As advisors we collect lots of information about our peer education programs. We often only use this data during our annual reporting process to advocate for the importance of peer education at our institutions. However, we can use this data to inform a variety of stakeholders- administrators, the peer educators, and the campus. This session will discuss why and how to share the information collected in creative ways that are intentional, accessible and informative.

The Rhode Island Department of Health is sponsoring the inaugural Cultivating Communities of Care Conference. This new conference will provide information and strategies to build healthier and safer educational environments in Rhode Island. The conference will take place online on Friday, April 21 from 9 AM - 1 PM Eastern. Conference sessions will follow three tracks: Students (HS & College), K-12 Faculty/Admin, Higher Education Faculty/Admin. 

Learning Outcomes:

1. Understand policies and best practices related to prevention and protective environments in K-12 and higher education settings
2. Familiarity and understanding of value of peer education programs
3. Understanding of public health concepts and frameworks related to suicide prevention, violence prevention, substance use prevention, and mental health and how these health issues are interconnected
4. Awareness of how public health issues are impacting Rhode Island youth, individually and as members of our community

Schedule:

• Keynote Speaker - 9:00am-9:30am
• Data Stories – 9:35am-9:50am
• Session 1 – 10:00am-10:50am
• Session 2 – 11:00am-11:50am
• Youth Panel – 12:00pm-1:00pm

In collaboration with the Peer Education Advisor Faculty, NASPA's Peer Education Initiatives will be hosting four Continuing Education Sessions. This package includes registration for the following four sessions: 

1. February 16, 2023 @ 1PM EST: NASPA Peer Education Advisors Continuing Education: Mentoring 

2. March 16, 2023 @ 2PM EST: NASPA Peer Education Advisors Continuing Education: Addiction & Recovery: Supporting individuals on the College Campus  

3. April 11, 2023 @ 2:30PM EST: Office Hours with Peer Education Faculty

4. May 2, 2023 @ 3:00PM EST: NASPA Peer Education Advisors Continuing Education: Value of Peer Education

Bring your brainstorm ideas or questions, written objectives, and program outlines for consultation. The faculty will be hosting small groups and one-on-one time to review your materials and provide feedback. This is an opportunity to utilize faculty members as a sounding board to those questions or ideas you may have

In this session, presenters from the Center for First-generation Student Success will guide participants through best practices in enhancing data support to advance first-generation student success. These best practices include interrogating institutional definitions of “first-generation student;” ensuring data are collected frequently and accurately; identifying readily available institutional data sources; and analyzing national data for benchmarking and trend analysis.

Learning Outcomes:

Participants will:

• understand common definitions of “first-generation student;”
• examine the nuances inherent in first-generation student data;
• identify institutional data that can inform first-generation student success efforts; and
• understand the national first-generation student success data landscape.

This session will offer participants an opportunity to engage in a discussion on the development and implementation of first-generation student programming. Discussing key themes identified in the book, Developing and Implementing Promising Practices and Programs for First-Generation College Students (Troy et al., 2022), presenters will provide insight into key strategies to develop and implement programs and practices for first-generation students. 

With a focus on chapter five, “Developing First-year Programming for First-generation Students without a Budget: No Money, No Problem”, the conversation will focus on program creation without a budget, intersectionality, and strengths-based programming.  Attendees will have the opportunity to reflect on how they can use these strategies to develop programming at their home institutions to contribute to the success, growth, and leadership experiences of first-generation students.

Learning Outcomes:

Participants will:

• identify strategies to maximize human and financial resources to provide support for first-generation college students;
• understand the role of intersectionality in developing first-gen programming; and
• identify ways to capitalize on the strengths of first-gen students when developing programming.

Students who seek mental health services on campus have been found to improve personal, professional, and social functioning. However, first-generation college students (FGCS) are likely to experience greater emotional and psychological stress but are less likely to access college counseling center (CCC) services. This live briefing will highlight three themes from a qualitative study that examined the experiences of clinicians in working with FGCS. They emphasized the importance of FGCS resilience and the utilization of humility and empowerment to promote FGCS growth.

The presenter will provide insights on how to support FGCS with a multisystemic approach using the SHARE framework. Understanding the clinicians’ experiences enabled us to recognize FGCS resilience and the gaps in supportive services and CCC training. FGCS who courageously seek services with resilience and hope deserve clinicians who honor their narratives and assets and are knowledgeable in treating and supporting them.

Learning Outcomes:

Participants will:

• identify barriers FGCS experience in mental health seeking;
• understand the experiences of mental health providers in working with FGCS; and
• become familiar with the SHARE framework for working with FGCS and its utility for student services professionals (including clinicians).

Over the past few decades, research on first-generation college students has increased, but what have these studies contributed to our understanding of the backgrounds, needs, and desires of those who are first in their families to graduate from college? This live briefing will highlight findings from the recently published An Annotated Bibliography on First-generation College Students: Research from 2008-2019  and include a discussion of where the field of study should go next if we want to improve the support of first-generation college students. The annotated bibliography examines hundreds of entries, placing each into chapters centering on eleven different topics including career readiness; intersections of identity; mass media and popular culture; memoirs and fiction; parents and families; and social and cultural capital (among others). 

Among the topics for discussion will be what themes the co-authors found most problematic and most promising; the impact that deficit framing of research has had on understanding first-generation college students; and potential future directions for research on first-generation students that are more equitable, inclusive, and strengths-based. Participants will also learn how mass media and popular culture have portrayed first-generation college students during the last decade as well as how they can use the annotated bibliography to further support students on their campuses.

Learning Outcomes:

Participants will:

• identify recent trends in scholarship on first-generation college students;
• discuss opportunities for additional areas of research; and
• determine strategies for using the annotated bibliography to further their understanding and support of first-generation college students.