Resources for First-Gen Students
The Office of Intercultural Affairs offers resources for first-generation students as well as first-hand stories from current and past students.
First-Generation Scholars
First-Generation Scholar Program is a collaborative transition program designed to provide academic, professional, financial and social support to incoming first-gen students.
Benefits
- A $500 book stipend to help defray the cost of textbooks and study materials for the first semester
- A 1-credit study skill course with a first-gen-specific lens that gives students space on campus to reflect on their experiences as a first-gen student, a technique that has been shown to destigmatize a first-gen status and increase self-worth in students
- 1-on-1 Academic Coaching with a qualified administrator to help improve executive functioning skills necessary for college success (e.g. time management, organization, etc.)
- Priority registration and schedule review, giving first-gen students early access to course selection and advising for every semester moving forward
- Connection with a 'first-gen ambassador' - an upper-class first-gen student at Stonehill who acts as a 'big' to engage students socially and model successful academic behavior
- Current students will also have the opportunity to be Ambassadors in subsequent years, which continues connectedness with both Academic Advising and the broader first-gen community at Stonehill
- Purposeful and intentional advisor pairings: FGSP students are paired with faculty advisors who have a specific interest, passion, and investment in the success of underrepresented students at Stonehill College.
Additional Support
In addition to faculty advising, specific collaborations and programs, Academic Advising also provides general academic support to all students including our underrepresented populations. This includes:
Our Faculty Advisor Program provides students with direct, one-to-one academic guidance and mentorship from within their chosen major.
1-on-1 academic support designed to support students who are struggling academically.
OAS&A is available to students when they need support on how to navigate higher education systems with faculty (e.g. the use of office hours, drafting professional emails, etc.). These areas can act as significant barriers particularly for underrepresented students, so OAS&A provides support to help ease that burden.
Every student receives a mid-year assessment in all of their courses, which provides a snap-shot of where that student stands in a course. Academic Services then deploys a series of outreach to any struggling student to ensure that no student 'falls through the cracks'.
Since Academic Services works will all students from all class years, we also provide advising about degree progress. This helps ensure that we stay connected with students throughout their entire academic tenure at Stonehill. There is no hand-off or shuffling of students after the first year.
Intercultural Affairs
The Office of Academic Advising coordinates all of the College's resources to focus on and advocate for individual student success. The office provides students with information on academic programs, majors and minors, as well as aids students facing difficulties, academic or otherwise.