STUDENT-STAFF RELATIONSHIPS ARE CRITICAL TO POSTSECONDARY SUCCESS FOR FIRST-GENERATION, LOW-INCOME STUDENTS

Meghan E. Ecker-Lyster, Adam Brazil, and Nadia Kardash, University of Kansas

When I first arrived at school as a first-generation college student, I didn’t know anyone on campus except my brother. I didn’t know how to pick the right classes or find the right buildings. I didn’t even bring the right size sheets for my dorm room bed. I didn’t realize those beds were so long. So, I was a little overwhelmed and a little isolated.

— Michelle Obama, Attorney/ Author/First African-American First Lady of the United States

College completion rates have increased over the past decade; however, first-generation and low-income (FG/LI) students are still less likely than their wealthier peers to earn a college degree (Cahalan, Perna, Yamashita, Wright-Kim, & Jiang, 2019). While there are many reasons why students do not graduate, the literature suggests that part of the problem is that historically underrepresented students often feel disconnected from campus life (e.g., Nuñez, 2009). To mitigate the impacts of this problem research shows that positive interpersonal relationships between students and staff can make a meaningful difference (Tinto, 1993).

While numerous studies (e.g., Zerke & Leach, 2010) emphasize the importance of students’ connections with staff, there is little practical guidance on how to actually form these relationships. Drawing on data collected from a larger qualitative investigation of FG/LI students’ experiences at a public, flagship, Predominately White Institution (PWI), this paper offers higher education staff practical suggestions for developing authentic relationships with underrepresented students. The findings underscored three practical guidelines for promoting student-staff relationships: mentoring, connecting to campus resources, and fostering diversity.

Mentoring

Individualized mentoring can be a potent way to help students from historically underrepresented backgrounds to develop and strengthen meaningful relationships with staff on campus (U.S. Department of Education, 2016). Colleges and universities may offer mentoring services in a variety of different formats. For example, many structured outreach programs specifically designed to serve FG/LI college students (e.g., TRIO, Offices of Diversity and Inclusion, etc.) incorporate a mentoring component into their service delivery model. For offices that serve all student populations, staff may integrate key elements from mentoring best practices into their everyday work to foster stronger student-staff relationships.

Study findings. FG/LI students said the staff relationships that nurtured the strongest connections contained elements of dedication and relatability. Students needed to know that staff care about their success and are interested in genuinely helping them. They also wanted to have a shared interest or commonality with their mentor. Further, students emphasized the importance of the culture and climate within the offices they were meeting their mentors. Students preferred working with mentors who were housed within offices that created a “family-like environment”. Creating this climate was a critical component for students to feel safe to openly communicate with their mentor (e.g., sharing their thoughts, concerns, and asking questions).

The following recommendations are intended as a starting point for staff and faculty to cultivate a meaningful relationship with their students.

» Engage in casual conversations, ask students about their current interests and life outside of academia;

» Acknowledge and respect that student’s may be managing various commitments and stressors at any one time;

» As appropriate, disclose information about your interests outside of work; look for ways to make connections that are relatable to your students;

» Help students navigate the “hidden curriculum” and the specific bureaucracy student’s encounter at your institution during their firstyear of college;

» Have an open-door policy which invites students into your space at times that are convenient for them;

» Ensure access to private spaces to have conversations about sensitive academic, financial, and/or personal topics with your students.

Connecting Students to Campus Resources

As a liaison between faculty and other campus organizations, staff serve an important role in advising and connecting students to resources and experiences that support their academic goals. Throughout the mentoring process, staff should help students explore their needs and interests. Taking an interest in students’ individual situations not only shows the student that mentors are invested in the relationship but also provides staff an opportunity to help connect students to relevant resources and high impact practices (e.g., internships, research opportunities).

