The San Jose State Academic Affairs board of directors examined how the university can provide more academic and financial support to first-generation college students during Wednesday’s Zoom meeting.
Anoop Kaur, the Associated Students director of academic affairs, said providing more resources is one of her top priorities.
“As a first-generation student, I had no support coming into SJSU,” Kaur said during the meeting. “I would really like to see something developed.”
The Academic Affairs Committee addresses student’s academic needs and growth by reviewing university policies and communicating with faculty members, according to the A.S. committee webpage.
Kaur said she and SJSU Chief Diversity Officer Kathy Wong Lau brainstormed ways to provide more resources after the Spring 2020 Campus Climate Survey reported 54% of its respondents were first-generation students.
The Campus Climate Survey defines first-generation students as those whose parents or guardians haven’t completed high school or college.
The survey is sent to students, faculty, staff and administrators every few years to ask questions about their campus experiences, according to the SJSU Campus Climate Survey webpage.
“I asked [Wong-Lau], ‘Why does SJSU only offer The Education Opportunity Program (EOP) as support for first-generation students when half of [the survey respondents] are first-generation?’,” Kaur said. “So we started talking about ways to increase support.”
EOP provides academic support to first-generation, low-income and educationally disadvantaged students, according to its website.
The list of Wong and Kaur’s ideas include allocating a page on SJSU’s website where first-generation students can easily access resources for scholarships and student organizations.
Another idea involved revitalizing the Generate: First-Generation College Student Program, an academic mentoring program adopted by the MOSAIC Cross Cultural Center in 2014.
Kaur said A.S. directors will choose one idea to support and elaborate upon in the committee’s future meetings.
Yareli Sanchez, a justice studies junior and first-generation student, said she appreciates the committee’s ideas, especially providing mentors for students.
“I think mentors would really help first-time students who come in with a lot of fear about failure and not knowing how to navigate their way through college,” Sanchez said in a phone call.
She said while she’s a part of EOP and uses the Chicanx/Latinx Student Success Center in the Student Union, she’s concerned about the lack of resources available for first-generation students.
“It doesn't add up that there is so much diversity and a lot of Latino first-generation students at SJSU, yet people don't take us into consideration and [realize] how big of an impact [more resources] would be for us,” Sanchez said.
Academic Affairs Budget
Samantha Quiambao, the leadership and government program coordinator, encouraged directors to use money in the A.S. account to plan committee activities and provide giveaways for students.
She said all of the A.S. committees, with the exception of the Programming Board Committee, share $20,000 that directors can spend to create various events, programs or giveaways.
“The main thing I want [Academic Affairs] to know is that you have this pool of money that you can use towards your programs and projects,” Quiambao said during the meeting.
A.S. has 12 committees that specialize in different areas including reviewing A.S. finances or planning campus life events, according to the A.S. committee webpage.
Quiambao said so far A.S. has spent $3,000 of the $20,000 on publicity and promotion expenses, such as gift cards to students or to advertise their committee’s activities online or in person.
“I think this is where a majority of our money has been going lately,” Quiambao said.
Quiambao said whatever money is left over will be placed in a reserved fund for the committees to access for future financial needs.
A.S. committees will also receive money from new student fees collected by the university once Fall semester begins.
“It’s important that [the money is] used [to help] students in the right way,” Quiambao said.
