STEM disciplines have historically excluded individuals based on race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and class. African women, particularly those who are the first in their families to attend university (First-Generation Students, FGS), face significant challenges in accessing and succeeding in these fields. Although FGS encompass diverse…

The literature on first-generation college students largely focuses on the challenges and barriers they may experience in college. Yet, we do not have a clear understanding of who these students are as learners. To address this gap, this systematic review examines how scholars study and conceptualize first-generation college students as learners.…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate how Latinx students perceive the campus climate in curricular and cocurricular settings at a four-year public Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) in Texas. In addition, the study examined Latinx students' understanding of the HSI designation and how their expectations of institutional…

Mental health and attainment gaps comprise dual crises on today's college and university campuses, especially for first-generation and low-income students. Despite the common history and heritage of spirituality and religious foundations of America's colleges and universities, current norms and preferences have rendered candid discussions of…

The authors examined three motivational factors (first-year grade expectations, present-focused time perspective, and future-focused time perspective) as predictors of achievement and retention outcomes for students (N = 844) in their first semester at a predominately Hispanic-serving community college, accounting for student background…

This study examines the relationship between student success measures on student achievement to inform our approach to mediating against potential barriers on persistence and retention for first generation and traditionally marginalized populations for students enrolled in a new Living Learning Community. Success measures examine those beyond the…

The rapid and unprecedented shift from face-to-face instruction to remote online learning as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial impact on teaching and learning in Higher Education: students had to adapt to a new way of learning, away from typical campus settings and their peers, and to new forms of assessments. This study…

Explored the experiences of public university students (N = 1,573) in five domains (e.g., mental health, remote learning) during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether these experiences differed as a function of college generation status. Mental health challenges were observed, with first-generation students reporting higher…

Trusting and supportive relationships with school counsellors can help first-generation college students access college despite barriers. In this narrative inquiry, 11 first-generation college students in the United States shared stories of their positive relationships with their former high school counsellors. After an iterative and…

While the completion of a baccalaureate degree is the gateway to a greater quality of life in areas of employment, health, housing, civic engagement, mortality, and economic wealth, the college experience for Black American students is typically coupled with the accumulation of a disproportionately high amount of student loan debt. While the most…

The term at-promise gained prominence as a strength-based way to refer to students from minoritized backgrounds that contrasted from deficit-laden terms like "at-risk." In this scholarly paper, we argue that beyond avoiding an obvious deficit categorization, adoption of the term "at-promise" has potential to influence…

This chapter explores the concept of identity-conscious advising and coaching to support the development of First-Generation Black Male College Students during their undergraduate experience. Advising and coaching represent foundational practices colleges and universities use to support student success. Much like other aspects of education,…

On December 10, 2015, President Obama signed Every Student Success Act (ESSA), which reauthorized the 50-year-old ESEA commitment to equal opportunity for all students (U. S. Department of Education, n.d.). One of the provisions included all students in America be taught to high academic standards that will prepare them to succeed in college and…

Research has indicated that family social class, college readiness, and college affordability are factors for post-secondary barriers (Freeman, 2005). The term family social class refers to sociocultural aspects, behaviors, knowledge, and lifestyles into which one is socialized by one's family (Bourdieu, 1979). Bordes-Edgar et al. (2011) define…

At the beginning of the 21st century, higher education began to concentrate on leveling the playing field around admission. While this work is still unfolding, in the second decade of the last century, attention also began to be paid to identifying strategies that would improve student success and completion for all students, but especially for…