Campus leaders offer support from high school recruitment all the way to graduate school enrollment
First-generation college student success now has its own honor society. With 36 credit hours completed toward a degree and a GPA above 3.2, first-generation students at several colleges can now earn a lifetime membership in Alpha Alpha Alpha.
The honor society was founded at Pennsylvania’s Moravian College in 2018 and has spread to more than 20 colleges and universities across the country, including Central College in Iowa, where about 25% of the 1,100 students are first-generation.
Faculty members who were first-generation students can also join Alpha Alpha Alpha chapters at their institutions. At Central College, one goal of adding the honor society is for faculty and older students to mentor younger members of the chapter, says Mary Strey, vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty.
“This recognizes their achievements,” Strey says. “And it also recognizes the challenges many first-generation students face.”
Higher education leaders are going beyond access, and working to ensure the long-term first-generation college student success.