Most KIPP graduates feel a sense of belonging in college, according to a survey released by the charter network. However, “the majority also worry about being judged based on their race or socioeconomic background,” reports Kate Stringer on The 74.
KIPP alumni who attend historically black colleges feel a greater sense of belonging, a finding echoed in other research on black college students, writes Stringer.
Ninety-five percent of KIPP alumni are African American or Latino and 90 percent come from low-income families.
The four-year college completion rate for young people from low-income families is 9 percent. But at KIPP, which more rigorously tracks its students from the beginning of 9th grade, the college graduation rate is 38 percent — more than four times the national average.
KIPP Through College provides counseling and support to help KIPP alumni complete their college degrees.
Gabriel Tovar is a student and veterans services staffer at Arizona Western.
Arizona Western College has turned first-generation status into a badge of honor, reports Ashley Smith in Inside Higher Ed. The school has launched an “I Am First Gen” campaign.
Two-thirds of Arizona Western students are the first in their families to go to college.
“They sometimes don’t have a role model at home. They doubt they truly belong in a college environment. Financial aid is daunting. Registration is daunting,” said Daniel Corr, Arizona Western’s president. Like 40 percent of the college’s faculty and staff, he was a first-generation college student himself.
Pearson tried embedding growth-mindset messages in its learning software for computer-science students. Results were “mixed.”