Edited by Lauren Hempen
BOONE, N.C. — For nearly 50 years, Appalachian State University’s Student Support Services (SSS) program — part of App State’s University College — has provided comprehensive services that support first-generation and/or low-income students throughout their academic careers. The program’s mission to retain and graduate App State students is supported during the 2020–21 academic year by grant funding awarded by the U.S. Department of Education (ED).
The grantee, SSS Director Cathia Silver, received $338,780 in ED funding for 2020–21 — the first year of the program’s current grant cycle (2020–21 to 2024–25). The total expected funding for the five-year grant cycle is approximately $1.7 million.
According to Silver, the program’s funds are used also to provide students with academic and holistic support, specialized instruction and proactive advising, as well as a fully structured first-year experience that includes a mentoring program, professional development workshops, academic progress and planning sessions, and educational/cultural programming. This funding also includes $40,000 in scholarship aid for participants who receive the federal Pell Grant, with the average scholarship per student being around $650.
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