Education Commons^™

Leading And Developing A First Year Learning Community For Opportunity Program Students, Penny E. Mcpherson

Theses and Dissertations

Opportunity programs have utilized the learning community model through summer bridge programs for many years. First year learning communities have proven to be successful tools in retaining students and improving the overall college experience for students (Buck, 1995; Garcia, 1991; Gold, 1992). As opportunity programs seek ways to increase retention for first generation, underrepresented students, this study combines the successful communal relationships developed from the summer bridge program with the added academic and social support from multiple campus partners to create a comprehensive living learning community for opportunity program students in their first year.

Students from low-income families, first-generation college …

Using Data To Make Decisions About Student Services, Tonisha B. Lane, Larry D. Long

Larry D. Long

First-generation and low-income students are increasingly matriculating into post-secondary education. Acclimating first-generation and low-income students to higher education presents unique challenges and opportunities to improve institutional support and services. This program will inform participants about how Michigan State University used multiple data sources to assess, intervene, and support students from first-generation and low-income backgrounds involved in the Student Success Initiative. This program adds to the emerging conversation on using data to understand students and make decisions about student services.

Revelation, Tanya Diaz

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

There can sometimes be a gap between first-gen students and parents who have not experienced the stress of higher education. Children may believe this stress to be a necessary sacrifice for their future wellness; however, they often cannot feel their parents' sacrifices, just as their parents cannot feel their child's mental strain. Diaz creates this poem in an effort to examine her relationship with her mother from an outsider's point of view, in the end realizing that although her parents cannot always understand her experiences, they care and will support her decisions.