Our History

• The Federal TRIO Programs (TRIO) are federal outreach and student services programs designed to identify and provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. It began with Upward Bound, authorized by the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 in response to President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty. In 1965, Talent Search, the second outreach program, was created as a part of the Higher Education Act. In 1968, Student Support Services, which was originally known as Special Services for Disadvantaged Students, was authorized by the Higher Education Amendments and became the third in a series of educational opportunity programs. By the late 1960s, the term TRIO was coined to describe these federal programs.
• TRIO now includes eight programs targeted to serve and assist low-income individuals, first-generation college students, and individuals with disabilities to progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to post-baccalaureate programs.
• Other TRIO programs include Educational Opportunity Centers, Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement, Upward Bound Math-Science, and Veterans Upward Bound. At the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, in addition to TRIO SSS, we have Upward Bound