International Association of Educators   |  ISSN: 2834-7919   |  e-ISSN: 1554-5210
International Journal of Progressive Education
International Association of Educators

Original article | International Journal of Progressive Education 2016, Vol. 12(2) 23-33

Graduating from College: The Impossible Dream for Most First-Generation Students

Joseph Sanacore & Anthony Palumbo

pp. 23 - 33   |  Manu. Number: ijpe.2016.002

Published online: June 01, 2016  |   Number of Views: 1266  |  Number of Download: 1672

Save PDF

Abstract

Some colleges engage in unethical practices to balance their budgets, such as accepting “marginal” students who qualify for loans and government-backed financial aid but not providing these students with the services and programs they need to achieve success. Too many low-income students who are often first-generation students find themselves gamed when they meet with admissions counselors who help them to complete loan applications but neglect to explain the difference between being accepted to college and graduating from college—and the subsequent need to repay student loans. As a response to this negative scenario, 13 high-impact strategies are suggested which increase the chances of helping first-generation students to achieve success and to graduate in a timely fashion.

Keywords: First-Generation Students, Graduation Rates, High-Impact Strategies, Caring

How to Cite this Article?

APA 6th edition
Sanacore, J. & Palumbo, A. (2016). Graduating from College: The Impossible Dream for Most First-Generation Students. International Journal of Progressive Education, 12(2), 23-33.

Harvard
Sanacore, J. and Palumbo, A. (2016). Graduating from College: The Impossible Dream for Most First-Generation Students. International Journal of Progressive Education, 12(2), pp. 23-33.

Chicago 16th edition
Sanacore, Joseph and Anthony Palumbo (2016). "Graduating from College: The Impossible Dream for Most First-Generation Students". International Journal of Progressive Education 12 (2):23-33.

