TRiO & Special Programs Unit (TSPU)

The history of TRIO is progressive. It began with Upward Bound, which emerged out of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 in response to the administration's War on Poverty. In 1965, Educational Talent Search (ETS), the second outreach program, was created as part of the Higher Education Act. In 1968, Student Support Services (SSS), which was originally known as Special Services for Disadvantaged Students, was authorized by the Higher Education Amendments and became the third in a series of educational opportunity programs. By the late 1960's, the term "TRIO" was coined to describe these federal programs.

The legislative requirements for all Federal TRIO Programs can be found in the Higher Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Part A, Subpart 2.

College Reach-Out (CROP)

The College Reach-Out Program (CROP) was developed and created in 1983, and piloted at Miami-Dade Community College, Florida Community College at Jacksonville, the University of Central Florida, and the University of South Florida at $80,000 per institution. The program was designed to supplement the resources of Florida universities and community colleges for their efforts to increase the number of low-income educationally disadvantaged students.