Making Missions Work: Mission-Driven First-generation Student Initiatives

As institutions of higher education continue to seek ways to engage first-generation students, mission statements can inform campus-wide approaches to first-generation student success. In this session, we will review recent research that examines how the mission statements of First-gen Forward Institutions may signal or promote a success-oriented culture. Then, practitioners from the First-gen Forward recognition program will share how they have taken a mission-centric approach to first-generation student initiatives on their campuses. The presenters will offer practical strategies for leveraging mission to advance an institutional commitment to first-generation student success.

Learning Outcomes

Participants will:

• consider how components of mission statements can be leveraged for first-generation student success;
• understand how First-gen Forward Institutions have designed and implemented mission-driven initiatives to foster first generation student success; and
• reflect on the alignment between their own institution’s mission and goals for supporting first-generation students.