PULLMAN, Wash. The sour economy has put the nation’s TRIO programs in jeopardy. Washington State University professionals will engage in critical discussions about the future of their programs during the regional TRIO conference, Oct. 23-26, at the Davenport Hotel in Spokane, Wash.TRIO is a set of federally funded college opportunity programs supporting more than 850,000 students across the nation. They are typically low-income, first-generation students, or those with disabilities, in grades six through their final year in college.
At WSU, TRIO includes two Student Support Services programs (Pullman and Tri-Cities campuses), four Upward Bound programs (Okanogan, Ferry and Stevens Counties, the Yakima Valley and Columbia Basin), and the Ronald E. McNair achievement program (Pullman campus).
Renewing alliances, advocacy
“Given the political and budgetary climate, and the threat to key programs like TRIO, the timing of this conference could not be more critical,” said Luci Loera, conference co-chair and WSU assistant vice president for enrollment management.“The educational access programs are facing the most difficult challenges in our long history,” said Vicki Trier, president of the Northwest Association for Special Programs (NASP) and McNair director at the University of Idaho. “It is critical that we come together and both renew our alliances with each other and develop new partnerships with other educational access programs.”
NASP consists of TRIO professionals in four states: Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. It provides professional development for more than 130 TRIO programs throughout the Northwest.
At the conference, Trier said, TRIO and educational access partners will rededicate themselves to advocating for programs at the local, state and national levels.
Open to the public
About 175 people are expected to gather in the spirit of the theme, “The Future Begins with U: Meeting the Challenges, Making the Connections.”
The conference is open to anyone interested in supporting the educational mission of the TRIO programs.
“The conference planning committee has been busy preparing what will surely be an informative and dynamic set of concurrent sessions and tools to enhance the quality of services provided to students,” said Loera, NASP president-elect.
The keynote address will be given by Kathleen Ross, president emerita and professor of cross-cultural communication at Heritage University in Toppenish.
Pre-conference workshops (beginning Oct. 22) will cover the implementation of the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education, grant writing and training for TRIO program managers and peer monitors. The main conference will host sessions on financial aid, service learning, tutoring, providing direct student support, financial literacy, project/budgetary management and utilizing social media.
More information about the conference can be found at www.nasp-trio.org; click on events and training.
Source:
Lucila Loera, WSU Enrollment Management, 509-335-7944, Lucila@wsu.edu
Lucila Loera, WSU Enrollment Management, 509-335-7944, Lucila@wsu.edu
Media contact:
Steve Nakata, WSU Student Affairs and Enrollment, 509-335-1774, nakata@wsu.edu
Steve Nakata, WSU Student Affairs and Enrollment, 509-335-1774, nakata@wsu.edu