References
  1. Achieve. (2014). Rising to the challenge: Are high school graduates prepared for college and work? Retrieved from http://www.achieve.org/rising-challenge-powerpoint [Google Scholar]
  2. Ambrose, E. (2014). Student debt traps older borrowers: Payments persist into their retirement years. AARP Bulletin, 55(10), 28-30. [Google Scholar]
  3. Antonetti, J., & Garver, J. (2015). 17,000 classroom visits can’t be wrong: Strategies that engage students, promote active learning, and boost achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. [Google Scholar]
  4. Best, J., & Best, E. (2014, October 2). Student-loan debt: A federal toxic asset. The Wall Street Journal, A17. [Google Scholar]
  5. Brooks, D. (2004, March 30). Stressed for success. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/30/opinion/stressed-for-success.html [Google Scholar]
  6. Burd, S. (2014a). Undermining Pell volume ll: How colleges’ pursuit of prestige and revenue is hurting low-income students. New America. Retrieved from www.newamerica.org [Google Scholar]
  7. Burd, S. (2014b, September 18). Who pays for prestige? New America. Retrieved from http://newamerica.org/new-america/who-pays-for-prestige/ .n [Google Scholar]
  8. Center for Community College Student Engagement. (2014). Community college survey of student engagement: 2014 key findings. Center for Community College Student Engagement, University of Texas, Austin. Retrieved from www.cccse.org [Google Scholar]
  9. Cerna, O., Perez, P., & Saenz, V., 2007). Examining the pre-college attributes and values of Latina/o college graduates. HERI Research Report Number 3, Higher Education Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles. [Google Scholar]
  10. Chronicle of Higher Education. (2013). College completion: Who graduates from college, who doesn’t, and why it matters. Retrieved from http://collegecompletion.chronicle.com/state/#state=ny§or=private_four [Google Scholar]
  11. Eddy, S., & Hogan, K. (2014). Getting under the hood: How and for whom does increasing course structure work? American Society for Cell Biology. Retrieved from http://www.lifescied.org/content/13/3/453.full [Google Scholar]
  12. Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum. (2014-2015). Day after debt: A call for student loan relief. Michigan State University. MI: East Lansing. Retrieved from http://broadmuseum.msu.edu/exhibitions/day-after-debt-call-student-loan-relief [Google Scholar]
  13. Flaherty, C. (2014, September 3). Advising freshmen, empowering faculty. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/09/03/sewanee-puts-faculty-back-charge-freshman-advising [Google Scholar]
  14. Freeman, S., Eddy, S., McDonough, M., Smith, M., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., & Wenderoth, M. (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. Retrieved from www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1319030111 [Google Scholar]
  15. Gallup-Purdue Index releases inaugural findings of national landmark study (2014). Retrieved fromhttp://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2014/Q2/gallup-purdue-index-releases-inaugural-findings-of-national-landmark-study.html [Google Scholar]
  16. Gatepoint Research. (2014). Trends in boosting student retention. Retrieved from www.blackboard.com [Google Scholar]
  17. Hammond, J., & Senor, R. (2014). The mentor: Leading with love: The ultimate resource. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse. [Google Scholar]
  18. Harris, D. (2014). 10% Happier. New York: HarperCollins. [Google Scholar]
  19. Hidden curriculum (2014, August 26). Rigor. In S. Abbott (Ed.), The glossary of education reform. Retrieved from http://edglossary.org/hidden-curriculum [Google Scholar]
  20. Jensen, J., Kummer, T., & Godoy, P. (2015). Improvements from a flipped classroom may simply be the fruits of active learning. CBE—Life Sciences Education. Retrieved from http://www.lifescied.org/content/14/1/ar5.full [Google Scholar]
  21. Mitchell, J. (2014, February 18). Student-debt rise concentrated among those with poor credit. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/ 2014/02/18/student-debt-rise-concentrated-among-those-with-poor-credit/ [Google Scholar]
  22. My Brother’s Keeper. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/my-brothers-keeper [Google Scholar]
  23. National Center for Education Statistics. (2014). Projections of education statistics to 2014. United States Department of Education. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2005074 [Google Scholar]
  24. National Center for Learning Disabilities (n.d.). Common warning signs of dysgraphia in college students and adults. Retrieved from http://www.ncld.org/types-learning- disabilities/dysgraphia/common-warning-signs-of-dysgraphia-in-college-students-and-adults [Google Scholar]
  25. Parker, C. (2014, April 22). Stanford researcher: First-generation college students benefit from discussing class differences. Stanford Report. Stanford University. CA: Stanford. Retrieved from http://news.stanford.edu/pr/2014/pr-first-gen-resources-042214.html [Google Scholar]
  26. Perna, L., & Titus, M. (2005). The relationship between parental involvement as social capital and college enrollment: An examination of racial/ethnic group differences. Journal of Higher Education, 76(5), 485-518. [Google Scholar]
  27. Rivard, R. (2014, September 17). Undermining Pell. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/09/17/think-tank-backs-changes-pell-pointing-out-tricks-colleges-play-merit-aid [Google Scholar]
  28. Rivera, C. (2015, July 27). States, U.S. must boost graduation rates, Duncan says in slamming college costs. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://www.storyclash.com/States-US-must-boost-graduation-rates-Duncan-says-in-slamming-college-costs-4593645 [Google Scholar]
  29. Rogers, M. (2013, October 2). Less choice, more mainstreaming. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/10/02/remedial-reform-and-completion-key-latino-students-success-politician-argues [Google Scholar]
  30. Ross, T. (2014). How black students tend to learn science. The Atlantic: Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/12/how-black-students-tend-to-learn-science/383387/ [Google Scholar]
  31. Russo-Gleicher, R. (2011). The empty desk: Caring strategies to talk to students about their attendance. Thought & Action, 27, 63-76. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/50510.htm [Google Scholar]
  32. Sanacore, J., & Palumbo, A. (2015a, April). A high school diploma doesn’t guarantee college success. Commentary: Education Week, 34(28), 22-23, 25. [Google Scholar]
  33. Sanacore, J., & Palumbo, A. (2015b, May). Let’s help first-generation students succeed. The Chronicle of Higher Education, LXI(36), A22-A23. [Google Scholar]
  34. Sanacore, J., & Piro, J. (2014). Multimodalities, neuroenhancement, and literacy learning. International Journal of Progressive Education, 10(2), 56-72. [Google Scholar]
  35. Scrivener, S., Weiss, M., Ratledge, A., Rudd, T., Sommo, C., & Fresques, H. (2015). Doubling graduation rates: Three-year effects of CUNY’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) for Developmental Education Students. NY and CA: MDRC. [Google Scholar]
  36. Snow, C. (2013). Cold versus warm close reading: Building students’ stamina for struggling with text. Reading Today, 30(6), 18-19. [Google Scholar]
  37. Southern Education Foundation. (2015). A new majority research bulletin: Low-income students now a majority in the nation’s public schools. Retrieved from http://www.southerneducation.org/Our-Strategies/Research-and-Publications/New-Majority-Diverse-Majority-Report-Series/A-New-Majority-2015-Update-Low-Income-Students-Now [Google Scholar]
  38. Stephens, N., Hamedani, M, & Destin, M. (2014). Closing the social-class achievement gap: A difference-education intervention improves first-generation students’ academic performance and all students’ college transition. Psychological Science, 25(4), 943-953. [Google Scholar]
  39. TICAS. (2014). Student debt and the class of 2013. Project on Student Debt of The Institute for College Access and Success. Retrieved from www.ticas.org [Google Scholar]
  40. Townsend, R. (2007). Improving black student retention through social involvement and first-year programs. The Bulletin, 75(6). Retrieved from http://www.acui.org/publications/bulletin/article.aspx?issue=454&id=5474 [Google Scholar]
  41. Wieman, C. (2014, August). Stop lecturing me. Scientific American, 311(2), 70-71. [Google Scholar]
Download
Metric
History
Related

Volume 12 Issue 2

June 2016

All Articles

International Journal of Progressive Education

International Association of Educators.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License.
Privacy policy     |     Terms of Use     |     Use of Cookies
Creative Commons Lisansı
© 2012 - 2024 - THDSoft e-Journal Management System.