TRiO Program
The Center for Human Enrichment/Student Support Services (CHE/SSS) program is a part of the national family of TRiO programs. The federal TRiO Programs are "educational opportunity outreach programs" that support students from underrepresented backgrounds in the pursuit of a college degree. TRiO programs serve over 790,000 students annually from across the 50 states, including the Washington, D.C. area, the Pacific Islands and Puerto Rico.
History
Since 1972, the Center for Human Enrichment (CHE) has obtained funding through a TRiO SSS federal grant. The CHE/SSS grant brings in over 1.45 million dollars to the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) to support the academic achievement of first-generation college students. Currently the CHE/SSS program at UNC is recognize as being in the top 1% of programs in the nation.
Program Overview
The focus of the CHE program is on facilitating the successful academic retention and graduation of first-generation college students. The program is comprised of four interconnected and innovative components: curriculum and instruction, academic advising, tutoring, and educational technology. Students enrolled in UNC who choose to participate in the CHE program are serve from the time they enter the program until they graduate. CHE serves 200 students each year that include 70 first-year students. All CHE students must identify as first generation, meaning neither parent, adoptive or biological, has earned a bachelor’s degree. Additionally, 2/3 must meet federal low-income guidelines.
Academic Achievement
Participants in the CHE program are active members of the UNC community and perform above their UNC peers on measures of academic achievement. Specifically, statistics from the 2021 -2022 academic year, demonstrate that CHE participants:
- 87% persisted from fall 2021 to fall 2022
- 89% were in good academic standing at the end of the Spring 2022 semester
- 81% of the 2016 cohort participants (46 out of 57) graduated from UNC within 6-years
In addition, CHE participants are active in the TRiO McNair Scholars and Honors Program, traditional and nontraditional sororities and fraternities, UNC athletics, theatre, student activities, and a variety of other campus clubs and organizations.
Grant Award
The Center for Human Enrichment/Student Support Services program (CHE/SSS) is a federally funded TRiO program funded through the U. S. Department of Education with matching support from the University of Northern Colorado (UNC). CHE is funded under PR/Award Number P02A211356 for $336,272 and institutional match funds: $90,932 for a total of $427,204 for academic year 2022-2023.
