Motivation defines first generation college students

Judith Carruthers, who heads the career development office for the Castleton State College, knows how hard it can be as a first-generation student - that is, the first member of a family to get a college degree. She was one.

"My family never spoke to me the entire seven years," she said. Although some families take the opposite view, and are proud of a child going to college rather than suspicious of an attempt to "be better than" other people, that can impose a different set of pressures, she said.

Even when parental issues don't intrude, "first generation" can be a tricky nexus, particularly because so many who fit that category decide later in life - when they are enmeshed in other commitments that they need a college degree. Making it happen can involve complex financial aid arrangements, scheduling adjustments fair (most keep working), child care, and a air amount of ust plain hand-holding.

But there are colleges in Vermont with surprisingly high proportions of first generation students, notably but not always in the state college system, and mainly but not always smaller schools capable of bringing such students into a new "family."

Indeed, there are some educators who look forward to working with them, because in so many cases their life experiences have given them far more motivation than "traditional" 18-22 year olds.

It's not just a family matter. If Vermont's economy depends on attracting new businesses or helping the ones that are here to grow, that depends on there being an adequate pool of workers. As the sectors that can pay living wages shift, surviving in a global economy means working smart as well as hard, which means that labor pool needs high skills. And in today's day and age, "high skills" has become almost synonymous with "college and university degrees."

US Census Bureau statistics for 1999, passed along by Frank Miglorie, president of the College of St Joseph in Rutland, showed the mean annual earnings for those without a high school diploma were $16,121; for high school graduates, "$24,572; for those who attended college but did not finish, $26,958; for an associate's degree, $32,152; for a bachelor's degree, $45,678; for a master's, $55,641; for a doctorate, $86,833; and for a professional degree, $100,987.

While those numbers have undoubtedly changed, the relationship between them hasn't altered through the decades (some readers probably heard them in "the speech" from the high school guidance counselor). A statistical survey of the world's economies would probably find something similar, correlating low annual pay with lower educational levels. Classes correlate with classes.

Tensions can arise when one member of a family heeds the old immigrant advice that, "The only way out is up," but in the long run, there may be little choice. In a globally competitive economy, facilitating first-timer collegians upward mobility may be an important part of this society not getting pushed downward.

The Communities of Community College of Vermont

If it had its own campus, CCV would be regarded as one of the state's largest colleges. But it does its work at 12 regional centers and online, often with little publicity. The advantage there, however, is accessibility and an environment that is not intimidating to people who would feel lost on big greens surrounded by big buildings.

"The majority of the students with associate's degrees are first generation college students," said Susan Henry, CCV's dean of enrollment. Overwhelmingly, the students are Vermonters, only 4 percent coming from out of state, she said.

These are students who mean business, often literally.

"Our business program is our largest program at CCV," Henry said, and that means lots of relationships with potential future employers. "We are definitely tied in with that community," she said.

Business, office management, accounting - these popular programs will give students at least entry level skills in two years, she said. But more than half transfer to four-year colleges to advance further, she said.

One point the general public should know, and especially the business world, is that CCV is open admissions, but not open enrollment, Henry said.

"We give them a number of tests," she said, and if they are not truly working at a college level, they go into remedial programs. "For some students, that takes three or four semesters." Some will start courses in areas where they have strength and need help with an area - math, reading, writing - where they fall short, she said.

KD Maynard, the dean of student services, said about two-thirds get some academic prep help. CCV is the option for many students who dropped out of high school, then got equivalency diplomas, she said. And they serve a large number of students with learning disabilities, some of whom went through good programs at their earlier schools. Yet, "There are a lot of students who feel left out and underserved." (Getting tested costs $900-$1,200, she said, so families often caret afford to get proof that there is a problem.)

We try to be the least expensive school in the state," Henry said - typically in the $450-500 range for a three-credit course. Maynard said some help comes from the federal TRIO program, whose high school program Upward Bound may be somewhat better known (Student Support Services for colleges and the Ronald McNair Program for graduates are die other two, she said).

Every, four or five years, their SSS program has to be renewed via a grant proposal, but CCV has done well enough using the money to keep getting funded for more than two decades, she said. On the down side, it's funded only to a level that helps about 200 of the school's nearly 6,000 full-and part-time students.

The Vermont Student Assistance Corporation plays a significant role, Maynard said. But this is not a population looking for handouts. For instance, about 85 percent of the TRIO eligible students (below 150 percent of the poverty level) continue to work while studying, 43 percent of them full time, she said.

