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First-Generation Students at Purdue 2011 to 2015

By Andy Zehner

Purdue’s efforts to improve student success metrics – and to better serve student customers – compel the University to keep first-generation students on-track with the rest of the student population. First-generation students are believed to have special characteristics, and academic advisors, residence hall staff, instructors and others need to understand them. This report presents data on first-generation students. Part #1 compares the demographics of first-generation students in recent years relative to other Purdue students. Part #2 considers their academic performance in particular classes, majors and colleges. Part #3 briefly considers some of the recent academic literature concerning first-generation students.

The findings contains here can be summarized very briefly. We find that first-generation students are consistently lower in academic qualifications and in academic outcomes when compared with other students. The gaps are never large, but they are ubiquitous. Whether or not first-generation status should be considered at all is debatable.

PART 1: DEMOGRAPHICS

About 20% of new Purdue undergraduate students are first-generation

First-generation students represent about 20% of new beginner students in each of the past four years. Indiana residents account for the majority of first-generation students, though the international share has increased.

Table 1 First-Generation Students as a Share of Purdue Cohorts

Total Resident Non-Resident International Fall 2011 to 2014 5325 19.9% 3503 24.4% 980 12.5% 842 18.4%

Fall 2011 1500 22.1% 1058 28.0% 247 13.5% 195 16.6% Fall 2012 1426 21.4% 927 26.2% 280 14.4% 219 18.8% Fall 2013 1384 20.9% 929 25.7% 274 13.8% 181 17.5% Fall 2014 1015 15.2% 589 17.2% 179 8.7% 247 20.5%

Over the past four years, 22% of women and 18% of men have been first generation. Purdue’s overall gender balance has been about 57% men and 43% women, and among first-generation students it is 52% men and 48% women.

First-generation status is substantially more common for two ethnic groups: Hispanic/Latino (31%) and Black or African American (29%). Despite the high percentages for these two groups, the majority (66%) of first-generation students are white. (see illustration)

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Chart 2 Number & Percent of First-Generation Students by Ethnicity

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Among Purdue’s academic schools and colleges, first-generation students are well-represented in some schools and underrepresented in others. In the College of Agriculture, 25% of students are first-generation, but in Engineering only 13% are. Nevertheless, because of its large overall enrollment, Engineering hosts the largest number of first-generations students.

Chart 3 Number & Percent of First-Generation Students by College

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First-generation students’ academic qualifications are similar to those of other students

There is a small but consistent gap between the academic qualifications of first-generation students and those of other students in their cohort.1 The following table shows the gap for three different comparisons based on SAT scores:

Table 4 SAT Test Scores, First Generation v. Other Students

Average Pct. above Pct. below Test Score 700 or 1400 500 or 1000

FirstGen Other FirstGen Other FirstGen Other SAT M & E 1167 1232 5.3% 14.2% 11.6% 5.8% SAT Math 612 650 19.4% 33.5% 9.2% 4.9%

SAT English 556 584 3.6% 8.7% 23.3% 14.8%

In combined math and English scores, first-generation students earn scores that are about 40 points lower than the average for all students. The gap is 38 points for the math SAT and 28 points for the English section. Readers can judge the significance of a test-score gap of this magnitude (38 points on a scale of 1600). The difference is more clearly evident when we consider the share of students who earn very high scores (19% of first-generation versus 34% of other students earn a 700 or higher for SAT math, or very low scores (9% of first-generation students compared with 5% of other students earn below a 500 on SAT math.

Average scores imply that first-generation students’ scores are consistently lower than those of other students. A different perspective shows that the majority of first-generation students are competitive with other students. When the math SAT scores of the two groups are laid out in parallel, there is a 72% overlap. About 18% more first-generation students have math SAT scores below 600, and about 18% more non-first generation students have scores above 650.

Chart 5 Comparison of Math SAT Scores by Range, First-Generation v. Other Students

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1 These calculations are based on a sample of students for whom the test scores were available. The sample is 93% of all students in the cohort, but excludes mostly international students. ACT scores have been converted to SAT equivalent. Students who attempted SAT or ACT multiple times are credited for their highest score. The cut-off values for Table 4 and Chart 5 are arbitrary.

