News & Blogs

Find the latest from the Center, learn new and innovative approaches from colleagues, and engage with current mainstream media conversations on first-generation student success. In addition to the filters below, please utilize the “search” bar in the top, right corner to search by keyword, author name, or publication title.

Engaging First-Gen Students’ Families Is Critical to Their Success

Being a first-generation student is an asset, and families of these students can be partners in supporting success, writes Julie Carballo.

Inside Higher Ed / February 08, 2022

3 Strategies to Recruit and Support First-Gen College Grads

The authors share survey results from students and recruiters across the U.S. and highlight ways employers can better engage with this talent pool.

Harvard Business Review / February 08, 2022

UC Irvine Launches Innovative Martial Arts Course for First-gen Students

A new martial arts course at the University of California, Irvine offers incoming first-gen students a fresh take on active learning.

Leanne Ozaki / February 02, 2022

Supporting First-gen Students Through Mentoring Initiatives

The Partners in Excellence mentoring program at Regis College supports first-generation students as they transition to the campus environment and develop a sense of belonging.

Denise Mashmasarmi, M.S. / February 02, 2022

Seeing Students for Who They Are and Where They’ve Been

How precollege experiences and students’ identities shape the challenges they face and connections they make in postsecondary education.

Inside Higher Ed / February 01, 2022

Center Newsletter 2.1.22

In this edition: #FGSS22 Deadline Extension; Journal Priority Deadline; CatalystFIRST; #AdvocateFirstgen; Black First-gen Collective; Upcoming Events; Black Scholars and Scholarship

FirstGen Forward / February 01, 2022

I’m A First: What does that mean at a small elite liberal arts college?

Programs, events, and initiatives–how a small liberal arts STEM institution works toward building awareness and developing practices that support their first-generation student population.

Arianna Figueroa, M.A. & Shayla Bezjak-Martinez / January 26, 2022

Center Newsletter 1.25.22

In this edition: #FGSS22 Deadlines; Center Online Learning; Journal Priority Deadline; Power & Place Symposium; HBCU Webinar Series; NextGenPop

FirstGen Forward / January 25, 2022

Meet a first-generation college grad with $250,000 in student debt

When Juan Antonio Sorto moved to America at age six, he began learning that education was the path to the American Dream; now, he's buried in debt.

Business Insider / January 23, 2022

Merger Yields a New College and Student Supports

Boston College and Pine Manor College will create a new two-year college and an enrichment program focused on low-income, underrepresented students.

Inside Higher Ed / January 20, 2022

George Mason University's Approach to First-gen Student Success

Mason provides college-bound and current first-gen students with access to higher education through proactive education, intentional programming, and dedicated support.

Lex Lewis-Semien, M.Ed.; Khaseem Davis, M.Ed.; & Nakia Waters, M.A. / January 19, 2022

Key to Student Success: Creating a Culture of First-gen Support

Nicole Battaglia provides examples of past, present, and future program ideas to create a culture of support for first-generation students to ensure their success.

Nicole Battaglia, M.Ed. / January 19, 2022

Center for First-generation Student Success awarded $548k grant to aid higher education institutions’ data sharing and analysis

The Center will provide better data, analysis, and metrics available to its First Scholars Network® colleges and universities with the support of a $548,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

FirstGen Forward / January 13, 2022

Supporting First-gen Undergrad, Grad, and Professional Students

The Newbury Center at Boston University celebrates and supports the holistic development of first-generation undergraduate, graduate, and professional students.

Maria Dykema Erb, M.Ed. & Selena Hernandez / January 12, 2022

Center Newsletter 1.11.22

In this edition: #FGSS22 CFP; Journal Deadlines; #AdvocateFirstgen; First-gen Professionals Book; Annotated Bibliography; NCCCS First-generation Symposium

FirstGen Forward / January 11, 2022

How Does Your Company Support “First-Generation Professionals?"

Authors share what they learned from a study of FGPs and what company leaders can do to support them.

Harvard Business Review / January 07, 2022

First-generation Professionals in Higher Education: Strategies for the World of Work

The Center releases a new book that investigates the complexities related to the transition from college or professional school to the work world of higher education, as well as the advancement from mid- to senior-level leadership, and how first-generation professionals navigate these transitions.

FirstGen Forward / January 06, 2022

How to Help Students to Be the First in Their Families to Attend College

Alma Lopez offers advice on to best serve prospective first-gen students' needs during the pandemic.

Education Week / January 06, 2022