Child care is "a huge issue for students," Maynard said, but they can't afford to put child care centers at their 12 locations. A couple have places nearby that work, and CCV acts as a referring agency, but sometimes the best solution is to study online. Not that child care is a career that CCV students seek out: the pay is typically less than a living wage, "which to me is criminal," she said.

Coming often from tough circumstances, the students find themselves in clams that range from seven to 20 in size, the average being 13, Maynard said. In that environment, they give each other a lot of support, and get to know their instructors well.

The networking that happens is incredible."

Henry made the point that since all the instructors are adjuncts, with no permanent faculty, they tend to be people with a passion for their subjects and often extensive professional experience. A class in marketing for small businesses, for instance, is taught by the head of the Vermont Teddy Bear Company.

"Modeling" may not be a word people associate with higher education, but in this context "it's huge," Maynard said. (It appeared in talks with administrators from other colleges with many first generation students.) The optimism and energy that instructors and some fellow students express can lift and inspire others, especially in cases where the family culture of intellectual achievement was along the lines of, "You're never going to make anything of yourself."

CCV is about creating a community, but this is "tough love," Maynard said. "Attendance is absolutely critical here. You have to be accountable. We will bend, but we won't break."

"They have a lot to give," Maynard said of CCV's students, "and they have a lot to learn."

The State College at Castleton

The Vermont State College system (a designation which excludes UVM) generally is serving more students than ever before, and demand for some programs is at an all-time high, according to data that Chancellor Robert Clarke presented in November to the board of trustees. CCV saw the greatest increase in fall enrollment, at about 6 percent, with Vermont Technical College growing 5 percent, Castleton rising 4 percent, with Johnson and Lyndon showing slight increases in student numbers.

Castleton's entering class of 630 freshmen and transfer students is its largest ever, something new president David Wolk attributed to a combination of good recruitment, deliberately low student-faculty ratios, and better facilities, such as their new fitness center and a new dorm.

In fact they could have grown even more in the past three years, he has said, but they chose to avoid such expansion. But there will be more construction or reconstruction, he said: a new student center, better science facilities, residences for students focused on selected areas.

Up two flights of stairs at the existing student center, there's no way to miss the array of career-oriented materials. There are (short list) materials on financial aid, a list of professional associations that Career Development says "are LOADED with resources that will jump-start your dream job," a list of graduate schools "recruiting at Castleton on a regular basis," a summary of what's taught in a workshop on writing a personal statement, typical interview questions plus information on things interviewers don't have a right to ask, a "Painless resume writing kit," "power-questions and future-perfect planning" for athletes, and a list of the 74 presenters who came to the Fall Career Fair.

The career fairs are eye-opening for the students, Carruthers said. A survey afterward picked up comments like, "I couldn't believe how much variety there was," and "I can't believe how many careers there are," and other answers to the effect of "Wow! There's so much out there I hadn't known."

Wolk said more than 60 percent of Castleton's students are first generation.

"It makes for wonderful transformations," he said. "For us public colleges, we really need to make a difference in the lives of our students," both how they will become part of some company and how they will become citizens in some community. "It's different from the experience I had at Middlebury. There's no sense of entitlement."

To Wolk, it's remarkable how so many of the students manage to hold part-time or even full-time jobs along with a full load of courses.

"I don't know how they do it," he said. "We appreciate what they've accomplished."

Not only that, they do a tremendous amount of service learning, Wolk said.

"It's almost like a re-emergence of the best part of the '60s."

"We call ourselves 'the small college with the big heart'," Wolk said, something as true on campus as in outside activities. "It's really one big extended family," a place where students are "a name, not a number" - something very important to the first generation students.

That was a big part of why first-generation public relations and business major Kyle Vinton of Vernon chose Castleton after applying to four schools. He visited twice, and found "there's just a community here." Likewise for Megan Aher of Hartford, who had to decide between Castleton and a college nearby in New Hampshire; it was important that "it had the type of community I wanted."

Both students said their families were supportive of their decisions - in some ways too supportive. The cost of college, they said, was a serious problem.

Aher said, "I'm paying over $10,000 a year. My parents said they could pay for one full year for me. Then when I get out, I'll be paying back the loans that are in their name." Vinton said, "I don't qualify for anything but a loan I have to pay back when I get out. "My parents have loans. I'm going to have quite a few bills when I get out."

"There are some people who dont know from semester to semester whether they're going to be able to come back, based on what (financial aid) they get," Vinton said. "It's hard enough keeping up without having to worry about financial issues."

