Mission
Commitment to supporting educational opportunity as a pathway to personal success.
Summary Narrative
TRIO Talent Search and Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) assist low-income, potential first-generation persons to complete secondary school, enroll in postsecondary education programs and achieve academic success leading to postsecondary attainment.
The new grant award cycle for TRIO Talent Search and the Educational Opportunity Center began on September 1, 2021. Six competitive grant awards were secured through August 31, 2026. The six include four continuing grants (Talent Search 1, Talent Search 2 North Pulaski, Educational Opportunity Center 1, Delta Educational Opportunity Center 2) and two new grants (Talent Search 3 East and Educational Opportunity Center 3 Northeast).
The funding amount for these six TRIO outreach programs total $1,964,133 annually and $9,820,665 for the five-year period.
TRIO Talent Search and Educational Opportunity Center assisted one thousand six hundred forty-six (1,646) high school students and adults to persist in secondary education and seven hundred thirty-one (731) persons to complete secondary school. Postsecondary enrollment will be verified in Fall, 2022.
TRIO Talent Search and EOC worked with secondary schools and community agencies in Pulaski, Saline, Lonoke, Jefferson/Delta Counties and provided participants with enhanced opportunities such as academic tutoring services, college placement assessments, and college & career planning sessions to assist them in graduating from high school/GED prepared for post-secondary education.
The Talent Search target schools are: LR Cloverdale, LR Mabelvale, eStem East Village Junior High, LR Central, LR Hall, LR Southwest, Brinkley, PB Dollarway, Marvell-Elaine, Barton, North Little Rock, and Jacksonville/No. Pulaski.
The EOC programs provided numerous services that developed educational aspirations and career pathways for local area adults. In sessions with participants, Education Specialists discussed types of postsecondary institutions, various majors and career options.
Major populations and partners served include Adult Education Centers PTC and Saline County, Arkansas Employment Career Center, Veterans Day Treatment, Goodwill Industries Little Rock, Mamas Unidas, Metropolitan Career Center, Our House Shelter, Arkansas Workforce Services, Ark. Dept. of Corrections, Central Arkansas Community Correction, National Guard Youth Challenge, CASA Women’s Shelter, Goodwill Industries Jefferson County, Adult Education Centers-SEARK, Dumas, Star City, Monticello, PCCUA, Jefferson County DHS & Workforce, Goodwill Pine Bluff , Covenant Recovery/Sobriety Living, Arkansas National Guard Jefferson County, Delta Adult Education Centers, Tyson Foods, PB Walmart, PB Library, Army National Guard, Forrest City Correctional Institution, ASU Beebe Adult Education, Restore Hope Arkansas, 100 Families White County, Mayflower Chamber of Commerce, and Gainwell Technologies.
High school seniors received EOC services at these high schools: Lisa Academy North/West, Maumelle, Mills, Parkview, Jacksonville Lighthouse, Joe T. Robinson, Dollarway, and Pine Bluff, Clarendon, Drew Central and Perryville.
In July, 2021, EOC conducted a College Crash Course series, which provided opportunities for participants to meet with business and agency partners to learn about postsecondary and career options.
In the summer of 2021, Talent Search implemented 25 days of summer programs for students. Two hundred fifty (250) students visited the University and a total of $85,000 stipend awards were disbursed.
The TRIO department provided services to facilitate enrollment for transfer students from two and four year colleges. 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.
Major services by number of participants for 2021-22 are listed below.
Major Service – Number of Participants
Admissions Assistance – 1,054
Scholarships, financial literacy – 457
FAFSA, financial aid – 543
Study skills – 154
College planning – 717
Career assistance – 989
Campus tours – 1,213
Tutoring – 308
ACCUPLACER/computer lab – 475
At A Glance
2021-2022 Program Year to date
- 4,438 Total participants
- 2,537 Total low-income, first-generation participants
- 20,677 Total hours of service provided to participants
- 250 students attended on-campus workshops in summer of 2021
- 388 students visited UA Little Rock, school year 2021-2022
Assessment 1
Type of assessment (learning outcome or operational)
Student learning: Practical competence
Alignment with UA Little Rock Goal
Serve as an active partner in the community
Activity or experience being assessed
Workshop and interactive activities
Assessment artifacts
Pre- and post-surveys
Time period assessment was done
July 2021
Results
High school students participated in a series of college and career workshops in July 2021. Thirty-five responses were recorded for pre and post surveys. The results were:
- 44% increased their comfort level with writing a resume
- 14% increased their level of familiarity with college admission
- 18% increased their level of familiarity with the financial aid process
- 11% decreased their level of financial knowledge.
Continuous improvement process
2021-2022 college planning services, career assistance, campus tours and FAFSA and financial literacy were presented to participants.
Financial literacy sessions will be included in FY23 programming.
WHEN: The 2022-2023 school year
Stateholder involvement / Communication plan
The stakeholders consist of Talent Search staff and program partners. Stakeholders will learn about the results of the assessment in reports and meetings.
Assessment 2
Type of assessment (learning outcome or operational)
Student Learning: Practical competence
Alignment with UA Little Rock Goal
Serve as an active partner in the community
Activity or experience being assessed
Hands-on learning activities to increase understanding of computer coding/programming concepts.
Assessment artifacts
Pre and post surveys to ascertain interest and concepts.
Time period assessment was done
April 2022
Results
A coding 101 workshop was presented to middle school students in April, 2022. Seventy-one ratings were recorded for pre and post survey questions. The results were:
Fifteen percent (15%) increased their level of interest in coding from average to above average rating.
Fifty-three percent (53%) increased their level of knowledge from average to above average rating.
Continuous improvement process
Survey results will enable the program to adjust future workshop content and service delivery options.
Additional STEM activities will be planned for the 2022-2023 school year.
WHEN: School year 2022-2023
Stateholder involvement / Communication plan
The stakeholders consist of Talent Search staff and program partners. Stakeholders will learn about the results of the assessment in reports and meetings.
Assessment 3
Type of assessment (learning outcome or operational)
Operational Assessment
Alignment with UA Little Rock Goal
Serve as an active partner in the community
Activity or experience being assessed
Workshops to identify tools and steps for postsecondary program selection, academic preparation for postsecondary education, financial aid options, financial literacy.
Assessment artifacts
Pre and post surveys; admission, financial aid & postsecondary enrollment verification.
Time period assessment was done
October, 2021 to June, 2022
Results
This assessment was not completed due to the low pool of related partners.
