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While you are attending college there are some great resources available to help you succeed. One of the programs you may not know about is TRIO Student Support Services (SSS). TRIO provides students the opportunity for assistance with career and transfer planning to students to help discern a path that fits their goals. Above all else they provide students with academic advising to help students graduate and do so on time. Scholarships are also available to TRIO students that qualify.

Do You Qualify for TRIO?

You can be a part of TRIO if you are enrolled or planning to enroll at Marshalltown Community College or Ellsworth Community College. In addition to being a US citizen or a permanent resident, if you are interested in TRIO, you must meet one of these qualifications: 1) a first-generation college student, 2) low-income college student, or 3) a student with a documented disability (or one that can be documented).

TRIO Activities & Events

Each semester TRIO plans a variety of activities for students to promote and help you successfully navigate your educational goals after high school. The workshops are a combination of both online and in person. The events academic skills workshops, financial literacy workshops, cultural enrichment activities such as speakers and volunteer opportunities, career and transfer information, visits to transfer institutions, and priority registration for college classes. Each program creates a schedule of events per semester. Schedules of TRIO workshops are posted around campus and located in TRIO offices.

In addition to the activities and workshops that TRIO can provide, you will also…

• Receive one-on-one advising from TRIO staff who are personally committed to helping you succeed.
• Meet and build relationships with other students–who are pursuing their college and career dreams just like you.
• Learn to be financially savvy to budget your money now and in the future, understand credit card use, and learn to manage student loan debt.
• Gain leadership skills that will help you grow inside and outside of college.
• Get academic and personal support from your very own dedicated SSS “cheerleader.”

How TRIO became part of ECC & MCC

The TRIO SSS program became part of the ECC and MCC campuses in 2010 and are still available to students. TRIO is the umbrella term for multiple federally funded programs from the Department of Education that are educational opportunity outreach programs designed to motivate and support students so they can succeed in college and beyond.

Being a part of TRIO can be a great way to help you plan your educational path, offer academic assistance and can also be a great way to meet fellow students that are having the same struggles you are having.

Become a part of the TRIO program by applying online through ECC or MCC or stopping but the ECC Hub or MCC TRIO offices for assistance today.