The U.S. Department of Education has awarded a grant to the Houston Community College System to continue operating the HCCS Student Support Services Program. This is a four-year grant that will bring $310,988 per year to HCCS to maintain this important service that helps ensure success for hundreds of Houston-area students.
The Student Support Services Program (SSSP) is in its 14th year on campus and serves over 200 at-risk students each year.
The SSSP provides tutorials, individualized counseling, enrichment activities, and a friendly campus climate to help students stay in college and complete their education. Once every 4 years, the HCCS Student Support Services Director Jose Salazar, competes for refunding of this program with over 1200 applicants from other institutions of higher education from around the country.
The HCCS Student Support Services Program staff consists of four full-time employees and 15-20 part-time tutors who provide critical academic support to students considered at-risk.
We are specifically a retention program and focus on low-income, first-generation students, says SSSP Director Salazar. As such, our operational objectives are very clearly spelled out for us by the U.S. Department of Education. The SSSP staff began tutoring activities for the current academic year on September 4th, and will continue to be there for the students, guiding and encouraging them to stay in school, graduate, and achieve their lifelong goals.