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Enrollment at Purdue is affected by the very different standards and requirements of each college. When only students within a college are compared, first-generation students’ math SAT scores are lower in all cases by a range of 30-40 SAT points. Chart 6 shows the 20th, 50th and 80th percentile values for students in five of Purdue’s largest colleges, pairing the ranges for non-first-generation students and first-generation students. It shows that in each college, first-generation students are similar to, though always slightly below, other students in that college.

The 80th percentile for Engineering students is 780 (non-first-generation) and 760 (first-generation). At the 20th percentile of the Engineering ranges, the values are 660 and 640. The case is similar for the Explorers program, where the two groups are 20 points apart at both the 20th and 80th percentile. As the chart shows, the lowest quintile of first-generation engineering students score higher than the fourth quintile of HHS students. Thus, first generation students are more similar to other students in their college than they are to first-generation students in other colleges or programs.

Chart 6 Comparison of Math SAT Percentiles, First Generation v. Other Students, 5 Selected Colleges

It is noted above, in Chart 3, that first-generation students are more strongly represented in some Purdue colleges than in others. They are about 20% of all students, but range from 25% in one college to 13% of another. Chart 7 shows that this disparity is correlated with academic standards of each college. The higher the standards (average math SAT), the smaller the share of first-generation students likely to be found in that college. The trend line has an r2 value of .622, signaling a close connection.

Chart 7 Scatterplot of Average Math SAT & First-Generation Share, by College

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SAT scores are not a complete measure of students’ academic potential or a reliable predictor of their college outcomes. Repeated assessments over many years show a significant but weak connection between SAT test scores and college performance. Nowhere have we found that a difference of 20-40 points in SAT scores provides any basis to differentiate students. Thus the evidence shown here affirms that first-generation students at Purdue are similar to other students in terms of their academic potential. They are under-represented in engineering and pharmacy, but those who are admitted are competitive with other students.

First-generation students feel the need for more academic support

The Fall 2015 cohort of students were the first to complete the Student Information Form (SIF), a valuable self-assessment of students’ expectations conducted by the registrar’s staff and academic advisors. The SIF asked students if they expect to need help with a variety of academic and personal issues. The following chart shows the share of students who reported thinking they would need help with each of 12 topics.

Chart 8 SIF Survey Responses to “Need Help” Questions

[Statistically significant at p< .01 are Study skills, Mathematics, Career counseling, Chemistry, Test Anxiety and Biology]

The rates of self-assessed need are similar between first-generation and other students. Study skills is the mostly often cited need and personal counseling is the least cited for both groups.2

Statistically significant differences between the two groups occur for six subjects. First-generation students expressed a higher likelihood of needing help for five of the six cases, including study skills and mathematics. Only in the case of career counseling were first-generation students less likely to expect needing help. The literature (discussed in Part 3, below) suggests that one of the distinguishing features of first-generation students might be a lower inclination to seek help or exploit optional services and opportunities. Interestingly, students who checked career counseling on the SIF earned significantly higher average GPAs in their first semester. It is uncertain whether this is a spurious correlation, or perhaps that an early desire for career counseling signals students who are organized, ambitious and forward-looking and thus more likely to take advantage of optional services.

2 The SIF asked students before matriculation whether they thought they would need various kinds of help. Signaling an expectation does not mean that students actually sought help or that help received was effective.

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In other SIF details, first-generation students were about equally firm in their decision of a major. First-generation students were more likely than other students to say they wanted a college near their home, but otherwise they gave similar explanations for why they chose to attend Purdue.

First-Generation students have a similar sense of belonging at Purdue

Further insight into the first-generation experience can be gleaned from the SERU survey.3 The SERU survey provides several tests of whether first-generation students differ substantially from all Purdue students. In none of the following cases is there a significant different between the sentiments of first-generation students and those of Purdue students overall. The share of students who are less than fully satisfied at Purdue is 10-20% of students in all cases.

