allotments and congressional appropriations.

TRIO refers to the three programs (Upward Bound, Talent Search, and Student Support Services), which existed within the reauthorization of The Higher Education Act of 1968, and was designed to assist eligible students to begin and complete a post-secondary education.

More here.