Carl Albert State College in Poteau has received a five-year $2,116,410 million Student Support Services (SSS) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The grant begins Sept. 1, 2015 and ends Aug. 30, 2020 and will serve 285 CASC students at the Poteau and Sallisaw locations each year.
Deborah Cummings serves as grant writer for Carl Albert. She, along with SSS Coordinator/Counselor Kim Hughes, worked to put together this grant that received a perfect score. The grant also received an additional six points for addressing the optional competitive preference priorities.
One of the federally funded TRIO programs, SSS provides assistance to first generation and/or low income students as well as disabled students in their pursuit of a college degree. Carl Albert State College’s SSS program was first funded in 1973 and was the first of CASC’s seven TRIO grant programs. Cummings explained,
“When we receive a grant award, it is a brand new grant program, not a continuation of the previous grant. We have to submit a new proposal for the national competition each time one of our TRIO grants expire,” Cummings said.
Michelle White serves as TRIO Director at Carl Albert.
The SSS staff at Carl Albert provides services for participants of the program ranging from counseling, tutoring, advising, financial aid assistance, transfer assistance following graduation and much more.