Building Relationships with Faculty: Debunking the Myths

It has become an increasing challenge for first-generation students to build relationships with faculty. Many students express feelings of intimidation, fear and anxiety when it comes to speaking to their professors. Oftentimes, this leads to a decreased sense of belonging, poor class performance and can impact student retention.

Access Barnard seeks to leverage the resources of the College and New York City as a whole to support first-generation students as they navigate the higher education system. Access Barnard offers many resources and intentional based programming to support first-generation students. To ensure a gradual acclimation to the college experience we designed and implemented a 3-week summer pre-orientation program. Throughout the summer pre-orientation program first-generation students will:

• Learn more about Barnard resources to assist in their transition to college and throughout their time at Barnard
• Meet other first-year students who identify as first-generation and/or low-income
• Attend community building programming led by current sophomore, junior, and senior-level students
• Interact with faculty, and administrators ready to orient them to college life, Barnard, and New York City

Students also participated in a series of introductory hidden curriculum workshops to assist them with the transition from high school to college. Our workshops focused on being a successful college student, navigating the transition from high school to college, anatomy of a college campus, and lastly building relationships with faculty. In efforts to keep the momentum going, we have continued our efforts in offering a series of hidden curriculum workshops throughout the academic year.

Access Barnard has proudly launched student-faculty mixers during the 2022-2023 academic year. The goal of the mixers is to foster outside of classroom interactions between students and faculty. Additionally, the format of the mixer provides a casual environment where students and faculty can have meaningful dialogue. Research shows that positive teacher and student relationships enhance nearly every aspect of academic success. Students are likely to attend class, get higher grades and graduate when they know and are cared for by their professions. First-generation college students are more likely to seek support from their professors when they have forged positive relationships.

Access Barnard launched an inaugural student-faculty mixer this October, which included six faculty from various academic disciplines. The mixer took place within the comfort of the Access Barnard student lounge. We offered a selection of hor d'oeuvres and refreshments were provided for all participants. Access Barnard staff welcomed all faculty to the space and proceeded with introductions. Students were asked to share their name, major and hometown. The mixer began with casual conversation among students and faculty to help break the ice. We then shifted the conversation to debunking myths that students might have about faculty. Examples of myths we discussed during the event included:

• College professors are unapproachable and do not enjoy holding office hours
• Professors do not care if you fail it is all on you
• College professors do not accept late assignments
• If a professor finds out I am struggling in their class they will tell me to drop it
• College professors are more concerned with their research than teaching

In summary, students and faculty had an honest and candid conversation about the role of the professors and the mutual expectations to uphold. Students were able to learn about the following:

• That they play an active role in their learning and education
• Take full advantage of academic resources
• Stay organized and manage their time well
• Come to class prepared and ready to engage

Access Barnard looks forward to hosting more mixers throughout the academic year!