Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is a private, non-profit, four-year STEM institution that emphasizes global citizenship and project-based learning among students and faculty. With an R1 Carnegie Research classification, WPI also boasts a strong research culture. The university’s most unique feature is the content-loaded, rapidly moving seven-week term system that creates an opportunity for intensive engagement with course material. The challenge for WPI is supporting students as they transition into a fast-paced and intensive learning environment.
The Office of Academic Advising leads the Insight Program to provide an in-person, co-curricular opportunity that connects students with campus resources, facilitates skill-building activities (e.g., time management), and builds peer learning communities. Rather than treating the entire transition to WPI as a monolithic experience, staff from WPI’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Multicultural Education facilitated opt-in Insight offerings that serve as communities for shared interests, including topics like the LGBTQIAP+ or Black and African-American experience. These offerings are open to all students, but the opt-in element helps students across various intersections of identity find each other within our mid-sized institution. Instructors are then responsible for facilitating the Insight curriculum, but those who oversee the aforementioned opt-in communities can introduce students to campus advocates or tailor their curriculum to enhance support efforts.
In August, we welcomed 30 first-generation students into our inaugural First-Generation cohort. When I asked students, “What made you opt-in to a first-generation Insight group?,” the answers I received included:
“I was trying to find people with similar experiences as me.”
“My advisor told me I should.”
“My mom said I should do it.”
“I wanted to find community.”
As I polled the entire room, community came up more than 10 times. Being first-generation was semi-salient for many of the students, but most importantly, they desired a community that, to some degree, understood how they were entering or transitioning into the university. These students were also interested in supporting future first-generation students as they transitioned to WPI’s uniquely immersive and intensive academic environment.
Reigniting FiGSA
The lively and well-attended first-generation Insight group signaled to WPI staff that students were eager to build community. At the same time, WPI’s First-Generation Student Association (FiGSA) was experiencing a lull as many of its executive board members had graduated or prioritized other endeavors. Members of WPI’s First-Generation Steering Committee had data indicating that our first-generation student population has been growing and would likely continue to grow in the years to come. Additionally, the opt-in Insight group indicated that there were students on campus who identified with being first-generation and craved tailored engagement opportunities. Thus, we put out an open call to the First-Gen Insight group about reigniting FiGSA, to which a strong six members communicated interest. Just a few days later, we received contact from two WPI students, a second-year student and a senior who both had visions for what a robust first-generation student organization could look like. In total, we had eight students, one faculty advisor, and one Insight advisor working together to establish respective responsibilities and a broader vision for the First-Generation Student Association. Students crafted and elected traditional executive roles such as President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. Beyond that, they included executive members responsible for recruitment and engagement, marketing, inter-club collaboration, and relaying institutional knowledge.
Takeaway
This short example from WPI provides positive anecdotal evidence for how cohort programs enable student engagement and leadership development. In this full circle experience, our First-Generation Insight group served as a transition support and catalyst for student engagement.
FiGSA has begun rebuilding their infrastructure through planning general body meetings, programming opportunities, and broader alumni engagement efforts. In coordination with their efforts, WPI’s First-Generation Steering Committee has committed to improving first-generation student support through programming, website revitalizations, and data refinement.
The success of the inaugural cohort illustrates how peer-learning communities and identity-based opt-in initiatives can create a full-circle impact where students can transition from newcomers seeking community to leaders shaping future generations of students. For more information, readers can check out WPI’s Insight Program here.
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1 Learning communities are an evidence-based method for supporting persistence (Engstrom & Tinto, 2008).
2 Students can also opt for their Insight class to be counted towards their Wellness and Physical Education (WPE) graduation requirements (i.e., Insight can be taken as a for-credit offering).
Engstrom, C. M. & Tinto, V. (2008). Learning better together: The impact of learning communities on the persistence of low-income students. Opportunity MATTERS: A Journal of Research Informing Educational Opportunity Practice and Programs, 1(1), 5- 21. opportunity_matters-JAOE_Volume_01_2008.pdf
