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ExpectMore.govExpectMore.gov home pageEXPECT FEDERAL PROGRAMS TO PERFORM WELL, AND BETTER EVERY YEAR.
 
Program Assessment

Program

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TRIO Student Support Services

This program is designed to increase the number of low-income, first-generation, and disabled college students who stay in college and graduate. Student Support Services (TRIO SSS) Grants are awarded to institutions of higher education to provide tutoring, financial aid, and other support services to these students.

Rating

What This Rating Means

PERFORMING
Moderately Effective

In general, a program rated Moderately Effective has set ambitious goals and is well-managed. Moderately Effective programs likely need to improve their efficiency or address other problems in the programs' design or management in order to achieve better results.
  • Recent evaluation findings and project performance data indicate that Student Support Services has positive effects and has achieved most of its performance goals. The program increased Bachelors Degree completion rates by 8-15 percentage-points for TRIO SSS students over a comparison group.
  • The Department of Education (ED) developed an efficiency measure and will develop a strategy to improve program performance. Efficiency data have improved over time.
  • Statutory and regulatory provisions for rewarding prior experience limit the number of first-time applicants that successfully compete for grants. ED has taken steps to ensure that projects are rewarded only for demonstrated performance and has explored policies that would increase participation amongst qualified first-time grant applicants.

Improvement Plan

About Improvement Plans

We are taking the following actions to improve the performance of the program:

  • Implementing a strategy to use performance and/or efficiency measures to improve program outcomes.
  • Taking steps to better link rewards for TRIO SSS grantees' past performance with demonstrated achievement of key program goals.
  • Conducting a study on promising practices that can be used to help improve grant outcomes.

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