Funds from the U.S. Department of Education will help low-income, first-generation and disabled students at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette better navigate their way through college. The university will receive $1.1 million per year for five years as part of its federal Student Support Services program.
Specifically, the money will fund three new SSS programs. These include a program for SSS students in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields; another for SSS students who are studying to become teachers; and a third that will help students with disabilities. A portion of the funding will also cover already-established SSS programs and services.
Robert Carmouche, director of UL Lafayette’s Department of Special Services, estimated just over 350 students will benefit from the three new programs. This will bring the number of students in the SSS program to more than 700.
SSS assists eligible students with securing financial aid. The program also provides academic counseling and grant aid to those students receiving federal Pell Grants.
The program’s purpose is to increase college retention and graduation rates among SSS participants and facilitate the transition from one level of higher education to the next. “By increasing these rates, we are helping the university reach mandates as designated by the GRAD Act,” said Carmouche.
The GRAD Act, which became state law in June, grants universities more freedom and flexibility if they meet certain requirements, including higher admissions standards and graduation rates.
Carmouche said services like academic counseling and peer mentoring contribute to student success in the classroom. He noted that students in the SSS program are more than twice as likely to remain in college than those students with similar backgrounds who did not participate in the program.
In addition to the SSS program, the Special Services Department also administers the Upward Bound program for junior high and high school children; the Veterans Upward Bound program for military veterans who need assistance in enrolling in college; and The Ronald E. McNair Program for low income, first generation and minority students preparing for graduate study.