Analysis of Supportive Campus Environments and First-Generations-Student Learning Outcomes

This research utilized ten years of National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) data to identify differences between first- and non-first-generation students’ relationship with supportive campus environment variables and learning outcomes. The dataset included 3,796 non-first-generation and 1,844 first-generation students that attended a research intensive public institution between 2003 and 2011. The main dependent variable was a composite measure of student learning gains across four areas: writing, speaking, thinking critically and analyzing numerical or statistical information. The results indicated that while supportive campus environments are critical for all students, first-generation students showed higher and more consistent statistical associations with campus environment variables measuring faculty and peer relationships as compared to non-first-generation students that showed highly significant relationships with variables measuring support from campus administration or support personnel. This finding could lend support to theories that first-generation students come to campus with less social capital related to the inner workings of university environments and as a result rely more heavily on peer and faculty relationships for increased learning outcomes as compared to non-first-generation students.