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Welcome to the Arkansas Association of Student Assistance Programs (AASAP), the state organization of the U.S. Department of Education TRIO Programs.
TRIO programs provide educational opportunities for first-generation, low income and students with disabilities. AASAP members are passionate about helping students meet their potential and achieve their goals.
TRIO had its genesis in the Title IV Higher Education Act of 1965 which came about as a result of President Lyndon B. Johnson's "War on Poverty." The authorizing statute for the TRIO Programs provided that, in general, these programs were intended to identify qualified disadvantaged individuals, prepare these identified individuals for post-secondary education, provide special services for these qualified individuals who are currently pursuing post-secondary education, and train persons who were providing or would provide services under these various programs.
From Arkansas, John Phillips, Upward Bound Director at Philander Smith College, and Dr. Ted Elliott, Upward Bound Director at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, served as the leaders for AASAP's beginning in 1971. The primary purpose of AASAP was to improve communications between project directors and staff of student assistance programs in Arkansas.