Study findings. FG/LI students often reported feelings of isolation and disconnect from the PWI. For example, one student described their experience as, “Personally, I felt so isolated in school, feeling like I wasn’t a part of the college life because of where I came from. So, it was nice to see people who are like me at those [TRIO] events.” (TRIO is a federally-funded student support program for first-generation, low-income, and students with a disability.)

To ensure students feel connected, on-campus staff could implement the following strategies.

» Connect students to programs that are specifically designed to serve low-income and first-generation students;

» Facilitate networking opportunities to connect faculty and students, and include faculty that come from similar backgrounds as the target population of students;

» Expose students to academic, career, and financial resources, and provide guidance for accessing these resources.

Fostering Staff Diversity

Scholarly literature (Spanier, 2004; Smith & Wolf-Wendel, 2005) stresses the importance of employing diverse staff and faculty who can better relate to the unique needs of historically underrepresented students. The authors recognize that diversity is a systemic issue, thus requiring a long-term commitment of most institutions to realize incremental change. As such, the following suggestions focus on the program level so as to offer practicable recommendations rather than idealistic goals.

Study findings. First, students accentuated that they initially felt more comfortable and better able to form meaningful relationships with outreach staff because staff shared similar backgrounds and demographic characteristics (e.g., FG/LI). Outreach programs in the study explicitly empowered mentors to discuss their origins and successful paths through higher education in recruitment materials, orientation events, and mentoring sessions.

Noting the potential for shared experiences as a connector, outreach program administrators might:

» Identify existing mentors and student affairs staff who share similar experiences with the students served;

» Encourage mentors who have “been there” to share information about their experiences in postsecondary education (i.e., successes and failures) with their mentees;

» Seek out new applicants for mentor positions who are able to communicate how they overcame obstacles to higher education, navigated postsecondary bureaucracy, and developed their beliefs about student outreach.

Next, many students who were soon to graduate and/or to exit outreach programming expressed that connections with mentors with whom they had built relationships had instilled in them a sense of duty to the next cohort of program participants. Specifically, some students wanted to give back and become mentors, tutors, and “role models” for other students who “feel disconnected because the majority of their peers do not look like them.” For example, one student summed up their emergent interest in tutoring younger students in their outreach program by saying, “I know how it feels to be early in your college career, taking those classes, having moments of self-doubt; so, instilling that confidence in them early on is what I try to do.”

With this in mind, outreach program administrators can:

» Develop a peer mentorship model, when feasible;

» Recruit/hire program alumni to serve as peer mentors for current students;

» Invite program alumni to share success stories (i.e., in person, via social media, etc.) as teachable moments with current students.

Conclusion

Taking the time to understand the unique challenges and barriers that FG/LI students face, particularly at PWIs, may prove beneficial to students’ sense of belonging on multiple levels. For one, it can foster relationships between students, staff, and faculty and create supportive, inclusive environments. It may also identify areas of strength and need for improvement at the institution level in order to support a growing segment of students.

REFERENCES

Cahalan, M., Perna, L. W., Yamashita, M., Wright-Kim, J. & Jiang, N. (2019). 2019 Indicators of Higher Education Equity in the United States: Historical Trend Report. Washington, DC: The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education, Council for Opportunity in Education (COE), and Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy of the University of Pennsylvania (PennAHEAD).

Nuñez, A. (2009). A critical paradox? Predictors of Latino students’ sense of belonging in college. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 2(1), 46-61.

Smith, D. G. & Wolf-Wendel, L. E. (2005). The challenge of diversity: Involvement or alienation in the academy? Hoboke, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Spanier, G. B. (2004). Emerging and persistent issues for first-year students. The Mentor: An Academic Advising Journal, 6(4).

Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving College: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

U.S. Department of Education. Advancing diversity and inclusion in higher education: Key data highlights focusing on race and ethnicity and promising practices. Retrieved from https://www2. ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/advancing-diversity-inclusion.pdf

Zerke N., & Leach, L. (2010). Improving student engagement: ten proposals for action. Active Learning in Higher Education, 11(3), 167-177.