Elizabethtown, KY. (August 13, 2020) – The U.S. Department of Education announced that Elizabethtown Community and Technical College (ECTC) will receive a federal Student Support Services (SSS) grant of $1,555,315 to help more students succeed in and graduate from college. The ECTC SSS program will celebrate its 24th consecutive year of funding starting this academic year.
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.
“ECTC is extremely excited about the Student Support Services grant being re-funded,” said Darrin Powell, Interim Chief Academic Officer. “This program has been an integral part of the college for over 20 years. The program provides services to students who are first-generation college students, low-income or have a disability. These types of students are statistically some of the most likely to drop out of college before finishing. This grant allows the college to provide students the support needed for them to reach their educational goals. Many of our students have gone on to pursue advanced degrees and excelled in their careers. The grant supports ECTC’s efforts to provide the services some of these student need.”
“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.
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.
For more information on the Student Support Services program, contact Jeremy Johnson at jjohnson1353@kctcs.edu or 270-706-8467.
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