Advancing Educational Opportunity For All
LEARN MORECOE highlights
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Proposal Writing Workshops
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Annual Conference 2025
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Join the fight to Protect TRIO
CONTACT YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
news & impact
Latest Articles
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press release
More Than 10,000 TRIO Alumni Urge Congress to Protect Federal TRIO Programs
Terrance L. HammJune 3, 2025
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Advocacy Update
Federal Cancellations of Upward Bound Grants Signal Broader Threat to College Access Programs
Kimberly JonesMay 30, 2025
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press release
Council for Opportunity in Education Condemns President Trump’s Proposal to Eliminate Federal TRIO Programs
Terrance L. HammMay 2, 2025
Blog
Why Trump’s Budget Proposal Betrays a Generation of Low-Income College Students
Alejandra Campoverdi and Aaron Brown, Ph.D.June 11, 2025
Despite decades of proven success in expanding college access and economic mobility for low-income and first-generation students, the federal TRIO programs now face elimination in the President’s budget—prompting over 10,000 alumni to urge Congress to protect this vital engine of opportunity.
Stay Connected
Learn more about how the Council for Opportunity in Education works in conjunction with colleges, universities, and agencies to help low-income students enter college and graduate.
professional development
Enhance the services you provide low-income, first-generation students and students with disabilities to increase their chances of success.
Trio programs
Federal TRIO Programs (Talent Search, Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math/Science, Veterans’ Upward Bound, Student Support Services, Educational Opportunity Centers, and the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program) help students to overcome economic, social, academic, and cultural barriers to higher education.
faces of trio
Christina Westbrook
Student Support Services, Illinois State University
Colette Yellow Robe
Student Support Services, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Edwin C. Serrano
Upward Bound Math-Science, University of Texas at Arlington
Gabrielle A. Davis
Upward Bound, Student Support Services, Talent Search, Southern Arkansas University
Kel Bonton
Talent Search, COPE Inc.
Seth Fairchild
Upward Bound Math-Science, Southeastern Oklahoma State University
Tameka Ellington
Upward Bound, Cuyahoga Community College
Support Us
If you are a student support services professional, thank you. You are an unsung hero for all the good that you do, and surely you know by now that COE has your back.
Partner
Through strategic collaborations, we work to strengthen quality, opportunity and access to education for all American students — the next generation of global leaders.
Join Us
Join more than 1,000 colleges and community agencies committed to postsecondary opportunity for low-income, first-generation students, students with disabilities in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., the Pacific Islands, and Puerto Rico!