First generation college students, students who are the first in their families to enroll in college, are a unique group, in that their parents' level of education in addition to their race, gender, or socioeconomic status, is an indicator of persistence to degree completion. While colleges and universities have historically created programs to assist this group, those initiatives have ranged in purpose, level of institutional and/or government support, and intended audience. This chapter develops a typology of the support programs that currently exist to serve first generation college students attending four-year colleges and universities in the United States. It begins by exploring the academic and financial challenges many first generation college students face, and concludes by offering recommendations that institutional policymakers can implement to expand the possibilities for improving the success of this distinctive group of students.
STEM Degree Completion and First-Generation College Students: A Cumulative Disadvantage Approach to the Outcomes Gap