Drawing from recent research on first-generation college (FGC) students, this chapter advances an interdisciplinary theoretical framework for understanding how these students enact multiple aspects of their personal, cultural, and social identities. I use dialectical and cross-cultural adaptation theories as a foundation to extend examinations of…

Mentoring has oftentimes been touted as critical to the academic success of underrepresented students defined as first-generation college students and/or students of color. Several studies on traditional mentor programs have reported success increasing the retention and graduation rates among underrepresented students (Haring, 1997; Jacobi, 1991;…

As the United States has become progressively more diverse in rural areas, America's higher education system has wrestled to comprehend and resolve issues related to diversity in higher education. Community colleges enrolled nearly 50% of culturally diverse college students (Cohen & Brawer, 2002) because they often afford the only points of…

Achievement and retention of students are significant concerns for American community colleges. While 86 percent of the students surveyed by the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) indicated a goal of completing a certificate or associate's degree program, less than a quarter of those enrolled in the 1995-1996 academic year…

This dissertation reports on a study investigating the identity of first-year university students as writers. The longitudinal project explored how students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds construct their identities as undergraduates and as academic writers in their first year. The research was qualitative and interpretative, and used…

Since the 1990s, the number of both out-of-province Canadian and international students enrolled at Memorial University of Newfoundland has increased substantially. During this period, the enrollment levels of students from the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island have undergone an increase of approximately ten-fold.…

The purpose of this mixed method study was to explore perceptions of students with disabilities in a predominantly Hispanic serving institution. Factors of transition from high school to college, campus involvement, engagement in student organizations and their perceptions of campus climate were investigated through both a survey with 104…

The author discusses the little-examined tensions that female and Latina first-generation college students (FGS) experience while negotiating their ethnic and professional identities. Despite having general parental support for pursuing an education, Latina and female FGS who are graduate students in the author's university department must juggle…

As colleges and universities face pressure to expand enrollments and provide access to diverse students, they find it difficult to recruit and retain first-generation college students (FGS). First-generation college students are significantly less likely to graduate due to lack of family support, financial strains, poor academic preparation, and…

Despite an overall increase in college enrollment over the past 50 years, low-income and first-generation students have not achieved the same success. In fact, the gap between low-income and high-income enrollments has increased during the same time period of apparent gains. Educational Talent Search, is a federally funded outreach program that…

The CollegeKeys Compact[TM] is a national call to action to school districts, colleges and universities, state education agencies, and nonprofit organizations to identify, share and expand programs and practices that address the needs and challenges of low-income students and help them get ready for, get into and get through college. The College…

This 2016 directory identifies, describes, and contains evaluative data evidence-based practices that improve academic performance, close the achievement gap, and improve persistence towards graduation for low-income, first-generation, and historically-underrepresented 6th grade through college students. The directory was a production of the…

When President Barack Obama unveiled his plans this summer for a $12 billion federal investment in the nation's community colleges, he said he wanted the initiative to yield an additional 5 million community college graduates by 2020. Research suggests that reaching that goal may be a tall order. Community colleges have abysmal graduation rates:…

As has been said by many educators, the challenge of educating the historically underserved--minority students, low-income students, and students who are the first in their families to attend college--must be met. Apart from the moral imperative, there is the need to raise the education and skill levels of all people to assure a reasonable…

Lyndon State College is a small, four-year public college in the rural Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. In an effort to improve its first-year retention rate, two years ago the authors began to analyze which students return to Lyndon for their second year of college. They found that more than 60% of the students were first-generation college students…