Student support services: educational opportunity for rural students at columbia state community college, serving columbia, lawrenceburg, lewisburg, and clifton campuses

Columbia State Community College received a $272,364 Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education under the TRIO Student Support Services Program (CFDA 84.042) for the period of September 1, 2025, through August 31, 2026. The grant funds comprehensive supportive services designed to enhance educational outcomes for disadvantaged students across the college's Columbia, Lawrenceburg, Lewisburg, and Clifton campuses in Tennessee. These services target low-income, first-generation, and students with disabilities to increase student retention, graduation rates, and successful transfers from two-year to four-year institutions.

The program delivers academic support, financial literacy instruction, and student success initiatives aimed at improving the academic potential and overall postsecondary completion rates of rural students in Middle Tennessee. As a continuation award under the five-year grant period structure, this funding supports the college's ongoing efforts to provide accessible higher education services with particular emphasis on serving economically disadvantaged and underrepresented student populations in its service region.