Table 9 SERU Survey Comparison of Responses to “I belong at Purdue” Question

p < 0.498 First Generation Total Not a meaningful difference Parents Attended

College First

Generation

I bel

ong

at P

urdu

e

Very Count 21 10 31 dissatisfied % 1.7% 1.6% 1.7% Dissatisfied Count 31 14 45

% 2.5% 2.2% 2.4% Somewhat Count 51 39 90 dissatisfied % 4.1% 6.2% 4.8% Somewhat Count 204 101 305

satisfied % 16.6% 16.1% 16.4% Satisfied Count 449 234 683

% 36.5% 37.3% 36.8% Very satisfied Count 474 230 704

% 38.5% 36.6% 37.9% Total Count 1230 628 1858

% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Table 10 SERU Survey Comparison of Responses to “I would choose Purdue” Question

p < 0.813 First Generation Total Not a meaningful difference Parents

Attended College

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I'd c

hoos

e Pu

rdue

aga

in

Very Count 29 15 44 dissatisfied % 2.4% 2.4% 2.4% Dissatisfied Count 49 18 67

% 4.0% 2.9% 3.6% Somewhat Count 79 40 119 dissatisfied % 6.4% 6.4% 6.4% Somewhat Count 186 99 285

satisfied % 15.1% 15.7% 15.3% Satisfied Count 371 181 552

% 30.2% 28.8% 29.7% Very satisfied Count 514 276 790

% 41.9% 43.9% 42.5% Total Count 1228 629 1857

% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

3 The SERU results discussed here comes from the Spring 2014 administration, to which 2,943 students responded overall, and 1,858 students to the specific questions cited.

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Table 11 SERU Survey Comparison of Responses to “I feel valued as an individual” Question

p < 0.227 First Generation Total Not a significant difference Parents Attended

College First Generation

I fee

l val

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indi

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al a

t Pur

due

Strongly Count 22 5 27 disagree % 3.7% 1.7% 3.0% Disagree Count 61 28 89

% 10.1% 9.5% 9.9% Neither Count 132 66 198

% 22.0% 22.4% 22.1% Agree Count 287 158 445

% 47.8% 53.6% 49.7% Strongly Count 99 38 137

agree % 16.5% 12.9% 15.3% Total Count 601 295 896

% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Table 12 SERU Survey Comparison of Responses to “I’m proud to be a Purdue student” Question

First Generation

p < 0.374 Not a significant difference

Parents Attended College

First Generation Total

I'm p

roud

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Pur

due

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ent Strongly Count 10 4 14

disagree % 1.7% 1.4% 1.6% Disagree Count 12 1 13

% 2.0% .3% 1.5% Neither Count 65 35 100

% 10.9% 11.9% 11.2% Agree Count 282 136 418

% 47.1% 46.3% 46.8% Strongly Count 230 118 348

agree % 38.4% 40.1% 39.0% Total Count 599 294 893

% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Table 13 SERU Survey Comparison of Responses to “Most students are proud” Question

First Generation

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Parents Attended College

First Generation Total

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t stu

dent

s ar

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atte

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urdu

e Strongly Count 5 1 6 disagree % .8% .3% .7% Disagree Count 4 1 5

% .7% .3% .6% Neither Count 69 31 100

% 11.6% 10.5% 11.2% Agree Count 345 165 510

% 57.9% 55.7% 57.2% Strongly Count 173 98 271

% 29.0% 33.1% 30.4% Total Count 596 296 892

% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

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Among reasons for choosing to attend Purdue, both first-generation and non-first-generation students overwhelmingly cited Purdue’s “academic reputation” in the 2010 CIRP Freshman Survey. Eighty-nine percent of first-generation students and 87% of non-first-generation students said this was very important in their decision. By contrast, parental influence was deemed very important by only 6% of first-generation and 14% of other students. Other adult influences (relatives, high school teachers, etc.) were assigned single-digit levels of importance – with one exception. For first-generation students, the influence of high school guidance counselors was rated “very important” 14% of the time. This number is more than twice that given to the influence of parents.

The SERU survey provides a complementary and contrasting perspective.4 Less than 40% of students said “parental desires” was an important reason for their choice of major. Students whose parents attended college are, in this case, more likely to act on parental influence.

Table 14 Share of Students Saying Parental Desired Were Important Influence, First Generation v. Other Students

First Generation

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difference

Parents Attended College

First Generation

Total

Pare

ntal

de

sire

s No Count 718 412 1130 % 60.1% 68.1% 62.8%

Yes Count 477 193 670 % 39.9% 31.9% 37.2%

Total Count 1195 605 1800 % 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

4 The SERU was last administered at Purdue in Spring 2014. The survey received more than 2900 responses, but fewer for the questions shown here. The confidence interval for the questions shown here is +/- 2.25%.

