MAC Upward Bound Receives Funding

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Jun 24, 2022

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Mineral Area College will receive two federal grants totaling $672,308 annually for the Upward Bound program which prepares students for higher education through a variety of initiatives including an annual summer program held on the MAC campus.

 

TRIO Upward Bound will provide five years of funding to help local students find their paths to college

PARK HILLS--U.S. Department of Education announced that Mineral Area College (MAC) will receive two federal Upward Bound grants totaling $672,308 annually to help more students who would be the first members of their families to earn degrees to prepare for and enroll in college. 

One of the federal TRIO Programs, Upward Bound, is an intensive intervention program that prepares students for higher education through various enrichment courses. At least two-thirds of the students in each local Upward Bound program are from low-income economic backgrounds and families in which neither parent has a bachelor's degree.

MAC received its first Upward Bound grant in 1995 and the newest award extends the program five years. Students in the Arcadia Valley, Bismarck, Central, Farmington, Fredericktown, Kingston, North County, Potosi, Valley, and West County districts are eligible to apply.

Campus-based Upward Bound programs provide students instruction in literature, composition, mathematics, science, and foreign language during the school year and the summer. Upward Bound also provides intensive mentoring and support for students as they prepare for college entrance exams and tackle admission applications, financial aid, and scholarship forms. According to the U.S. Department of Education, 86% of Upward Bound participants enroll in postsecondary institutions immediately following high school graduation. In FY21, more than 70,000 students enrolled in 966 Upward Bound TRIO projects in the United States.

In 1964, the Economic Opportunity Act established Upward Bound as a pilot program in response to the War on Poverty. It was the first of seven federal “TRIO” programs to later be authorized by the Higher Education Act to help college students succeed in higher education.

As of 2021, over 3,000 TRIO projects serve approximately 855,000 participants yearly. TRIO projects are in every state and territory in the nation.

Click here more information on MAC’s Upward Bound program or call 573-518-2156.