What does it mean to be a first-generation student?
The policy agenda presented by the Minnesota Private College Council (MPCC) includes an academic scholarship initiative targeting first-generation students in Minnesota. But who is a first-generation student and why should this agenda target them?
Definitions for the term “first-generation” student vary. The federal TRiO programs, which promote college access, define first-generation students as individuals whose parents did not complete a baccalaureate degree. In academic research, the term often refers to college students whose parents have never been enrolled in postsecondary education — meaning their highest educational attainment was a high school degree or the equivalent. The difference in definitions may seem minimal, but 37 percent of Minnesotans aged 25 or older never enrolled in college, and an additional 32 percent had not completed a bachelor’s degree by 2005, according to the American Community Survey. That is a combined total of 69 percent of residents.
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Educational attainment of parents is slowly rising. The Minnesota Department of Health estimates of live births in 2005 indicate that 37.2 percent of mothers and 39.4 percent of fathers were college graduates — an increase of 3 percent for each group since 2000. From the statistics we can estimate that 60 percent of Minnesota’s newborns — who are likely high school graduates in 2023 — can be classified as first-generation students under the TRiO definition.
While parental educational attainment is important in the educational attainment of children, there is much the system can do to support and encourage first-generation students. MPCC policy initiatives specifically address two needs:
- Increase the academic rigor and college prep coursework of all Minnesota students.
A National Center for Education Statistics report found that first-generation students are less prepared academically for college, as demonstrated by their lower rates of taking college prep math courses in high school, their lower achievement test scores and their lower college entrance examination scores. Improving on all these measures is critical to increasing the education level of the state’s human capital. - Provide more need-based financial aid.
First-generation students are more likely than their peers to have lower incomes. They are also more likely to delay postsecondary enrollment, begin at a two-year institution, attend part time and drop out temporarily or permanently — all events that may indicate the lack of financial resources to pay for college. Providing sufficient need-based financial aid makes college more attainable for these students.
By preparing more high school students to pursue additional education and helping keep college affordable for low- and middle-income students, we can maintain and strengthen Minnesota’s economy.