This dissertation explores one white working-class family’s hopes, fears, illusions, and tensions related to social mobility. I tell stories from my experiences as a first-generation college student, including: ethnographic fieldwork; interviews with my family, community members, and former teachers; and narratives from other working-class academics to provide an in-depth, evocative, and relational look at mobility. I explore the roots of vulnerability in my family and how I was socialized into understanding belonging and worthiness in particular ways, and how this socialization influences my feelings of belonging and worthiness in the academy. The goal of this research is bridging – past and present selves, working-class and academic cultures, work and family – for me and my family and other first-generation students and their families.

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Charles R. Oaklief / This study investigated the strengths and weaknesses of the McNair program at the three Kansas Regents institutions. The population included 259 former McNair program participants from Kansas State University (KSU), the University of Kansas (KU), and Wichita State University (WSU) who graduated with baccalaureate degrees between 1996 and 2004. These alumni were asked to complete a two- part survey. Part one collected data on McNair alumni perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of the program on a thirty-three item, five-point Likert scale. Additionally, part one collected data on McNair alumni recommendations regarding the amount of emphasis that should be placed on program services and activities. Next, part two collected selected demographics. This provided useful data to examine how selected demographics relate to program perceptions. One hundred and thirty-seven of the 259 McNair alumni completed the survey. Overall, the results of the data suggested that they perceived the services and activities to be more of a strength than a weakness. Also, the recorded comments by the alumni indicated that their experiences as McNair scholars were positive. McNair scholar alumni recommended providing more assistance with how to interview prospective faculty mentors, obtain financial assistance, and stay abreast of resources that would increase the number of McNair scholars enrolling in graduate school and completing a graduate degree. Further study is recommended to survey McNair alumni who have completed doctoral degrees regarding the need for services that would help strengthen areas that were perceived to be weaker than others. These areas include “Enrollment in a Graduate School Program Leading to a Doctorate Degree” and “Selecting and Working With a Faculty Mentor”. Additionally, further study is recommended to investigate how alumni differ in their perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of the McNair Program by major field of study.

ABSTRACT First-generation college students earn college degrees in the United States at much lower rates when compared to non-first-generation college students. These students frequently face different challenges accessing and completing college degrees than those encountered by their peers with college-educated parents. A key challenge for institutions of higher education (IHE) is to develop effective policies, programs, and resources that support college completion among first generation college students. First-generation students are far from a homogenous group. Rather, they exist on a spectrum of familial experiences with higher education. For instance, important differences may exist between students who have a parent who did not complete high school and those that have some college, or even postsecondary graduate education experience. Students’ familiarity with higher education institutions and processes, as well as their social networks and family resources greatly influences first-generation college students’ success in college. Yet, typically, first-generation college students are broadly defined as students whose parents did not earn a college degree. This definition fails to acknowledge potentially meaningful differences in student backgrounds. Moving forward, developing definitions for first-generation college students that more clearly describe their parents’ educational backgrounds holds promise for improving higher education institutions’ abilities to better align their support efforts with student needs. This study takes first steps to explore the application of alternative ways of defining first-generation college students, as well as understanding how IHEs currently identify first-generation college students at the point of admissions and track students once they matriculate. Specifically, in this dissertation I developed a typology of possible definitions for identifying first-generation college students. Subsequently, I conducted a national survey of public, four-year, baccalaureate degree-granting IHEs where I applied this typology to better understand institutional policies and practices for identifying and tracking first-generation college students. The study’s findings show that IHEs tend to adopt one of two general definitions for first-generation college student. The first definition does not take into account whether or not students’ parents participated in higher education, while the second lumps together students with and without parents with any exposure to college, but without a college degree. The processes and IHE administrative offices used to track first-generation college students from matriculation to graduation is institutional specific and not uniform across IHEs. The analysis shows that many IHEs are trying to identify and support first-generation college students. However, differences in definitions used by institutions poses challenges for the field, at large, in its efforts to understand the needs of this group of students, as well as makes it difficult for institutions to align supports and services with student needs. Taken together, this exploratory study raises important questions for policymakers and educational leaders who are interested in expanding college access and success for first-generation college students.

