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The Council for Opportunity in Education Announces Inaugural Award for Institutional Effectiveness Recipients

April 2, 2026 — by Terrance L. Hamm

The institutions—Oklahoma City Community College, South Seattle College, and Chesapeake College—are demonstrating how proven strategies like holistic advising, mentoring, and proactive student support can be embedded institution-wide to improve retention, completion, and transfer outcomes.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) today announced that Oklahoma City Community College, South Seattle College, and Chesapeake College have been selected as the inaugural recipients of the COE Award for Institutional Effectiveness, a national recognition honoring colleges that have successfully embedded TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) practices across their institutions to improve student success outcomes.

Supported by ECMC Foundation, the award includes a $10,000 grant for each institution and recognizes colleges that have transformed proven TRIO strategies, such as mentoring, holistic advising, academic support, and transfer planning, into institution-wide systems that benefit all students.

“These institutions represent the very best of what TRIO makes possible,” said Kimberly Jones, President of COE. “They have taken practices that were designed to support a specific population of students and scaled them across their campuses to serve entire communities. In doing so, they are expanding access and delivering impact.”

The three selected institutions exemplify how TRIO-informed strategies can be institutionalized to drive measurable improvements in student persistence, completion, and transfer:

  • Oklahoma City Community College (Oklahoma) has embedded TRIO practices into mentoring programs, structured academic supports, and workforce-aligned pathways, resulting in strong gains in retention and completion among first-generation and low-income students.
  • South Seattle College (Washington) has scaled TRIO strategies through large-scale initiatives such as the Seattle Promise program and early alert systems, extending holistic, equity-centered support to thousands of students across the Seattle Colleges District.
  • Chesapeake College (Maryland) has integrated TRIO-informed advising, transfer planning, and cross-departmental collaboration to significantly increase student engagement and transfer success, particularly in a rural, multi-county service region.

“Each of these colleges demonstrates that TRIO is not just a program—it is a model for institutional transformation,” said Aaron Brown, Executive Vice President of COE. “By embedding these practices campus-wide, they are creating systems that ensure more students, especially those who are first-generation or low-income, have the support they need to succeed. These are scalable, evidence-based models that can and should be replicated nationwide.”

The award was created to identify and elevate colleges that have successfully institutionalized TRIO Student Support Services practices, recognizing that TRIO’s impact can extend far beyond the students directly served by federal grants.

“This award recognizes intentional design and sustained commitment,” said Nicole Norfles, Ed.D., COE Director of Program Practice and Innovation. “What distinguishes these institutions is their ability to take the core elements of TRIO, personalized support, proactive advising, and a deep understanding of student need, and embed them into the infrastructure of the institution. They are building ecosystems where student success is not incidental—it is engineered.”

The selection process included a comprehensive review of institutional applications detailing how TRIO practices have been adopted, scaled, and sustained across campus systems, as well as demonstrated impact on student outcomes.

By recognizing these three colleges, COE aims to highlight replicable models that strengthen educational opportunity, advance equity, and promote economic mobility for students and communities nationwide.

To learn more about the Federal TRIO Programs, visit coenet.org.

Media Inquiries

For media inquiries or to arrange an interview, please contact Terrance L. Hamm, vice president for communications and marketing at COE via email at [email protected] or call (202) 347-7430.

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