Western Association of Educational Opportunity Personnel-WESTOP

1. On August 14th, President Bush signed the Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Although the signed version has some positive changes for TRiO, it also includes one area of concern. Below are the major changes that apply to all programs:

Moves prior experience from being regulatory (i.e., defined by ED) to legislative (i.e., defined by Congress).
Extends all grant terms to five years.
Increases minimum program grant to $200,000.
Defines as the primary purpose of any TRIO evaluation "the identification of particular practices that further the achievement of the outcome criteria" included in the bill.
Removes the "in exceptional circumstances" limitation on grant applications from secondary schools.
Instructs ED to consider the "number, percentages, and needs of eligible participants in the area, institutions of higher education, or secondary school to be served" in granting applications.
Creates an appeals process for TRIO applicants involving a re-reading by a second peer review panel.
Instructs the Secretary to "rigorously evaluate the effectiveness" of TRIO programs (including Upward Bound), but mandates that in doing so the Secretary shall not (A) require programs to recruit more students than normal or (B) deny services to eligible students. Additionally, in designing an evaluation, the Secretary must consider (A) burden placed on program participants and institutions and (B) whether the evaluation meets the standards of institutional review boards.

There are eleven WESTOP institutions on the Department of Education’s TRIO “monitoring index”. Selected institutions will receive written notice six weeks notice. All visit reports will be reviewed by Linda Byrd-Johnson prior to being released to ensure fairness. The 11 WESTOP institutions are: American Samoa Community College, University of Hawaii, Hartnell College, College of the Redwoods, Palomar Community College District, CSU Bakersfield, University of Arizona, TELACU Ed. Foundation, UNLV, UCLA, UCSD. Site visits will include all TRiO programs at the institution

Next COE Board meeting, September 14th- 16th, Washington D.C. I am Chairing the Evaluations Committee and may be soliciting volunteers to assist.

COE 27th Annual Conference: The Competitiveness Imperative, September 17th- 20th in Washington Hilton & Towers. Speakers to include, Chris Matthews, MSNBC’s Hardball, Robert L. Corcoran, President, GE Foundation, Congressman Robert C. Scott, Sara Martinez Tucker, Under Secretary of Education, US Department of Education.

Changes to TRIO in the Higher Education Opportunity Act

Talent Search
* Adds a student's "completion . . . of a rigorous secondary school program of study" to the prior experience criteria.
* Allows grantees to target "students who are limited English proficient, students from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in postsecondary education, students with disabilities, students who are homeless children and youths, students who are in foster care or aging out of the foster care system, or other disconnected students."

Upward Bound
* Allows grantees to target "students who are limited English proficient, students from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in postsecondary education, students with disabilities, students who are homeless children and youths, students who are in foster care or aging out of the foster care system, or other disconnected students."
* Kills the entire Absolute Priority, including the evaluation.
* Requires that one-third of participating students be low-income individuals, first generation college students, or students who are at a high risk for academic failure.
* Instructs the Secretary to implement an evaluation of Upward Bound by June 30, 2010. (See parameters of evaluation methodology above.)

Veterans Upward Bound
* Includes language to expand the scope of the Veterans Upward Bound program to include federal reservists who served on active duty for more than 30 days, those who were called to action on or after September 11, 2001, and allows older veterans to participate in the program.

Student Support Services
* Allows branch campuses that were previously excluded to apply for grants. [NOTE: This provision actually applies to all TRIO programs but particularly impacts the SSS program.]
* Allows grantees to target "students who are limited English proficient, students from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in postsecondary education, students with disabilities, students who are homeless children and youths, students who are in foster care or aging out of the foster care system, or other disconnected students."

McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement
* Changes a prior experience criterion to "continued enrollment in graduate study and the attainment of doctoral degrees by former program participants." This will allow funded institutions to receive higher prior experience scores.
* Expands definition of eligible students (i.e., those "underrepresented in graduate education") to include Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.

Educational Opportunity Centers
* Allows grantees to target "students who are limited English proficient, students from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in postsecondary education, students with disabilities, students who are homeless children and youths, students who are in foster care or aging out of the foster care system, or other disconnected students."

Board of Directors

President Reports to the Members, WESTOP Board, and National Board