The other side of the equation is that strong career connections during the undergraduate years give first generation students confidence that the indebtedness can indeed be paid off. Aber, for instance, wants to teach, and has already been spending time at Mill River Union High School. As a freshman, you just watch, she said, but you take on more responsibility in later years.

The college takes on a lot of responsibility to make a diploma possible. For instance, Aher said they have "a very strong academic help program," at the Academic Support Center. "If you need a tutor, you can just go down there. You don't have to pay."

Carruthers said Castleton has used online radio to add another dimension to teaching.

"We try to get at least one "radio station" per major," she said, plus she does one on career development. Students can listen 24/7, and if parents wonder what they're learning, they can tune in, too - if they have a computer and a suitable Internet connection. As for the students, they don't even need to own a computer. "They're on every floor," she said.

For traditional students, there's other learning that takes place on campus, having to do with social relations and possibly, eventually, marital relations. It's the age for experimenting, sometimes with limits.

Asked about service learning, Aher and Vinton both said they are part of Safe Ride, which takes students home from parties if they call, no questions asked (Aher also is an athlete and helps at the Wellness; Center). But, Aher frankly admitted, "I use Safe Ride as well."

Saint Joe the Pro

Private colleges, too, sometimes work with substantial proportions of first generation students. One is the school that people all over Rutland used to call "St Joe the Pro," back when the College of St Joseph had "the Provider" as the last two words of its name.

The old nickname has proved unexpectedly appropriate in the sense that it's a place where students go for hands-on training, internships, and realistic paths into professions. Yet at the same time, said Miglorie, they find themselves getting more liberal education than they expected and often find that kind of education has a lot to do with career success.

Working with first generation students is a big part of CSJ, and, "It just keeps growing and growing," Miglorie said. Very often these are delayed entry students, who have work or other experience that motivates them to create and complete an educational plan. Not all adult learners are first generation, of course, he said, so all told they account for about half of the school's 500 or so students.

They find a supportive environment, Miglorie said, where scheduling is highly flexible: day, night, late night, Saturday, summer. The students' horizons get expanded by meeting frequent community invitees to classes. After years of doing it, CSJ has developed a huge web of relationships with area businesses where students can get internships.

Also, at such a small school students become a kind of family, he said, beyond the personal attention they receive from the school's administration, faculty and staff. "You create lifelong friendships."

There is "no question" in Miglorie's mind that getting first generation students through college has implications for Vermont's long-term economic development. That, he said, is why he's a member of the area economic development corporation's workforce investment board, among other affiliations. A bachelor's degree is "almost a prerequisite for success these days."

The need for high skills is even more pressing because "the lower skiffs are going to be outsourced. Instead of moaning about it, we need to see it as a driving force in business and act to protect ourselves." In higher skills area, "we can compete," Miglorie said, adding, "This dynamic isn't going to be stopped by a presidential candidate."

But some of those high skills are best taught in a liberal arts environment, Miglorie said. Highly career-oriented as the students tend to be, CSJ is a liberal arts. college, as they find with core and distribution requirements. Those experiences build their ability to communicate, to solve problem, to think critically, and to see things in larger contexts.

Participation in athletics or other activities adds another skill employers often seek, Miglorie said: the ability to work cooperatively in groups in pursuit of a longterm goal. In some cases, that's a student's best experience with leadership.

Though the economy is global and increasingly complex, "We are in a rural state. We don't have a lot of exposure to people from cultures that think differently and look different," Miglorie said. "College is a safe environment to find out what the differences are about and to enrich your frame of reference."

Burlington College: It's Not Just UVM

Though the state's largest university is often the target for first generation aspirations, there's another port of entry down near the waterfront. As adaptable as they are small - they once developed a major program to meet teachers' needs in Israel 250 student Burlington College has the flexibility to meet a variety of students' needs, said president Jane Sanders (yes, Bernie is her husband).

"In the last five years, we have become only about 30 percent traditional," she said, meaning the 18-22 year range. Another 27 percent are 23-29 years old, 22 percent are 30-39 years old, 13 percent are 40-49 years old, and the remaining 8 percent are over 50, she said.

"People change job's seven times in a lifetime," Sanders said. "The old company job is now what people are being trained for now." The liberal arts aspect of Burlington's curriculum is relevant here, she said, because things like critical thinking and ethical judgment apply to all types of work.

"What we're trying to do is have students be able to adapt their learning as necessary as their life goes on."

