FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
More information:
Wren Barnes
Director, Marketing and Communications
303-914-6260
Wren.Barnes@rrcc.edu
www.rrcc.edu
 
August 18, 2020
 
Red Rocks Community College Awarded $261,888 Annually to Help Low Income, First Generation, and Students with Disabilities Succeed in College
 
Federal Student Support Services grant awarded every five years
 
LAKEWOOD, CO – The U.S. Department of Education announced that Red Rocks Community College (RRCC) will received a five-year federal Student Support Services (SSS) grant of $261,888 annually to help more students succeed in and graduate from college.  
 
SSS helps college students who are low income, first generation (those whose parents do not have a four-year college degree) or students with disabilities. The array of services the grant will provide are comprehensive and will include academic tutoring, financial aid advice, career and college mentoring, help in choosing courses, and other forms of assistance. Such services enhance academic success and make it more likely that students will graduate or transfer with the lowest possible debt. Many Student Support Services alumni have gone on to great success, among them Emmy, Tony and Academy-Award winning actress Viola Davis, U.S. Rep. Gwendolyn Moore of Wisconsin’s 4th District and Franklin Chang-Diaz, the first Hispanic astronaut.
 
SSS began in 1968 and is one of the eight federal “TRIO” programs authorized by the Higher Education Act to help college students succeed in higher education. It recognizes that students whose parents do not have a college degree have more difficulties navigating the complexity of decisions that college requires for success; it bolsters students from low income families who have not had the academic opportunities that their college peers have had, and helps students with disabilities remove obstacles preventing them from thriving academically.
 
“The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the systemic inequality and financial hardship which keep promising students from succeeding in college. Student Support Services is needed now more than ever,” said Maureen Hoyler. Hoyler is the president of the non-profit Council for Opportunity in Education in Washington, D.C., dedicated to furthering the expansion of college opportunities for low-income, first-generation students, and students with disabilities. 

"As an alum of an SSS program during my undergraduate years, I benefited from these services that have served me through my doctorate program," says Armando Burciaga, the Director of TRIO at the Lakewood campus of RRCC. "I am honored to bring this wonderful opportunity to the students at RRCC."
 
For more than 50 years, the Student Support Services program has made important contributions to individuals and society as a whole by providing a broad range of services to help students succeed. This vital program can and does make all the difference.
 
More about Red Rocks Community College:  Established in 1969, Red Rocks Community College delivers high-quality, affordable education programs leading to degrees or professional certificates. The college serves over 10,000 students per year online and at campus locations in Lakewood and Arvada.  www.rrcc.edu.