March 2, 2022
First-Generation Student Success
By Elliot Felix
The definition of what it means to be a first-generation student is complex – it can include students without a parent or guardian who attended college or without one who graduated from college. Using these two definitions, 33% of students are the first in their family to attend college and 56% of students come from families whose parents didn’t graduate from college.
In my book, How to Get the Most Out of College, I devote a chapter to each of several specific student identities in the hopes of providing students and families information and advice on how to create the college experience that works best for them.
One of the chapters focuses on the first-generation student experience and success. In this post, I’ll share insights from the book that colleges and universities can recommend to their first-generation students to help them learn, belong, grow, and succeed.
For this chapter, I spoke with Deana Waintraub Stafford, Director of NASPA’s Center for First-Generation Student Success and this conversation, along with my research, and interviews with first-gen students developed into the tips in the chapter. Among all her great observations and advice, Stafford noted:
“The ‘hidden curriculum’ is what colleges and universities expect everyone knows – that you go to office hours to speak with a professor or instructor – but first-generation students encounter barriers in the jargon, like knowing what office hours are and how/when to utilize them.”
– Deana Waintraub Stafford, Director of NASPA’s Center for First-Generation Student Success
What Colleges and Universities Can Do to Meet the Needs of First- Generation Students
Of course, all schools accept first-gen students, but not all are truly prepared to help them be successful. To provide an overview of what colleges and universities can do to enable first-gen student success, I’ll build on a previous post on this topic. This starts with a student-centered mindset so colleges strive to become “student-ready” instead of bemoaning students who aren’t “college-ready.” Then, they should focus on building community and a sense of belonging for first-gen students, starting at orientation (or even before!) and continuing to graduation and beyond. Institutions can look for ways to make the services that support students more visible and accessible by bringing them together into “one-stop-shops” and normalizing getting help, especially for services like success coaching, tutoring, writing, data, and advising. They can build on this by supporting the kinds of class projects that tap into students passions and provide them opportunities to identify and explore career paths. Having a First-Generation Student Center, offering a special orientation session for first-gen students and families, being listed as first-gen-friendly on ranking and review sites, and recognition through programs such as NASPA’s “First-Gen Forward” are all good signs.
What First-Generation Students Can Do to Take Advantage of What Colleges and Universities Offer
Based on Stafford’s advice, our research, and my interviews with first-gen students, here are five tips that colleges and universities can recommend to their with first-gen students to be successful:
1. Prepare for how family roles and availability may change. Many first-gen students play important roles in their family life;, such as, caring for elderly relatives, translating at appointments, babysitting, or contributing to the family income. Once classes begin, first-gens may not be able to fulfill the same family duties as they did before. Students need to set reasonable boundaries and expectations with their families before they can become an issue and stick to them if they do. Encourage students to involve important family members, such as parents or guardians, in orientation or other introductory activities so that they get a better idea of what academic life will be like, and changes to when and how students will be available.
“Don’t allow family pressure to get to you. They are proud. You are feeling guilty for leaving them behind. If you tell them you are stressed, the response of ‘You got this. You’re making us proud. You’re making a path’ doesn’t help – it’s more pressure. So, remember you are doing it yourself.”
– First-generation Student
2. Use the first-generation student center or office. Often, colleges and universities group their support systems and resources for distinct student groups into centers or offices. A First-Gen Student Center may have tutoring, counseling, or support groups available that speak directly to the needs of first-generation students. Staff there likely have resources such as scholarships and extra courses that may help student do their best. As students progress, Centers can also be a way to give back and help other first-gen students because they are often opportunities for students to identify and deliver programs, especially since their in the best position to know what helped them and what was missing. Perhaps a workshop on asking for help would have made all the difference?
3. Seek out resources to learn the “hidden curriculum.” The college experience isn’t all just class-related facts. There are a million tiny details necessary to navigate class schedules, grading systems, professor-student relationships, and other aspects of higher learning. There’s a lot of jargon too, like how “R” stands for Thursday on the course schedule. First-gen may already starting out with less knowledge of how school works than many of your peers if these informal aspects of college haven’t been learned from parents. It’s important to be proactive about seeking out advisors, mentors, and friends who can help students learn the ropes and even level the playing field with their peers who have more direct parental guidance.
“I learned this stuff on the go. I signed up for community college the Friday before my classes started so I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare. I got familiar with the campus and the student portal. Orientation helps but no one is going to tell you everything you need to know, like what does R mean? Why is that Thursday? At first I made the mistake of not asking questions. I wish I I learned about counselors, enrollment services, and financial aid earlier. They are not going to judge you.”
– First-generation Student
4. Get involved to create a sense of belonging. In brightspot’s surveys, we see that first-generation students experience, on average, a 10% lower sense of belonging than students on average. They may feel like the odd one out or battle imposter syndrome. Some even experience a type of “survivors’ guilt” for taking this next step when others couldn’t. First-gens can set themselves up for success by being open to processing these feelings and affirming how they earned their place at your school and the opportunity to learn, grow, and belong. They can find healthy ways to deal with these emotions, like peer groups and mentors which act as a support system that encourages their efforts.
5. Remember college is a team sport. First-generation college students are often accustomed to being a one-person team and blazing their own trail. Perhaps even taking great pride in being able to do it all alone. Doing everything on their own could mean missing out on important resources and opportunities that could lead to a more successful or more enjoyable college experience. For example, first-generation college students in their first year of college are 54% less likely to access student health services. First-gen students may not even know of all the resources available, and this awareness and comfort using them can come from peer support and advisor encouragement.
“I think we all question if things aren’t going well or you are lost. But this is part of the process. People around us are in the same boat. Everyone struggles as well. Questioning is a good thing.”
– First-generation Student
It’s important for colleges and universities to remember that by offering a multitude of resources, institutions can make the experience a little less daunting for first-gen students.
For additional ways to improve your student experience, learn about other common student experience challenges and brightspot’s proven strategies for addressing these challenges based on our conversations with 50+ colleges and universities.