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An Initiative Of NASPA and The Suder Foundation

Research & Policy

Dedicated first-generation research allows for evidence-based decision-making that is critical to student success. This section highlights both foundational research and recent scholarship that informs understanding of the student experience, institutional approaches to programming, and identification of supports and barriers for first-generation students. Timely updates on public policy discussions shaping first-generation student success are also provided. 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.

University of Michigan Med School
Association Between a Holistic Review in Admissions Workshop and Student Populations

The authors tested for an association between the Association of American Medical Colleges' holistic review in admissions (HRA) workshop and the compositional diversity of medical school accepted applicants and matriculants in schools that held workshops compared to those that did not.

September 2018
ACT-Digital Divide Report
The Digital Divide and Education Equity

This brief takes a closer look at one particular group: students who have access to only one device at home, a group representing 14% of all survey respondents.

ACT / August 2018
Balancing Learning and Work
Balancing Work and Learning: IMPLICATIONS FOR LOW-INCOME STUDENTS

Balancing Work and Learning: Implications for Low-Income Students finds that while working and studying generally helps students from higher-income families, low-income students face steeper challenges when combining work and college.

Center on Education and the Workforce / August 2018
first gen programs
Evaluating Education Policy & Program Costs

In this chapter, readers are introduced to complementary methods for estimating educational policy and program costs.

August 2018
first gen students a snapshot
Student Voice and Linguistic Identity

This article describes the role that linguists can play in the retention of first year and first generation college students through both collaborative and cross-disciplinary work.

August 2018
Students Studying Outside
Brokering College Opportunity for First-Generation Youth

This case study employs Mario Small’s organizational brokerage theory to investigate social capital formation among college-bound first-generation youth in an urban high school.

August 2018
First generation college students and non-first-generation college students

The purpose of this study is to analyze differences between first generation and non-first-generation college students based on a mattering survey.

August 2018
Development of a Novel Pathways Program for Pre-Health Students

The Alliance for Health Sciences, a partnership between DePaul University and Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (RFUMS), was formed to address these issues and has created the Pathways Honors program.

August 2018
students in classroom standing with teacher
Supporting Inclusive Campus Communities

This chapter draws from important lessons learned within the Multicultural Center and International Student Affairs (MCISA) at Webster University.

August 2018
On the Borders of the Academy
On the Borders of the Academy

This book offers insight into the challenges of first-generation status, as well as practical tools for navigating the halls of the academy for both academics and their institutional allies.

Standlee / August 2018
Students Sitting Outside Talking
A Qualitative Study of University Reacculturation

To understand the challenges and experiences of first-generation undecided students transitioning to a new and unfamiliar academic environment, we applied a reacculturation process to this qualitative exploratory case study of 35 students.

July 2018
tired student in library
How Valid is Grit in the Postsecondary Context?

College admissions leaders increasingly desire to incorporate non-cognitive factors like grit into admissions decisions.

July 2018
Student Walking through a Door
The Equalizing Power of a College Degree for First-Generation College Students

This article extends how the generational wage gap varies across institutions, majors, and achievement levels, and what accounts for it.

July 2018
The Role of Family Support in Facilitating Academic Success of Low-Income Students

Prior higher education literature illuminates various factors contributing to student success, but few studies consider the role of family support after students enter higher education.

June 2018
three friends studying outside
Utilizing social class bicultural identity integration to improve outcomes for first-generation college students.

The present article integrates research and theory regarding social class, biculturalism, and bicultural identity integration.

June 2018
two latino students studying
The impact of home–school cultural value conflicts and President Trump on Latina/o first‐generation college students' attentional control

Around the world, people migrate from poorer countries with less educational opportunity to richer ones with greater educational opportunity.

June 2018
Examining First-generation college student experiences
Examining first-generation college student lived experiences

This qualitative investigation of 296 open-ended survey responses described the lived experiences of first-generation college students at a large, public, predominately White institution.

June 2018
female mentor helps female student in blue shirt
Reflections on the Value of Mentoring Relationships

In this Career Development commentary, the author highlights the value of tailored mentoring and experiential learning from the perspective of a first-generation college student.

June 2018