UTPB is committed to creating real opportunities and lasting support for first-generation students.
FirstGen Forward recently welcomed The University of Texas Permian Basin into its newest class of FirstGen Forward Network Champions. These 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.
“We are extremely honored to be selected as a Network Champion in the FirstGen Forward Network,” said Corey Benson, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at UT Permian Basin. “We are committed to supporting first-generation students and have invested in adding and improving programs and services across campus, including the addition of a first-gen focused component at New Student Orientation, launching a mentoring program, and enhancing academic support initiatives. All of this work contributes to positive outcomes for students. For example, last year, our credit completion ratio for first-generation students increased five percent from the previous year.”
One of the ways that UTPB supports first-generation students is through the student-led First Generation Student Organization, a group formed in 2023.
“I am proud to be a first-generation college student because it represents resilience, sacrifice, and the courage to pursue opportunities my parents didn’t have,” said Alondra Ortiz, a senior finance major from Odessa and president of the First Generation Student Organization at UTPB. “My journey hasn’t always been easy, but the support, resources, and community at UTPB have made a meaningful difference in my success. Being part of an institution that truly invests in first-generation students motivates me to keep moving forward and to help others like me do the same. I’m excited and honored about this recognition.”
The FirstGen Forward Network provides a three-phase approach called Network Member, Network Leader, and Network Champion. This approach helps scale holistic first-generation student success. It engages and empowers higher education institutions to transform the first-generation student experience. The network also supports advancing academic and co-curricular outcomes and building more inclusive institutional structures. The current Network includes 470 institutions of higher education, including two statewide systems, representing 47 states and the District of Columbia.
“As one of only 32 institutions in the country to have been recognized as Network Champions, UT Permian Basin has displayed a commitment to actively adopt the continuous improvement model and align their efforts with institutional priorities to guide first-generation students to completion,” said Dr. Martina A. Martin, Vice President of FirstGen Forward. “Not only is UTPB doing excellent work to support their own first-generation students, but they continue to provide support and add to evidence-based practices that serve as a model for all those working to support this population in higher education.”
While moving to this phase is an important progression, Network Champions remain actively involved and committed to continuous improvement principles while emphasizing institution-focused strategic priorities to improve first-generation students’ experiences and completion rates.
“With 54% of current undergraduates identifying as first-generation, advancing first-generation student success has a life‑changing, multigenerational economic impact,” said Stephanie Bannister, President of FirstGen Forward. “Across the FirstGen Forward Network, we’re seeing that real transformation comes from intentional institutional systems, not isolated programs, that support first-generation students from enrollment through completion. Network Leader institutions are now achieving a 58% four-year graduation rate, the strongest results in five years and more than double the national average. Institutions like UTPB are showing what’s possible and setting a national standard for first-generation student success.”
To learn more about first-generation efforts at UT Permian Basin contact iamfirstgen@utpb.edu. To learn more about FirstGen Forward and the Network, visit firstgenforward.org.
“We are extremely honored to be selected as a Network Champion in the FirstGen Forward Network,” said Corey Benson, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at UT Permian Basin. “We are committed to supporting first-generation students and have invested in adding and improving programs and services across campus, including the addition of a first-gen focused component at New Student Orientation, launching a mentoring program, and enhancing academic support initiatives. All of this work contributes to positive outcomes for students. For example, last year, our credit completion ratio for first-generation students increased five percent from the previous year.”
One of the ways that UTPB supports first-generation students is through the student-led First Generation Student Organization, a group formed in 2023.
“I am proud to be a first-generation college student because it represents resilience, sacrifice, and the courage to pursue opportunities my parents didn’t have,” said Alondra Ortiz, a senior finance major from Odessa and president of the First Generation Student Organization at UTPB. “My journey hasn’t always been easy, but the support, resources, and community at UTPB have made a meaningful difference in my success. Being part of an institution that truly invests in first-generation students motivates me to keep moving forward and to help others like me do the same. I’m excited and honored about this recognition.”
The FirstGen Forward Network provides a three-phase approach called Network Member, Network Leader, and Network Champion. This approach helps scale holistic first-generation student success. It engages and empowers higher education institutions to transform the first-generation student experience. The network also supports advancing academic and co-curricular outcomes and building more inclusive institutional structures. The current Network includes 470 institutions of higher education, including two statewide systems, representing 47 states and the District of Columbia.
“As one of only 32 institutions in the country to have been recognized as Network Champions, UT Permian Basin has displayed a commitment to actively adopt the continuous improvement model and align their efforts with institutional priorities to guide first-generation students to completion,” said Dr. Martina A. Martin, Vice President of FirstGen Forward. “Not only is UTPB doing excellent work to support their own first-generation students, but they continue to provide support and add to evidence-based practices that serve as a model for all those working to support this population in higher education.”
While moving to this phase is an important progression, Network Champions remain actively involved and committed to continuous improvement principles while emphasizing institution-focused strategic priorities to improve first-generation students’ experiences and completion rates.
“With 54% of current undergraduates identifying as first-generation, advancing first-generation student success has a life‑changing, multigenerational economic impact,” said Stephanie Bannister, President of FirstGen Forward. “Across the FirstGen Forward Network, we’re seeing that real transformation comes from intentional institutional systems, not isolated programs, that support first-generation students from enrollment through completion. Network Leader institutions are now achieving a 58% four-year graduation rate, the strongest results in five years and more than double the national average. Institutions like UTPB are showing what’s possible and setting a national standard for first-generation student success.”
To learn more about first-generation efforts at UT Permian Basin contact iamfirstgen@utpb.edu. To learn more about FirstGen Forward and the Network, visit firstgenforward.org.
