Georgia Perimeter College aims to boost student retention and graduation rates, thanks to more than $3 million in grants from the United States Department of Education.

The DOE has awarded GPC with $3.4 million dollars to fund three TRIO programs, one on each of its Clarkston, Decatur and Dunwoody campuses. The money will provide research-based support services to low-income, first-generation and disabled students over the next five years.

Me’Shi Avery , TRIO Student Support Services director at Decatur, says targeted students will receive services such as academic tutoring and advising, as well as assistance understanding the processes of financial aid and transferring to a four-year institution. It is estimated the funding could help more than 1,300 students during the five-year grant cycle.

“It’s huge,” Avery says of the millions in funding and its ability to potentially impact the lives of thousands of students and their families. “You really start to transform the communities that way,” he adds.  

The awards will allow Clarkston and Decatur campuses to continue existing TRIO programs, but also will enable Dunwoody to establish a new program. Trichele Davenport Harris, TRIO Student Support Services director at Clarkston, says GPC beat back stiff competition to receive the Dunwoody funding and earned a perfect score on all three grant applications.

“That’s remarkable, we’re all celebrating,” Harris says. “It’s definitely needed, and the students are going to benefit tremendously.”

The amounts awarded for the Georgia Perimeter TRIO projects set to begin this fall and end in 2020 are: $1.1 million for Clarkston Campus, $1.2 million for Decatur Campus and $1.1 million for Dunwoody Campus.

The recent awards for Georgia Perimeter bring the college’s total number of TRIO programs to five. Glenn Pfeifer, director of Georgia Perimeter’s Office of Grants and Sponsored Programs, says when GPC merges with Georgia State University the combined school will have 13 TRIO programs.

Dr. Vincent June, vice president of GPC’s Student Affairs and Enrollment Services, credits a collaborative effort for the award, which has placed GPC as a Georgia leader in the national program.

“GPC has more TRIO Student Support Services programs than any other state institution,” June says.

TRIO, the name of which represents the numeral three, was created as part of the Higher Education Act of 1965. In the 1960s, TRIO consisted of three federal programs designed to provide outreach and student services to individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. Today there are eight such programs administered, funded and implemented by the DOE.