News
The TRIO Digest is a weekly recap of essential news, resources, and tips for TRIO professionals. Get updates on policy, funding, success stories, and strategies to boost student success—everything you need to stay informed and make your work easier, all in one place.
October
September
TRIO Digest, Week 38 (September 22-28, 2025)
Top Stories Trump Bypasses Congress and Slashes Hundreds of Education GrantsMore than 200 ongoing projects have seen their remaining grant funding canceled in recent weeks.Education WeekMark LiebermanGED to PhD: How the McNair Program Changes Lives and our Nation - ContextsContexts is a quarterly magazine that makes cutting-edge social research

TRIO Digest, Week 37 (September 15-21, 2025)
Top Stories Advocates Worry About McNair Scholars ProgramSo far, 18 McNair program grants have been canceled. The Education Department says it will issue awards for the rest of them by the end of the month.Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and JobsJessica BlakeThe Federal Freeze of $660 Million
TRIO Digest, Week 36 (September 8-14, 2025)
Top Stories Trump Administration Withholds Millions for TRIO ProgramsNonprofits that advocate for first-gen students say that without the federally funded programs, college could become unattainable for hundreds of thousands of students.Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and JobsJessica BlakeStudent Scores in Math, Science, Reading Slide Again on Nation’
TRIO Digest, Week 35 (Sep 2-7, 2025)
Top Stories Video Future of federal TRIO programs at risk“GMA” examines a federal initiative that has long provided opportunities for disadvantaged students nationwide but now faces potential threats.ABC NewsABC NewsGOP-led House panel proposes 15% cut to Education DepartmentThe Appropriations Committee’s plan would fulfill several of President Donald

TRIO Digest, Week 34 (Aug 25 - Sep 1, 2025)
Top Stories Trump Cancels Dozens of Education Grants—With More Terminations on the HorizonMore than $1 billion in already-awarded grant funding has yet to flow as expected.Education WeekMark Lieberman TRIO Grants Delayed—Immediate Action Needed Over 2,000 TRIO grant award notifications (Upward Bound, Veterans Upward Bound, Talent Search,
August
TRIO Digest, Week 33 (August 18-24, 2025)
Top Stories TRIO helps low-income students get to and through college. Trump wants to end itOver 60 years,TRIO programs have helped millions of people with little college exposure earn degrees. Now the administration says it wants to cut federal spending on TRIO to zero, saying the programs are no
TRIO Digest, Week 32 (August 11-17, 2025)
Top Stories Prison to possibility: KU TRIO program helps incarcerated individuals rebuild through educationThe TRIO Educational Opportunity Centers (EOC), a program within the Center for Educational Opportunity Programs, is working to make reentry to society easier through education, support and connections.KU NewsAlicia MarksberryLegendary Education Advocate Arnold Mitchem to Receive
TRIO Digest, Week 31 (August 4-10, 2025)
Top Stories U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon Directs National Center for Education Statistics to Collect Universities’ Data on Race Discrimination in AdmissionsToday, to fulfill President Trump’s memorandum directing the Department to promote transparency in higher education, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon directed NCES to collect
TRIO Digest, Week 30 (July 28 - August 3, 2025)
Top Stories Senate Committee Passes Bipartisan Bill to Sustain TRIO Funding at $1.2 Billion for FY 2026 - Council for Opportunity in EducationThe Senate Appropriations Committee voted 26-3 to pass the FY 2026 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill, sustaining TRIO funding at $1.2 billion and maintaining support for other key
July
TRIO Digest, Week 29 (July 21-27, 2025)
Top Stories Columbia Settlement Offers a Warning for Higher EdThe $221 million settlement extends beyond tackling antisemitism. Some experts said it’s an example of “coercion,” while others say Columbia had it coming.Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and JobsJessica Blake * Trump administration forced Columbia to accept strict

TRIO Digest, Week 28 (July 15-21, 2025)
Top Stories Supreme Court clears the way for Trump administration to massively reduce the size of the Department of EducationThe Supreme Court on Monday granted the Trump administration’s request to temporarily pause an order by a federal judge in Massachusetts that would require the Department of Education to reinstate
TRIO Digest, Week 27 (July 8-14, 2025)
Top Stories SSS “Funding Band” Letters FY 2025 SSS “Funding Band” Letters Released
The U.S. Department of Education has notified applicants whose FY 2025 SSS proposals scored between 112 and 113.33 (“funding band”). These applicants can request a second review for scoring or administrative errors by Friday, July
TRIO Digest, Week 26 (June 30 - July 7, 2025)
Top Stories SSS Funding Slate Released * The Department of Education has released the first list of successful SSS grant applicants. See the list of funded programs here. * If your grant is on the list, you are encouraged to thank your Members of Congress and consider issuing a press release once
June
TRIO Digest, Week 25 (June 23-30, 2025)
Top Stories Trump admin live updates: Senate to begin ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ vote-a-rama MondayThe Senate will begin its “vote-a-rama” at 9 a.m. Monday, during which time senators will offer amendments to the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”ABC NewsABC NewsCongress weighs deep cuts to federal student financial aid, Medicaid
TRIO Digest, Week 24 (June 16-22, 2025)
Top Stories Federal cuts could gut Mizzou programs that support first-gen studentsFederal funding cuts proposed by the Trump administration threaten several programs at the University of Missouri.Columbia MissourianMaddie MadisonLCC looks at possible funding loss for 2 TRIO programsParsons Sun - latest breaking news available online!Parsons Sun‘We didn’

