TRIO, a nationwide program that has been at Del Mar College since 2001, will end at the college on Aug 31. In its time at Del Mar, the TRIO program helped first-generation students, as well as students with low-income, disabilities or veteran students. Services offered by TRIO included financial assistance, college course help, tutoring and more for a limited 160 students per year.
According to Cheryl Garner, the dean of Student Engagement and Retention, Del Mar’s loss of the TRIO program stems from the Department of Education’s search for newer colleges and universities that will benefit from the program.
“We qualified for the grant, we just didn’t get chosen this year,” said Garner.
Funded by grants through the Department of Education, specifically the Student Support Services Grant at DMC, TRIO will continue in other qualified colleges, though it will no longer be available at DMC.
A student receives help in the Student Success Center, which will help fill the void once the TRIO program ends.
“TRIO tutors find a student’s strengths to find out how to best help them. TRIO helps with stress management, study skills, and a plethora of help and opportunities,” said TRIO Director Tamatha Gilbert.
Until its final day at DMC, staff and tutors in the TRIO program will direct students to proper services that will benefit them.
Del Mar offers other services and programs for students across campus, and new services such as Let’s Talk and the Hub, a new program forming in the library, will be available in the coming year.
Del Mar may be losing a large program, but it won’t hurt the students, according to Garner.
“Every department, every year we come up with new initiatives. This year, we revamped our orientation for students,” Garner said. “In addition to the orientation process where they learn about the services, programs and rules and regulations, they also got to meet with advisers and faculty and register for classes.”
Services and programs such as STEM, the Student Success Center (SSC), Let’s Talk, Retention, Disability Services and the Veterans Center will continue to assist students after TRIO, so any student who may have been interested in the program can look into other programs available at Del Mar. Even the SSC can assist students with financial aid issues, money management and literacy, and tutoring for specific subjects. STEM, a mentoring program aimed at tutoring for students majoring in specific subjects, is also open to all students.
According to Gilbert, TRIO staff will continue working at Del Mar until they close the grant and fill out a final Annual Performance Report, which will be completed near November. Peer tutors and assistants who worked under TRIO will continue to work at Del Mar’s other programs. However, the director, coordinator and financial aid assistant of TRIO will no longer be faculty at DMC.