The role of institutional agents in promoting higher education success among first-generation college students at a public urban university

Abstract

Ensuring success in public higher education among underrepresented students is integral to social equity in the United States today. The current research contextualizes proximal and structural characteristics shaping the opportunities of underrepresented students by drawing on multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks to consider the influence of social capital on the success of first-generation college students in the context of a large, public urban university. We collected survey and interview data with first-generation college students enrolled at three 4-year campuses of the City University of New York to analyze the association between student outcomes and perceived social support from institutional and protective agents. Convergent qualitative and quantitative findings indicate institutional agents, specifically college faculty, play a significant role in first-generation students’ college success by imparting intellectual capital and institutional resources critical to navigating the higher education environment. We discuss implications for practitioners working with first-generation college students and for institutional change to better support these students at broad-access public colleges. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)