Since its inception, the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965 has had a focus on increasing the postsecondary access and achievement of disadvantaged students, including low-income and first-generation college students. The two major approaches are financial support and supportive services. The Pell Grant program is the single largest source of federal grant aid supporting primarily low-income postsecondary education students. The Pell Grant program is estimated to provide approximately $30.1 billion to approximately 7.6 million undergraduate students in FY2019. The TRIO programs are the primary federal programs providing support services to disadvantaged students to promote achievement in postsecondary education. The Higher Education Amendments of 1968 (P.L. 90-575) consolidated a "trio" of programs under one overall program. The number of TRIO programs has since expanded to six, and they were funded at a total of $950 million in FY2017. Collectively, the TRIO programs are designed to identify qualified individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, prepare them for a program of postsecondary education, provide support services for postsecondary students, motivate and prepare students for doctoral programs, and train individuals serving or preparing for service in the TRIO programs. TRIO services support the federal policy goals of secondary school completion, college preparation, college enrollment, undergraduate completion, and graduate school preparation. There are six main TRIO programs (in descending order of funding levels): TRIO Upward Bound (UB) Program, TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) Program, TRIO Talent Search (TS) Program, TRIO Educational Opportunity Centers (EOC) Program, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement (McNair) Program, and TRIO Staff Development (Training) Program. The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA; P.L. 110-315 ) of 2008 made several changes most recently to the TRIO programs to increase accountability, rigor, and uniformity and to ensure that all disadvantaged students had access to the programs. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released the final regulations to implement the HEOA TRIO program provisions. This report serves as an introduction to the TRIO programs. The initial section describes the provisions of each of the programs, as reauthorized by HEOA. The subsequent section provides a brief overview of recent funding and participation trends for each of the programs. This is followed by a description of unique provisions and regulations that are common to the TRIO programs, highlighting key HEOA and regulatory changes. A concluding section presents the key findings and results of recent program evaluations and assessments. The federal TRIO programs provide support services and some financial assistance primarily to low-income, first-generation college students to help them succeed academically and encourage them to advance through much of the educational pipeline. The TRIO programs work together to provide a pipeline of support services from secondary school through undergraduate education. Each of the TRIO programs is designed to serve a different target population of participants through a different level of education. The following subsections describe the purpose, eligible recipients, program participants, program intensity and activities, and outcome criteria of each of the TRIO programs and are ordered according to their sequence in the educational pipeline: UB primarily supports the college preparation of secondary students, TS primarily supports the postsecondary enrollment of secondary students, EOC primarily supports the postsecondary enrollment of adult students, SSS primarily supports the completion of undergraduate education, McNair primarily supports graduate school preparation, and Training supports TRIO staff development. For a comparison of eligible grant recipients, program participant requirements, and required program activities, see Table 1 , Table 2 , and Table 3 , respectively. The UB program is intended to provide intensive preparation and encouragement toward success in education beyond secondary school. UB has three types of projects: Regular UB to prepare secondary school students for programs of postsecondary education, UB Math and Science Centers (UBMS) to prepare high school students for postsecondary education programs that lead to careers in the fields of math and science, and Veterans UB (VUB) to assist military veterans to prepare for a program of postsecondary education. Compared to Regular UB projects, UBMS projects typically serve more students in their junior or senior years, serve students with stronger math and science skills, and emphasize the summer component more. Grants or contracts are available to institutions of higher education (IHEs); public and private agencies and organizations, including community-based organizations (CBOs) with experience in serving disadvantaged youth; secondary schools; and combinations of such institutions, agencies, and organizations. All participants must have completed eight years of elementary education or be at least 13 years of age but not more than 19 years of age, unless the age and grade limitation defeats the purpose of the program. In addition, all participants must be in need of academic support to pursue education beyond secondary school successfully. At least two-thirds of the program participants must be low-income, first-generation college students. The remaining one-third of Regular UB and VUB participants must be low-income, first-generation, or at risk of academic failure. The remaining one-third of UBMS participants must be low-income or first-generation. Program regulations define a Regular UB participant who has a high risk for academic failure as an individual who is not at the proficient level on state assessments in reading or language arts; is not at the proficient level on state assessments in math; has not successfully completed pre-algebra or algebra by the beginning of the 10 th grade; or has a grade point average of 2.5 or less (on a 4.0 scale) for the most recent school year. Program regulations define a military veteran who has a high risk for academic failure as an individual who has been out of high school or dropped out of a program of postsecondary education for five or more years; has scored on standardized tests below the level that demonstrates a likelihood of success in a program of postsecondary education; or meets the definition of an individual with a disability. For each new grant competition after 2010, the Secretary identifies the minimum number of participants and the minimum and maximum grant award amounts in the Federal Register notice inviting applications. Historically, UB has been a relatively high-intensity program for precollege students. In FY2017 on average, Regular UB, UBMS, and VUB projects expended $4,458, $4,436, and $2,163 per participant, respectively. The Regular UB and UBMS per-participant spending is, on average, at least 10 times higher than TS and EOC projects, which may also serve secondary school students. The HEA requires each grantee to provide the following seven services: instruction in mathematics through precalculus, laboratory science, foreign language, composition, and literature, as part of the core curriculum in the third and succeeding years; academic tutoring to enable students to complete secondary or postsecondary courses; secondary and postsecondary course selection advice and assistance; assistance in preparing for college entrance examinations and assistance in completing college admission applications; information on student financial aid opportunities and assistance in completing financial aid applications; guidance on and assistance in methods for achieving a secondary school diploma or an equivalent or postsecondary education; and education or counseling services designed to improve financial and economic literacy. Per regulations, Regular UB and UBMS grantees must provide a summer instructional component. Regulations also require UBMS grantees to provide participants with opportunities to learn from mathematicians and scientists who are engaged in research and teaching and opportunities with graduate and undergraduate science and mathematics majors. Program statute lists permissible activities such as exposure to cultural events, academic programs not usually available to disadvantaged students, mentoring programs, and programs and activities designed specifically for special populations. Program regulations allow UB grantees, under certain conditions, to pay tuition for courses that will allow participants to complete a rigorous secondary school program of study and room and board for a residential summer instructional component. Regular UB and UBMS grantees may also provide such services as cultural or academic field trips, mentoring, work-study, or stipends. The Regular UB and UBMS stipends may not exceed $40 per month for the academic year component and may not exceed $60 per month for the three-month summer recess, except that youth participating in work-study may be paid $300 per month during the summer recess. Regular UB and UBMS stipends are for full-time, satisfactory participants only. VUB grantees may provide such services as short-term remedial or refresher courses, stipends, and assistance accessing veteran support services. The VUB stipend may not exceed $40 per month and is for full-time, satisfactory participants only.