Creating a Successful Transition for Working-Class First-Year Students

• Main Author: Krista M. Soria
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing 2012-12-01
• Series: Journal of College Orientation, Transition, and Retention
• Subjects: first-year students; working-class students; middle/upper-class students; public research unversity; campus climate; academic; engagement; transition; orientation; practitioners
• Online Access: https://pubs.lib.umn.edu/index.php/jcotr/article/view/2820

This study explored differences between working-class and middle/upper-class first-year college students enrolled at large, public research universities. Results from administering the Student Experience in the Research University survey at 11 universities in 2010 (n = 23,331) suggest that working-class first-year students reported a less welcoming campus climate, lower academic engagement, higher academic disengagement, and fewer academic interactions with classmates compared with middle/upper-class students. Recommendations for first-year transition programs and new student orientation practitioners are discussed.