Motivation defines first generation college students

Vermont Business Magazine, Dec 01, 2004 by Barna, Ed

Judith Carruthers, who heads the career development office for the Castleton State College, knows how hard it can be as a first-generation student - that is, the first member of a family to get a college degree. She was one.

"My family never spoke to me the entire seven years," she said. Although some families take the opposite view, and are proud of a child going to college rather than suspicious of an attempt to "be better than" other people, that can impose a different set of pressures, she said.

Even when parental issues don't intrude, "first generation" can be a tricky nexus, particularly because so many who fit that category decide later in life - when they are enmeshed in other commitments that they need a college degree. Making it happen can involve complex financial aid arrangements, scheduling adjustments fair (most keep working), child care, and a air amount of ust plain hand-holding.

But there are colleges in Vermont with surprisingly high proportions of first generation students, notably but not always in the state college system, and mainly but not always smaller schools capable of bringing such students into a new "family."

Indeed, there are some educators who look forward to working with them, because in so many cases their life experiences have given them far more motivation than "traditional" 18-22 year olds.

It's not just a family matter. If Vermont's economy depends on attracting new businesses or helping the ones that are here to grow, that depends on there being an adequate pool of workers. As the sectors that can pay living wages shift, surviving in a global economy means working smart as well as hard, which means that labor pool needs high skills. And in today's day and age, "high skills" has become almost synonymous with "college and university degrees."

US Census Bureau statistics for 1999, passed along by Frank Miglorie, president of the College of St Joseph in Rutland, showed the mean annual earnings for those without a high school diploma were $16,121; for high school graduates, "$24,572; for those who attended college but did not finish, $26,958; for an associate's degree, $32,152; for a bachelor's degree, $45,678; for a master's, $55,641; for a doctorate, $86,833; and for a professional degree, $100,987.

While those numbers have undoubtedly changed, the relationship between them hasn't altered through the decades (some readers probably heard them in "the speech" from the high school guidance counselor). A statistical survey of the world's economies would probably find something similar, correlating low annual pay with lower educational levels. Classes correlate with classes.

Tensions can arise when one member of a family heeds the old immigrant advice that, "The only way out is up," but in the long run, there may be little choice. In a globally competitive economy, facilitating first-timer collegians upward mobility may be an important part of this society not getting pushed downward.

The Communities of Community College of Vermont

If it had its own campus, CCV would be regarded as one of the state's largest colleges. But it does its work at 12 regional centers and online, often with little publicity. The advantage there, however, is accessibility and an environment that is not intimidating to people who would feel lost on big greens surrounded by big buildings.

"The majority of the students with associate's degrees are first generation college students," said Susan Henry, CCV's dean of enrollment. Overwhelmingly, the students are Vermonters, only 4 percent coming from out of state, she said.

These are students who mean business, often literally.

"Our business program is our largest program at CCV," Henry said, and that means lots of relationships with potential future employers. "We are definitely tied in with that community," she said.

Business, office management, accounting - these popular programs will give students at least entry level skills in two years, she said. But more than half transfer to four-year colleges to advance further, she said.

One point the general public should know, and especially the business world, is that CCV is open admissions, but not open enrollment, Henry said.

"We give them a number of tests," she said, and if they are not truly working at a college level, they go into remedial programs. "For some students, that takes three or four semesters." Some will start courses in areas where they have strength and need help with an area - math, reading, writing - where they fall short, she said.

KD Maynard, the dean of student services, said about two-thirds get some academic prep help. CCV is the option for many students who dropped out of high school, then got equivalency diplomas, she said. And they serve a large number of students with learning disabilities, some of whom went through good programs at their earlier schools. Yet, "There are a lot of students who feel left out and underserved." (Getting tested costs $900-$1,200, she said, so families often caret afford to get proof that there is a problem.)