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. According to the Council for Opportunity in Education , over "3,100 TRIO programs currently serve more than 880,000 low-income 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 curriculum and instruction, academic writing, 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, CHE's annual performance data report for the 2022 -2023 academic year demonstrates:
- 94% persisted from fall 2022 to 2023
- 95% were in good academic standing at the end of the Summer 2023 semester
- 82% of the 2017 cohort participants (47 out of 57) graduated from UNC within 6-years (NOTE: Dept of Education tracks CHE/SSS graduation numbers by cohort)
In addition, CHE participants are active in the TRiO McNair Scholars and UNC Honors Program, scholarship programs such as Reisher and Stryker, professional student associations, UNC athletics, theatre, Greek Life, and a variety of campus clubs.
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 P042A211356 for $346,723 and institutional match funds: $90,932 for a total of $440,655 for the 2022-2023 academic year.
