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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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Learning Communities
How Learning Communities Can Keep Higher Ed’s Most At-Risk Students on Track

As colleges seek to graduate more first-generation and underprepared students, some have found ways to make these learning communities more effective.

The Chronicle of Higher Education / February 24, 2019
USC_FYE_Seminar
First-gen in the First-Year Seminar

A first-year seminar course with a track record of supporting first-generation student success.

James Winfield Ed.D. / February 22, 2019
Researcher Liz Wayne
A disadvantaged background doesn’t have to be a barrier to success

Researchers, first-generation and from disadvantaged backgrounds, discuss the challenges that they have faced, and overcome, to secure opportunities.

Nature / February 19, 2019
group of students reading circle
Temple University Launches Scholarship Program for First-Generation Students

Temple announced the launch of a new scholarship program focused on enhancing graduation rates and supporting first-generation students.

Diverse Issues in Higher Education / February 19, 2019
vintage books
Navigating First-Gen Career Pressures

Helen Pho, a first-generation college graduate, provides insights to help lower the anxiety such students often feel when pursuing a Ph.D.

Inside Higher Ed / February 18, 2019
UT student by water
Facing Challenges as a First Generation STEM Student

STEM has a reputation for being a challenging field of study, but for first-generation STEM students, tough classes aren’t the only obstacle they face.

The Daily Texan / February 17, 2019
Anthony Jack
Can This Man Change How Elite Colleges Treat Low-Income Students?

Anthony Jack beat the odds as a first-generation college student. His research focuses on those students who don’t.

The Chronicle of Higher Education / February 15, 2019
students Burke and Engster
First generation college students reflect on challenges, joys of trailblazing

Two first-generation college students advise and discuss the support they have received at their four-year institutions in Michigan.

Michigan Radio / February 15, 2019
students with laptops
Modeling Behavior And Fostering a Sense of Well-Being For First-Generation Students

A professor reminds himself that for many of his students, simply attending college is the first life-altering goal they have managed to formulate.

Diverse Issues in Higher Education / February 14, 2019
students around table with books
Straddling two worlds

Muhlenberg College becomes fourth ever campus to establish a chapter of Alpha Alpha Alpha honor society for first-generation students.

The Muhlenberg Weekly / February 14, 2019
Penn Marc Lo
Marc Lo grew up a first-generation, low-income student. Now he leads Penn First Plus

Marc Lo's main objective as the first executive director of Penn First Plus is to tackle issues FGLI students face that are specific to Penn.

The Daily Pennsylvanian / February 14, 2019
UC Irvine
UC Irvine most popular UC campus among California high school students applying to college

Along with being popular among the general high school population, UCI was a top choice for first-generation students.

The Orange County Register / February 12, 2019
Columbia University
Community college students need not apply

As a first-generation, community college transfer student, Melissa Cook reflects on why this group is missing from Columbia’s support initiatives.

Columbia Spectator / February 11, 2019
group of UPortland students
First-generation students find community through FGEN program

FGEN is a program that helps first-generation students decode the unwritten rules of college by offering help and advice they may not get at home.

The Beacon / February 09, 2019
Books on shelves
Pathways to Law School Program is Yielding Success Stories

For first-generation students like Turner, the Pathways initiative provides community college students with early exposure to the law school experience.

Diverse Issues in Higher Education / February 08, 2019
empty classroom
Rise in Dual-Enrollment Courses May Help Community Colleges. But Minority Students? Not as Much

A new NCES report found that minority and first-generation students are far less likely to participate in dual-enrollment courses in high school.

The Chronicle of Higher Education / February 07, 2019
Number one fingers
WHY I’M FIRST: A CELEBRATION OF TRAILBLAZERS

Seattle University celebrated the presence of first-generation students on campus with celebratory posters sharing first-generation student stories.

The Spectator / February 07, 2019
Ngone Seck student
First-Generation Student Has Full Ride To Wash U But Dental Issues Complicate Her Path

Giving up is not an option for first-generation college student, Ngone Seck, who faces costly dental problems while attending Wash U.

St. Louis Public Radio / February 07, 2019