Iowa Central Community College Awarded $1.5 Million Grant to Support TRIO Student Support Services

Emily Denholm, Public Information Office
7/15/2025

Iowa Central Community College was awarded $1.5 million grant over 5 years to support first-generation, low-income, and students with disabilities through TRIO Student Support Services

Federal grant will boost student retention and graduation at Iowa Central Community College.

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Iowa Central Community College a federal TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) grant totaling $1.5 million over 5 years ($306,511 annually) to improve college retention and graduation rates among low-income, first-generation students, and students with disabilities.

This award marks the continuation of 24 years of TRIO SSS services on the campus. Since 2001, the program has served over 4200 students, helping them stay in school, earn degrees, and build meaningful careers.

Through individualized services including academic tutoring, financial aid, scholarship guidance, career exploration, personal and academic counseling, and mentoring, TRIO SSS empowers students to overcome barriers to success. These comprehensive supports make it significantly more likely that students will complete their degree or successfully transfer, with the lowest possible debt.

“This grant allows Iowa Central Community College to deepen our commitment to ensuring that all students—regardless of background—can thrive academically and personally,” said Kris Nerem-Lowery, TRIO Project Director. “Student Support Services helps level the playing field and equips our students with the tools and confidence to graduate and lead.”

Nationally, the SSS program has a proven track record. According to a rigorous 2019 evaluation by the U.S. Department of Education, students in SSS at two-year institutions were 48% more likely to earn an associate’s degree or transfer to a four-year school, and students at four-year institutions were 18% more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree compared to similar peers not in the program.

“TRIO programs generally and TRIO SSS, in particular, transforms students from the least resourced backgrounds into college graduates,” said Kimberly Jones, president of the Council for Opportunity in Education in Washington, D.C. “This vital program makes all the difference for nearly a million students each year across the country.”

TRIO-SSS is one of eight federal TRIO programs funded under the Higher Education Act of 1965 to remove social, academic, and cultural barriers to higher education. Since its inception in 1968, SSS has helped millions of low-income, first-generation students graduate from college and contribute to their communities and the economy. Notable alumni of the TRIO Student Support Services program include Michael Cashman, Town Supervisor of Plattsburgh, NY; former NASA astronaut José Hernández; and Cheryl Johnson, 36^th Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. 

For more information about TRIO Student Support Services at Iowa Central Community College, visit https://www.iowacentral.edu/TRIO/ or contact Kris Nerem-Lowery at lowery@iowacentral.edu

About the Federal TRIO Programs

TRIO programs (Talent Search, Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math-Science, Veterans Upward Bound, Student Support Services, Educational Opportunity Centers, and the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program) help students overcome academic, economic, and social barriers to higher education. TRIO services include assistance in choosing a college and tutoring; personal, financial, and career counseling; assistance in applying to college; workplace and college visits; special instruction in reading, writing, study skills, and mathematics; assistance in applying for financial aid; and academic assistance in high school or assistance to reenter high school or college.