Ensuring Success Among First-Generation, Low-Income, and Underserved Minority Students: Developing a Unified Community of Support

Abstract

Recent research has demonstrated the value of comprehensive, integrated programs that combine and align several interventions to create a seamless learning environment for undergraduate students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). While there is emerging evidence of the value of these integrated programs for student success, there is little understanding of exactly how and why they are effective. This study of integrated programs at several California State University campuses indicates that successful integrated programs are effective because they create what we term a unified community of support for students, faculty, and staff. A unified community of support leverages structural changes to campus policies and practices to promote individual changes to faculty and staff knowledge, beliefs, actions, and relationships. This combination offers a unique and novel way of both organizing and conceptualizing student support within higher education, as most existing programs are based around either structural changes or individual support, rather than a mutually reinforcing combination of the two.

Divergent Pathways: How Pre‐Orientation Programs Can Shape the Transition to College for First‐Generation, Low‐Income Students1

“…Research on programs like pre‐orientation is largely fragmented, despite the presence of these programs across colleges and universities. Most of this research highlights quantifiable outcomes associated with pre‐orientation participation, such as increased GPA and retention rates (Holcombe and Kezar 2020). As most elite colleges generally maintain high retention and low attrition rates, however, these studies are less useful in understanding how to support FGLI student transition to such spaces—particularly given FGLI students' continued difficulties in engaging with campus resources, procuring academic and social opportunities, and struggling with feeling a sense of belonging (NCES 2022).…”

“…Given the unanticipated rise in online programs due to the COVID‐19 pandemic, it is also particularly important to understand how cultural capital can support students in remote settings. Foregrounding critical forms like self‐advocacy can bolster FGLI students' abilities to address their needs across settings, while also renegotiating how the institution responds to such needs (Holcombe and Kezar 2020; Tinto 2012).…”

“…Past work also addresses students' perceptions of the programs themselves, which include reports of these programs as beneficial to gaining both academic and social exposure before the onset of school. For instance, such studies highlight the usefulness of these programs in acclimating students to navigating the overarching structure of the institution (Holcombe and Kezar 2020; Millett and Kevelson 2018). While these studies expand beyond the more common focus on retention, very few studies of transitional programs use qualitative methods to provide in‐depth insights into how FGLI students can acquire beneficial forms of cultural capital via these programs (Sablan 2014).…”

“What More Can I Do?”: The Lived Experiences and Psychological Well-Being of Chinese American University Students

“…There was also evidence of factors and experiences that contribute to positive development of psychological well-being for this student population (Lekes et al, 2010;Liew et al, 2014). Moreover, the literature also discussed student success programs and mental health services that can support this student population (E.M. Lee & Harris, 2020;Kezar, 2020;Wang & Kim, 2010). Given these factors illustrated in the literature, my research questions for this study reflected the significance in examining and understanding first-generation Chinese American (FGCA) college students' interactions with their peers, faculty, and parents.…”

Is a fit to be found

“…Shared activities, including athletic activities, support a sense of community among participants (Rochira, De Simone, Mannarini, & Salvatore, 2019;Whitehead, 2019). Holcombe and Kezar (2019) reported creating a unified community of support for students as well as faculty and staff by implementing structural changes to programs that provided individual support was beneficial for students' academic performance. Berg and Warner (2019) stated that social support was critical for college athletes' academic development.…”