Upward Bound program to be terminated

An email sent to campus employees earlier this week announced that the Upward Bound Program would be ending in August 2027, due to CSB’s decision not to renew the federal grant that funds it.

The Upward Bound program is a federally funded college access initiative that has been hosted by St. Bens since 1995.

The program operates through the federal TRIO program, which provides outreach and support services to over 800,000 low-income, first-generation students across the country.

The TRIO program provides grant money to institutions nationwide to encourage and enable these students to attend college.

Host schools for TRIO programs are facing funding problems all over the country.

The Trump administration has cut TRIO funding for some colleges and has proposed eliminating TRIO altogether, as part of the administration’s efforts to go after diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in higher education, according to an article in the Hechinger Report, a nonprofit covering education.

Over the 30 years the Upward Bound program has existed at CSB, more than 500 participating students completed the program and attended college.

Upward Bound Program Director Alexandra Scheibelhut said she was disappointed in the decision, especially because of the program’s results.

“Our program really works. If you look at the outcomes of our population of students compared to the same population that don’t get our services, our students perform almost three times better,” Scheibelhut said.

The Upward Bound Program hosted by St. Ben’s currently serves 64 first-generation, low-income high school students from around central Minnesota.

The federal grant total of $357,000 is split between salaries of the director, two full- time advisors, five teachers, and 14 student employees (CSB+SJU students), programing, supplies and direct spending for the students, which is housing and food costs for the summer program.

With the cancellation of the grant, Scheibelhut said the most immediate impact will be felt by those currently working for or participating in the program.

“Three people will be out of the job. 64 hearts are going to be broken; 70% of those kids said that this program is lifesaving. I’m worried about the well-being of at least a handful of them,” Scheibelhut said.

Of the federal grant, 8% is discretionary, meaning CSB can choose what to do with the funds.

Historically, 4% of these discretionary funds have been returned into the program to support additional programming, according to Scheibelhut.

This year, CSB decided to stop returning the discretionary 4% of the $357,000 grant. In response, a grievance letter was sent to CSB Senior Leadership on behalf of
the Upward Bound program in December to request a reinstatement of 4-8% of those funds back into the program.

“That 4% is the difference between us being able to sustain the program and us not. When I heard the news that we wouldn’t be getting that 4% back, that’s what prompted me, on behalf of the department, to send a grievance to leadership,” Scheibelhut said.

A letter response to the original grievance from several administration members wrote that the 4-8% discretionary funding would not be returned, and CSB+SJU would not submit any renewal applications for the full grant, ending the program at the end of the grant cycle in August 2027.

The letter cited “increasing financial constraints, including enrollment pressures and uncertainty in federal and state funding” as a primary reason for changing priorities that led to the decision.

In response to questions from The Record about the further process and reasoning behind the decision to end the program, Michael Hemmesch, CSB+SJU’s Director
of Public Relations, responded on behalf of Chief Operating Officer Kara Kolomitz.

He referred The Record to the original announcement sent to staff members on Tuesday morning, which said, “this decision was made thoughtfully and reflects our commitment to aligning programs with the evolving needs of our students and our long‑term strategic goals. It does not diminish the tremendous value Upward Bound has brought to our campus or the positive impact it has had on the students we serve… For the remainder of the current grant period…we remain committed to providing support for the students in the program and to ensuring they continue to have access to the guidance, mentoring and opportunities that help them thrive.”

Scheibelhut said she is unsure about how this decision will impact both the schools and the larger community after the program concludes.

“We’re losing access to a nationwide network of professionals and students who are passionate about going to college and who historically have not had the most
access. So, St. Ben’s is going to lose out on a lot of enrollment aspects,” she said. “Central Minnesota is going to miss out on a more enhanced workforce. Studies have shown that the TRIO grants work in such a way where one federal dollar invested will generate $13 in that community, and that just has to do with students getting degrees and then paying more in taxes — so there’s a benefit to the local economy.”