A Recruitment Revolution: Supporting First-Generation Students

When it comes to improving diversity on US campuses, our thoughts first jut toward broadening the ethnic spectrum of student enrollees by expanding recruitment efforts to different regions and countries.

While it’s true that there is a renewed commitment to international education in America, as recently jointly issued by the US Departments of Education and State, we would be remiss to omit another key demographic from the dialogue.

A pandemic shift

First-generation students have always been the backbone of the US collegiate landscape because they embody the American dream in a very explicit way.

It was estimated that in the 2015-16 school year, 56% of undergraduates nationally were first-generation college students (neither parent had a bachelor’s degree), and 59% of these students were also the first sibling in their family to go to college. 24% of students had parents with no postsecondary education at all.

Today we sit amidst a student enrollment landscape transformed by a pandemic that called for the cancellation of standardized testing and in-person campus visits. But along with these changes and the digital recruitment wave they introduced arose new opportunities.

“Now that the worst of the pandemic appears to have ebbed and we’re moving back toward a sort of new normal, there’s an increased urgency to getting kids who’ve given up on college back into the pipeline, for the sake of the schools’ economic futures and those of the kids,” Sandy Higginson writes for Philadelphia Magazine.

Less equipped with parental guidance and often filled with more anxieties and doubts than the traditional prospective college student, this higher ed revolution pulled the improbable and inaccessible within reach for first-gen students.

Providing necessary support

Like anyone and more so than anyone, first-gen students require support along their college journey. But the support should not begin when they arrive on campus.

Offering opportunities for them to prime for the process of acclimating to university life is crucial, and brochures and pamphlets are not enough to do the trick.

Mentorship, when properly executed, is one way to massively positively impact their experience as they undergo decision-making. Whether they’ve just begun considering your school, or they’ve already enrolled and are seeking reassurance, the right information from the right people is a game-changer.

Not only that, but students who are prepared for their college experience are students you’re more likely to retain.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, just 41% of first-time full-time college students earn a bachelor’s degree in four years, and only 59% earn a bachelor’s in six years. These figures say less about the students’ aptitude and competency, and more about their ability to access the resources that will help them succeed.

Widening participation

USC Dornsife recognized the need to reach more of their prospective students where they’re at and sought a tool that enabled better accessibility to them than email. This is where Unibuddy came into play.

They approached their strategy on the Unibuddy Chat platform by utilizing custom filters to include hometown, transfer students, freshman spring admit students, and first-generation students.

With 80 ambassadors, these filters have been essential for prospects to navigate the platform and find the student with the most similar experience to their own.

USC Dornsife has 17 first-gen ambassadors in their program, a percentage that reflects USC’s freshman class, which is comprised of 26% first-gen students. It also aligns with the 22% of students who utilize that first-gen filter on the platform.

“First-gen students are asking questions about the transition to college, what the move was like and what resources are available. So, they can directly talk to a student who’s utilized those resources, who can speak to what they found useful,” said Mark Kveton, Senior Assistant Director of Admission and Student Success.

If you’re not convinced, take it from Rachel Gable, Director of Institutional Effectiveness at Virginia Commonwealth University and author of The Hidden Curriculum. 

“I think that it’s very important to have older first-generation students, or recent alumni, connect with first-year students, or even incoming students. Empowering the first-generation students on your campus by delivering solid advice is so important and underutilized.”

Check out the full article for more insight as to how first-generation students fair at top US universities without the proper guidance and support.