Bemidji State University’s Student Support Services program has been providing opportunities for qualifying students to succeed in higher education since 1970. Funded under the federal government’s TRIO umbrella, BSU’s Student Support Services is one of the nation’s oldest continually operating programs.

Student Support Services includes a variety of initiatives meant to help students overcome barriers that might otherwise prevent them from starting or completing higher education. Qualifying BSU students receive customized academic and financial aid advising, have access to tutoring programs and can enroll in one of five college success courses. Other services include peer mentoring and personal and social support programs.

Kelli Steggall, BSU’s director of TRIO programs, said student success is the program’s sole focus.

“We get to put all of our time and energy into that,” she said. “All of the services we provide are geared toward making sure students are retained in higher education. That’s our goal: keep students in good academic standing and have them graduate in a timely manner.”

With a renewed $2.5 million federal grant, BSU’s program will continue through 2031. Steggall said the federal funding means that Student Support Services programming is offered without cost to students.

“Our program has three objectives — enhanced academic skills, persistence in college through graduation and entry into graduate or professional school,” Steggall said. “Everything we do for students comes back to those three things.”

Steggall says BSU’s program supports about 350 students each year — students who are in the most need of support from programs like TRIO.

“We work with the most at-risk students, and I don’t mean academic risk,” she said. “We’re helping the student who’s capable of earning a 3.5 GPA overcome the obstacles that might otherwise have led them to drop out. We’re helping that student stay in school.”

She says Student Support Services helps qualifying students manage mental health issues, overcome barriers created by poverty or food insecurity, by providing academic role models often absent in their lives away from school, and so much more.

“When a student walks into our office, it’s about figuring out what’s going on with them,” she said. “We are helping students navigate obstacles that their families or other support systems aren’t able to help them with — where they’re going to get their next meal or how they’re going to make it to class because their car is broken down or they can’t get child care.”

Ethan Kunz, an aquatic biology major from Aitkin, Minnesota, says BSU’s TRIO program has provided vital support as he considers his future as a graduate student.

“Honestly, I probably wouldn’t be thinking about grad school without TRIO,” he said. “The staff has been available to help whenever I have questions, and I like having the opportunity to visit a school before I apply to see if it would be the right fit for me as a student.”

He says he would “highly recommend” BSU’s TRIO programs to others.

“They surround you with opportunities to succeed,” he said. “They’re helpful with any questions — about BSU or even personal matters. It’s a great way to succeed with the transition to college. If you’re eligible, there’s really no downside to applying.”

BSU’s program has proven to be remarkably successful in helping qualified students maintain good academic standing, stay in school and graduate. In 2022-23, about 1,970 BSU students were eligible to participate in the Student Support Services program, and 350 participated. Students who participated were more likely to be in good academic standing (90% of participants vs 78% of eligible students), and significantly more likely to return to school for a second year (87% of participants vs. 49% of eligible students) and to graduate within six years (42% of participants vs 22% of eligible students).

About Student Support Services

Student Support Services is one of several programs that make up the federal government’s TRIO program. TRIO began in 1964 with the creation of the Upward Bound program. In 1968, the Higher Education Act of 1965 was amended to create the Special Services for Disadvantaged Students program, now known as Student Support Services.

BSU’s TRIO program first received funding in 1970, making it one of the oldest continually operating TRIO programs in the nation. In addition to Student Support Services, BSU also hosts two other programs created under the TRIO umbrella — Upward Bound and the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program.

To qualify for TRIO programs, students must be either U.S. citizens or permanent residents and be first-generation college students, fall within specified income guidelines or have a documented disability.