My great-grandfather Lloyd Newton Ellis Sr. made himself into an American success story. He served his nation honorably for 30 years — through three wars — in the U.S. Navy. He started out in World War II as a stewardsman, one of the few roles available to Black sailors prior to desegregation in the armed services. He later attended hospital corpsman school and eventually attained the rank of chief hospital corpsman — a testament to his steadfast belief in the power of education to break down barriers.
Shortly before retiring from the Navy, he decided to get a college degree in business. But where and how? In the early 1970s, my great-grandfather was a rarity in higher education at a time when half as many African American students were enrolled in college as today. The typical college student in those days was likely a white recent high school graduate with parents who could afford to pay for college. My great-grandfather — a Black man in his 40s who would be the first in his family to graduate from college — was none of those things.
On many college campuses today, my great-grandfather would be much closer to the norm. Data compiled by the Lumina Foundation show that nearly 40 percent of college students are 25 and older, 64 percent work at least part-time, and more than a quarter have children or dependents. More than 40 percent are students of color. Almost half are the first in their family to attend college.
This diverse population of college students needs support from universities now more than ever. Adult students need flexible class schedules to fit around their family, childcare and professional responsibilities. Students from underrepresented backgrounds need institutions to value diversity, equity and inclusion—and live up to those principles through the programs and services they offer. And military veterans like my great-grandfather need schools that understand and respect their lived experiences, which are not the norm in the era of the all-volunteer armed forces.
First-generation college students, in particular, need additional support to help navigate the challenging world of college access and success. They are more likely than second- and third-generation students to attend college part-time, serve in the military or have dependent children, according to research from NASPA’s Center for First-Generation Student Success. Sixty percent of first-generation students are women; a quarter are Latino; and nearly 20 percent are Black.
Iyana Cones
While the population of first-generation students has continued to swell, the barriers are still significant. First-generation students who depend on their parents to pay for college report a median family income of just $41,000 — less than half of those who have college graduates in their families. First-generation students often start out with less academic preparation — only 6 percent completed an advanced-level math course before enrolling in college — and are more likely than other students to stop-out before completing a degree or other credential.
Statistics also show that first-generation students are finding their way to the financial aid office, but are less likely to access student health services, academic advising and other campus-based supports. Universities must do more — offer more convenient hours and remote services — to make sure this student population can get the guidance they need to stay on track and graduate.
