Symposium targets students’ success

William Staples, president of University of Houston-Clear Lake, listens along with faculty and staff at a seminar that focuses on helping first-generation college students.

Alison Schwamkrug

The Signal Staff

In an effort to inform faculty about how to help students succeed academically, financially and emotionally, Anthony Jenkins, dean of students, has asked that University of Houston-Clear Lake faculty participate in a series of discussions.

Seminars are being held this year in accordance to the Student Services Symposium at UHCL. Jenkins is one of many speakers of the Symposium. He spoke to the faculty and staff members about the topic of first-generation students Sept. 10.

“I am the first in my family to go to college and that is why this is such an interest to me,” Jenkins said. “I had to go through these challenges, but my school had an amazing support system. If not for this support system I personally feel I wouldn’t have finished.”

Jenkins’ goal is to help first-generation students by discussing ways to encourage the students’ academic efforts with faculty and staff. Because UHCL is an upper-level school, some students may not have attended school in many years.

“We need to better understand the students,” Jenkins said. “First-generation students may lack college survival skills such as organization and time management. Many may also have a reservation about how to ask the right question and if they do ask a question, they feel they are not qualified to be in college.”

As part of the discussion, Jenkins asked faculty to help boost first-generation students’ self-esteem and to make them feel like a valued member of the university’s community. It is not uncommon for a first-generation student to lack this support from family. Other factors also play into this lack of support, such as students’ cultural and economic background.

“Another level of challenge is when a family is not supportive,” Jenkins said. “It causes a rift in the family when the student tries to reach for a higher knowledge. The student is then left in a difficult crossroad and statistics show the student normally will quit.”

Jenkins mentioned in some cases, first-generation students may have to still work, bring in income for the family, and take classes on their own time. Without support from the family, these students are at risk of dropping out.

“Students may hesitate to enter into college because they don’t want to burden the family with debt,” Jenkins said. “Most often, first-generation students will work for years after high school then enter college at a much later age. That is a very daunting task.”

Darlene Biggers, vice president of students services, feels there is an assumption that a student who has gone into college straight after high school knows everything about the process. The transition from a two-year college to a university can be very challenging.

“Since we are a junior, senior level university the image is that the student has it all together,” Biggers said. “Most of the time this is not true. I was a first-generation student who was dropped off at the campus door to figure it out on my own. Our goal is to have a social network of support throughout the faculty. We want to put in more academic support services, more mentoring programs, more formulized peer training and more general awareness for faculty and staff.”

Many men and women will also be coming back from the military as first-generation students.

“We know an influx of 100,000 men and women want to get out of the army, use their G.I. money and become first-generation students,” Jenkins said. “Many of these men and women left high school to go into the armed services and now they want to use their G.I bill to further their education. Are we prepared to address their issues? No. We have to have this vision to think long term and we are getting ready.”

Jenkins strongly encourages faculty and staff to participate this year in the following Student Services Symposium seminars:

Oct.  – Writing Center
Nov. – Career & Counseling Services
Feb. – Intercultural & International Student Services