Just because the school has "Burlington" in the name doesn't mean they're a city college, Sanders said.

"We're reaching out to the rural areas of the state to work with those students who can't go back and forth to college." Burlington will work out an individual education plant that may include intensive

weeks on campus, evening classes (there has even been a midnight class), online learning, or other ways of making it work she said.

Historically, they started 32 years ago as the Vermont Institute for Community Involvement, Sanders said. There's a heritage from those days, both in terms of students working on real problems for the benefit of their communities, and in the way the school itself becomes a community for the students.

That on-campus sense of community has to come from classes, since there is no student center, Sanders observed. Class size is a maximum of 19, but all are under 15 currently, 8-12 being their ideal "so they can get a lot of individual attention."

Another boost for generation students comes from the advisor system, Sanders said. At some colleges this may be a casual or sometime thing, but their advisors all faculty or full-time staff - stay in touch to make sure everything is going well. New faculty get training in that area.

The connectedness is such that if a student is having trouble paying bills, "Our chief financial officer will work out a payment plan with them," Sanders said.

Computers offer additional links to the world, Sanders observed, but not all Students have one. So "we're open every weekend and every night during the week," with a film lab as well as a computer lab.

The computers can help fill in gaps that the college's assessment tools find in the students' backgrounds. For instance, "we have an online math course. We're developing that site now," Sanders said.

As at Castleton and others schools, financing a college education is a tough, tricky business, which Sanders said it taking place in a worsening aid environment.

"Private loans have taken the place of federal loans," with higher application fees and higher interest rates, she said, and "the financial aid process is a daunting one." The total costs of a degree is "a lot of money to look at."

But as at Castleton and elsewhere, students can look at the placement situation. Sanders said one standout has been the high-tech medical transcription program, in coordination with Fletcher-Allen Health Care, where students can work for nine months, practicing online, and have a job waiting.

There are internships "everywhere," Sanders said, and 'the students are keeping the jobs, they're getting promoted."

"We're basically bridge engineers," she said. "I want to focus on increasing towngown relationships."

That's also true for the college's own five-year development plan, in which they hope to make their position at the juncture of the waterfront and the Old North End serve as a kind of gateway to the waterfront. "We're trying to create publicprivate partnerships to deal with comununity relations," she said, mentioning Vermont Gas, the Burlington Electric Department, the Lakeview Terrace Association, the City of Burlington and the North End community as probable collaborators.

In the classrooms and outside them, the goal is "to help the community in a real way," Sanders said.

At the other end of the state, in the Southshire part of Bennington County, Southern Vermont College has a similar mission. It has some similarities to the College of St. Joseph, in that both schools were founded by the Sisters of Saint Joseph (downtown Bennington's Saint Joseph College much earlier, in 1926), but when SVC went to its new location in 1974 it changed its name and became independent and no longer religiously affiliated.

But both schools have about 500 students, create a dose and supportive environment for their students, and include many first generation students in the mix who are focused strongly on career development. "Changing minds, changing lives," says the SVC website home page, near the words APPLY ONLINE. Another online saying: "Get busyl"

Business and nursing majors have the highest numbers, said communications director Melissa Smith, the latter taking advantage of the proximity of the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center. Also, "there's more of a need for x-ray technicians than nurses around the country, so that's a very popular program again, a collaboration with SWVMC.

"We are a small campus," she said. "You can't get lost." That's true in a more general sense.

Would-be students and those seeking financial aid are "walked through the process," which can be intimidating, Smith said. (According to their online information, the average first-year student gets $13,500 in help, to pay the $18,930 that is the lowest comprehensive fee for a Vermont private residential college.) They, too, have TRIO student support services, part of the ACT program that serves all students, to provide academic assistance, personal counseling, career counseling, and tutoring.

"On campus you see traditional-age students working beside the non-traditional," Smith said. "It's very much a part of who we are."

"They feel like it's a family here," she said. And it is, giving students from families that don't have a wealth of "connections" a network to which they belong. About 80 percent. of the students do internships or service learning or both, she said, working with about 20 non-profits in the region as well as with businesses.

"We also have a child care center," Smith said - not directly on campus, but across the street at United Counseling Services, whose employees also use the facility.

But does all this effort really bring new talent to the Vermont business world? Or is it a kind of charity to people who will always be on the bottom rung?

Smith said that when they looked at the figures, they found that the first generation and lower-income students had grade point averages just as high as the other groups. "We have reams of data on that," she said.

Copyright Boutin-McQuiston, Inc. Dec 01, 2004
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved