Why every college needs a first-generation program, and how to start one

When Matt Daily, Ed.D. Daily first joined the University of Portland staff as a program manager, first-generation students were dropping out or transferring from the school at a much higher rate than their continuing generation peers. The pace was so alarming, he says, that he was tasked with putting together a program to combat the issue.?

With little budget and a lofty goal, Daily turned to the students. He started buying them cups of coffee to understand their experiences on campus. As it turns out, a number of first-gen students felt unsupported and unseen by the school.?

Daily put together the school’s inaugural First-Generation program, and he reached out to peer institutions with already established programs to share their models. He also learned more about existing diversity and inclusion programs at the University of Portland to understand how to build inclusive programming. And he asked faculty and staff to become mentors for the first-gen population on campus, especially faculty who identified as first-gen.?

Eight years later, the school’s First-Generation Program has been recognized nationally for its work. It regularly works with peer institutions across the Pacific Northwest to set target goals and best practices for supporting first-gen students, and it has 16 student ambassadors who help shape programming from behind the scenes.?

This week on The Starting Line, we spoke with Daily on what a first-generation program entails and how schools without one can begin to build their own.?

Being clear about your goals

First-generation programs differ slightly from those geared towards low-income or minority students, Daily says. While these identities overlap, first-gen students face unique challenges. For example, Daily’s school put together a housing workshop for first-gen sophomores who needed to move off-campus after their first year, but had no idea where to start.?

To create a first-generation program, you’ll first need to understand your school’s mission and goals for its first-gen students, Daily says. That may include striving to increase the first-generation retention rate, or helping more students graduate in four years.?

“There’s no one-size-fits-all, and what might be used at one institution may not be shelf-ready for another,” he says. “It’s really about tailoring [the program] to the culture and mission of each university.”

One non-negotiable for any first-gen program? The perspective that being first-generation is an asset, rather than a deficit, Daily says.?

“We need to look at the skills, the capital, that students bring and really lean into it,” he says.?

Listening to your students

Schools may view first-generation programming as a part of their marketing efforts and, in turn, fail to address first-gen students’ needs, Daily says. Building an effective program means going straight to the source and listening to first-gen students, he urges.

“I think sometimes we get a little afraid as administrators or staff members to really listen to students and hear their perspectives,” says Daily. “But if institutions are trying to start something for first-gen students, it’s really about trying to prioritize their experience.”

As Daily conducted research for his dissertation in higher education in 2022, he found that what first-gen students valued most from their schools was the opportunity for mentorship and relationship-building, whether formal or informal. Being first-gen can often go unnoticed by others, so running programs and events devoted to this identity can help members of this community find each other and be seen.?

“I think the thing that’s almost as valuable as money is time,” Daily says.

First-generation programs also often serve two needs for students, he says —?informational and social. Students may come to first-gen events for academic help, or because they’re looking for peers who understand and can validate their experiences.?

“We’re talking about designing a community that’s inclusive and makes people feel safe,” he says.?

Getting the entire community involved

Daily attributes his program’s success to first-generation students, staff and faculty being willing to show up and share their stories with each other. But recruiting participants to both share at and attend events may be a struggle at the start, he says. Some schools like North Central College in Illinois, offer scholarships to first-gen students who attend a certain amount of events put on by their first-gen program.?

“If students want to come for the money initially, that’s okay,” he says. “But we hope that they return because of the experience that they have, whether it’s with a peer or faculty.”

Schools with little funds to spare shouldn’t lose hope, however. The most important part of creating buy-in is to have a clear message, Daily says.?

“Even if there’s no funds, start to create the why,” he says. “Be able to explain that to stakeholders on campus and build that circle of support.”