The door to college is open for increasing numbers of students for whom adapting to college may be a great challenge (Kamphoff, Hutson, Amundsen, & Atwood, 2007). Hansen (1998) noted that the overall academic preparation level has declined for students entering college and that academic disengagement in college has increased among many students. The educational background of the parents has been shown to have a significant impact on a student's decision to attend college (Choy, 200). Many firs-generation students come from ethnic and educational backgrounds that historically have struggled with the educational system (Somers, Woodhouse, & Cofer, 2004). The purpose of the study was to determine if there is a relationship between students' parental educational background and selected academic and non-academic variables of entering college freshmen. The participants in this study were enrolled at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, a comprehensive public Midwestern research university, during academic years 2006-2008. Academic and non-academic factors were assessed to determine if differences existed between first-generation and non-first-generation students. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences versions 16.0 (SPSS 16.0) and Microsoft Excel 2007. Descriptive statistics were calculated to provide a general profile of the students. Descriptive data analyzed included demographic information, non-academic data (assessed using the Bryson Instrument for Noncognitive Assessment), and academic data (high school GPA and rank, ACT composite and subscores).

abstract: Incoming freshman at East Los Angeles College were struggling with successfully completing their first semester, leading to low rates of course success and retention. Students reported struggles with adapting to the culture of college, particularly with behaving like a college student and managing time. The purpose of this action research study was to determine if embedding a College Success Curriculum (CSC) into a required class would help students more successfully navigate the first semester. The CSC was embedded into the action-researcher's freshman composition class and covered the following concepts: appropriate classroom behavior, communication, time management, and organization. Quantitative data included retrospective pre-intervention and post-intervention survey data. Qualitative data included the researcher's journal and student-written journal entries. Findings from this study indicated that students learned to communicate via email and to prioritize their time, however, the CSC did not have a measurable effect on students’ behavior, time management, or organization. Course success and retention after receiving the CSC remained at previous years’ rates. There continues to be a need to assist freshmen students in these critical college skills, and perhaps adapt some of the strategies used in this project for future iterations. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2019

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / Transformations in education policy following the establishment of a democratic South Africa have resulted in a marked increase in first-generation students in the country’s higher education institutions. While broadening access to higher education certainly represents a positive shift, student success rates at South African higher education institutions are of great concern. The literature globally points to a wide range of challenges experienced by first-generation students that place them at risk of not completing their education. These include financial stress, poor social support, isolation and marginalisation, cultural adaptation challenges, and greater family and work responsibilities. There is, however, a significant gap in the South African literature pertaining to the challenges experienced by first-generation students.

In Fall semester 2021, Sherrod Library at ETSU provided the Personal Librarian (PL) program to First Generation and Transfer students. The PL contacts over 1600 students weekly by email, providing a newsletter with University and Library services. The PL also connected on a personal level with a YouTube video bi-monthly. The program was designed to build a relationship with the students so that they are comfortable asking for help and feel more confident in their ability to receive assistance.

First-generation students are frequently underrepresented minoritized (URM), low-income students (Douglas, 2019; Postsecondary National Policy Institute [PNPI], 2021). They are often highly motivated (Haney, 2020) but frequently experience unique or exacerbated challenges in post-secondary education (Moore et al., 2018; Soria et al., 2020). These challenges may continue into online spaces. In the first paper of this dissertation, we performed a scoping literature review and uniquely identified and categorized the challenges of these students in the online environment. We placed these challenges within the model of student engagement by Borup et al. (2020) to offer theoretical perspective for potentially better student support. In the second paper of this dissertation, we captured the experience of a partnership between a university and nonprofit organization, formed to improve the support of first-generation and URM undergraduate student success. Through semistructured interviews of eight university and nonprofit representatives, we found a reflection of best practices and student needs, as well as perspectives on how partnerships can collaboratively support student success. In the third paper of this dissertation, through semistructured interviews, we explored the perspectives of 12 first-generation and URM undergraduate students experiencing a unique set of supportive interventions. These student perspectives are essential to ensure not only that student support programs are optimal, but also to make certain that institutions avoid no-impact, low-impact, or even negative-impact interventions.

