Supporting First Generation College Freshmen with Small Group Intervention.

Abstract

The Freshman Empowerment Program is a group process designed to support first generation freshmen. This article discusses the research compiled regarding the success of this program following its initial implementation. Results indicate that GPA was significantly higher for those students involved in the program compared to similar students who chose not to be involved. ********** Incoming students who are from low-income families and/or who are first-generation college attendees are often at-risk in the university setting. They have transitional needs not generally met by traditional support services and often find themselves in academic limbo. These students will often either fail out or drop out when they cannot discover a meaningful connection between themselves and the university community. A student's willingness and ability to participate fully in his or her own education is necessary for holistic learning to take place. Studies show that many students who do not succeed at the university level are either reluctant students and/or passive students (Upcraft & Gardner, 1990). They need assistance in developing relationships with other learners and with the university setting; they need assistance in developing a strong sense of their academic selves. Traditional academic remedies fail these tentative, yet often talented students. When they lose at education, society loses their potential as enthusiastic, professional individuals. And the students themselves lose their academic identity and sometimes their economic stability. These tentative seekers have a great deal at stake, as does the community at large. The numbers at our medium-sized, mid-western university were, at first glance, puzzling. Freshmen enrollment had risen slightly over the past few years from 2,575 to 2,743. High school grade point averages had remained fairly consistent between 3.14 and 3.17, and ACT scores are stable between 21.3 and 21.7. In the past year the first-time freshmen persistence rate had dropped from 74%, to 69.6%. The academic probation rate had risen from 10.3% to 11%. This rise was interpreted as likely to be a precursor of another decline in the first-time freshman persistence rate. Who are these non-persistent students and why don't they stay in school? Experiential evidence and research both suggest that these non-persistent students are not connected to their goals, to the community of other learners, or to the university community (Willimon, 1997). In an attempt to alleviate this situation and ultimately help more students stay in school, we initiated a project to assist these students. The Freshmen Empowerment Program (FEP) was designed to support at-risk freshmen as they move from high school to college. It is critical that they become active thinkers and develop from their traditional state as passive students to a newly evolved state as active and passionate learners. They can only become active and passionate learners if they can gain the necessary skills to understand and self direct themselves, to become full participants in the academic community, while still maintaining a strong connection to family and home. We know that the strongest single source of influence on the development of the student is the student's peer group (Astin, 1996). Therefore the cornerstone of this project was a small group intervention where students could engage in dialogue with other students. Peer and adult co-leader teams facilitated these groups. This article describes the initial research compiled at the end of the first year of the program. It was believed that participation in these groups would positively affect grade point average (GPA), with the assumption that academic success is related to retention. Longer-term research is planned to investigate the effect of the group participation on actual retention rates. Method Participants Study participants were first-semester, first-generation college freshmen enrolled at as full-time students during the fall semester. …