Student Support Services provide pathway to success
A partnership between Colorado Mountain College and Colorado State University is now allowing smoother-than-ever transitions for some of the CMC students transferring to CSU.
Recently representatives from Colorado Mountain College and a number of Colorado community colleges signed a memorandum of understanding with Colorado State that creates a seamless transfer of credits for TRIO students.
Under the agreement, any CMC student who has participated for at least a year in the college’s Student Support Services program, or SSS, one of eight federally funded TRIO programs under the U.S. Department of Education, can receive financial and academic support to attend CSU. TRIO programs also afford a student an opportunity to apply for the Partnership Award, a $2,500-per-year scholarship for up to eight semesters, or until a bachelor’s degree is earned.
Additionally, Colorado Mountain College’s SSS transfer students become part of Colorado State’s Academic Advancement Center. There, they receive TRIO services such as academic advising, tutoring, mentoring and assistance with financial aid.
MOU builds on existing transfer agreements
Nate Adams, TRIO Student Support Services director at Colorado Mountain College, said the enhanced relationship between these two educational institutions creates greater ease for CMC students seeking a higher level of learning.
“This partnership with CSU is so exciting because there are so many parallels between our offerings and theirs,” Adams said. “Our students who are interested in natural resource management, education and a host of other fields now have direct, funded access to a top research university engaged in their field, and one that also recognizes the importance of active learning and student engagement.”
The partnership is a natural progression from an established trend of CMC students transferring to CSU to continue their education. Colorado’s public four-year colleges and universities already honor the full transfer of an Associate of Arts degree and an Associate of Science degree earned at Colorado Mountain College, as part of the state’s guaranteed transfer program. For more information, go to highered.colorado.gov.
“CSU has always been one of Colorado’s most transfer-friendly schools,” said Laurie Marano, director of the TRIO Success Center at CMC’s three residential campuses. “I’m sure the new memorandum of understanding for community college TRIO students will clinch the deal for those graduates who were wavering between CSU and another option.”
Although TRIO was initially the name given to three federal higher education programs that provide services to disadvantaged individuals, it now encompasses eight programs. At Colorado Mountain College, TRIO’s Student Support Services program has surpassed federal grant goals for helping students remain in college, stay in good academic standing, and graduate and/or transfer to a four-year college or university.
The idea behind SSS is powerful: With the right information early, and tailored advising, students from disadvantaged backgrounds can overcome financial, academic, cultural or other barriers. According to the Council for Opportunity in Education, over 40 years of data shows SSS students are more than twice as likely to remain in college as students from similar backgrounds who do not participate in the program.
“The additional guidance the new MOU provides will guarantee our CMC TRIO students a transfer process without any glitches or surprises,” said Marano. “As TRIO professionals, we will feel confident that our students moving on to CSU will continue in their success all the way through their bachelor’s degrees.”
For more information about CMC’s Student Support Services programs, please contact Nate Adams for Rifle and Edwards, at nadams@coloradomtn.edu or 970-625-6956, or Laurie Marano for the Spring Valley, Leadville and Steamboat campuses, at lmarano@coloradomtn.edu or 970-870-4543.