{"id":2023,"date":"2022-10-12T12:36:39","date_gmt":"2022-10-12T16:36:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coenet.org\/?page_id=2023"},"modified":"2025-03-04T16:33:53","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T21:33:53","slug":"college-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/coenet.org\/college-opportunity\/","title":{"rendered":"College Opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"<section\r\n\t\tclass=\"common-interior-banner alignfull  has-background image-as-background coe-block\">\r\n\t<!--        \/\/ If we have a background image, echo our background image markup inside the block container.-->\r\n\t\t<figure class=\"image-background center jpeg\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\r\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/college_opportunity_council_for_education_trio_programs_access_success1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/college_opportunity_council_for_education_trio_programs_access_success1.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/coenet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/college_opportunity_council_for_education_trio_programs_access_success1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/coenet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/college_opportunity_council_for_education_trio_programs_access_success1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/coenet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/college_opportunity_council_for_education_trio_programs_access_success1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/coenet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/college_opportunity_council_for_education_trio_programs_access_success1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/coenet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/college_opportunity_council_for_education_trio_programs_access_success1-1620x1080.jpg 1620w, https:\/\/coenet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/college_opportunity_council_for_education_trio_programs_access_success1-250x167.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/figure>\r\n\t\t<div class=\"patterns-bg color-theme__bg patterns-herring-short\"><\/div>\r\n\t<div class=\"common-interior-banner__inner container\">\r\n\t\t<div class=\"common-interior-banner__inner-content\">\r\n                        \t\t\t    <div class=\"breadcrumbs kicker\"><\/div><!-- .breadcrumbs -->\t\t\t    <h1 class=\"common-interior-banner__title\">College Opportunity<\/h1>\r\n            \t\t\t<div class=\"common-interior-banner__description\"><p>The Council for Opportunity in Education was founded to advance the vision that every student \u2013 regardless of their class, parents\u2019 education, or race and ethnicity \u2013 would have the opportunity to earn a college degree.  Over four decades, this broad coalition of educators has worked to achieve this ideal through fierce advocacy at the institutional, state, and federal levels. <\/p>\n<\/div>\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\n\n<section class=\"two-col-sidenav alignfull coe-block\">\r\n\t<div class=\"two-col-sidenav__inner  container\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"two-col-sidenav__navigation list-unstyled fade-in-right-fixed-all-children\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"link-item wow\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/college-opportunity#our-approach\" target=\"_self\" class=\"acf-link nav-link link-reset\" >Our Approach<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"link-item wow\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/college-opportunity#our-initiatives\" target=\"_self\" class=\"acf-link nav-link link-reset\" >Our Initiatives<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"link-item wow\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/college-opportunity#our-outcomes\" target=\"_self\" class=\"acf-link nav-link link-reset\" >Our Outcomes<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"two-col-sidenav__content fade-in-up-fixed-all-children \">\r\n\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"kicker wow\">A unifying principle of the Council\u2019s work<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<p class=\"sub-title wow\">Both financial and non-financial supports are necessary to enable first-generation, low-income students, as well as students with disabilities, to successfully enroll in and complete college.<\/p>\t\t\t\t<div class=\"description wow\"><p>A unifying principle of the Council\u2019s work has been the notion that financial aid alone is insufficient to ensure postsecondary success. Rather, both financial and non-financial supports are necessary to enable first-generation, low-income students, as well as students with disabilities, to successfully enroll in and complete college. Congress affirmed this view in the <strong>House Report to the 1980 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act<\/strong>, stating:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Without the information, counseling and academic services provided by the <strong>TRIO<\/strong> <strong>programs<\/strong>, disadvantaged students are often unable to take advantage of the financial assistance provided by the other Title IV programs, and, more importantly, such students do not develop their talents by gaining access to postsecondary educational opportunities and completing a course of study once they have embarked on it.&#8221; (H.R. Rep. No. 96-520, at 25 (1980), as reprinted in 1980 U.S.C.C.A.N. 3141.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\n\n\r\n\r\n<section\r\n\t\tclass=\"offset-media-text wow alignfull coe-block\">\r\n\t<div class=\"container offset-media-text__inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"offset-media-text__media wow column-2\">\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"offset-media-text__image to-square bg-img gradient-fill\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/coenet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/college_opportunity_council_for_education_trio_programs_access_success4-1024x683.jpg)\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"patterns-bg color-theme__bg align-right patterns-hash-short\"><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"offset-media-text__content column-2 wow animate fade-in-stagger\">\r\n\t<h2 class=\"kicker\">introduction of the concept of the \u201cfirst-generation college student&#8221;<\/h2>\t\t<div class=\"description\"><p>Another key feature of the Council\u2019s work and impact has been the introduction of the concept of the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/How-TRIO-Sparked-the-Fire-That-Fuels-the-First-Generation-Movemen.pdf\">first-generation college student<\/a>.