Traditional Upward Bound students gather for a group photo while attending the summer program at CLU in 2011. Courtesy photo.
Grants will continue current services, allow expansion
THOUSAND OAKS — The U.S. Department of Education has awarded California Lutheran University more than $3 million to continue and expand its TRIO Traditional Upward Bound services, the university reported this week in a media release.
The five-year grants are the largest amount CLU has ever received for the program, which motivates and prepares low-income and potential first-generation college students to continue their education beyond high school. The renewal of a nearly $1.8 million grant will enable the university to continue serving 86 students a year from Oxnard’s public high schools, and a new $1.25 million grant will allow CLU to add 60 students a year from Hawthorne and Leuzinger high schools in Los Angeles County.
CLU and a handful of other California universities are among a limited number of U.S. institutions that received grant renewals along with funding for new programs. Nationally, nearly one-quarter of existing programs did not receive funding, and many more have not heard yet.
The CLU program provides high school students with tutoring, academic advising, weekend classes, college tours, parent workshops and a six-week summer residential experience. This summer, 55 students will live on campus from June 24 through July 27. They will participate in personal growth workshops, visit other college campuses and take rigorous courses in math, literature, composition, foreign language, science, public speaking and music from CLU faculty.
In the last five years, CLU’s TRIO Traditional Upward Bound program has served more than 250 students whose GPAs upon acceptance ranged from 1.5 to 4.2. All of them graduated from high school, and 96 percent enrolled in post-secondary institutions. This year’s 27 graduating seniors, all of whom have enrolled in colleges, will be honored at the Traditional Upward Bound Senior Graduation Ceremony at noon Saturday, June 2, in Samuelson Chapel.
CLU is also applying to renew grant funding for its TRIO Upward Bound Math-Science program, which serves 55 to 65 students from Ventura and Los Angeles counties each year. Fifty-three Upward Bound Math-Science students will participate in the summer residential program at CLU. The 26 graduating seniors will be honored at a ceremony at noon on Friday, July 6, in Overton Hall. All of this year’s graduates have enrolled in college, and one received a full-ride scholarship as a Posse Scholar and another received a $20,000 scholarship as a Dell Scholar. In the last five years, all of the participants have graduated from high school, and 99 percent enrolled in post-secondary institutions.
The Federal TRIO Programs, including Upward Bound and Upward BoundMath-Science, are designed to identify and provide services for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.