Mission
Commitment to supporting educational opportunity as a pathway to personal success.
Summary Narrative
TRIO Talent Search and Educational Opportunity Center assisted non-traditional and underrepresented students and adults to complete secondary school and enroll in higher education. One thousand forty-nine (1,049) high school students persisted in secondary education, seven hundred eighty-six (786) persons completed secondary school, and six hundred ninety-five (695) persons enrolled in postsecondary education programs.
TRIO Talent Search and EOC worked with secondary schools and community agencies in Pulaski, Saline, Lonoke, and Jefferson Counties and provided participants with enhanced opportunities such as academic tutoring services, college placement assessments, and study skills to assist them in graduating from high school/GED prepared for post-secondary education. The Talent Search target middle schools are: LR Cloverdale, LR Henderson, Pine Bluff Morehead, No Little Rock, and Jacksonville/No. Pulaski. Target high schools are LR Central, LR Hall, LR JA Fair, LR McClellan, Jacksonville/No. Pulaski, No. Little Rock, and Pine Bluff Dollarway.
The EOC programs provided numerous services that developed educational aspirations and career pathways for local area adults. In sessions with clients, Education Specialists discussed types of postsecondary institutions, various majors and career options the clients are interested in. Major populations and partners served include Adult Education Centers PTC and Saline County, ACE Cabot, BCD Hoover, Feast of Hope, Goodwill Industries Little Rock, Little Rock Job Corps, Mamas Unidas, Metropolitan Career Center, Our House Shelter, Safe Harbor, St. Mark Job Fair, Veterans Day Treatment Center, Anchor Mission Ministries, Arkansas Workforce Services, Ark. Dept. of Corrections, Covenant Recover, CASA Women’s Shelter, Goodwill Industries Jefferson County, Adult Education Centers-SEARK, Dumas, Star City, Monticello, PCCUA, Arkansas Department of Human Services, and Arkansas National Guard Jefferson County. High school seniors received EOC services at these high schools: Lisa Academy North, Lonoke, Mills, Parkview, Pine Bluff and Sylvan Hills. A College Crash Course series provided opportunities for clients to meet with business and agency partners to learn about postsecondary and career options.
TRIO Talent Search and EOC provided services to facilitate enrollment for transfer students from two and four year colleges, particularly UA PTC. Through individual sessions, the TRIO staff assisted participants with postsecondary transfer decisions and options. Topics included loan default counseling, financial aid assistance, admission re-entry requirements, advising information for two-and four-year majors and careers, required transfer paperwork, transcript requests and referrals to institution transfer offices.
2019-2020 major services by number of participants are listed below.
| Major Service | Number |
|---|---|
| Admissions Assistance | 1251 |
| Scholarships, financial literacy | 2222 |
| FAFSA, financial aid | 1199 |
| Study skills | 483 |
| College Planning | 1634 |
| Campus Tours | 975 |
| Career assistance | 2396 |
| Tutoring | 660 |
| ACCUPLACER | 299 |
| Computer lab | 509 |
At A Glance
- 3,287 Total participants
- 2,236 Low-income, first-generation participants
- 25,949 Hours of service provided to participants
Assessment 1
Type of assessment (learning outcome or operational)
Operational
Activity or experience being assessed
Staff will utilize laptops for admission application workshops at community outreach sites.
Assessment artifacts
Data collection of number of college applications completed from 9/1/2019 to 6/15/2020. Compare this number to the number of applications completed in the 2018-19 same time period.
Time period assessment was done
September 1, 2019-June 15, 2020
Results
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, EOC staff were unable to continue monthly visits to community partner sites in order to collect data.
Assessment 2
Type of assessment (learning outcome or operational)
Learning outcome
Activity or experience being assessed
Financial Aid workshops for high school seniors in TRIO-served classrooms, with a focus on teaching about top three things financial aid officers wish students would do to obtain scholarships.
Assessment artifacts
Post workshop test with questions about those top three things.
Time period assessment was done
Sept., 2019- Dec., 2019
Results
Due to the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions to staff travel, the program was not able to complete workshops and collect data.
Assessment 3
Type of assessment (learning outcome or operational)
Operational
Activity or experience being assessed
Information collection from the clients through a survey designed to identify the challenges they face when going through the postsecondary/college enrollment process.
Assessment artifacts
Survey
Time period assessment was done
9/1/19 to 3/31/20 distribute and collect surveys; 4/1/20 to 5/31/20 analyze the results; 6/15/20 report results.
Results
Due to the COVID19 pandemic and subsequent restrictions and work allocation the assessment could not be completed.
Assessment 4
Type of assessment (learning outcome or operational)
Operational
Activity or experience being assessed
Develop at least one new partnership per school with a student service provider to access more target students.
Assessment artifacts
Data collection to compare the number of target students per school from 2018-19 to 2019-2020.
Time period assessment was done
September 1, 2019- May 31, 2020
Results
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and inaccessibility of students and partners, this assessment could not be completed.
Priorities for Next Year
To meet program objectives and secure continued grant funding.
