Federal Grant to Serve 850 Valley Students a Year

CSUSB Palm Desert Campus receives federal grant to serve Coachella Valley students

PALM DESERT – The Cal State San Bernardino, Palm Desert Campus, has received a federal grant of $1,160,250 to serve and assist low-income individuals, first-generation college students and individuals with disabilities to progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to post-baccalaureate programs,

The federal grant spans a five-year period, or $232,050 per year.

As one of eight federally-funded TRIO programs targeted, the grant will serve 850 students per year in the Coachella Valley, specifically in the cities of Palm Desert, Desert Hot Springs, Coachella, Palm Springs, Thermal and Mecca.

The U.S. Department of Education awarded the Educational Opportunity Centers (EOC) grant to the Cal State San Bernardino, Palm Desert Campus.

The purpose of the EOC program is to provide information regarding financial and academic assistance to individuals who desire a higher education; provide assistance to individuals in applying for admission to colleges and universities, including assistance in preparing necessary applications for use by admissions and financial aid officers; and provide information regarding financial and economic literacy to participants.

Services include academic coaching, individual advising, group workshops and providing referrals.

This is the first EOC project for CSUSB, but it joins other established and successful TRIO projects at the university. It is, however, the first CSUSB pre-college project established at the university’s Palm Desert Campus.

“We are delighted that with EOC, CSUSB will strengthen our pre-college presence in the Coachella Valley,” Summer Steele, director of the California Student Opportunity & Access Program at Cal State San Bernardino, said in a prepared statement. “The resources and partnerships developed to support EOC are indicative of our commitment to working with community stakeholders to improve educational and economic outcomes for the region.”