Transforming the First-Generation College Student Experience
Support first-generation college student success
This study will help you identify areas where you can better support the first-generation students on your campus.
Focusing on first-generation college students
As the number of first-generation students at four-year institutions grows, pressure to improve outcomes for this group also increases. Only 11% of first-generation college students graduate in six years. In contrast, 25% leave school after the first year. While the academic work is an adjustment for many students, the administrative barriers may be harder for first-generation students to overcome. Without parents or siblings who have attended college, first-generation students struggle to make sense of unfamiliar higher education jargon and processes.
In addition, there are social and emotional barriers. First-generation students find themselves surrounded by students from different economic backgrounds, who have grown up with parents and siblings in college. It can be difficult to identify other first-generation students or develop new campus-based networks of support. Faced with all of these challenges, first-generation students may wonder if they truly belong on campus.
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