In light of our discussion on first-generation students, I stumbled upon this article that gives a lot of fascinating information about what some colleges are doing to assist first-gen students and how parents are reacting to this help. Here is the link. let me know what you guys think.
One thought on “Parents and First-Generation College Students”
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It’s great to know that many colleges and universities are making an effort to acclimate their first generation students. Reaching out to the parents is a good start in helping the first time students who are in need of support. However, I also think that focusing on the parents shouldn’t have such an emphasis that helping the student directly is overshadowed. The part of the article which talked about Florida Memorial University’s College Prep Program and how a student could be moved out of it if the parent didn’t get involved was especially irksome for me. Drop the entry costs and the expenses such as the first suits, but leave help such as the mentoring in the program and make it available for everyone who needs it regardless of parental involvement. The vice-president, Mr. Jones, said, “We are making a commitment to their child,” No, he is making a commitment to his students who are the university’s future. Getting parents involved in order to help first generation students is fine and may be needed for some students. But don’t make it the only tool for helping students, such that you are harming them with a form of help that is too limited for them to use.