NCCU Awarded $5.44M to Support First-Gen, Low-Income and Students with Disabilities

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded North Carolina Central University four federal TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) grants totaling $5.44 million to improve student access, college retention and graduation rates among low-income, first-generation students and students with disabilities from 2025-2030. 

• TRIO Student Acce[SSS] Program (SSS-Accessibility): SSS-Accessibility will provide proactive support services to 100 students with documented disabilities who are registered for accommodations with the LCI Student Accessibility Center ($1.36 Million; Renewal Project; Division of Student Affairs; Principal Investigator and Executive Director – Dekendrick Murray)
• TRIO Student Support Services Program (SSS-Classic): SSS-Classic will provide proactive support services to 140 first-generation and/or low-income students pursuing liberal arts and sciences and business-related degrees in the College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities and School of Business. ($1.36 Million; Renewal Project; Division of Academic Affairs - University College; Principal Investigator & Director – Colleen Scott)
• TRIO STEM Success Program (SSS-STEM): SSS-STEM will provide proactive support services to 120 first-generation and/or low-income students pursuing STEM-related degrees in the College of Health and Sciences. ($1.36 Million; New Project; Division of Student Affairs; Principal Investigator and Executive Director – Dekendrick Murray)
• TRIO Teacher Preparation Program (SSS-TEACH): SSS-TEACH will provide proactive support services to 140 first-generation and/or low-income students pursuing education-related degrees in the School of Education. ($1.36 Million; New Project; Division of Student Affairs; Principal Investigator and Executive Director – Dekendrick Murray) 

Through individualized services including academic tutoring, coaching, financial aid assistance, scholarship guidance, career exploration, personal and academic counseling, and mentoring, the NCCU TRIO SSS Programs will empower students to overcome barriers to success. These comprehensive supports make it significantly more likely that students will complete their degree or successfully transfer, with the lowest possible debt.  

“I am elated that we have the opportunity to continue expanding support services for our first-generation, low-income, and students with disabilities,” said Dekendrick Murray, executive director for Student Access & Success. “As a TRIO Alumni myself, these grants are near and dear to my heart. With this funding, we will be able to strengthen our commitment to ensuring access for every eagle.” 

Colleen Scott, Director for TRIO Student Support Services Program (SSS-Classic), shared the following: “The first TRIO SSS grant request at NCCU was written by Dr. Ontario Wooden, NCCU Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and was awarded in 2015. We are proud to continue providing the academic, career, and personal support he envisioned for our students on the path to earning their bachelor’s degree.  Being renewed for the third cycle and now having a total of four TRIO SSS programs at NCCU, only strengthens our commitment to ensuring students, regardless of background or challenges faced, can thrive academically and personally. 

Nationally, the SSS program has a proven track record. According to a  2019 evaluation by the U.S. Department of Education, students in SSS at two-year institutions were 48% more likely to earn an associate’s degree or transfer to a four-year school, and students at four-year institutions were 18% more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree compared to similar peers not in the program. 

SSS is one of eight federal TRIO programs funded under the Higher Education Act of 1965 to remove social, academic, and cultural barriers to higher education. Since its inception in 1968, SSS has helped millions of low-income, first-generation students graduate from college and contribute to their communities and the economy. Notable alumni of the TRIO Student Support Services program include Michael Cashman, Town Supervisor of Plattsburgh, NY; former NASA astronaut José Hernández; and Cheryl Johnson, 36th Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives and actors Oprah Winfrey, Viola Davis and Angela Bassett.   

For more information about the TRIO Student Support Services Programs at North Carolina Central University: