Minnesota State Mankato TRIO programs Receive Grants from U.S. Department of Education
Mankato, Minn. – The U.S. Department of Education recently awarded the Educational Talent Search program at Minnesota State University, Mankato $1.735 million in funding for the five-year grant cycle that began Sept. 1, ensuring students throughout south central Minnesota have access to educational guidance, college and career exploration and resources that support success after high school.
The new grant provides $347,000 annually over the five-year cycle for the program at MSU, which serves 694 students from sixth through 12th grade.
Educational Talent Search, which has been housed on the Minnesota State Mankato campus since 1985, will continue services at 13 schools in southern Minnesota: Blue Earth Area; Butterfield-Odin; Fairmont; Madelia; Mankato East; Maple River; Mountain Lake; New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva; Prairie Winds; Sleepy Eye; Saint James; Truman; and United South Central. The new grant also expands services to Waseca junior and senior high schools.
Educational Talent Search, a Federal TRIO program, is specifically designed to serve students who are from first generation and/or low-income families by assisting them in successfully completing high school and entering a program of postsecondary education.
The program serves students and families and focuses on academic success as well as career and college readiness.
Minnesota State Mankato is one of just two colleges or universities in Minnesota with Educational Talent Search programs that are scheduled to receive funding beyond the 2026-2027 academic year. The other is the College of St. Scholastica (located in Duluth, Minnesota).
For more information on Educational Talent Search at Minnesota State Mankato, please contact Katy Clay, interim director, by phone at 507-389-5175 or send an email to ets@mnsu.edu.
Student Support Services at MSU in second year of renewed grant funding
Minnesota State Mankato’s long history of providing TRIO programming also includes hosting Upward Bound and Student Support Services in addition to Educational Talent Search. Together, the programs support students at different stages of their educational journey and reinforce the University’s commitment to expanding educational access and helping students achieve their academic and career goals.
The Student Support Services program at Minnesota State Mankato was selected by the U.S. Department of Education to receive a five-year grant worth more than $1.99 million beginning Sept. 1, 2025. The current five-year grant, which provides nearly $400,000 annually, is now in its second year at MSU.
The Student Support Services program at Minnesota State Mankato originally received funding in 1990. The program serves 175 students per year at MSU. Student Support Services programs were first funded nationally in 1969 as one of the eight federal TRIO programs authorized by the Higher Education Act to help college students succeed in higher education.
The purpose of the Student Support Services is to provide academic and other support services to low-income or first-generation college students or college students with disabilities to increase students’ retention and graduation rates, facilitate their transfer from two-year to four-year colleges, and foster an institutional climate supportive of the success of low-income and first generation college students and individuals with disabilities.
For more information on Student Support Services at Minnesota State Mankato, please contact Margaret Hesser, director, by phone at 507-389-2797 or by email at margaret.hesser@mnsu.edu.
Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 14,958 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 26 colleges and seven universities.
