USC Sumter Awarded $1.6 Million To Help Low Income, First Generation, and Students with Disabilities Succeed in College
Federal Student Support Services grant awarded every five years
Sumter, SC (09/01/2020) — The U.S. Department of Education announced that the University of South Carolina Sumter will receive a federal Student Support Services (SSS) grant of $ $1,675,500 to help more students succeed in and graduate from college. This is the sixth time that USC Sumter has been awarded the grant which has helped over 1800 students since 1997.
At USC Sumter, the grant will be used to support the Opportunity Scholars Program (OSP) which helps college students who are low income, first generation (those whose parents do not have a four-year college degree) or students with disabilities. In addition, all eligible students must demonstrate a need for academic support. The array of services the grant will provide are comprehensive and include academic tutoring, financial aid advice, career and college mentoring, help in choosing courses, and other forms of assistance. Such services enhance academic success and make it more likely that students will graduate or transfer with the lowest possible debt. On average, OSP participants have higher GPA's than traditional students with a 2.9 CUM GPA, 88% in Good Academic Standing, 48% graduating with an associate degree and 41% graduating and transferring into a 4-year academic program.
"We are very excited to continue to serve our students at USC Sumter. They will need our support services more than ever, especially this fall, due to the COVID 19 pandemic," said Lisa Rosdail Director of TRIO Programs at USC Sumter. "We are confident we can provide the assistance they need to be successful during this unprecedented time of remote learning as well as continue a 23-year tradition of meeting our program goals and objectives.
SSS began in 1968 and is one of the eight federal "TRIO" programs authorized by the Higher Education Act to help college students succeed in higher education. It recognizes that students whose parents do not have a college degree have more difficulties navigating the complexity of decisions that college requires for success; it bolsters students from low income families who have not had the academic opportunities that their college peers have had, and helps students with disabilities remove obstacles preventing them from thriving academically.
For more than 50 years, the Student Support Services program has made important contributions to individuals and society as a whole by providing a broad range of services to help students succeed. This vital program can and does make all the difference.
"We couldn't be more proud of the good work Mrs. Rosdail and her team do to help our students succeed and support the mission of USC Sumter to serve the students in our service area. This program makes a big difference in the lives of an important segment of our student population" said Dr. Michael Sonntag, Dean at USC Sumter.
University of South Carolina Sumter
Alethia Hummel, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, 803-938-3728, alethiah@uscsumter.eduShare this Story
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