About the Webconference
The first step to creating a welcoming culture for students starts with their first step on campus. Feeling included is especially important for low-income, first-generation students, who comprise more than 25% of undergraduates at four-year institutions.
Institutions have put a lot of thought into helping students navigate and ultimately, adjust to their new environments on campus. However, a second component of this transition is often overlooked. As students get oriented to their new reality on campus, it can create a disconnect with their parents and families back home. There has been a wave of articles chronicling how first-generation college students struggle to communicate with their parents about what they are going through on campus. At the same time, first-generation college students’ parents are often very eager to support their students, but don’t know how. Many times, they do not know what resources are available on campus, that they are free, or understand that needing to ask for help is common.
There are many student populations who come together on campus to share experiences and be a support network for each other. Minority students, international students, and athletes are easily identified by one another, which makes connecting easy. First-generation status, on the other hand, has no external characteristics and is sometimes unknown, even to the students themselves. This is not surprising when we consider the diversity within this group. While some students will be the first in their family to access any post-secondary education at all, others may have parents with two-year degrees or siblings in college. Though these students may share many of the same challenges and benefit from connecting, it is not easy to identify each other or the resources meant for them.
You can support their success by easing campus navigation, building space for students to come together, and more. This webconference will explore key areas of support crucial to impacting the success of first generation college students.
Part two of the webconference series
Rethinking Student Engagement and Career Development Initiatives On-Demand Webconference
Hear how to increase student involvement on campus and improve post-graduation success by making professional networks more accessible to first-generation students.
