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Walking in the Dark: the Plight of First Generation StudentsJeff Burdick (Clovis Community College)Carolyn Holcroft (Foothill College)Cynthia Rico (San Diego Mesa College)James Todd (Modesto Junior College)
First Generation Students in CCCs
• “Student whose parents have no college experience”• CCCCO Survey Summer
‘12 – Spring ’14• College admission
application, “highest level of education that parents/guardians obtained”• N = 798,708 students
http://extranet.cccco.edu/Portals/1/TRIS/Research/Analysis/First-Generation%20Students%20in%20the%20California%20Community%20College%20System.pdf
Nonfirst generation:
60%
First generation:
40%
Snapshot of CCC First Gen StudentsGender of First-Generation Status
Gender
First Generation Status
TotalFirst Generation Nonfirst
Generation
Female 56% 52% 54%
Male 44% 48% 46%
• Take-aways:• First gen students
slightly more likely to be female• Very little
difference in age
http://extranet.cccco.edu/Portals/1/TRIS/Research/Analysis/First-Generation%20Students%20in%20the%20California%20Community%20College%20System.pdf
Gender of First-Generation Status
Median Age (years)
First generation 26.7
Nonfirst generation 25.9
Snapshot of CCC First Gen Students
Pell Grant Award of First-Generation Status
Pell Grant
First Generation StatusTotal
First Generation
Nonfirst Generation
No 79% 88% 84%
Yes 21% 12% 16%
• Takeaway:• Only 84% of
students took Pell grants• More Pell grant
recipients were first generation students
http://extranet.cccco.edu/Portals/1/TRIS/Research/Analysis/First-Generation%20Students%20in%20the%20California%20Community%20College%20System.pdf
Race – Ethnicity of First – Generation Status
(*self-identified)
• Higher percentage of Hispanic students in first-gen group than non-firstgen
• Higher percentage of white, Asian, & multi-race in nonfirst gen group
Course Placement, Success and Persistence By First Generation Status
Summer 2012 Through Spring 2014
So what did you hear, see and not hear?
Let’s change our thinking – and our language
• To many institutions, that’s the mindset: they are going to fail, and it is our job to stop that failure.
Instead,
• Institutional planning should be built on affirmations and should be directed toward student success.
“Underprepared, clueless, lost, and lacking skills.”
“Brave enough to enter the strange new world of college. Eager. Greedy for knowledge. Willing to risk failure to be successful. Working. Sacrificing. Representing their family’s hopes. Striving toward dreams.”
I can do this.
• For me, college is possible
• I’m ready for college
• I have a dream, and my family has my back
• Really? I can afford this?
• Sign me up!
I’m here: now what?
• It’s a big place.
What can local Senates do• Though not required, collect and report
first gen status data in Student Equity Plans• Invite panels of first generation students to
get a sense of local issues•Model the use of affirmative attitude and
growth mindset language
What can local Senates do• Students feel they are navigating the college system all
alone.
Students need materials and not just verbal reminders• Senators can help change the mindset that student support
is the job of “student services”:• be familiar with available support services and resources, help other
faculty become familiar • Participate in writing/revising your campus SSSP Plan.
• Most support services needed by first generation students are included in this plan.
• Provide cross disciplinary input on orientation programs• Assist with ongoing analysis of SSSP plan components
• assist with development of handouts or syllabus inserts with resources many first generation students will need, and model their use in their own classrooms…
The Rose That Grew from Concrete
“Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete? Proving nature's laws wrong, it learned to walk without having feet. Funny, it seems to by keeping its dreams; it learned to breathe fresh air. Long live the rose that grew from concrete when
no one else even cared.” ― Tupac Shakur, The Rose That Grew from Concrete
Sources• Engle, Jennifer, Adolfo Bermeo, and Colleen O’Brien. “Straight
from the Source: What Works For First-Generation College Students.” The Pell Institute for the study of opportunity in Higher Education. December 2006.
• Everett, Julia Brookshire. “Public Community Colleges: Creating Access and Opportunities for First-Generation Students.” Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin. Spring 2015.
• Macias, Louis V. “Choosing Success: A Paradigm for Empowering First-Generation College Students.” About Campus. November-December, 2013.
• Tucker, Geri Coleman. “First Generation.” Chronicle of Higher Education. March 7, 2014.
• First Generation Students in the California Community College System: 2014 Research Brief
