Shawnee Community College Receives Department of Education Grant

Congressman Jerry Costello (D-IL) announced earlier this month that Shawnee Community College has received a $293,864 grant through the Student Support Services Program of the U.S. Department of Education. The award covers the first year of an anticipated five-year grant. These funds will help provide academic and other support services to low-income, first-generation or disabled college students to increase students' retention and graduation rates, facilitate their transfer from two-year to four-year colleges, and foster an institutional climate supportive of the success of these students.

"This grant will allow Shawnee to provide additional resources to help these students make the adjustment to college and graduate," said Costello. "A college degree opens up a variety of opportunities in a very competitive economy, and I will continue to support efforts to help students of all backgrounds complete their education."

Tamra Wright, director of Shawnee's SSS TRIO program said, "We are funded to serve 160 students and accept new students in the fall and spring. The field was competitive and many grants were defunded, so we are very excited about the opportunity to continue to serve students in this capacity."