Funding was in limbo Monday for two of the 15 TRIO Student Support Services programs in Montana following initial grant denials from the federal Department of Education, according to TRIO leaders.
TRIO programs help students who are first in their families to go to college, have lower incomes or live with disabilities.
David James, TRIO director at Fort Peck Community College, said Monday his college has a “legacy program,” funded since the 1980s, and it has appealed its initial grant denial, The Daily Montanan reports.
The status is pending.
However, the current grant runs only through Tuesday, and on Wednesday, James said the 230 students served through TRIO at the tribal college may not have the mentoring or tutoring or other support offered by the program.
“There will be nobody here to help them,” James said.
Chief Dull Knife College, on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, was also denied funding, according to TRIO leaders.
Chief Dull Knife College could not be reached on Monday about its TRIO Student Support Services program, although James said he believes it likely appealed its initial grant denial as well.
The Trump administration has been making moves to significantly change education policy, including appointing Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who is charged with dismantling the federal Department of Education.
The changes have led to national uncertainty for TRIO programs, major cuts to the federal department, and other significant shifts to public education, including changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Critics allege the changes hurt students and middle-class families, but proponents say they will cut unnecessary bureaucracy, and states could design their own programs with less cost and hassle.
TRIO in limbo
Although James had yet to hear a final decision on Monday about TRIO funding for Fort Peck college students, staffing changes are underway.
He said one TRIO staff member took another job, and another job will end on Tuesday. James said he is working on a transfer within the college, but he also could be furloughed.
Blackfeet Community College President Brad Hall said his school had a TRIO Student Support Services program in the past, and its application to reapply this year was denied.
Data, however, show significant student achievement for students who participate in TRIO programs.
Daniel Benge, program director for TRIO at the University of Montana, said 77% of students at UM “persist,” or continue college from one year to the next. By comparison, he said, 88.3% of those who are part of TRIO Student Support Services “persist.”
Montana State University also exceeds its goals for TRIO Student Support Services.
In the 2023-24 school year, MSU had a goal that 79% of all TRIO SSS students “persisted,” and it surpassed that goal, reaching 85%, according to data on its website.
James said he didn’t have data immediately available for TRIO students at Fort Peck, but they show similar high achievement.
“It’s really going to impact the students here,” James said.
Historically, bipartisan support
In 2024, all TRIO programs in the state received $9.7 million in funding, including $4.6 million for TRIO Student Support Services, according to UM.
Other TRIO programs include Upward Bound, which provides tutoring, counseling and other services to high school students in preparation for college, and Veterans Upward Found, which focuses on helping military veterans enroll in and finish college.
At Montana State University, the TRIO Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program received full funding for the academic year, said MSU spokesperson Mike Becker.
The McNair program supports “exemplary undergraduate students” who have not traditionally participated in higher education to participate in graduate programs.
In 2024, TRIO served 9,976 students in Montana, according to data from UM.
Historically, Benge said TRIO programs have had strong bipartisan support in Congress, including from the Montana delegation, given participants’ achievement records.
Benge said TRIO outcomes reflect research results, and TRIO can show a return on investment to policymakers.
Research shows students stay motivated to complete college when they have a connection with somebody on campus — “TRIO is that connection,” said Benge, who has worked with TRIO programs for 30 years, earlier at MSU-Billings.
The students get frequent one-on-one support and mentoring at a rate an academic adviser doesn’t have capacity for, he said.
At UM, he said, students also connect with the campus through TRIO lunch-and-learns and in the TRIO computer and study lab, for instance.
The cost of TRIO at UM is about $1,382 a year per student, and one study found a TRIO graduate’s average contribution to the federal budget through taxes means that investment is paid back in 12 to 18 months.
“It’s a good return on investment,” Benge said.
The late U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns supported TRIO, he said, as did former U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, both Republicans, and former U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus, Democrats.
Members of Montana’s current all-Republican congressional delegation did not respond to requests for comment sent Monday afternoon about TRIO.
However, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines in 2017 was among the lawmakers who called for support for TRIO Upward Bound after the Department of Education found some programs ineligible for funding based on a grant formatting error.
Always ‘topsy turvy,’ but funding uncertain in the future
President Donald Trump has been taking an aggressive stance on federal funding, one that has created unpredictability for education.
But Benge said only Congress has the authority to dismantle TRIO.
He said he’s been in TRIO long enough to have seen uncertainty before, and at least a couple of the previous attempts to gut TRIO have resulted in increased funding.
“There’s always topsy-turvy,” Benge said. “There’s always been significant bipartisan support.”
He said that support could continue, or Congress might shift its priorities under the Trump administration.
“They might bend to the will of the president and say, ‘We no longer want to have TRIO programs,’” he said. “Then the House and the Senate have to battle it out and decide whether they’re going to agree or disagree.”
TRIO at Fort Peck
James said some students walk in the door at Fort Peck not knowing how to use a computer or write a resume, but TRIO helps them get degrees.
“(There’s) no greater thing in the world than watching one of my students graduate,” James said.
Especially as a Native American himself, James said he hopes that he might be able to support those students in the future, possibly in a transfer to a different job on campus.
“I’m a warrior, and that’s what warriors do. They help their people. They uplift them,” he said.
James said he doesn’t know when he might hear an answer from the Department of Education on the appeal, but he’s concerned about the possible effects on students if the answer is no.
“It’s going to be such a great loss. It really is,” James said.
MSU lauded McMahon for focus on economic opportunity, spokesperson says
Although some federal changes in education have led to unpredictability, including for TRIO, some political leaders also have praised the Trump administration’s focus on jobs and the economy.
Earlier this month, Education Secretary Linda McMahon visited Montana State University, and MSU President Brock Tessman presented her a special pin for her “exemplary” support for the university.
MSU spokesperson Michael Becker said Tessman made the decision himself to present McMahon with the pin, which has an enamel MSU logo, because McMahon stressed the importance of aligning education with economic opportunity.
He said McMahon also has stressed the importance of “skills-based and job-focused learning.”
“Those are values shared by Montana State as we prepare our graduates to be successful in their careers after college when they take what they have learned and use it to the benefit of our local communities, state and nation,” Becker said in an email.
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