Utilizing the College Student Experiences Questionnaire(CSEQ), a regression analysis was run to identify the ways in which 95 Native American college students attending an elite,religious, predominantly White institution (PWI)interact with faculty. These interactions were used to predict correlations with the educational outcomes of (1) aspirations for graduate school, (2) GPA and (3) overall gains from college. The findings were further disaggregated by first-generation and continuing-generation status. The findings suggest that none of the faculty-student interactions or demographic variables were significantly correlated with aspirations for graduate school. Gender, class standing and age were significantly correlated with GPA. A better relationship with faculty members positively correlated with five of the estimate of gains, suggesting that the better a students' relationships with faculty, the greater their overall gains from college. The current study found that first-generation students did not socialize with a faculty member outside of class as much as continuing-generation students. However, this study found that first-generation students reported better relationships with faculty than continuing generation-students and being more willing than continuing-generation students to work harder as a result of feedback from an instructor. The findings identify faculty-student interactions that can lead to success in higher education for Native American college students, as well as understanding how these interactions compare or differ for first-generation and continuing-generation Native American college students.

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First generation students face significant challenges with respect to college enrollment (Choy, 2001) and remain disproportionately underrepresented in certain segments of American higher education particularly in graduate education (Callan, 2001). Among those individuals who shape the educational plans of first-generation students are their parents (Hossler & Stage, 1999; McDonough, 1997). Researchers operationalize parental influence as the transmission of various forms of capital (Bourdieu, 1977). The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between various forms of capital parents transmit to their children and graduate school aspirations of first generation and non-first generation students attending highly selective institutions. Three dimensions of capital were explored in this study: (a) human, (b) cultural, and (c) social. Additionally, this study was designed to determine whether there are differences in the degree of these forms of capital among groups classified by race, gender and institution type. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen (NLSF) (Massey et. al, 2003) which included a sample of Asian, Black, Hispanic and Caucasian first year, first generation and non-first generation students from 28 highly selective colleges and universities were used for this study. The findings suggest that human, cultural, and social capital transmitted to students by parents are marginally related to graduate school aspirations regardless of generation status. Also, graduate school aspirations differ by race/ethnicity and gender, but do not differ substantively between first generation and non-first generation students in this sample. Finally, the type of institution students attend does not relate to their graduate school aspirations. / Ph. D.

Due to immigration the non-Hispanic White population continues to decrease and the population continues to change in regard to the ethnic and racial make-up. As these demographic changes take place higher education institutions will face increasing pressure from stakeholders to create environments that facilitate degree completion among mounting numbers of populations who are at risk in terms of academic success. First generation status denotes one group of students who are at risk in terms of persistence towards a bachelor's degree. The purpose of this study was to examine what factors predict the academic success of first year, full-time first generation students. Furthermore, this study examined whether there is a relationship between race, gender, financial need, and language ability and factors used to predict the academic success of first generation students. Factors were defined as variables measured by the 2002 Your First College Year Survey (YFCY) data (HERI, 2004a). Factors fell into five main areas: Student Background Characteristics, Agents of Socialization, Structural Characteristics, Institutional Environment, and Student Effort (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991). The study was based on secondary analysis of the 2002 YFCY data provided by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. A combination of descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and logistic regression was used for this study. Findings revealed there are significant differences between academically more successful FGs and FGs who are academically less successful in relation to three factors: Institutional Environment, Student Effort, and Agents of Socialization. FGs are more likely to experience academic success in regard to variables associated with the factor Institutional Environment. There is a greater likelihood FGs will be academically less successful in relation to variables associated with the factors Student Effort and Agents of Socialization. When considering demographic variables in relation to the three significant institutional factors, FGs who are Asian American are more likely to experience academic success. Alternatively, FGs have greater odds of being academically less successful if they are male, African American, Mexican American, and non-native speakers of English. / Ph. D.