First-Generation CORE Project: Cultivating Opportunities, Resources, and Equity

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Fourteen
  In Roundtable Session: Unchartered: First-Generation Experiences, Financial Aid, and Navigating the Academy (Table 9)

Abstract

The First-Gen CORE Project: Cultivating Opportunities, Resources, & Equity was designed as a pilot study to better understand and support first-generation college students. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, first-gen students faced unique challenges in higher education. Changes that have come as a result of the pandemic have further exacerbated these hardships and have yet to be examined in-depth. Through a series of focus groups, a diverse cohort of 14 first-gen students shared experiences regarding academic, financial, and social challenges at their university. This pilot uses a qualitative, asset-based approach to address educational inequities by highlighting first-gen student voices. By leveraging lived experience, participants created a series of recommendations for administrators and educators to better understand and support the first-gen population.

Authors

• Ana Guadalupe Vielma, University of Texas at Austin
  Presenting Author

• Ryan A. Mata, University of Texas at Austin
  Presenting Author

• Stephanie W. Cawthon, University of Texas at Austin
  Non-Presenting Author