First Gen Steering Committee Accomplishments

Since 2022 when the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was designated a First Gen Forward Institution by the Center for First-generation Student Success (now known as FirstGen Forward), our campus and the First Generation Steering Committee have taken concrete steps to improve resources, experience, and visibility of first generation students on our campus. Below you will find a short summary of all the projects and initiatives completed and in progress made on behalf of first generation students at Illinois. 

2022: Illinois designated a First Gen Forward Institution

Based on efforts previously taken by campus, in 2022, the University of Illinois was designated a First Gen Foward Insitutions (now called First Gen Forward Network Member). Serving as the entry point into the FirstGen Forward Network, Network Member institutions commit to building a foundational understanding of first-generation student success through participating in monthly workshops, networking and professional development opportunities, sharing knowledge and resources, and contributing to a peer community.

2023: Illinois Designated a First Scholars Institution

Now called First Gen Forward Network Leader, in 2023, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was designated a First Scholars Institution. As a Network Leader, we have worked in partnership with First Gen Forward to transform our infrastructures and supports to advance first-generation student success. Utilizing a continuous improvement framework, we have utilized this partnership to access diagnostic tools providing critical institutional insight, a host of customized solutions and turnkey toolkits, robust data reporting, and expert guidance to continue to refine and expand our approach to supporting First Gen students. 

2023: Jennifer Mendez hired as inaugural Director of First-Gen Initiatives

In October 2023, Director Mendez was hired to provide leadership in creating innovative university-wide programming and support structures to expand success for first-generation students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She has been working in the field of higher education since 2015, but throughout Jennifer’s time at Illinois she has been a campus leader in developing the foundation for our campus-wide efforts. 

2024: Completed Institutional Mapping

As part of our continuing commitment to provide institutional support to our first-generation student population, we underwent a process that allowed us to map our formal services, programs, and roles relating specifically to first-generation student success on our campus. Institutional mapping helped clarify what and where services are offered as well as determine where potential opportunities for collaboration exist. Completed by faculty and staff across campus, our Institutional Map helped better understand the many disparate programs, services, and support structures for first generation students across campus. 

2024: Launched First Gen Status Update

When students apply to the University of Illinois, on the application there is a section that asks about family educational background. How applicants fill out this section is how the University was the only way that determines if someone is designated a First Generation student. In 2024, the First Generation Steering Committee partnered with the Office of the Registrar to create a new pathway for students to check and update their First Generation status. If you are interested in checking or updating your status, please visit https://go.illinois.edu/firstgenstatus.

2024: First Gen Needs Assessment

As a student parallel to the Institutional Mapping Project, in 2024 the First Gen Steering Committee launched a survey aimed at better understanding how First Gen students utilized services on campus, identified gaps in programs available to students, and asked for feedback on how First Gen students could be better supported across many dimensions of campus life. The results from this survey will help inform many of the actions taken by the Steering Committee in future years. 

2025: Recognized as FirstGen Forward Network Champions

FirstGen Forward, formerly the Center for First-generation Student Success, recently announced the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as one of only eighteen (18) institutions of higher education selected to its newest class of FirstGen Forward Network Champions. Network Champion institutions are an exclusive group serving as national leaders in advancing first-generation efforts and contributing to an important knowledge base of evidence-based practices, leadership engagement, and scaling student supports.

FirstGen Forward Network Champions press release (doc)

As the First Gen Steering Committee continues to work to support students across campus, we will update this page with current initiatives and goals.