The University of San Diego TRIO Upward Bound (UB) Program creates and facilitates an educational and multicultural learning community of first-generation college eligible and/or economically disadvantaged high school students from Kearny High Educational Complex in Linda Vista and Hoover High School in City Heights. In the academic year, UB provides 120 participants with tutoring, mentoring, intensive advising, cultural activities, and hands-on assistance with college admissions and financial aid applications. During the summer, UB invites 100 students for its summer residential component at USD. Through engaging in college prep coursework, students identify, explore, and develop their academic strengths, bond with college-minded peers, and immerse in and enjoy USD’s college-going culture.
Upward Bound provides fundamental support to participants in their preparation for college entrance. The program provides opportunities for participants to succeed in pre-college performance and higher education pursuits. Upward Bound aims to increase the rates at which participants complete secondary education, enroll in, and graduate from institutions of post-secondary education.
Operating since 1999, USD Upward Bound has received seven consecutive awards from the U.S. Department of Education totaling over $8.5M. Our program has met and exceeded its federally-mandated objectives, including a 100% participation rate in post-secondary education and over double the mandated post-secondary education completion rate during our 2022 Annual Performance Review.
History
Since 1966, an estimated 2 million TRIO students have graduated from college. More than 900 institutions across the nation now sponsor TRIO programs. USD TRIO Upward Bound began in October 1998 when Dr. Cynthia Villis, at that time an Associate Provost at USD, submitted a proposal to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education.
In May 1999 USD's The Rock, The River, The Tree... TRIO Upward Bound received an $800,000 grant award to provide academic instruction, advising, counseling, tutoring, and mentoring to 50 eligible students from Kearny High School. Since then, the program has a successful track record of continuation awards, to include: $938,496 (2003-2007), $1M (2007-2012), $1.25M (2012-2017), $1.46M (2017-2022), and most recently with $1.49M (2022-2027) to continue the work at Kearny High School in Linda Vista, and a new grant of $1.44M (2022-2027) to serve program participants at Hoover High School in City Heights, written by Dr. Cynthia Villis and Sou Fang.
A federal TRIO program, USD Upward Bound is funded by the U.S. Department of Education through a competitive grant competition.
Theme: The Rock, The River, The Tree
Students, families, and staff involved in USD Upward Bound engage in a highly motivational, relevant, challenging, and empowering curriculum which promotes a deeper personal and cross-cultural understanding through reflecting upon The Rock, The River, The Tree… and what each of these elements represents.
- Rock activities assess and enhance academic foundations, particularly writing and communication skills.
- River activities help students articulate the values they hold, and how those values influence self-esteem, aspirations, and behaviors.
- Tree activities help students' families to target a course for and encourage educational achievement, in a supportive network with other families, as well as strengthen students' membership in their community and global families, and increase cultural competency skills. We are all here to examine our place in life, the roots that keep us grounded, and the experiences that help us to grow and change.
Through the application of the core subjects, students identify, explore, and develop their personal and academic strengths. The summer residential component provides a safe, trusting learning environment that stresses a holistic concern for the social, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual well-being of the student. It also provides opportunities for individual and group empowerment as well as academic accomplishment.
The USD Upward Bound educational community provides students, their families, and staff with a sense of belonging and pride that empowers them throughout their lives.