Pine Tech awarded federal grant funding for student support services

Pine Technical and Community College has been awarded an annual grant of more than $272,000 a year from the U.S. Department of Education to help first-generation, low-income, and students with disabilities.

According to a news release from Pine Tech, the award is renewable for up to five years, representing an estimated total of $.13 million in federal funding.

The funds fall under the federal TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) program.

Pine Tech's program will offer services like academic tutoring, advising, mentoring, financial literacy education, and assistance with FAFSA and scholarship applications for eligible students.

The SSS program will serve approximately 140 Pine Tech students each year, and a portion of the grant funding will be used to expand the community college's Student Success team by hiring three new staff members.

“Many of our students are balancing work, family, and academics while being the first in their families to attend college,” Robin Johnson, PTCC’s Dean of Student Success, wrote in the release. “TRIO provides not just resources, but community. It is a place where students feel supported and guided through every step of their college journey.”