Over half of undergraduate students in the United States enter college with neither parent having completed a college degree. These students—often referred to as “first-generation” students—are less likely to persist in college, earn good grades, and complete a degree than students who have at least one parent who went to college. Postsecondary institutions may be better positioned to serve first-generation students if equipped with a deeper and more nuanced understanding of their help-seeking behaviors and preferences, says a new report from the Community College Research Center.
Specifically, the report uses social network survey results and interviews with students at four colleges in California—two community colleges and two four-year broad-access universities—to explore how first-generation college students build relationships and use support networks on- and off-campus to address the challenges they face in college. The authors describe the role of family, friends, and institutional actors in supporting first-generation students through the first year of their college journey and consider implications of these relationships for the design and delivery of college programs and services.