How First-Generation College Students Use College Support Programs to Close the Graduation Gap

• In Event: 44.084 - Roundtable Session 18
  In Roundtable Session: 44.084-6 - First-Generation Students: Factors That Shape Their Pathway to Degree

Abstract

This research asked how first generation college students made meaning of the influence of non-profit and government funded college access and support programs to transition to and succeed in college. Using a qualitative methodology and the theoretical frameworks of Communities of Cultural Wealth (Yosso, 2005, 2006) and Critical Theory (Kincheloe & McLaren, 2002), the research uncovers how first generation college students used their college access and support programs for academic, financial, and psychosocial support throughout college. This additional assistance changed the six-year graduation rates of low-income, first generation college students from 11% nationally to up to 93% for non-profit college access and support programs serving the same population of students (Engle & Tinto, 2008; Minds Matter, 2016).

Author

• Staci A. Weber, Pine Manor College