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С��è��ý innovates how new students are supported in their first year of college

Story by Misty Bouse. Photos by James Hill.

Across the nation, community colleges are seeing fewer first-generation and low-income students complete their degree programs. At С��è��ý, this national decline is colliding with a local reality of recovering enrollment and increasing financial pressure for a turning point at the state’s largest postsecondary institution.

Yet amid these challenges, С��è��ý has found opportunity. With the support of federal, state and philanthropic partners, the college is reshaping how it approaches student success. Under these pressures, С��è��ý has become increasingly strategic in how it sees students’ success by instituting the First-Year Experience (FYE).

While most community colleges in the country have similar first-year experience programs (estimates are at 80%), С��è��ý employed a design team made up of staff from different departments to create a first-year experience that would be tailored specifically to the college. This student-centered initiative is designed to support new students during one of the most critical times in their educational journey: their very first year of college.

“Creating a sense of belonging and connection for students is incredibly important,” said Josh Laurie, dean of College Success Programs. “That first term, second term and that first year are crucial for building student momentum.”

A Strong Start for First-Generation Students

Starting college can be overwhelming, especially for first-generation students who often have no family roadmap to follow. С��è��ý’s new FYE program aims to change that by surrounding students with personalized guidance and connection from day one.

FYE builds on the success of nationally recognized Future Connect, a mentoring program launched in 2011 that pairs first-generation and low-income students with dedicated coaches and scholarships. After FYE’s pilot year in 2024–25 that reached approximately 2,000 first-time, first-generation students, С��è��ý expanded the effort to include “all first-time-in-college” students, about 5,000 this fall.

Each participant is paired with a FYE coach, who provides one-on-one guidance throughout the academic year. Coaches text students weekly, remind them about campus resources and events, and help them navigate challenges from financial aid to course registration.

“Our First-Year Experience coaches provide holistic, wraparound support to every single student,” said Jana Daugherty, program coordinator. “They support the whole human, not just the individual in class.”

This includes connecting students with all С��è��ý on-campus resources like the Student Basic Needs Center for referrals to childcare, С��è��ý Panther Pantry, counseling, bike rentals, transit passes, as well as off-campus resources like housing and more.

Connecting Students Through Pathways��

To deepen that support, С��è��ý has embedded six FYE coaches within its guided pathways or academic groupings. This alignment allows coaches to connect students to one another and pathway-specific opportunities and resources.

“This year, what we did is we connected coaches to every guided pathway,” Laurie explained. “Now they have a very specific pathway they’re aligned with to better serve students.”

That personalized connection helps students see how their studies fit into long-term goals while ensuring no one slips through the cracks. Daugherty said the outreach begins even before students step into class.

“Coaches reach out weekly, usually it’s a text message,” she said. “Even if students don’t engage every time, they know they’re not alone on this journey.”

FYE also includes an interactive online module hosted on D2L, С��è��ý’s learning platform. Modeled after the college’s “success courses,” the module gamifies learning as students complete weekly levels, earn badges, and can qualify for scholarships by finishing all levels.

Last year’s pilot showed strong early results: FYE met nearly all its goals for retention, grade-point average and credit completion, and about half of all students regularly engaged with their coaches. Those outcomes encouraged the college to scale up the program across all campuses.

A Community Investment

С��è��ý designed FYE with long-term sustainability in mind. Its braided funding model combines general fund support, private donations and foundation grants.

The С��è��ý Foundation received one of its largest gifts by an individual donor to fund the initiative. The $1 million gift pledge by Brigid Flanigan, who is founder and principal of Tenfold Senior Living, is helping build and expand the offerings and support. The pledge will be fulfilled at $200,000 per year over five years.

Laurie said other foundations like the Oregon Community Foundation and Meyer Memorial Trust also have provided funding.

Faculty and staff are also playing a role. Course rosters now include an FYE attribute identifying participating students, allowing instructors to offer extra encouragement and connect them with their coaches when needed. Ultimately, the FYE is about more than numbers, it is about belonging.

“I would say first-generation students show up as really brave,” Daugherty said. “Our college community is so much better because of all of them.”

Laurie agrees. “When I see texts from students saying, ‘Thank you for this. I’m so excited for next week,’ that’s really special,” he said. “Those moments remind us why this work matters.”

For more information visit the pcc.edu/first-year and meet FYE’s staff.