Help First Generation College Students Succeed

The University of Phoenix is an extremely diverse institution. Forty percent of our students are made up of several race/ethnic groups, while over 50% of our students who come to us with 24 credits or less are racially and ethnically diverse.

In this mixture of diversity, it is important to include our first generation students. A first generation student is an individual who decides to pursue a college degree, but have parents and even grandparents who never entered college.

And, although we do not have the exact percentages of those students who are first generation students attending the University of Phoenix, Pascarella, (2004) points out that in 1995-96, 34% of students entering U.S four-year colleges and 53% of student starting at two-year or community colleges were first generation students. This data today would certainly be representative of what the University of Phoenix is currently experiencing with the number of first generation students enrolled in their programs.

The first generation college student typically does not have the same social support of that of most of their peers. Their parents and family who may only have a high school education are often times ill equipped at providing the social or academic guidance needed to help these students succeed.

The first generation student tends to have more family responsibilities and greater financial burdens (Phinney, 2003) because they oftentimes come from low income families. Furthermore, this student may feel the pressures of needing to contribute in some way to their family by helping around the home or most times are employed in an effort to provide financial support to the family and pay for their education.

Unfortunately, without the proper support, the first generation student is much more likely to leave college at the end of the first year and less likely to persist to graduating with a baccalaureate degree (Pascarella, 2004).

Despite these challenges, educational institutions can support these students in various means. Kuh and Hu (2001) Pascarella (1980) and Astin (1984) would all agree that one of the leading factors in the persistence rate of first generation college students involves academic integration, which comes from institutional support. This integration begins with the relationships the student establishes with faculty throughout his or her college experience. This interaction entails meeting with faculty in an “office hours” environment to discuss feedback on work during courses or even seek career advice from faculty.

Tinto’s (1987) research confirmed the importance of providing institutional support in order for colleges to retain their students. This support should occur at the beginning of the student’s program. Fortunately, the University of Phoenix, (specifically Axia College) provides their Associate Degree students a level of service, which supports the literature above.

Axia College believes in “high touch” relationship with the student. This includes a closer link between the student and his or her academic counselor, along with other support staff. Axia faculty holds “office hours” for their student in an effort to be readily available to address students’ questions, needs, or concerns.

Web based tutorials, The Center for Writing Excellence, and the Online library are just a few support services, which the Axia student can take advantage of via electronically.

The University of Phoenix first generation student can be assured that he or she will receive the types of services from the institution that will set them up for success rather than failure.