A M E R I C A N A C A D E M I C - V O L U M E T H R E E 4 9Accessibility to the PhD and Professoriate for First-Generation College Graduates: Review and Implications for Students, Faculty, and Campus PoliciesKevin M. KniffinIntroductionDiversity on campus has become commonly accepted as a public good—and goal—partly because it measures an institution’s accessibility to a diverse public. Moving from principle to policy, however, there tends to be significantly less agreement about the specific means to open postsecondary education across society. Primarily, “campus diversity” discussions and actions have focused on the gender, ethnicity, and national origin of undergraduate students and, to a lesser extent, faculty and staff. Conflicts concerning how diversity should be achieved according to these measures have been disputed in recent years in courts, newspapers, and campus planning committees. Increasingly, albeit with less attention and controversy, there are policymakers, university administrators, and researchers who are recognizing “first-generation college students”1 as an important group that has been under-served by higher ed-ucation. Readers who are unfamiliar with the experiences of first-generation col-lege students are likely to be struck by similarities with accounts of other minority groups. For example, compared to undergraduates with parents who earned baccalaureate degrees, first-generation college students tend to be relatively disadvantaged across myriad variables. Among specific measures, they tend to lack family support for the college search and application process,2 are less likely to attend selective colleges,3 feel that they need to work harder than their peers,4 have difficulty choosing majors,5 feel like they do not “belong” on campus,6 are more likely to have breaks in their pursuit of college degrees,7 and are less likely to graduate8 independent of their ethnic background, gender, and family income.9AA2007.indd 49 1/5/2007 1:04:37 PM5 0 A M E R I C A N F E D E R A T I O N O F T E A C H E R SFor those first-generation college students who do earn bachelor’s degrees, disproportionately few attend and complete professional or graduate degree programs. As Choy reports on the basis of national surveys conducted in the 1990s, while 34.2 percent of college graduates with one or two parents who graduated from college enrolled in graduate programs, only 24.6 percent of graduates whose parents’ formal education ended with one or two high school diplomas did likewise.10 In light of this statistic about graduate enrollment, it is not surprising that the most recent national Survey of Earned Doctorates to consider this subject reports that “first-generation college graduates are under-represented” minorities among doctoral recipients.11 There are several reasons why it is important to better understand the experi-ences of first-generation college students and graduates. First, there is evidence that suggests, at least, that opportunity or access to the PhD depends upon the formal education of one’s parents and is not equal. Second, if we agree that diverse student bodies are best served by diverse faculties, it is important for the benefit of students to better understand why equal opportunity to the PhD is lacking. And third, a better understanding of how a diverse faculty and academic staff promotes equality of educational opportunity has value for building popu-lar support for postsecondary education and broader accessibility.In this article, I will review illustrative samplings of qualitative and quantita-tive research concerning the experiences of first-generation college students12 from the stage of undergraduate admissions through doctoral completion and achievement of tenure. My review will discuss each of the stages identified in Figure 1 before reviewing policies that have been proposed to facilitate better representation of first-generation students and graduates in myriad campus roles (e.g., faculty). Since this subject has broad importance for the health of college and university communities and is not about the linear development of individual careers, Figure 1 is cyclical rather than a linear “pipeline.” As indi-cated by the dashed lines that originate with faculty members, the success of first-generation college students who enter the professoriate can contribute to the success of accessibility initiatives for successive generations of students.AA2007.indd 50 1/5/2007 1:04:37 PMA M E R I C A N A C A D E M I C - V O L U M E T H R E E 5 11. Undergraduate AdmissionsAttempts to complete an undergraduate program anywhere in the United States entail a basic set of challenges requiring adjustments. First-generation college students, however, appear to experience a distinct set of additional challenges and barriers that stem from the fact that their families are less equipped to prepare them for working and living as college students. These claims are sub-stantiated by original research drawing on quantitative13 and qualitative14 data. While it is outside the scope of this article to catalog the nature of their com-mon experiences before entering college, there is strong evidence that students whose parents did not earn college degrees step onto an uneven playing field if and when they start thinking about going to college. As a group, first-generation college students tend to be less familiar with, prepared for, and assured about life on campus.To start with the most basic question of enrollment as a college student, indi-viduals whose parents did not earn college degrees are significantly less likely FIgURE 1: Accessibility Cycle for various steps in College and University hierarchiesFigure 1: A ccessibility Cycl e for Va rious Steps in Co llege and University Hi erarchies can lead to1. UndergraduateAdmissions can lead tocan lead tocan lead toPK-12 orGEDcompletioncan lead toLines ofpotentialinfluence2. EarnBachelor’sDegree3. Enroll inPhD program4. Earn PhD5. Hired asFacultyMember6. GainTenureAA2007.indd 51 1/5/2007 1:04:37 PM5 2 A M E R I C A N F E D E R A T I O N O F T E A C H E R Sthemselves to attend college. According to a national survey of 1992 high school seniors, while 28 percent did not have a parent with a college degree, only 22 percent became first-generation college students within eight years of being twelfth graders.15 If one