\u201d First embedded in the <strong>1980 reauthorization of HEA <\/strong>and defined as \u201can individual\u2026whose parents did not complete a baccalaureate degree,&#8221; (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1070a-11(h)(3)) this term has been widely adopted by institutions of higher education and organizations to identify students who are in the first generation of their family to earn college degrees.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"vertical-align: baseline;\"><span class=\"normaltextrun\">Since these early days of <span style=\"color: #993300;\">\u201c<\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/coe-and-trio-programs\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"normaltextrun\"><span style=\"color: #0563c1;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">organized<\/span> <span style=\"color: #993300;\">TRIO<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span class=\"normaltextrun\">,\u201d there has been a great deal of advancement of the equity agenda in higher education; however, much work remains. For example, although there have been gains in college participation for students from all economic backgrounds over the last several decades, as recently as 2020, there was a 31-percentage point difference in college enrollment rates between students from the wealthiest families and students from the poorest families (79% enrollment vs. 48% enrollment). (Jehangir, R. R., &amp; Romasanta, L. (2021). <em>How TRIO Sparked the Fire That Fuels the First-Generation Movement: An Interview With Arnold Mitchem and Maureen Hoyler<\/em>. Journal of First-generation Student Success, 1(1), 3-19.)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\t<a href=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/first-generation-college-student\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"acf-link button\" >TRIO Defines First-Generation College Student<\/a>\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-large-font-size\" id=\"our-approach\" style=\"text-transform:capitalize\">Our approach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\">To that end, COE remains committed to increasing the body of knowledge to support and provide opportunities for low-income, first-generation students and students with disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>COE works to improve educational equity for low-income, first-generation students and students with disabilities by advocating and providing resources and services to support colleges and community agencies around the country. We address this mandate by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Implementing evidence-based program improvement and student development services for more than 3,100 college access and success programs nationwide;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Advocating for federally-funded programs critical to college access and success, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www2.ed.gov\/about\/offices\/list\/ope\/trio\/index.html\">TRIO<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www2.ed.gov\/programs\/gearup\/index.html\">GEAR UP<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www2.ed.gov\/programs\/fpg\/index.html\">Pell Grants<\/a>, and other college access and success programs that assist low-income and first-generation students;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Providing professional development for college access and success professionals&#8211;through COE\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/annual-conference\/\">annual conference<\/a>, seminars, video conferences, online courses, webinars, communities of practice, and other web-based idea exchanges; and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Conducting research and policy analysis through COE\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/pellinstitute.org\">Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education<\/a> to inform policymakers, educators, and the public on issues impacting&nbsp;educational opportunities and outcomes for low-income, first-generation students and students with disabilities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"our-Initiatives\">Our Initiatives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Promote leadership development and global citizenry through student leadership programs such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/student-opportunities\/\">National Student Leadership Congress, the Thomas R. Wolanin Congressional Internship, and the Keith Sherin Global Leaders Program<\/a>;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Develop partnerships with businesses and government to introduce low-income and first-generation students to 21st-century careers&#8211;particularly those requiring intense preparation in math and science&#8211;and to better prepare them for the workforce;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strengthen the academic preparation of TRIO pre-college students to assure they have the mathematics and writing skills necessary to excel in disciplines of their choice\u2013through curriculum development for STEAM Clubs and Book Clubs available for free to over 4,000 college access and success programs nationwide;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Through the annual <a href=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/first-generation-college-celebration-day\/\">First-Generation College Celebration<\/a>, COE uplifts and expands the visibility of first-generation students on campuses across the country to increase institutional campus-wide engagement in providing comprehensive support to this student population;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Annually publish the Pell Institute\u2019s <em><a href=\"http:\/\/pellinstitute.org\/indicators\/\">Indicators of Higher Education Equity in the United States<\/a><\/em>, which increases public awareness of disparities in college opportunity for low-income, first-generation students