Predicting academic success among first-year, first generation students. Thesis (in part fulfilment

Due to immigration the non-Hispanic White population continues to decrease and the population continues to change in regard to the ethnic and racial make-up. As these demographic changes take place higher education institutions will face increasing pressure from stakeholders to create environments that facilitate degree completion among mounting numbers of populations who are at risk in terms of academic success. First generation status denotes one group of students who are at risk in terms of persistence towards a bachelors degree. The purpose of this study was to examine what factors predict the academic success of first year, full-time first generation students. Furthermore, this study examined whether there is a relationship between race, gender, financial need, and language ability and factors used to predict the academic success of first generation students. Factors were defined as variables measured by the 2002 Your First College Year Survey (YFCY) data (HERI, 2004a). Factors fell into five main areas: Studen