Lincoln Seeks Funding to Assist More Low-Income, First-Generation College Students

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   U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) is fighting for additional funding for TRIO programs so that more low-income, first-generation college students have the opportunity to receive important mentoring and training services.

   "Each year, TRIO positively impacts the lives of thousands of Arkansans, including many veterans, who are lower-income, first-generation college students," Lincoln said.  "Given the current economic climate, TRIO programs are more important now than ever before. In recent years, Congress has taken great strides to make college more affordable for millions of Americans. And in an increasingly competitive job market and struggling economy, more and more Americans are likely to pursue higher education than run the risk of trying to find stable employment, making it inevitable that we'll see an increase in the number of lower-income, first-generation college students in the years to come. As a nation, we certainly have a stake in helping these young men and women reach their full potential. Their personal success has an impact not only on the well-being of them and their families, but on their communities as well."

   "Improving access to education is only one part of the equation," she added. "To maximize our investment in these students, it is critical that we also provide them with the tools they often need to be successful. That is why a greater national investment in TRIO programs is so important. It is an investment in these young men and women. By helping them earn an education and secure economic stability, we also increase our nation's overall productivity."

   Nearly 23,000 Arkansas college students received services through TRIO in the past year.  For a complete list of Arkansas's TRIO programs and participating schools, click here.

   In a letter to the Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Labor, HHS and Education, which appropriates funding for TRIO, Lincoln urged an increase of $120 million for TRIO programs in the next fiscal year.  This increase is less than one percent of the amount recently invested into Pell Grants and would best leverage Pell Grant funding by allowing an additional 120,000 students to receive the vital, life-changing services offered by TRIO programs.

    Lincoln's letter to committee leaders Tom Harkin and Arlen Specter appears below.

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April 28, 2009

   Dear Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Specter:

   We are writing to express our strong support for the Federal TRIO Programs. As you are aware, TRIO programs provide hundreds of thousands of students with the necessary support to enroll in and graduate from college and, ultimately, help narrow the gap between low-income, first-generation students and their peers. Today more than 1,200 colleges, universities, and agencies offer TRIO services to low-income, first-generation, and disabled students as well as underemployed adults and military veterans throughout the United States. We estimate that well over two million former TRIO students have earned college degrees.

   Currently, students from the bottom income quartile have only a 25 percent chance at completing their degree once they begin college (as compared to students from the top quartile, who have a 95 percent chance). Comparing these grim statistics with the college-going rates of low-income and first-generation students who participated in TRIO's Upward Bound (77.3 percent), Upward Bound Math/Science (86.5 percent), and Talent Search (79 percent) programs demonstrate the dramatic impact of these programs.

   Undoubtedly, TRIO programs are a necessary partner with financial aid to ensure that every student has a chance to receive a meaningful postsecondary education. While financial aid, and in particular Pell Grants, provide access by supplying low-income students with the financial resources necessary to enroll in postsecondary programs, the TRIO programs provide students with the tools - information, academic counseling, and personal support - that are critical to ensure that these students enroll in postsecondary programs, persist in their studies, and, ultimately, earn college degrees. Recent data demonstrates that six years following initial enrollment in a postsecondary program, students who participated in a Student Support Services program have a higher bachelor's degree attainment rate (31 percent) than other low-income college students, regardless of whether they received (21 percent) or did not receive (nine percent) Pell Grants.

   This year, Congress has made a strong commitment to the Pell Grant program by affording it more than $17 billion in the recent American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. To best leverage the utility of this investment, we request a $120 million increase - less than one percent of the amount recently invested into Pell Grants - for TRIO in FY 2010. This increase will allow an additional 120,000 students to receive the vital, life-changing services offered by the TRIO programs.

   Last year, approximately 840,000 students were able to participate in programs that would provide them with the tools necessary to break the cycle of poverty. Despite the ever-growing need, TRIO programs serve only about 10 percent of the population that is eligible for TRIO services. Understanding the need to balance priorities, we hope that you will agree that the TRIO programs are critical to the success of many of our nation's youth and will support a $120 million increase for these programs in the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill.

   Thank you for considering our request with regard to the increase to TRIO funding in the FY 2010 Appropriations bill. We look forward to working with you to support these important programs.

   Sincerely,

   Blanche L. Lincoln

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