TRIO—Student Support Services program awarded renewal grant

Last June, Student Support Services at IU East was awarded a four-year renewal grant from the Office of Federal TRIO Programs. The local program, which has been assisting students for more than 20 years, is one of the longest running programs in the state. Services such as academic advising, career planning, personal counseling and tutoring are made available to first-generation and low-income students as well as students with disabilities.

While IU East offers many excellent services to all students, the SSS program is unique in recognizing and addressing invisible barriers, for example, cultural biases and attitudes, that discourage some people from pursuing and earning a college degree.

The IU East program includes an assessment component in which a coordinator identifies undiagnosed learning disabilities in students. The assessment coordinator can test for these problems that cause learning difficulties and frustration and help the student identify strategies for improvement. The assessment may also indicate that the student qualifies for special services to accommodate a learning disability.

“Student Support Services has helped me tremendously. I have gone to them for everything,” said Kim Lewis. “I’m thankful SSS was there because it gave me somewhere to go. I went in lost and ready to give up, but now I’m in my sophomore year and am on my way to a bachelor’s degree in social work.”

The SSS program is designed to serve IU East’s diverse student population, including commuter students and the large number of adults that start their college educations several years after completing high school.

“SSS helped me make the transition from being out of school for 25 years to being a college student,” said Teri Ferguson, a senior general studies student. “I have also received assistance with writing papers and with math classes. My experience as a new student, with the help of this program, made me realize I could succeed and gave me the confidence to keep going.”

“The college environment is new territory for many people—understanding policies and procedures, managing time, and studying effectively. All of this can be overwhelming. Our purpose is to help students navigate the system, realize and build on their strengths, and follow through to their goals,” Stafford said.

One new initiative of the program will focus on computer literacy for all its participants. These skills are essential so that all students are prepared to take advantage of on-line educational opportunities and computer assisted learning technology.

http://www.iue.indiana.edu/Departments/sss/index.html