By Aimee Leturmy, University Registrar at Bentley University
When I accepted the registrar position at Bentley University in March 2022, I was excited to join an institution that was strategically focused on balancing ethics, innovation, and sustainability within a growing global business market. Bentley is the polar opposite of Florida State University, a large public institution in the south, where I had spent the previous fifteen years working in a variety of roles in the registrar’s office. I was used to working with a variety of students from different backgrounds. I often found myself a problem solver, particularly for underrepresented students who weren’t as familiar with university culture. I was excited about my new opportunity, however, I was apprehensive about Bentley’s different student demographic, as I had become passionate about breaking down policy barriers and university bureaucratic processes to better support students. I did not know if my new role would provide the same opportunities to support underrepresented students. I soon learned that the university had recently selected the first person of color to serve as the institution’s president. Soon after, Bentley implemented a strategic plan that focused on the recruitment and enrollment of first-generation college students as the primary means of increasing enrollment of students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Investment in first-generation students
The investment in first-generation student success appeared to be well-planned when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned affirmative action in June 2023. As other institutions consider new enrollment management strategies, Bentley has continued to build on its early success of two programs targeting first-generation college students.
The First-Gen Presidential Scholars program is similar to a TRIO program, though not federally funded, offers a full scholarship and wrap-around services for a limited number of first-generation college students.
The BentleyFirst scholarship offers in-state tuition for Massachusetts high school graduates who will be the first in their families to attend college.
In Fall 2022 and Fall 2023, the first-year class was 25% and 23% first-generation students, respectively.
The number of students who identify as White also reduced from 60% to 53% over a three-year period from Fall 2020 to Fall 2023, with record first-year enrollments in Fall 2022 and 2023.
While I was excited that the university was committed to supporting a new profile of students, I began to observe practices that I believed were designed to support the historically traditional Bentley student (e.g., a White male). I wasn’t sure that many within the university understood that the shifting demographic would need different support than past generations of students at the university. Suggesting to faculty that policies may need to be adjusted was a difficult proposition, particularly without existing data to support these changes.
Data-driven change
I had begun my doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies before I left FSU. The program develops scholarly practitioners and emphasizes that research topics should focus on solving a problem in your local context. When I considered dissertation topics that would support my professional environment, I immediately thought of the first-generation students at Bentley. My research focuses on how first-generation students with varying levels of support (i.e., First-Gen Presidential Scholars, and BentleyFirst scholarship recipients) experience the university. I was specifically interested in identifying practices that support the students, while also identifying any barriers that the students face. There has been much research focused on first-generation students, but little look at it through an institutional lens.
How does this research inform professionals at other universities?
Each university has its own unique culture. While there are many well-known barriers that first-generation students face in college, it is the factors that are unique to the institution that are often overlooked when administrators consider changes to better support students.
The first-generation student population is incredibly diverse and complex with intersectional identities. This renders many “one-size-fits-all” solutions unsuccessful. While additional academic services and financial aid packages may address some of this population’s needs, existing research shows that this is not enough.
I look forward to sharing my research findings at the AACRAO Annual Meeting on April 7-10, 2023 in Columbus, OH.