Oklahoma State University will receive a federal TRIO-Student Support Services (SSS) grant of $1.3 million. The grant, which is awarded every five years by the U.S. Department of Education, is aimed at helping students with disabilities, first-generation students and low-income students succeed and graduate.

“The TRIO-Student Support Services has provided guidance and support to Oklahoma State University students as they trek on their educational journeys. I am ecstatic to know that we will have the opportunity to continue to assist students for another five years,” said Jesus Raygosa, director of the TRIO-SSS program at Oklahoma State University.

The grant provides academic tutoring, financial aid advice, career and college mentoring, help in choosing courses and other forms of assistance. These services enhance academic success and make it more likely that students will graduate with the least possible debt. Many OSU Student Support Services alumni have gone on to great success, among them attorneys, engineers, journalists, educators and health professionals.

SSS began in 1968 and is one of the eight federal “TRIO” programs authorized by the Higher Education Act to help college students succeed. It recognizes that students whose parents do not have a college degree often encounter challenges navigating complex decisions in higher education; it bolsters students from low-income families and helps students with disabilities remove obstacles to their academic success.