TRIO - Programs Descriptions

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Currently, eight TRIO Programs are located on the WKU campus.

 

     Educational Opportunity Centers

Director, Jennifer McWorther

Phone: (270) 745-5068

Educational Talent Search projects serve young people in grades six through 12. In addition to counseling, participants receive information about college admissions requirements, scholarships and various student financial aid programs. This early intervention program helps people from families with incomes under $33,075 (where neither parent graduated from college) to better understand their educational opportunities and options. More than 363,000 students are enrolled in 466 Talent Search TRIO projects. According to the more recent data collected by the Department of Education, 79% of Talent Search participants were admitted to postsecondary institutions.

 

Educational Talent Search 2

Director, Brian Brausch

Phone: (270) 745-6884

Educational Talent Search projects serve young people in grades six through 12. In addition to counseling, participants receive information about college admissions requirements, scholarships and various student financial aid programs. This early intervention program helps people from families with incomes under $33,075 (where neither parent graduated from college) to better understand their educational opportunities and options. More than 363,000 students are enrolled in 466 Talent Search TRIO projects. According to the more recent data collected by the Department of Education, 79% of Talent Search participants were admitted to postsecondary institutions.

 

Educational Talent Search 3

Director, Denise Hardesty

Phone: (270) 745-3269

Educational Talent Search projects serve young people in grades six through 12. In addition to counseling, participants receive information about college admissions requirements, scholarships and various student financial aid programs. This early intervention program helps people from families with incomes under $33,075 (where neither parent graduated from college) to better understand their educational opportunities and options. More than 363,000 students are enrolled in 466 Talent Search TRIO projects. According to the more recent data collected by the Department of Education, 79% of Talent Search participants were admitted to postsecondary institutions.

 

Student Support Services

Director, Destiny O'Rourke

Phone: (270) 745-4308

Student Support Services (SSS) provides opportunities for academic development, assists students with basic college requirements, and serves to motivate students toward the successful completion of their post-secondary education. The goal of SSS is to increase college retention and the graduation rates of participants, as well as facilitate the transitional process from one level of higher education to the next.

The mission of Student Support Services is to serve eligible college students and foster an institutional climate supportive of their success. Our services are designed to enhance academic skills, increase retention, increase graduation rates, and facilitate entrance into graduate and professional programs.

 

Student Support Services, Disabilities

Director, Jimmie Martin

Phone: (270) 745-2743

SSS-D focuses on supporting students with disabilities by helping them transition into college, succeed while in college and achieve their goal of graduating with a bachelor’s degree within six years. Students who are admitted into our program will be connected with a coach who will provide individualized support to help guide them through the college experience. Our students will have access to FREE tutoring (both individual and group settings), priority class registration, quiet study spaces dedicated to SSS-D students, and workshops covering topics such as financial aid & scholarships, graduate school, college success skills, and other important personal and professional development topics.

 

Upward Bound

Director, Katie Rainge-Briggs

Phone: (270) 745-4917

The goal of Upward Bound (UB) is to increase the rate at which participants complete secondary education and enroll in and graduate from institutions of postsecondary education. UB provides core content instruction in English composition and literature, foreign language, lab science, and mathematics. In addition, UB counselors assist participants with high school course selection, study skills, ACT preparation, financial literacy, and all aspects of the college enrollment process. During the academic year, services are administered through monthly Saturday Sessions and thrice monthly school meetings.  Each summer, participants attend a six-week residential program which focuses on core content instruction, and provides cultural and social activities.

WKU received its first Upward Bound grant in 1983. The current grant (2017-2022) serves 86 high school students from six southcentral Kentucky schools: Allen County-Scottsville, Butler County, Edmonson County, Hart County, Logan County, and Russellville High Schools.

 

Veterans Upward Bound

Director, Marc Hamilton

Phone: (270) 745-5310

The Veterans Upward Bound program provides intensive basic skills development and short-term remedial courses for military veterans to helps them successfully transition to postsecondary education. Veterans learn how to secure support from available resources such as the Veterans Administration, veterans associations, and various state and local agencies that serve veterans.