Internships and practicums are a required component of nearly all degree programs in human services and its subfields--and most are unpaid. These unpaid positions often have a disproportionate impact for BIPOC and first-generation students, especially women--many of whom are economically disadvantaged and must work to support themselves and…

NASP's Annual Regional Leadership Meeting (RLM) brings together leaders for training and discussions about issues important to school psychology. For 2023, RLM for the first time included affinity groups as part of the implementation of NASP's equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) plan. This article will define affinity groups and describe the…

State financial aid is a critical piece of college affordability for students from low-income backgrounds. Nearly three quarters of all students attend college in their home state - which is typically a requirement for state-based financial aid - and first-generation and students from low-income backgrounds are even more likely than their peers to…

For adults with low incomes and potential first-generation college-goers, enrolling in college can be challenging. The U.S. Department of Education-funded Educational Opportunity Centers (EOCs) provide supports to help navigate some of the barriers to enrollment, including assistance with completing college and financial aid application processes,…

Dual enrollment (DE), in which high school students take college courses and earn both high school and college credit, has great potential to help make the high-school-to-college transition more effective and equitable--and to do so on a large scale. There is strong evidence that DE improves academic outcomes for students, including completing…

Recognizing the changing demographics of students applying to college coupled with Trinity University's responsibility to help our students succeed, we have created a Summer Bridge program that focuses on first-generation, underrepresented students (FGUS). Trinity's Summer Bridge program has been a success--both in terms of student performance and…

In this report, Every Learner Everywhere & Lighthouse Institutions share first-year experiences of 2- and 4-year colleges piloting new versions of gateway courses incorporating adaptive learning in an effort to address achievement gaps for first-generation students, low-income students, and students of color by improving teaching and learning…

"Summer melt," an all-too-common phenomenon that predominantly affects low-income and first-generation students during a critical 100-day period between high school graduation and what should be the first day of college. Some students who have been accepted to college simply do not show up to enroll. Admissions officers nationwide have…

This paper contends that, although there is much to commend in the remediation reform movement, it is unlikely to attain its goals. These goals include the Lumina Foundation's target of having 60% of Americans attain a degree or certificate, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's goal of doubling the number of low income students who earn a…

First-generation students sometimes lack a support network that values higher education. Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA)--a regional, comprehensive university of approximately 13,000 students, located in East Texas--serves a diverse body of students who are nearly 50% first-generation. These students often face financial constraints and…

At the beginning of the 2016 academic year 77,214 freshman students at 44 campuses began the fall semester participating in the Re-Imagining the First Year (RFY) initiative of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). These 44 institutions have formed a learning community that reviews and shares evidence-based practices,…

The growing cost of college is one of the most significant barriers to completion. However, research shows that frequent, intensive advising, combined with financial and other support, can make a tremendous difference in helping students complete. For two years, TICAS has worked with a group of rigorously evaluated organizations across the country…

Over the last few decades, college admission rates for Latinos have increased. However, the achievement gap between Latino students and other ethnic groups remains wide. Peer mentorship programs have shared in some degree of success in promoting the academic success of diverse and underrepresented student populations. Despite the growing…

In this article, the author describes the Involvement Center and Peer Involvement Advising Program at Stephen F. Austin State University which were developed to address the important and persistent problems in higher education. Early indications are that the program is quite effective in doing so. In its second full year of existence, the…

Educators, researchers, and policymakers across the political spectrum agree that America must send more of its young people to college and find ways to help them graduate. Yet it has been difficult to design and implement effective strategies for dramatically increasing college enrollment and graduation. In Chicago, an intervention now under way,…