The Colorado Department of Higher Education has recognized Front Range Community College and the University of Colorado Boulder with designations as first-generation-serving institutions.

This new designation identifies colleges and universities that support students who are the first in their families to obtain a degree in higher education.

FRCC qualified for the designation because it has a first-generation student population above the statewide average for the previous three years of available data.

“Front Range Community College is honored to be recognized by the Colorado Department of Higher Education as a 2024 First-Generation Serving Institution,” FRCC President Colleen Simpson wrote in an email.

“This designation reflects our ongoing commitment to providing first-generation students with the support, resources, and high-impact practices that open doors to educational and career success.”

Nearly half of FRCC’s students across all its campuses are first-generation. FRCC has campuses in Longmont, Fort Collins and Westminster. The college offers programs specifically designed to support them, including TRIO support services, a federally funded program that supports first-generation students.

“When students are the first in their family to attend college, it creates lasting impact — not only for them but for the generations that follow,” Gabriel Castaño, FRCC’s vice president of enrollment management and student success, wrote in an email.

“As a first-generation college student and community college graduate myself, I understand the profound impact that colleges like FRCC make in the lives of students and in our communities. To students who may feel that college isn’t for them, we say: Yes, it is. You belong here, and we’re here to support you every step of the way.”

Schools that are members of the FirstGen Forward Network are automatically eligible for the first generation-serving institution designation.

This includes CU Boulder.

The FirstGen Forward Network partners with higher education institutions to improve success outcomes for first-generation students.

“CU Boulder is proud to be designated a First Generation Serving Institution by the Colorado Department of Higher Education as well as a national member of the First Gen Forward Network,” Chancellor Justin Schwartz wrote in an email.

“First generation students and their families are an asset to our campus community. We are committed to meeting the needs of first-generation students by supporting their ability to thrive both inside and outside of the classroom.”