Carleton’s federal grant for TRIO/Student Support Services renewed for additional five years
By the end of the new grant in 2030, Carleton’s TRIO program will have benefited from continuous federal funding since 1981.
In July, Carleton received news that the U.S. Department of Education renewed the College’s TRIO/Student Support Services (SSS) grant for another five years. By the end of the new grant in 2030, Carleton’s TRIO program will have benefited from continuous federal funding since 1981.
TRIO programs are federally funded initiatives designed to expand access to higher education and ensure student success. Established in the 1960s, TRIO encompasses a set of outreach and support programs that serve students from low-income backgrounds, first-generation college students, and students with disabilities. Eligibility is determined by federal guidelines, and each institution structures its program to provide academic and personal support tailored to students’ needs and institutional context.
“This grant will help us serve 140 eligible students each year,” said Kim Hildahl, director of Carleton’s TRIO/SSS program, “and as federal regulations require, at least two-thirds of them will be both low-income and first-generation.”
To equip these students with the range of academic and noncognitive skills needed to flourish at Carleton, Hildahl and her staff use intensive, research-based strategies, including holistic, proactive advising; individualized success plans; and workshops on topics like financial literacy, study strategies, and career and graduate school preparation.
“This new grant recognizes almost five decades of hard work at Carleton, and will help us to extend that record of success to many more Carls,” President Alison Byerly said. “This crucial funding will help us realize a key goal in our 10-year strategic direction — to enhance the socioeconomic diversity of the student body by increasing the number of students from the lowest-income families and providing the support they need to be successful.”
The new grant will help Carleton achieve three important objectives:
- Raise the year-to-year persistence rate and graduation rate of SSS-eligible students
- Improve participants’ rates of good academic standing by ensuring students receive early interventions and support.
- Increase the six-year graduation rate for SSS-eligible students.
“The TRIO/SSS program has been a difference-maker for Carleton students, parents, and families,” said Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Carolyn Livingston. “We are grateful that the federal government continues to invest in students who are opening doors for their families and generations to come.”
The new grant — $301,661 per year, adding up to $1,508,305 over five years — is projected to cover 56.8 percent of the total costs of Carleton’s TRIO/SSS program from September 1, 2025 to August 31, 2030. Carleton will cover the other 43.2 percent of program costs (an estimated $229,637 per year) from the College’s operating budget.