About Upward Bound

Helping students achieve their Hopes and Dreams

History of Upward Bound

Upward Bound is a federally-funded TRIO Program. TRIO is a collection of eight educational opportunity programs funded by the United States Department of Education. The initial, four-year Upward Bound grant came to Missouri State University in September of 2003 and has continously been serving students since. The program is funded to serve 54 high school students from Central, Hillcrest and Parkview High Schools in the Springfield Public School District. 

Central_logo            Hillcrest logo            Parkview logo

Our Mission

Our mission is to equip students with the knowledge, confidence, skills, and resources to exceed their academic potential and become contributing members of society. The Missouri State University TRIO Upward Bound Program empowers students from diverse backgrounds to achieve academic success, fostering the skills and motivation needed for high school graduation, post-secondary enrollment, and degree completion. We foster a supportive learning environment that promotes student engagement, involvement, and academic excellence. Through partnerships with educational institutions, community organizations, and public affairs entities, we strive to increase student retention and graduation rates. 

Nationwide, there are 967 Upward Bound projects serving more than 70,900 students.

There are several other TRIO programs funded through the United States Department of Education. They include:

  • Upward Bound Math & Science (UBMS) and Veterans Upward Bound (VUB) – programs similar to this UB program, except that the UBMS program focuses on Math and Science and the VUB is for Veterans.
  • Student Support Services (SSS) – a program that assists first-generation, low income and/or disabled students gain skills necessary to persist through college.
  • Talent Search – a program that provides college preparation information to students in grades 6-12.
  • Educational Opportunity Centers – a program that provides school re-entry assistance to students who have dropped out.
  • Training Program for Federal TRIO Programs Staff
  • McNair Scholars Program – a program providing assistance to college students planning to attend graduate school.

You can find more information about the TRIO programs at the Council for Opportunity in Education or U.S. Department of Education websites, www.coenet.us and www.ed.gov, respectively.

The TRIO Upward Bound Program is 100% funded by the US Department of Education. The program is fullly funded at $1,511,226.00 for 2022-2027.