July 23, 2026

TRIO Student Support Services funding is again available

Southern Illinois University Carbondale has a long history of opening doors for students for whom college might otherwise be out of reach. The university’s TRIO Student Support Services (TRIO SSS) assists first-generation, low-income college students with learning disabilities by providing services to help such students succeed. Applications are open now.

Renada Greer, executive director of SIU Carbondale’s Student Multicultural Resource Center and TRIO SSS, said the university recently received word the U.S. Department of Education has committed to funding the program for the next five years beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year.

The program — which has been part of the university for more than three decades  did not receive any federal funding for the 2025-2026 academic year due to “new administrative priorities within the Department of Education,” Greer said. She credits persistence in working with the Council for Opportunity in Education, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit dedicated to expanding college access, with securing funding reinstatement.

TRIO SSS provides many services including assistance for students with disabilities, tutoring, workshops, financial aid assistance, cultural enrichment opportunities and an assigned counselor to provide students with individual, personal attention.

SIU’s program has been awarded more than $388,000 each year to serve 160 students. Students who were previously enrolled in the program and still at SIU do not have to complete a new application or reapply but need to express interest in participating by sending an email to triosss@siu.edu or stopping by Woody Hall, room 214.

New students and first-time applicants may fill out the application packet.

Eligibility guidelines include:

  • First-generation college student.
  • Meeting income eligibility guidelines.
  • A documented learning disability.
  • Class-level junior or below.

“We were elated about this news. This program is a pillar of the SIU campus community and offers vital support for our most vulnerable students,” Greer said. “TRIO has produced a number of our current full-time staff and many more successful alumni. I am excited that we will be able to provide that type of support and successful outcomes for future students that choose SIU Carbondale as their home for the next four years.”

For more information about the program, contact Victoria Taylor, interim director at 618-453-6973 or email triosss@siu.edu.