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Abstract
The latest compiled U.S. data (2017) reports annual post-secondary undergraduate enrollment totaling approximately 16.8 million students. This data is tabulated using only enrollment from degree granting institutions, which includes two-year associate degrees, and four-year bachelor’s degrees. Additionally, approximately 3 million students were enrolled for a post-baccalaureate degree during the same period. Institution classification is dependent upon the amount and level of research that is conducted, and level of degrees granted. Academic qualifications for entry into research universities and rigor of coursework can be challenging without adequate preparation. The period between academic years 2005-2006 and 2015-2016 yielded a conferring of 1,921,000 undergraduate degrees, 786,000 master’s degrees, and 178,000 doctor’s degrees (Snyder et al., 2019). Underrepresented among post-secondary students, especially at the research university level, are first-generation students (FGS), sometimes described as students having parents of which neither earned a bachelor’s degree. Research literature and statistics show that FGSs primarily attend career/technical institutions, two-year colleges, or smaller four-year colleges, typically close to their homes and families. First-generation students number an estimated one-fourth to one-third the total 16.9 million undergraduate students.
The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore the experiences of first-generation students who matriculated from high school to a public research university and continue to make progress past their first year of enrollment. Three participants took part in this three-interview series, designed as a basic interpretive phenomenological qualitative research study. Data from the participants experiences revealed emergence of four primary themes. The themes were: 1) intersectionality 2) post-secondary preparation 3) engagement, and 4) success. The scaffolding used for this study builds upon the work of Spiegler’s (2018) Educational Upward Mobility.