Educational Opportunity Center

The Educational Opportunity Center (EOC), funded by the U.S. Department of Education, is a TRIO program dedicated to helping individuals plan the education and training they need to move up in life, specifically the admissions and financial aid processes to enable them to enroll in the college, university or vocational school of their choice.

TRIO EOC Mission Statement:

TRIO EOC assists clients in Anderson, Cherokee, Henderson, Smith, Van Zandt, and Wood Counties with the processes necessary to gain access to post-secondary education.

TRIO EOC Objectives:

The EOC program will meet the following grant objectives:

• 20% of participants served during the project year who did not have a secondary school diploma or its equivalent at the time of the first service in the project year will receive a secondary school diploma or its equivalent during the project year.
• 45% of participants served during the project year who are not already enrolled in a post-secondary education program and who: 1) are high school seniors; 2) are high school graduates; 3) have obtained a high school equivalency certificate, will apply for financial aid during the project year.
• 55% of participants served during the project year who are not already enrolled in a post-secondary education program and who: 1) are high school seniors; 2) are high school graduates; or 3) have obtained a high school equivalency certificate, will apply for college admission during the project year.
• 50% of participants who graduate from secondary schools and are not already enrolled in a post-secondary education program will enroll in a post-secondary education program immediately following participation in an EOC program or will have received notification, by the fall semester, of acceptance by deferred enrollment until the next academic semester (e.g. spring semester).

Students who apply for assistance with the TRIO EOC program must be:

• A U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident, as defined below:
  • US Citizen
  • US National (includes natives of American Samoa or Swain's Island)
  • Permanent Resident (U.S. permanent resident who has an I-151, I-551, or I-551C)
  • Eligible Non-Citizen (Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service)
  • Not eligible are holders of student visas (F1, F2, J1, and J-2 Visas)

Each applicant must fall under one or more of three primary eligibility criteria:

1. First-Generation Criteria
   Applying as a "first-generation” for the EOC program means:
   • Neither your natural or adoptive parents received a baccalaureate four degree.