The Department of TRIO and Academic Services at Cal U helps students achieve their educational goals.
Dr. Laura Giachetti, director of TRIO Student Support Services, secured a highly competitive $1.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
TRIO Student Support Services at California University of Pennsylvania has been awarded a five-year, $1.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
The Student Support Services (SSS) program is one of the three original TRIO programs authorized in 1968 by the Higher Education Act of 1965. Federally funded TRIO programs assist first-generation students – those whose parents or guardians did not obtain a bachelor’s degree – as well as income-eligible students, foster youth and students with disabilities as they progress from middle school through college.
“This grant will allow us to continue the important work of providing the support that TRIO-eligible students need to ensure their success at California University of Pennsylvania,” said Laura Giachetti, the director of TRIO Student Support Services and assistant professor in the Department of TRIO and Academic Services.
Activities and services offered by Trio Student Support Services at Cal U include instruction in basic skills, peer support, academic advising, financial aid and career counseling, graduate school counseling and mentoring.
In 2019, more than 1,000 students at Cal U — nearly one-fourth of the university’s undergraduates — were identified as first-generation.