2010

Each year hundreds of thousands of students filled with excitement, enthusiasm, and hope begin their academic careers at colleges and universities across the country. Freshman entering into their initial college experience are often faced with a host of transition issues; to circumvent these issues, college administrators and practitioners are charged with providing these students with retention strategies to help them overcome the normal cognitive, social, and transitional problems related to the first year college experience (Barefoot, 2004). To that end, college administrators create and implement a variety of retention programs and activities designed to support student achievement (Swail, 2004). Especially important to consider when designing and assessing these programs are first generation college students. First generation college students are learners whose parents have either not attended college or completed a college degree (Billson & Terry, 1982); these students are also among the least likely to continue their studies and pursue post-secondary degrees (Thayer, 2000).