Are You a First-Generation Student?
While the definition of first generation varies, UNM utilizes the definition of a first-generation as a student whose neither parent nor guardian have received a bachelor's degree. However, we also acknowledge that there are a variety of unique situations that might allow individuals to identify as first-generation outside of this definition.
If you are the first in your family to attend college, whether that's at a UNM branch campus, Albuquerque, or pursuing a graduate degree, welcome you to the pack! We are glad you are here!
History of TRIO Programs & the term 'First-Generation'
In his 1964 State of the Union address, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a "War on Poverty" that initiated several new social welfare programs, including Job Corps, Head Start, and a college preparatory program called Upward Bound. In the summer of 1965, the first cohort of Upward Bound students participated in summer programs hosted by 17 colleges across the US (including New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, NM). That same year on November 8, President Johnson signed the Higher Education Act of 1965, which authorized a new program called Talent Search to identify “exceptionally talented, exceptionally needy." In the first 1968 reauthorization of the HEA, Student Suppot Services was created. Together, these three programs became known as the TRIO programs.
In 1968, Dr. Dan Chavez applied for an Upward Bound grant at UNM. After a successful completion of the program, Dr. Chavez advocated to have the project institutionalized and in 1969, the College Enrichment Program was created. CEP was responsible for recruiting underrepresented students to UNM, providing a summer long orientation, and providing tutoring an dmentoring during the academic year.
In the late 1970s, the Higher Education Act needed to be reauthorized, and the TRIO community sought a unified admissions criteria that intersected with each of the TRIO program requirements. The common theme: participants in each of the programs were nearly always the first in their family to go to college.
The term first-generation was codefied into law in the reauthorization of the federal 1980 Higher Education Act. It defines a first-generation students as an individual whose parent or guardian has not earned their bachelor's degree.
Learn more about the history of TRIO programs and first-generation college student definition.
UNM's Efforts to Celebrate and Support First-Generation Students
In 2017, in an effort to amplify the experience and accomplishments of first-generation college students, the Council for Opportunity in Education partnered with NASPA's Center for First-Generation Student Success to launch the National First-Geneartion College Celebration Day on the anniversay of the Higher Education Act on November 8th. UNM has been participating in the celebration since 2017.
In 2022, UNM was declared a FirstGenFoward institution by NASPA's Center for First-Generation Student Success. The Center for First-generation Student Success has evolved into FirstGen Forward, a network with a three-phase approach to scaling holistic first-generation student success, and UNM is working to advance through the first two phases.
