An All-Campus Approach to Creating First Generation Success Through

Community

Jane Lawrence, Ph.D. Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

Charles Nies, Ph.D. Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

Elizabeth Boretz, Ph.D. Director, Student Advising and Learning Center

Warm-up Exercise (for a prize):

What endangered species lives on the

UC Merced campus?

Warm-up Exercise #2 (for a prize):

List the mascots of all UC campuses.

Who is this man and what is his name?(correct pronunciation counts)

UC Merced Demographics

• 53% of applicants first generation• 40% are first-generation UC-wide• More than half of Bobcats are first-generation• Unique campus culture

What Every First-Generation Student Knows (or should know)

• Video: The Difference Between High School and College

• Community

• Reaching out for help

Community: Campus-Wide Partnerships

• Faculty-Student Affairs Collaborations

• Workshops for Academically At-Risk Students

• Residentially Based Programs

• Coordinated Programs Across Student Affairs

The Gap Between the Learner and the Learned

Faculty-Student Affairs Collaborations

• Mid-Semester Grade Reporting

• Adjustments to Pedagogy

• Orientation

• Mandatory Freshman Assembly

Workshops for Struggling Students

• Student Self-Assessments

• Peer Participation

• Excellent Student Feedback

What We Have Learned

• Easily Distracted by Friends: 65%• Have not visited faculty: 57%• “I have not learned to control the stress that

college brings into my life”: 35%• I do not allow myself enough time outside of

class to meet course requirements: 57%• My worries about failure interrupt my learning:

48%• Loneliness: 2%

Residentially Based Programs

• Faculty & Peer Tutorials

• Faculty Review Sessions

• Toolbox Series + the “4 Success” Series

• Advising Socials

Coordinated Student Affairs Programs

• Wellness

• Pre-Exam Stress Fest

• Etiquette Dinner

• Yosemite Leadership Program

• Parents’ Communications

• Students First Center

Promise for the Future