Kellogg Community College is the recipient of $2.1 million in federal grant funding to increase college retention and graduation rates among low-income, first-generation and/or disabled students.
The TRIO Student Support Services Grant, which will be managed by the College’s Center for Student Success, was awarded to KCC in September and will provide $420,000 to the College each year for five years to support specialized services for students.
The Center for Student Success at KCC administers the College’s disability services programs, allocates Special Populations and Student Support Services grant aid to eligible students, and provides testing, tutoring and other free educational services to the KCC community, including services related to accounting, communication, English and writing, math, office information technology, study skills and more.
KCC has received TRIO funding for such services for the past several decades; the most recent funding cycle began in September 2015 and ended this past August.
Center for Student Success Director Holly McKee said the new grant funding will enable the CSS to continue to offer such services to more students, partially funding five regular employees and assisting up to 250 additional students per year, as well as providing more than $40,000 per year in direct tuition assistance to eligible students.
“The Center for Student Success is thrilled to once again be entrusted to administer the TRIO Student Support Services grant,” McKee said. “Over the years, the SSS grant has enabled KCC to provide specialized services designed specifically for low-income, first-generation and/or disabled students to thousands of students. As research has shown, these students have additional barriers to academic completion. The staff of the CSS will continue to work hard to help participants mitigate these barriers so they can achieve their goals at KCC and beyond.”
The grant award is the result of a competitive federal grant application process that began in early 2020 that included an extensive application totaling more than 80 pages, with each section of the application scored by reviewers. KCC received a perfect score on its grant application, McKee said.
Located on the second floor of the Ohm Information Technology Center building on the College’s North Avenue campus in Battle Creek, the Center for Student Success also houses computer stations and software programs devoted to building academic skills. Students can use the Center for Student Success to complete homework assignments, research papers and other class projects, with professional staff available to assist students with their studies.
For more information about the Center for Student Success at KCC or to determine eligibility for assistance or funding, visit www.kellogg.edu/css or email css@kellogg.edu.
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