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Part 2: Performance First-generation students perform about as well as all students in most courses.

Up to this point, we’ve looked at aggregated data for new students in multiple years. Here, we refresh the dataset and look at all students for a single semester – Fall 2015. That group recorded more than 90,000 course records during the Fall semester including 20,506 course records by first-generation students. Looking at these, we can compare group performance at the course level. Chart 15 illustrates a very close correlation between grades earned by first-generation and other students.

Chart 15 Percent of Students Earning A or B Grades, First-Generation v. Other Students

Fall 2015 only

Of 120 courses with enrollment of 100 or greater, first-generation students do substantially less well in only 14 courses.5 Of the 20 largest courses (see Table 16) first-generation students do significantly worse in only 7, significantly better in 1, and comparable in the rest. Note, too, that even where the statistical test finds a significant difference, that difference is small. For ENGL106, the average course grade is 3.55 for other students and 3.47 for first-generation students. For CHM115 and MA16010 the differences are about one-third of a letter grade.

The r2 statistic in Chart 15 has a value of .952. This is an extraordinarily strong correlation. The conclusion we can draw is that in only a few courses do first-generation students perform significantly less well than Purdue students in general.

5 The measure of success is percentage of the group earning an A or B in the course. The measure of “substantial” is a Z-score test with a .05 significance cut-off.

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Table 16 Average Course Grade & Pct. Earning A or B, First Generation v. Other Students

Fall 2015 Only

All Purdue First Generation Count GPA Pct AB Count GPA Pct AB

ENGL10600 4728 3.55 47.4% 1016 3.47 41.8% COM11400 4507 3.19 44.1% 935 3.05 46.2% CHM11500 2844 3.14 57.8% 455 2.86 47.7% PHYS17200 2248 2.63 14.4% 280 2.50 13.6% SPAN10200 2172 3.04 9.0% 462 2.97 12.3% SPAN10100 2125 3.23 2.0% 448 3.03 2.7%

MA16010 1935 2.81 42.5% 517 2.55 34.6% PSY12000 1913 2.77 33.2% 521 2.53 29.2%

ENGR13100 1862 3.73 87.9% 212 3.67 87.3% MA16100 1642 2.53 37.9% 309 2.40 33.7% MA16500 1503 2.79 38.9% 245 2.76 33.1% MA15300 1371 2.60 32.2% 493 2.49 31.6%

ECON25100 1367 2.98 25.3% 264 2.87 26.1% MA16200 1302 2.80 19.7% 206 2.42 17.0%

BIOL11000 1224 3.21 56.8% 384 2.97 52.1% MA16600 1126 3.07 18.7% 132 2.99 22.0% CS15900 1118 3.00 6.4% 113 3.11 5.3%

CHM11600 1103 3.35 6.0% 184 3.21 7.6% MA26100 1073 3.08 32.6% 133 2.81 26.3% SOC10000 1051 3.23 39.9% 302 3.09 34.4%

Note: Yellow shading indicates statistical significance at p < .05. The test is one-tailed: “Is first-generation lower than all Purdue?”

First-generation students persist and graduate at rates 3-5% lower than other students The one-year persistence rate for first-generation students at Purdue has improved from 85% in 2008 to 89% in 2014. This nearly parallels overall improvement in one-year persistence from 87% to 93%. At the end of the second year, the gap remains, though the rate has improved from 77% in 2008 to 83% in 2013. Graduation rates are also trending upward for both first-generation students and other students, and again, the gap remains about constant over four years.

Table 17 Persistence & Graduation Rates, First Generation v. Other Students

1-year persistence 2-year persistence 4-year graduation

FirstGen Other FirstGen Other FirstGen Other 2008 84.6% 87.3% 77.4% 80.6% 40.6% 45.2% 2009 85.2% 89.0% 78.6% 82.5% 42.2% 46.5% 2010 85.6% 90.2% 77.5% 83.7% 43.1% 49.2% 2011 87.1% 90.6% 79.3% 84.3% 47.5% 51.4% 2012 88.1% 91.0% 82.3% 86.1% 2013 88.7% 92.6% 82.9% 87.7% 2014 89.3% 92.8%

