First Generation Student Resources

Community colleges are becoming the primary access point for a growing number of underrepresented and underserved students in the higher education system. First-generation college students make up a large proportion of this population, comprising about 45% of community college attendees (Nomi, 2005). Research has explored the transfer success of community college students in general, but very little is known about the transfer and labor market outcomes of first-generation community college students postgraduation. This study uses propensity score matching to compare the college persistence, degree-completion rates, and labor market outcomes of first-generation students who began their studies at a community college versus those who began at a four-year institution. The results show that first-generation community college students who successfully transfer and graduate with a bachelor's degree have similar labor market outcomes to their peers who start at a four-year institution.

First-generation students and their post-graduate transition represent a significant issue for higher education leaders in general and career services professionals in particular, making research into their attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes critical. Here, Eismann looks at factors that may influence the job success of first-generation students.

People who advise low-income students or study their paths to careers may see a familiar pattern here: students with limited horizons who can't bridge the gap between their aspirations and reality. In that gap lie financial insecurity, family pressure, bad schools, a fear of debt, a lack of social or cultural capital, discrimination. Those factors often push poor students to aim low, to go for what seems like a sure thing rather than take risks pursuing an eminent occupation. Some might regard that pattern with a shrug. After all, few people work in dream jobs, and many muddle through, college or not, to jobs that simply pay the bills. But the fact is that affluent, generally white people are more likely to reach aspirational careers than are low-income, often minority people, despite their talents, intelligence, or ambitions. And so the positions that set policy, influence public opinion, and guide the business world continue to be held by those who have money, connections, or both.

The present study used social cognitive career theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994) to predict the math/science goal intentions of a sample of low-income prospective first-generation college students (N = 305). Structural equation modeling was used to test a model depicting relationships between contextual (i.e., social class, learning experiences, proximal supports and barriers) and person-cognitive (i.e., self-efficacy, outcome expectations, interests, goals) variables as hypothesized in SCCT and based on previous literature on low-income first-generation college students. Results indicated that the hypothesized model provided the best representation of the data. All paths in the model were statistically significant, with the exceptions of paths from self-efficacy to goals, outcome expectations to interests, and perceived barriers to self-efficacy. Bootstrapping procedures revealed that the relationships between social class, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations were mediated through learning experiences. Furthermore, the relationship between social supports and goals was mediated by self-efficacy and interests and the relationships between self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and goals were mediated by interests. Contrary to hypotheses, the relationship between barriers and goals was not mediated by self-efficacy and interests. The hypothesis that proximal contextual supports and barriers would moderate the relationship between interests and goals was not supported. The final model explained 66% and 55% of the variance in math/science interests and goals, respectively. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.