Focus on first-gen
From The UC Irvine Podcast by University of California, Irvine
October 31, 2025 · 27 min
About this episode
This episode focuses on first-generation college students at UC Irvine, featuring guest Scott Lerner who shares his experiences and initiatives to support this population.
The University of California defines a first-generation college student as “a student where neither parent nor guardian have earned a four-year college degree.” At UC Irvine, Institutional Research, Assessment, and Planning updated its student head count data on Oct. 24 to include fall of 2025, and according to the enrollment dashboard, 11,104 out of 30,260 (36.7 percent) undergraduates have first-generation status. The latest four-year graduation rate for first-gen students at UC Irvine is 72.8 percent, and the six-year graduation rate is 83.8 percent. We’re shining the spotlight on first-gen students in this episode of The UC Irvine Podcast. Our guest is Scott Lerner, a lecturer in the School of Humanities’ composition program. Once a first-gen student himself, he commits extensive time and energy to that population on campus, teaching classes with their experiences as the primary theme and helping lead initiatives to increase first-gen visibility. These efforts include a freshman seminar exploring the hidden curriculum and a website of resources and contacts. Lerner shares stories of tribulation and triumph from his first-gen journey, explains how he structures courses to help…
People in this episode
Guest: Scott Lerner
Topics covered
- first-generation college students
- graduation rates
- student support
- education initiatives
- personal stories
Keywords
- first-generation
- college students
- graduation rates
- UC Irvine
- student support
- education
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of California
Places: UC Irvine
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