"We Coach Students to Success: Persistence. Performance. Completion."
TRIO Student Support Services at Normandale Community College aspires to significantly impact the lives of students, providing intentional support, access, and opportunity to students who are low-income, first-generation college students, and/or students with disabilities, resulting in high levels of persistence, performance, and completion; alumni of our program will go on to be leaders in their communities, transforming their own lives and inspiring future generations.
We coach students to success. TRIO Student Support Services at Normandale Community College provides intensive, individualized coaching to students to achieve persistence, performance, and completion, through sound academic guidance, co-curricular educational experiences, and connection to key resources in order to advance opportunities for students who are low-income, students who are first-generation college students, and/or students with disabilities.
With students always at the center of our work, our primary goal is student persistence, performance, and completion. Everything we do is in service to this goal. We coach students to success.
Persistence. Performance. Completion. Goals.
“Without TRIO, James’ support, and the support of everyone in the program, I don’t think I’d be where I am now. In TRIO, I developed really good study and planning tools, so when I started planning for this semester, I had a level head and was able to make decisions on my own.”
TRIO Student Support Services is now accepting applications for the 2023-2024 school year. If you are interested, please complete this application.
If you have any questions about the program or application, please do not hesitate to contact the program by phone or email!
Phone: 952-358-9443
Email: triosss@normandale.edu
“One of my biggest fears about college was that I wasn’t going to fit in: I was older than everyone else and didn’t know the system. Everyone [in TRIO] was super nonjudgmental and it was immensely helpful that I could ask the most basic questions. The support you get in a program like TRIO can make or break your experience in school."
TRIO SSS is a free U.S. Department of Education program that supports students whose parents did not graduate from a 4-year college, OR who are low-income, OR who have a disability. TRIO has existed since 1964, and can be found on numerous colleges across Minnesota, and serves over 800,000 students nationwide each year. Many college students compare TRIO SSS to the support they received in high school from teachers, mentors and counselors, Upward Bound, AVID, and College Possible programs.
TRIO Services
Students participating in the TRIO SSS program will have an assigned professional student success coach they can meet with throughout their entire college experience from beginning to end related to:
• Assistance with registration, course selection, and degree planning
• Assistance planning and applying to transfer to other colleges
• Financial help, including the FAFSA, financial aid processes, student loan help, and scholarships
• Workshops, including visits to 4-year colleges and employer visits, and other cultural and social events
• Assistance with navigating college-level academics and getting connected to helpful resources
TRIO Benefits
• Priority registration every semester, so that you can pick your ideal classes/instructors first!
• Opportunity to earn 1 credit online free (no tuition charged) in a first-year experience course with your coach (NCC 1000 – Paths to College Success)
• Free social and entertainment activities (sporting events, museums, theatre, outdoor recreation, etc.)
• 85% of new students participating in TRIO Student Support Services nationwide continue to be enrolled, or graduated or transferred, in their 2nd academic year of college.
• 40% of TRIO SSS students graduate with an associate’s degree or transfer to a 4-year college in 4 years of less.
• When compared with similarly qualified students, TRIO SSS students are more likely to persist in school, earn more credits per year, and earn higher GPAs!
“I absolutely love being in TRIO because my coach, Matt, is kind and patient with me. He doesn’t judge me or make me feel like I’m dumb. School, for me, is new and scary, and TRIO helps me stay on track, keep calm, and pushes me to believe in myself.”
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