With less than two weeks left in fiscal year 2025, many community colleges have not yet received their expected TRIO award disbursements.
Many colleges expected to see awards processed for TRIO’s Upward Bound, Veterans Upward Bound, Educational Opportunity Centers and Talent Search programs by the end of August and are still waiting. The U.S. Education Department (ED), which is reviewing TRIO awards and all grants, has said continuation awards will be dispersed before the fiscal year ends on September 30. Funds not disbursed by then will go back to the U.S. Treasury Department and cannot be awarded to colleges.
Started in the mid-1960s, the TRIO programs are designed to support low-income, first-generation college students and students with disabilities. Services include personal and career counseling, academic advising, tutoring, financial literacy and more.
While community colleges hope ED will ultimately award the funds, anxiety remains over meeting that disbursement deadline and whether colleges will see any of their continuation awards terminated as part of the department’s evaluation process.
Throughout the spring and summer, several community colleges received notices that some TRIO Upward Bound and Student Support Services would not be continued. While colleges with canceled projects can ask for an appeal, these cancellations were often received within days of the expected disbursement date. This forced colleges to make tough decisions, such as furloughing staff and discontinuing student services while awaiting a resolution.
For colleges that have not yet received expected TRIO awards this fall, this uncertainty makes it extremely difficult to plan financially.