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PART 3: REVIEW OF RECENT LITERATURE & ARTICLES

Being the first person from one’s family to attend college is not, in itself, disadvantageous to a student. It is often assumed otherwise. Legacy students are assumed to get useful insights about college from their parents that first-generation students do not: “As a first-generation student, you may not have a clear idea of what college will actually be like,” reads one typical website. But parents’ college experiences – gained 20 or more years earlier and often at a different institution – are probably irrelevant to new students today. Experts say parents with college experience are just as likely to give their children bad advice as parents with no experience. What’s more, FERPA regulations require the University to keep parents and other adult relatives at arm’s length. By law, the University must deal directly with the students concerning financial aid, course registration, and other matters. Students may confer with parents if they wish, but contemporary practice does not empower parents to play the key role that first-generation doctrine presumes.

Nevertheless, there is a consensus that first-generation students need special attention:

First-generation college students are receiving increasing attention from researchers and policy makers, with the goal of better understanding their college decision-making process and supporting their progress in higher education. This is a critical population of students to study because of the general perception that, relative to their peers, such students have poorer academic preparation, different motivations for enrolling in college, varying levels of parental support and involvement, different expectations for their college experience, and significant obstacles in their path to retention and academic success. 6 (Emphasis added.)

Saenz points out that students whose parents attended college usually have more financial support, more access to enrichment experiences, and other genuine advantages. Other research shows first-generation students might lack a sense of how to tap into available resources and a sense of entitlement to those resources [Kirchner]7. Another source suggests that first-generation students experience social-class discrimination, both at school (where they lack the graces and spending money of their legacy classmates) and at home (where their campus experiences earn them no sympathy). The Washington Post reported in mid-2015 that first-generation students have “unique psychological challenges.” The author asserted that attending college can be seen as a break from (working-class) family tradition and that students who abandon that tradition suffer emotional burdens. But evidence from the CIRP and SERU surveys show that parental support has always been a marginal factor for most students. If there is a first-generation psychological burden, it affects a small share of first generation students and probably affects non-first-generation student about as often. (A student who pursues a career path different from parents’ expectations is likely to suffer the same opprobrium, whether his parents wanted him to be a doctor or a welder.)

Saenz declares, “[F]irst-generation students face more difficult challenges relative to their peers in traversing through the higher education pipeline. Such obstacles can include: limited access to information about how to choose the best college. . .” But again, parents’ experience is irrelevant. Students must consult up-to-date national rankings, various college websites, and public resources such as LearnMoreIndiana. All of these truly helpful resources are available at the school or public libraries, in high school guidance offices, through free college brochures, etc. A first-generation student who tapped into these readily available resources would be far better informed than another student who take a parent’s advice to attend the family alma

6 Saenz, V.B., Hurtado, S., Barrera, D., Wolf, D., & Yeung, F. (2007). First in My Family: A Profile of First-Generation College Students at Four-Year Institutions Since 1971. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA. 7 Kirchner, Ben, Saldivar, Manuel, and Tracy, Rita (2011). How first-generation students learn to navigate education systems: A case study of First Graduate. New Directions for Youth Development, Wiley Periodicals.

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mater. Students at high schools where such basic resources are not available will be seriously disadvantaged. High school quality would seem to be a much better indicator than first-generation status.

A recent New York Times article under the heading “First-Generation Students Unite,” offered dramatic examples of the difficulties faced by poor and minority students at Harvard, but no evidence that first-generation status in itself makes a difference. It seems likely that in many cases “first-generation” is a euphemism for ethnic minority or low income. If so, a recent article in Inside Higher Ed maintains that the term first-generation is still too negative and harmful. The author suggests instead that affirming terms (e.g., “rising scholars”) ought to be preferred.8

The point here is not that a student can succeed on his or her own. Students need help to succeed at college. They need advice and access to resources concerning their choice of college, financial concerns, advice on study habits and time usage discipline, etc. A student who gets no help from anyone will certainly be at a disadvantage. But students can get good help and encouragement from many sources – not just from parents. In some important cases, good help must come from someone other than the parents. The first-generation attribute, if we rely on it too heavily, can lead us astray by making us conclude that students who haven’t gotten help from parents, haven’t gotten it from anywhere at all.

8 White, Byron P., “The Emerging Student Majority: Beyond a Deficit View,” Inside Higher Ed, April 19, 2016.