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UTEP Strengthens Strategy to Bolster First-Generation Student Success

Last Updated on April 09, 2021 at 12:00 AM

Originally published April 09, 2021

By UC Staff

UTEP Communications

The University of Texas at El Paso is expanding its efforts to support the success of first-generation (FirstGen) college students by incorporating a holistic approach. Courses and activities for first-generation students will be focused on engagement, belonging, agency, academic success, and professional preparation, and will help guide students from the beginning of their college career through its completion.

The University of Texas at El Paso is expanding its efforts to support the success of first-generation students through a collaboration between the Entering Student Experience unit, the Division of Student Affairs, and the Student Engagement and Leadership Center (SELC).
The University of Texas at El Paso is expanding its efforts to support the success of first-generation students through a collaboration between the Entering Student Experience unit, the Division of Student Affairs, and the Student Engagement and Leadership Center (SELC).

The initiatives focus on celebrating student success by fostering students’ diverse backgrounds, strengths, and skillsets.

“We at UTEP and our colleagues across the nation have much to learn from our FirstGen students,” said John Wiebe, Ph.D., provost and vice president for academic affairs. “They bring with them a complex set of assets and challenges. They come to us with big aspirations, and it’s our job to help them succeed. Their success is key to the success of UTEP, the success of our region, and the social mobility of our culture.”

UTEP’s Entering Student Experience unit, the Division of Student Affairs, and the Student Engagement and Leadership Center (SELC) are collaborating to provide this unique opportunity for UTEP’s first-generation students. This holistic approach focuses on preparing students to meet any challenges they may face in life and in their academic career and aims to create “whole” individuals who are well balanced in their outlook on life and their personal understanding of themselves in relation to the world.

The mission of the Entering Student Experience program is to provide an inclusive and engaged learning environment to support students from diverse backgrounds to successfully transition to the University, said Virginia Fraire, Ph.D., vice provost for student success and strategic initiatives.

Current initiatives are geared toward boosting retention rates by working closely with students. They include: 

  • A first-generation course — UNIV 1301 — designed to prepare students for internships, employment, undergraduate research and community-engaged learning experiences.
  • Summer bridge programs offered to entering students, freshmen and sophomores targeted to help students continue their momentum between those years.
  • Wraparound services including tutoring, advising, coaching and mentoring to help students successfully complete their courses. 
  • First-generation peer leaders, instructors, mentors, advisors and alumni will be accessible to students as part of the mentorship program.
  • The program will prepare first-generation students for college by helping them develop writing, communication and critical thinking skills through a variety of methods.

The first-generation program aims to work with students through their first 45 semester credit hours and improve student retention. The program focuses on celebrating student success by fostering students’ diverse backgrounds, strengths and skillsets. 

At the forefront of this effort are  faculty and staff under the leadership of Denise Lujan, Entering Student Experience director. Lujan said UTEP’s first-generation students have a unique opportunity because of the partnership between her unit, Student Affairs and the SELC. 

“We have a core working group focused on providing holistic support for our first-generation students,” Lujan said. “We have a team focused on helping us deliver a mentoring program to first-generation students and conduct outreach to high schools. It is an exciting time. By partnering with others across campus, we can provide wrap-around services that extend outside of the classroom. I look forward to growing our partnership to include working with other student populations. Together, we are putting students and their success first.”

In March 2020, UTEP was named to the 2020-21 cohort of First-Gen Forward Institutions by the Center for First-Generation Student Success. The First-Gen Forward designation recognizes institutions of higher education that have demonstrated a commitment to improving experiences and advancing outcomes of first-generation college students. Selected institutions receive professional development, community-building experiences, and a first look at the center’s research and resources.

About The University of Texas at El Paso

The University of Texas at El Paso is America’s leading Hispanic-serving university. Located at the westernmost tip of Texas, where three states and two countries converge along the Rio Grande, 94% of our nearly 25,000 students are minorities, and half are the first in their families to go to college. UTEP offers 166 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs at the only open-access, top tier research university in America.