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The Future is FirstGen

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.

FirstGen Forward announces new class of Network Members
FEATURE | August 01, 2024

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FirstGen Forward announces inaugural class of Network Champion Institutions
FEATURE |

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Penn Student Org
New club will serve students in engineering and tech

A new Penn student organization is serving first-generation, low-income undergraduates in engineering and technology through community support.

The Daily Pennsylvanian / September 22, 2019
UC Berkley campus
University of California aims to improve graduation rates by 2030

A new report details ambitious goals to increase graduation rates for first-generation college students by emphasizing ways to bolster academic skills.

EdSource / September 20, 2019
K State FF Blog
Ten Steps to Building a #FirstgenForward Campus

Kansas State University engages the campus community to build a #FirstgenForward campus.

Rebeca Paz / September 20, 2019
latino college student happy on laptop
‘Moving Up Without Losing Your Way’

In this new book, the author, Morton, uses her first-generation college student experience to discuss the costs of social mobility in higher education.

Inside Higher Ed / September 18, 2019
Immersion Programs Designed for First-generation College Students

Why should there be immersion programs for first-generation students only?

Andrea Jackson M.S. / September 18, 2019
teacher helps female student blue shirt
Learning to See Students’ Deficits as Strengths

A teacher works to see the upsides in students’ learning difficulties—and uses them to help all students succeed.

Edutopia / September 17, 2019
Marquette Student Organization
I’m First Organization offers support for first-generation students

First-generation students at Marquette University started an organization that will foster a community among all first-generation students on campus.

Marquette Wire / September 17, 2019
UI Firstgen Awards
UI to give out new awards to recognize achievements of first-gen students

The University of Iowa will give out awards on November 8 to celebrate achievements of its first-generation student population.

The Daily Iowan / September 16, 2019
The Price of Ascending America’s Class Ladder

Being upwardly mobile can come at a cost to people’s relationships with the family, friends, and community they grew up with.

The Atlantic / September 16, 2019
Coloroda State University FF
Lincoln-Douglass Debate?: A View from Colorado State University

Is Abe Lincoln a first-gen hero?

Steven P. Dandaneau Ph.D. / September 13, 2019
Anthony Jack
I Was a Low-Income College Student. Classes Weren’t the Hard Part.

Anthony Abraham Jack, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, reflects on his own experience as a low-income, first-generation college student.

The New York Times Magazine / September 10, 2019
‘I’d filled out the FAFSA incorrectly, and I assumed it was the end of my education. It wasn’t — because my principal cared’

A new initiative in Chicago is ensuring more first-generation college-bound students are prepared for their postsecondary plans.

The Hechinger Report / September 10, 2019
Group of students walking
What Changed in How the 2020 Best Colleges Rankings Were Calculated?

First-generation college students were added to the graduation rate performance calculations to give schools more credit for their graduation rates.

U.S. News & World Report / September 09, 2019
Minnesota podcast
New Minnesota-made podcast offers student advice on college survival

Upperclassmen and faculty in Minnesota created a podcast to help first-generation college students navigate college.

Star Tribune / September 09, 2019
first-gen sticker
Universities Look to Add More Support For First-Generation Graduate Students

Research shows that universities could provide more support for first-generation graduate students and increase the number of students earning degrees.

EdSurge / September 06, 2019
K-State Dean
In K-State, new dean of students Thomas Lane finds a proud community

As a first-generation student himself, Thomas Lane wants to provide first-generation college students the resources they need to succeed.

The Mercury / September 04, 2019
Butler University
Student affairs creates BUFirst initiative for first generation college students

Butler University's new initiative for first-generation college students intends to guide students towards success on campus.

The Butler Collegian / September 04, 2019
Accidental Professor
How I Became an ‘Accidental’ Professor

As a first-generation college student, the idea of becoming a professor was unfathomable until she remembered that her resilience made anything possible.

The Atlantic / September 03, 2019