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With the demographics of the United States changing at a rapid rate, a greater percentage of the population identifies as first-generation college students (National Center for Education Statistics, 2016). Much of the literature available around first generation college students focuses on deficits in this population, noting lower retention and graduate rates compared to their non-first generation peers. The literature notes not having exposure to pre-existing knowledge around the college experience, given they are the first in their families to pursue postsecondary education, is a strong contributor to these poor outcomes (Cataldi et al, 2018; Collier & Morgan, 2008; O’Shea, 2016; Stephens et al, 2012). Next steps, however, require university administrators to view this population from a lens of opportunity and strengths to focus on how institutions can empower this group (Macia, 2013). In spite of the challenges faced, first generation college students have persevered and are seeking additional opportunities for educational advancement, requiring administrators to rewrite the deficit narrative in the literature and focus on how to empower first generation college students to persist and ultimately graduate. With more first generation college students seeking postsecondary education than ever before, universities need to adapt to the changing needs of the students enrolling in their programs and seek ways to build social capital in these students, which has been proven to promote self-efficacy, goal setting, and academic success, and ultimately higher retention rates (Fosnacht et al., 2017; Lotkowski et al., 2004; Tinto, 2007; Vander Schee, 2007; Young-Jones at al., 2013). Given the literature points to a strong connection between students building relationships with academic advisors and higher rates of retention and graduation, universities should focus on the professional development opportunities provided to advisors (Bettinger & Baker, 2014; Fosnacht et al, 2017; Mau & Fosnacht, 2019; Molina & Abelman, 2000; Swecker et al, 2013). This research focuses on a survey of 108 academic advisors across the mid-Atlantic region, including two-year and four-year institutions, both public and private as well those only granting bachelor degrees all the way up to those doctoral granting institutions. The 35 question survey was broken into three parts. Part one focused on utilizing the Mentoring Competency Survey, developed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to understand the development of key competencies related to mentorship, including maintain effective communication, aligning expectations, assessing understanding, fostering independence, addressing diversity, and promoting professional development (Fleming et al., 2013; University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2018). Part two focused on demographic questions taken from the 2011 NACADA National Survey These questions focused specifically on the advisor’s size of the home institution, understanding the advisor’s role (department-level, school-level or university-level), highest degree attained, and types of professional development available to the advisor (National Academic Advising Association Clearinghouse, 2017). The third section asked for general confidence ratings in working with first generation college students versus non-first generation college students and years of service. The survey results noted a general lack of professional development being provided to this population related to the needs of first-generation college students. Most reported minimal to no professional development opportunities in this area and those that did report noted limitation to the events, such as being one day workshops. Of those that reported more professional development opportunities around first generation college student, significant positive correlations for higher levels of confidence in working with this group were associated with having regularly scheduled meetings and out of office staff retreats that focused on first generation college student issues. Respondents also noted that having a series of workshops about general topics also boosted their confidence in working with first generation college students, which highlights the importance of complementing a professional development portfolio with information based on key content related to specific groups as well as generalized professional development that speaks best practices in the profession. Data from this survey promotes key ideas for future next steps, such as hiring and retention practices for academic advisors, setting professional development standards, utilizing competencies for professional growth and career advancement, and creating buy-in with students. Example and implementation ideas are also included for next-step planning. / Educational Administration

As a growing number of higher education institutions commit to first-generation student success, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers should aim to better understand how to deliver on promises to first-generation students within institutions and across the higher education landscape. First-generation students are a particularly important population of study due to their heterogeneity and because they comprise a large and growing share of current college-going or college-ready students. It is also important to understand how different types of institutions are supporting first-generation students, as institutional diversity is a hallmark of American higher education. This qualitative multiple case study investigates three diverse institutions—a comprehensive regional public university, a moderately selective private liberal arts college, and an elite historically Black college—and their unique approaches to enacting a stated commitment to first-generation student success. Through document analysis, interviews, and site visits, this study explores how policies and practices relate to this commitment; which institutional stakeholders are engaged in promoting first-generation student success; how institutions define, support, and measure first-generation student success; and whether enacted commitments to first-generation student success inform a broader culture of student success. In addition to investigating institutional perspectives, this study considers how first-generation students experience and perceive their institution’s efforts and explores alignments or misalignments between these two perspectives. Findings offer new insights into how distinct types of institutions—types underrepresented in research on student success—approach first-generation student success and contribute to a growing literature that takes an asset-focused, intersectional approach to understanding the experiences of first-generation students. Findings suggest that the first-generation identity, when understood in concert with students’ other identities, helps students make meaning of their college experiences. Explicitly recognizing first-generation students as a population—including by disaggregating institutional data on first-generation students—helps to ensure that institutions design programs, supports and initiatives that meet the specific needs of this population. Additionally, findings suggest that constituents—including students—across institutional contexts play important roles as cultural navigators for first-generation students and may serve as change agents who can help identify and resolve disconnects between institutional decisions and students’ experiences. Finally, the analysis suggests that approaches to student success can be rooted in an institution’s distinct culture, but institutions must work toward a holistic understanding of students’ identities, needs, and goals and dismantle biased or hegemonic practices that obscure and reinforce inequitable outcomes. / Policy, Organizational and Leadership Studies

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