Supporting First-Generation Students – On-Demand Training

Identify Institutional Practices & Develop Strategies For Success & Completion

Ensure your first-generations students have the motivation, support and resources to overcome barriers to their persistence and academic goals.

First-generation students face a myriad of financial, academic, and social barriers to beginning and completing a college degree. Acknowledging the unique challenges first generation students face as they navigate through confusing campus bureaucracy means creating centralized and accessible resources to support them.  

Gather your colleagues from across campus and join our presenters as they share national data on first-generation students’ retention and graduation rates. They will embolden you to reimagine how to serve your diverse first-generation students, help them strategize how their college experiences connect to the achievement of their overall personal and professional goals, and create a value to degree completion.

In addition, they will outline how strategic partnerships between Academic and Student Affairs have allowed their institutions to create an asset-based approach to support their trailblazing first-generation students.

Topics Covered

At the conclusion of the 90-minute online training, you will be able to:

• Engage key stakeholders and partners in both Academic and Student Affairs – foster strategic partnerships to create an asset-based approach to support, engage, and persist your trailblazing first-generation students.
• Recognize the cultural context and family expectations that may impact degree completion – build a campus-wide support system to ensure first-generation students are able to overcome potential barriers to ensure their academic, social, and professional success.
• Foster mentoring relationships both in and out of the classroom – develop essential points of connection to help develop self-confidence, self-advocacy, and social networks on and off campus.
• Identify the unique assets and challenges first generation college students face – create strategic academic and social support programs so they can persist and graduate with a four-year degree.
• Create centralized, accessible, and individualized resources to support first-generation students’ diverse needs – help them overcome any potential financial, academic, and social barriers to ensure they attain their college degree.

Presenters

Dr. Amy Golden currently serves as Assistant Dean of Students and Executive Director for TRIO Programs at Arizona State University.
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Mercedes Amador currently serves at the Director of Student Engagement and Retention in the College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona.
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