Dive Brief:
- It is incumbent upon higher education institutions to take the unique challenges facing first-generation applicants to colleges and universities into proper context, Smith College President Kathleen McCartney writes in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
- McCartney said schools should consider that first-generation applicants may not have had the opportunity for SAT prep or a guidance counselor in their schools, advising that colleges consider alternate means of evaluation for students.
- McCartney also cautioned that potential federal budget cuts proposed by President Donald Trump could cut programs that eased the transition into higher education for first-generation college students.
Dive Insight:
About 90% of lower-income first-generation college students do not graduate on time. As colleges and universities work to make inroads in low-income communities and strive to find better metrics for judging first-generation applicants, higher ed institutions must ensure support systems are in place throughout those students’ college lifecycles to offer a better chance at graduation. Colleges must make sure that they do not focus solely on enrollment success, but track that students are receiving degrees that serve their professional ambitions.
Last summer, Brown University opened a First-Generation College and Low Income Student Center to service the needs of first-generation students. The center included graduate and undergraduate coordinators, and the establishment of a physical, staffed venue for enrollees facing the unique challenges of being first-generation students is something other schools could emulate. Without parents who had previously attained a degree and undergone the process, such students may have difficulty locating elders who can listen to their concerns and properly advise them. A center like Brown’s establishes a space created for just that purpose.