The philosophy of the SSS/TRiO program is to provide premier service and support to students in their pursuit of obtaining a post-secondary education in a non-threatening, inviting and fun environment. Through one-on-one connections we help students uncover their potential to achieve both educational and personal success.
Student Support Services/TRIO participants receive intensive support, tutoring, and mentoring. In addition, the program offers academic advising, transfer trips, cultural trips, orientation to college, leadership activities, and a variety of technology equipment. The program is designed to assist eligible Richland students graduate from Richland with a two-year transferrable degree and transfer to a four-year institution. The TRiO program is a federally funded student engagement grant. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, TRiO provides educational support to students who currently meet federal government low-income guidelines, first generation students (neither parent has a bachelor's degree) and to students with a documented disability. All applications must include documentation of income and, if applicable, documentation of disability. All services are free to SSS/TRiO participants.
Contact TRiO
Office C143
TRiO Services
Faculty and Peer Tutoring
Academic Advising
Career Planning
Loaner Equipment
Cultural Events
Educational, Personal and Professional Enrichment Activities/Workshops
Peer Mentoring
Financial Literacy
Transfer Trips
Trio also sponsors two special interest organizations on campus:
Women of Worth
Men of Distinction
These two groups seek to empower women and men respectively through education, knowledge, awareness, skills, appreciation of diversity, and service to the community.
TRiO Eligibility & Application
Students are eligible for services if they meet the following qualifications set by the Department of Education:
Must be a citizen of the United States or have permanent residency
Must be enrolled in classes at Richland Community College
Must be in need of academic support
Must be degree seeking and transfer bound after graduating from Richland Community College
In addition, students must meet at least one of the following criteria:
Neither parent graduated from a four-year college
Low-income according to current government guidelines
Have a documented physical or learning disability
Application
Download the TRIO Application
SSS/TRiO Retention Plan
SSS/TRiO students are advised once a month in making academic, career, social/personal, financial, and transfer decisions. They are also advised to take advantage of tutoring, supplemental instruction, diverse cultural events, as well as personal and professional enrichment workshops made available to them. The SSS/TRiO program offers peer mentoring and the use of loaner equipment including laptops, textbooks, graphing calculators, tape recorders, etc. Assessment tools used include the LASSI, career cruising and midterm reports. In collaboration with other Richland Community College departments, the SSS/TRiO staff also makes appropriate referrals to students regarding services available on campus.
