Empower first-generation success: 4 ways to strengthen family engagement in college
As underrepresented minority applicants increase by 15% and first-generation applicants by 8%, institutions are recognizing the need for inclusive support and strategic engagement to serve this growing and vital population.
Ensuring first-generation families are informed enhances student outcomes, but also builds a sense of belonging and resilience. Building a community can help you ultimately contribute to the holistic development of your first-gen students, which pays off in dividends even after they graduate.
The payoff is clear — but where do you start?
We've gathered key insights from data and interviews with our partners, highlighting the needs and preferences of first-generation families. These discussions included education leaders who are not only helping pioneer engagement on their campuses, but who were first-gen students themselves:
Destiny Hand, Director of Student Orientation and Family Engagement at Georgia State University
Javier Flores, VP of Enrollment Management at Texas Women’s University
Renée Marquez, Assistant Director of Parent & Family Programs at the University of Arizona
Stay connected consistently
First-gen families maintain a continuous and meaningful connection with their students. In fact, 59% of first-gen families engage with their students daily, compared to 41% of continuing generation families.
This highlights how important it is to foster an informed connection between families and students. When families stay engaged and have valuable content accessible to them, they are more equipped to guide and support their first-gen students through the ups and downs of college life.
Renée Marquez, Assistant Director of Parent & Family Programs from the University of Arizona, stressed the impact of clear and simple communication on first-gen families. Understanding the need for repetition and clarity, she emphasized how platforms like CampusESP facilitate connections and empower students and their families.
“We want families to feel empowered to send their students to experts who know how to navigate the issues they don’t know how to.”
By providing easy access to important content, colleges and universities can bridge the communication gap, ensuring that first-gen families have the information they need to support their students as they navigate college life.
Maximize outreach with texts
There’s no denying that most people use their phones as their main form of communication.
Text messaging is the second most preferred method of communication of first-gen families, as high as 50%. This is notably higher compared to the overall preference rate of 36% for all families, underscoring the prevalence of text messaging as a preferred means of communication within this demographic.
However, despite its popularity, only 18% of institutions currently offer text messaging as a communication channel, indicating a gap in meeting the communication preferences of first-gen families.
Destiny Hand, a CampusESP partner and Director of Student Orientation and Family Engagement at Georgia State University knows firsthand how complicated figuring out the path to college can be as a first-gen student.
“Being able to have targeted messaging allows us to speak to families in a way that helps them better understand our services so that they can be that support system for their student.”
She emphasizes the need to reach families where they are, including through preferred channels like SMS, and highlights the effectiveness of targeted messaging to keep them connected throughout the entire academic journey, from application to graduation.
Address the need for tailored information
Compared to continuing-generation families, first-generation families are about 21% more likely to struggle finding information about costs, tuition, and account services.
Navigating the complexities of the higher ed journey can be particularly challenging for these families. They often find themselves at a loss, unsure of where to even begin their search for these essential resources.
“My father was illiterate, so he was not able to support me as a first-gen student in the traditional sense. These parents still want to be supportive and provide guidance, so how do we help them help their students?” Flores shared how providing a variety of types of content allows their viewers to absorb it in their own way.
CampusESP allows schools to upload presentations, audio, images, and videos directly to the portal, which has been impactful to their first-gen students and families who are looking for other ways to engage.
He says, “You cannot afford not to use CampusESP. I have not been able to find a more effective way to disseminate information, build community, and create a culture of completion among first-generation college students than with this tool.”
Provide student data alerts to boost student success
The impact of parent engagement on student retention cannot be overstated.
When parents received alerts from CampusESP, it resulted in an impressive average retention rate increase of 8.3% across institutions. Even more noteworthy is the significant boost experienced by first-generation and Pell Grant-eligible students.
At schools like Auburn University and Duquesne University, the average student retention rates are 2.2% and 2.8% respectively, but more interestingly these numbers increased to 3.9% and 3.3% for first-gen students when their parents were actively involved. This data suggests the critical role parents play in supporting their children's higher education journey — when families know when to get involved and how to advise their student, students stay on track.
With more minority and first-gen students applying to college, universities need to step up for them and their families. When colleges prioritize family engagement, they create a space where all students, regardless of background, can thrive.