and provides data to help develop educational policies and programs targeting these students;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cultivate college access and success <a href=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/for-alumni\/\">program alumni<\/a> to serve as mentors and role models for current program participants, act as advocates for the programs, and serve as ambassadors to the broader community;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Convene leaders of <a href=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/state-leadership\/\">COE-affiliated state associations for executive leadership<\/a> training to advance college opportunity efforts at the state and national level through partnerships with institutions such as Princeton University, Yale University, and Cornell University; and&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Connect college access and success programs and community partners to COE\u2019s cloud-based data system&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/empower\/\">empower<\/a>\u2122&#8211;for effective real-time tracking and analysis of student outcomes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"our-outcomes\">Our Outcomes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\">College access and retention services are essential to providing genuine educational opportunities for all Americans, including low-income and first-generation students and students with disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At present, college access and success programs reach only a tiny fraction of the students and families who could benefit from them. For more than 40 years, COE has worked to make the following outcomes a reality:<\/p>\n\n\n\r\n<section id=\"block-6f5d6052fa05b6c463d97e2d75ac362c\" class=\"content-fourstats content-fourstats-wrapper content-fourstats alignfull coe-block\">\r\n\t<div class=\"content-fourstats-inner container\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t<div class=\"content-fourstats-stats\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"stat\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"stats__number\"><span class=\"number\">6M<\/span><span class=\"suffix\">+<\/span><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"stats__texts\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"stats__title\">STUDENTS<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"stats__description\">More than 6 million students have graduated from college with the special assistance of TRIO programs.<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"stat\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"stats__number\"><span class=\"number\">3K<\/span><span class=\"suffix\">+<\/span><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"stats__texts\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"stats__title\">ACCESS AND SUCCESS PROFESSIONALS<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"stats__description\">Annually, more than 3,000 access and success professionals receive professional development and technical assistance either in-person, virtually, or both.<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"stat\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"stats__number\"><span class=\"number\">1.09B<\/span><span class=\"suffix\"><\/span><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"stats__texts\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"stats__title\">FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"stats__description\">Garnered $1.09 billion in federal appropriations to support TRIO programs (up from $156.6 million in 1981, the year the Council for Opportunity in Education was founded).<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"stat\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"stats__number\"><span class=\"number\">870K<\/span><span class=\"suffix\"><\/span><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"stats__texts\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"stats__title\">LOW-INCOME STUDENTS<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"stats__description\">870,000 low-income students and students with disabilities receive college access and retention services annually through our member colleges and agencies.<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\n\n\n<section class=\"featured-listing-block alignfull coe-block right\">\n\t<div class=\"container featured-listing-block__container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"featured-listing-block__content\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"featured-listing-block__sidebar wow animate fade-in-stagger\">\n\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"featured-listing-block__intro-title kicker\">News &#038; Impact<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<p class=\"featured-listing-block__intro has-large-font-size\">Latest Articles<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"featured-listing-block__listing\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"featured-card\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"featured-card__image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image to-square bg-img\" style=\"background-image: url(' https:\/\/coenet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/professional_development_community_college_initiative_award_effectiveness_trio_student_support_sss-1024x767.jpeg ')\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/news-impact\/press-release\/the-council-for-opportunity-in-education-launches-inaugural-award-for-institutional-effectiveness-to-scale-trio-student-support-services-practices-campus-wide\/\" class=\"link-reset link-overlay\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Click to view the page: The Council for Opportunity in Education Launches Inaugural Award for Institutional Effectiveness to Scale TRIO Student Support Services Practices Campus-Wide<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"featured-card__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"kicker\">press release<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"featured-card__title h3-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/news-impact\/press-release\/the-council-for-opportunity-in-education-launches-inaugural-award-for-institutional-effectiveness-to-scale-trio-student-support-services-practices-campus-wide\/\" target=\"_self\">The