Nearly 200 faculty, staff, and students from across the University convened November 2 for the inaugural First Generation Institute, hosted by CEHD. The theme was “Making an Institutional Commitment.”

The U of M Twin Cities is home to a significant first-generation student community, with 26.3 percent of undergraduates reporting that neither parent received a four-year college degree. Systemwide, more than one in four (29 percent) enrolled undergraduate students are the first person in their family to seek a bachelor’s degree across five U of M campuses. 

CEHD’s first-generation-to-college population is even higher, including over 40 percent of entering freshmen in 2018. CEHD faculty and staff have developed expertise in helping them succeed.

The institute was designed to improve knowledge of the many intersecting identities of first-generation students and to highlight practices in and outside the classroom that can help bridge opportunity gaps for our students. It explored common challenges and opportunities for first-generation students. Sessions addressed topics including overcoming “imposter” phenomenon, the need to learn the “hidden curriculum” of norms and values in higher education, and complex identities for refugee and immigrant first-gen students.

“We hope this event serves as a catalyst for action around institutional partnerships that support and validate the experience and capital that first-generation students bring to our campus,” said professor Rashné Jehangir, First Generation Institute Coalition Committee and a member of the faculty in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development.

Learn more about the First Generation Institute.