About TRIO
TRIO: Educational Opportunity for All
The Visions program is a federally funded Student Support Services program, one of roughly 1,900 TRIO programs throughout the United States. TRIO programs grew out of our nation's commitment to the ideal of providing equal access to higher education to all Americans, regardless of their backgrounds or economic circumstances.
Funded under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, these programs bear the name "TRIO" in honor of the first three programs established in the 1960s: Upward Bound, Talent Search, and Student Support Services. Talent Search and Upward Bound are early intervention programs, serving students in grades 6 through 12 who have college potential but often do not recognize or understand their academic and career options beyond high school. At the college level, Student Support Services programs (such as MWCC's Visions Program) help students persist in college until they earn their associate and baccalaureate degrees. Other TRIO programs include Educational Opportunity Centers, which help displaced or underemployed workers gain access to higher education; the Ronald E. McNair Achievement Program, which prepares students for doctoral study; and Veteran's Upward Bound, which helps veterans make a successful transition from the military to college.
The majority of TRIO participants come from families with limited incomes where neither parent graduated from college. Students with disabilities are also served by TRIO programs nationwide. More than 1,200 colleges and community agencies now offer TRIO programs, funded through competitive grants from the U.S. Department of Education.
For more than 20 years, the Visions Program has been dedicated to fostering the success of students at Mount Wachusett Community College. We are proud to be part of the thriving family of TRIO programs across the nation.
Source:
Adapted from Council for Opportunity in Education, www.trioprograms.org