Building on NASPA’s role as a leading advocate for public policy in support of students and the student affairs profession, the Center for First-generation Student Success amplifies those efforts by responding to ongoing and emerging policy issues that intersect with first-generation college student identities. First-generation success in higher education equates to generational change in families and economic change within communities and is an important consideration when acknowledging how issues affect first-generation students.
One of the Center’s strategic priorities is to be an advocate and thought leader for advancing critical first-generation student success conversations through national convenings, advocacy, and policy influence. Adopting the definition of “advocacy” as a range of activities that seek to bring about systemic social change through addressing the root causes and symptoms of existing social and economic problems (Alliance for Justice), the Center organizes its advocacy and policy work in three ways: raising awareness, engaging with public officials, and building partnerships.
