KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Going to college is a big moment, especially if you're the first one in your family to attend college.
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At UMKC , 49% of its undergraduate class identifies as first-generation college students.
The next class has an even larger group of first time students at over 53%.
The university was recognized Wednesday by the Center for First-Generation Student Success for how well it supports first generation students.
Ellieana Hale, a first-generation student, says it's a reflection of the work the university has done to help people like her.
"So there's a lot of things that first-gen students encounter that other students simply just won't," she said. "You normally know the lingo. You know what FAFSA is, you know what a credit hour is, you normally understand how many classes you have to take. You understand course numbers. When you're first-gen, that's not there."
The university recognized a need for more support for first generation students and in 2019 began a pilot program to offer that help.
"They were looking at trends across our student data and noticed that first-generation college students weren't achieving the high retention and graduation rates we were hoping for," said Megan Elsen, the director of the First-Gen Roo program.
The pilot program started with 30 students and quickly caught on.
"Our program is expanding at a rapid rate," Hale said.
The recognition UMKC received for their program reinforces the work that's been done.
"Essentially, it just is recognizing us for going above and beyond in the support that we provide to first-gen students," Elsen said.
The program now helps hundreds of students each year.
"I think for UMKC what makes us unique is we've gone beyond just a small program for freshman students," Elsen said.
