Competitions for Student Support Services funding are held every fourth and fifth years. Prior experience points are earned by grant applicants that have conducted a Student Support Services project during the three years preceding the date of application. Up to 15 points can be awarded according to the applicant's prior program performance in service delivery. In the FY 1990 competition, of 704 grants awarded, 91.5 percent went to previous grantees. In some institutions, there was duplication of services between Student Support Services programs and State-funded programs.
Initial findings focus on program implementation.
SSS institutions are more likely than other colleges to have predominant minority enrollment, and to admit students with lower SAT scores. Compared to other students at their institution and to national norms, SSS participants are more likely to come from poor families, have parents who have not completed high school or college, be African American or Hispanic, older, and have lower high school grades and SAT scores. There is a long-term trend for the program to serve students less intensively. Although SSS was often among the first services available on campus for disadvantaged students, at most institutions it is now one of several service providers. Of the 30 institutions at which site visits were conducted, SSS was the primary support service provider in only three places.