NEOSHO, Mo. — Southwest Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt today announced that Crowder College’s Upward Bound program has received a four-year, $1 million extension from a U.S. Department of Education grant. Upward Bound operates six programs from the Crowder College campus and the new grant impacts students from 16 schools in Jasper, Lawrence and Dade counties, according to the release.
Upward Bound Coordinator Tiffany Slinkard said the program has helped hundreds of students over its ten years at Crowder College. “Sixty percent of these students complete college,” she said. “Many of them are from low-income families where there are no college degrees or college experience. Providing them the tools, experiences and support to achieve in higher education in rural Southwest Missouri is a testament to the success of Upward Bound.”
Upward Bound provides potential first-generation college students or low-income individuals in the early years of high school with counseling, tutoring, mentoring, and academic assistance as well as exposure to cultural, academic and educational activities to prepare them for the rigors of a college curriculum.
