When we get our schools, students and programs just right, our schools fulfill their fundamental promise to be gateways to equal opportunity.

TRIO is a program at the University of West Florida that’s making some headway to fulfilling that promise. The federally funded program is designed to assist students who are first generation in college, low income or have a documented disability.

Raising the number of college graduates in the community is a metric on Pensacola Metro Dashboard, which shows only 16.1 percent of residents in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties has a bachelor's degree. Research shows that a community median wage increases with a higher percentage of residents who hold a bachelor's degree.

Its mission is to increase college retention and graduation rates of eligible students and to assist with persistence to graduate school and career preparation.

To continue its mission of helping disadvantaged students, UWF’s TRIO Student Support Services program received a $1.46 million grant from the U.S Department of Education.

The five-year grant will support staff and resources that will help eligible students achieve a high level of persistence, remain in good academic standing and achieve higher graduation rates.

Retention and graduation rates have become key indicators for accountability in higher education.

Public colleges and universities federal funding is based, in part, on retention and graduation rates. If they struggle to retain students, the graduation rates suffer. The institutions must create techniques and strategies to increase their graduation rates without jeopardizing the rigor and relevance of their courses.

At a time in which accountability and transparency have become watchwords for virtually anything government does, it’s easy to understand the appeal of graduation rates.

They are an obvious indicator of how well an institution is serving its students. What better evidence to have than the percentage of students seeking a degree who actually receive one?

Common sense would dictate that a graduation rate can be a simple, standard measure that is easy to calculate.

The federal formula itself — the percentage of students who enter a school in a given year and leave with a certificate or degree a few years later (six years for four-year schools and three years for two-year school) — is pretty straightforward.

A single graduation rate is easy to understand and little interpretation is needed: A high number is good and a low number is bad.

However, something that looks too good to be true often is. Calculating and interpreting graduation rates is far more complex and challenging than it should be. As a result, the numbers themselves may, despite their apparent simplicity, show a misleading picture of how well a college or university is doing.

UWF institutional data shows that students who receive support from TRIO have a higher rate of persistence than both the general population and those who are eligible and do not receive support.

The support services previously provided include developmental advising, tutoring, mentoring, career planning, financial aid, cultural and social activities. Federal funding allows the program to serve 200 eligible students.

The new approach now includes bi-weekly meetings with success coaches and allows students to register for tutoring online.

The TRIO 2015-2020 award performance period begins Sept. 1, and ends Aug. 31, 2020.

“Student retention is very important to us here at UWF,” said Kim LeDuff, chief diversity officer and associate vice provost. “This grant will allow us to support students academically and socially as they transition to university life and make the journey to graduation.”

If we are truly committed to providing educational opportunity for all Americans regardless of race, ethnic background or economic circumstance, TRIO is making steps in the right direction.