TRIO Digest, Week 23 (June 9-15, 2025)
Top Stories Trump budget proposal calls for 15% Department of Education funding cut, financial aid reductionThese additions were announced on June 2 — a month after the initial proposal — and include significant reductions to Federal Pell Grants and the Federal Work-Study program.The Daily PennsylvanianArti JainDr. Scott Hummel: TRIO programs are
TRIO Digest, Week 22 (June 2-8, 2025)
Top Stories Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Testimony
Secretary McMahon defended the proposed elimination of TRIO, citing limited auditing authority and concerns over program-wide accountability and effectiveness. Lawmakers across both parties pushed back, pointing to existing reporting requirements and federal studies showing TRIO’s strong impact on college access and completion. Here

TRIO Digest, Week 21 (May 27 - June 1, 2025)
Top Stories Federal Cancellations of Upward Bound Grants Signal Broader Threat to College Access Programs - Council for Opportunity in EducationAccording to the Department of Education, the cancelled grants were deemed to “violate the letter or purpose of Federal civil rights law; conflict with the Department’s policy of prioritizing

May
TRIO Digest, Week 20 (May 19-26, 2025)
[Listen] TRIO Digest, Week 200:00/541.7521× Top Stories Takeaways from the Secretary’s Testimony
Secretary McMahon faced sharp Democratic criticism during a House subcommittee hearing while defending the FY26 education budget’s proposals to cut programs like TRIO and ultimately close the Department of Education. Below are the key takeaways

TRIO Digest, Week 19 (May 12-18, 2025)
Top Stories TRIO Funding FAQs
The Council for Opportunity in Education created this FAQs document to provide answers to common questions about TRIO program funding for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 program years, including funding timelines, risks, advocacy steps, and grant procedures. * Advance Funding Explained TRIO is “advance funded,” so Fiscal
TRIO Digest, Week 18 (May 5-11, 2025)
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TRIO Digest, Week 17 (April 28 - May 4, 2025)
Listen to the Week 17 Digest0:00/398.6307921× Top Stories The President’s FY 2026 Discretionary Budget RequestThe White HousePresident Trump’s 2026 budget proposes a 15.3% cut to the Education Department, eliminating all TRIO funding. If passed, this would shut down TRIO programs nationwide, ending vital support

April
TRIO Digest, Week 16 (April 21-27, 2025)
[Listen Here] TRIO Digest Week 160:00/499.2241× Top Stories Trio of rulings freezes Trump’s anti-DEI directives for schools - NewsBreakFederal judges on Thursday dealt three separate blows to the Education Department’s plans to enforce sweeping bans on diversity, equity and inclusion efforPOLITICOJuan Perez Jr.Federal judges
TRIO Digest, Week 15 (April 14-20, 2025)
[Listen Here] TRIO Digest, Week 150:00/470.3281× News The Promise of American Higher EducationNo government—regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursueHarvard University PresidentHarvard University

TRIO Digest, Week 14 (April 6-13, 2025)
[Listen] TRIO Digest, Week 140:00/551.61× News U.S. Department of Education Announces Consequences for Maine’s Title IX NoncomplianceU.S. Department of Education Announces Consequences for Maine’s Title IX NoncomplianceU.S. Department of Education Key Points * Federal Action: The U.S. Department of Education (ED) referred

TRIO Digest, Week 13 (Mar 30-Apr 5, 2025)
News Trump officials tell Oregon undocumented college students they can no longer access TRIO programsColleges and universities in Oregon and California can no longer allow students without permanent legal status access to some federally funded programs meant to help disadvantaged students earn degrees, according to a recent decision from the
March
TRIO Digest, Week 12 (March 23-29, 2025)
News U.S. Department of Education Revokes Waivers to California and Oregon Universities Using Federal Funding to Provide Services to Illegal ImmigrantsToday, the U.S. Department of Education revoked waivers to California and Oregon colleges and universities that are using federal funds to provide services to illegal aliens under the
TRIO Digest, Week 11 (March 16-22, 2025)
News Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and CommunitiesBy the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to enable parents, teachers, andThe White HouseExecutive OrdersThe potential impacts of closing the Department of Education, explainedThe federal agency handles
TRIO Digest, Week 10 (March 9-15, 2025)
News U.S. Department of Education Initiates Reduction in ForceAs part of the Department of Education’s final mission, the Department today initiated a reduction in force (RIF) impacting nearly 50% of the Department’s workforce.U.S. Department of Education In a sweeping workforce reduction, the U.S. Department

TRIO Digest: Week 9 (March 2–8, 2025)
News I’m the first college graduate in my family. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for programs like Head Start. Another federal program called Upward Bound put me on a college campus every summer as a high school student. Although I lived in the housing projects, I could imagine