Council for Opportunity in Education Launches Inaugural Award for Institutional Effectiveness to Scale TRIO Student Support Services Practices Campus-Wide<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"featured-card__meta\"><span class=\"author\">Terrance L. Hamm<\/span><span class=\"date\">July 15, 2025<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"featured-card\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"featured-card__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"kicker\">press release<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"featured-card__title h3-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/news-impact\/press-release\/the-council-for-opportunity-in-education-announces-2025-national-trio-achiever-award-recipients\/\" target=\"_self\">The Council for Opportunity in Education Announces 2025 National TRIO Achiever Award Recipients<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"featured-card__meta\"><span class=\"author\">Terrance L. Hamm<\/span><span class=\"date\">July 10, 2025<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"featured-card\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"featured-card__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"kicker\">Blog<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"featured-card__title h3-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/news-impact\/blog\/pat-williams-a-champion-who-gave-wings-to-trios-defiance\/\" target=\"_self\">Pat Williams: A Champion Who Gave Wings to TRIO\u2019s Defiance\u00a0<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"featured-card__meta\"><span class=\"author\">Arnold L. Mitchem<\/span><span class=\"date\">July 9, 2025<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"featured-listing-block__article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"featured-post wow animate fade-in-left\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"featured-post__image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image to-square bg-img\" style=\"background-image: url(' https:\/\/coenet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/CAPITOL-HILL-TRIO-FUNDING-LETTER-1024x1024.jpg ')\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/news-impact\/press-releases\/record-number-of-bipartisan-representatives-call-to-prioritize-funding-for-federal-trio-programs\/\" class=\"link-reset link-overlay\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Click to view the page: Record Number of Bipartisan Representatives Call to Prioritize Funding for Federal TRIO Programs<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"featured-post__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"kicker\">Press Releases<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"featured-post__title h3-x-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/news-impact\/press-releases\/record-number-of-bipartisan-representatives-call-to-prioritize-funding-for-federal-trio-programs\/\" target=\"_self\">Record Number of Bipartisan Representatives Call to Prioritize Funding for Federal TRIO Programs<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"featured-post__meta\"><span class=\"date\">April 27, 2022<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"featured-post__excerpt\">Federal TRIO Programs assist low-income, first-generation students and students with disabilities prepare for and graduate from college. The non-profit Council for Opportunity in Education (\u201cCOE\u201d) announced today that a record 275 TRIO supporters in the House of Representatives joined a \u201csign-on\u201d letter urging the leaders of the House Appropriations Committee to prioritize the nation\u2019s investment&#8230;<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<!--\/.featured-listing-block-->\n\n\n\r\n<section id=\"block-67dc4ea68dfcc91fee81196a0cb9de86\" class=\"cta-three-up cta-three-up alignfull coe-block bgcolor-red\">\r\n\t<div class=\"cta-three-up-inner container\">\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cta-three-up__card wow animate fade-in-stagger\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"card-title\">Support Us<\/h2>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-desc\"><div class=\"card-desc\">\n<p>If you are a student support services professional, thank you. You are an unsung hero for all the good that you do, and surely you know by now that COE has your back.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/support-us\/\" class=\"card-link acf-link link--inline\">Donate<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cta-three-up__card wow animate fade-in-stagger\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"card-title\">Partner<\/h2>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-desc\"><div class=\"card-desc\">\n<p>Through strategic collaborations, we work to strengthen quality, opportunity and access to education for all American students \u2014 the next generation of global leaders.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/coenet.net\/\" class=\"card-link acf-link link--inline\">partner with us<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cta-three-up__card wow animate fade-in-stagger\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"card-title\">Join Us<\/h2>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-desc\"><div class=\"card-desc\">\n<p>Join more than 1,000 colleges and community agencies committed to postsecondary opportunity for low-income, first-generation students, students with disabilities in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., the Pacific Islands, and Puerto Rico!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/coenet.org\/about-coe\/institutional-membership\/\" class=\"card-link acf-link link--inline\">become a member<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>both financial and non-financial supports are necessary to enable first-generation, low-income students, as well as students with disabilities, to successfully enroll in and complete college.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2026,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"trio_programs":[],"audience":[13],"focus_areas":[48],"class_list":["post-2023","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","audience-members","focus_areas-trio-programs"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - 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