Open Door Project awarded $2.5 million from U.S. Department of Education

Tidewater Community College has been awarded $2,507,555 for its Open Door Project, a U.S. Department of Education TRIO program that provides support services for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, including low-income individuals, first-generation college students and individuals with disabilities.

The Open Door Project TRIO grant has been renewed for five years. The program began at the college in 1997. This is the first time the college has received two separate grants to serve each campus with $281,511 in funding going to the Norfolk Campus and $220,000 for the Portsmouth Campus each year.

“The refunding of the Open Door Project on the Norfolk and Portsmouth campuses is very good news,” said Kay Williams, program director. “It allows us to continue to provide intense support services to underprepared and underrepresented students who need additional guidance and assistance to successfully complete a certificate or degree program at TCC.”

Open Door Project services include academic, career and financial advising, as well as tutoring, cultural development and the loan of laptops and calculators.

The goal of the program is to help participants improve academic performance, stay in college, graduate from TCC and transfer to a four-year college or university.