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University officials say that Escalona is like most Cal State Fullerton students. She is self-confident; she worries about paying for college; and she is dedicated to making the world a better place. She values the diversity of the campus and is connected virtually to others – through her cell phone and computer.
It’s no secret that today’s college students are more connected to each other technologically than ever before. But students today also are more connected – to their parents, to the world and to their campus – than any previous generation. They are politically engaged, they work hard – sometimes holding down a couple of jobs while carrying full loads of course work – and they want to attain a better work/life balance.
“The students I’ve encountered are interested in balancing their lives – social, work and academic life, even more than they are driven to achieve,” said Nancy Page Fernandez, director of Freshman Programs. “They are equally interested in a satisfying career and in expanding their life skills. At one point in higher education, making money was what students were interested in.”
Rosa Heckenberg, 55, of La Mirada, graduates in May with a double major in sociology and education, and hopes to become an academic adviser for university or community college students. “I went to college because of personal fulfillment,” she said. “When my daughter entered high school, I knew what I really wanted to do. I have a passion for education.”
Like Escalona and Heckenberg, CSUF students “work harder and are better at balancing than any students I’ve ever seen,” said Jim Case, Career Center director.
“This is a quality that you don’t necessarily find in students from other institutions.”
Larry Martin, associate dean of students, New Student Programs, concurred. “I’m impressed with this generation,” he said. “I’m impressed with how much they’re able to manage, especially in light of this economy.”
At the same time, their parents are highly involved in these students’ lives, said officials. So-called “helicopter parents” hover in the background, influencing their children’s education. “These students have had their lives programmed for them from a very young age,” Martin said. “It’s hard for them to make decisions for themselves.”
Collaboration between students and their parents is at an all-time high, agreed Dawn Valencia, director of University Outreach, and that fact informs the way they approach education. “These students are more educated consumers than students were 20 years ago. They are more sophisticated about what they want.”
Yet today’s students are dedicated to a shared set of values. For entering college students, the most important belief is in raising a family (75.5 percent), followed by being well-off financially (73.4 percent), according to “American Freshmen: Forty Year Trends 1966-2006,” published by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA. The importance of helping others, at 66.7 percent, is the highest it has been in 20 years and in 2006 it was the third-highest common value held by incoming students.
“Today’s students are into performing community service and doing things for others,” noted Darlene Stevenson, director of Housing and Residence Life.
“They are passionate and smart.”
In addition to valuing community service, college freshmen are more politically engaged today than at any point during the last 40 years, with 89.5 percent reporting that they frequently or occasionally discussed politics in the last year, according to UCLA’s annual survey of the nation’s entering students at four-year institutions.
“CSUF students are more technologically savvy and in tune with the ever-changing world,” said Curtis Schlaufman, 23, of Diamond Bar, a senior political science major and president of the Associated Students, CSUF, Inc. “Politically they are more progressive.”
As they engage in community service and participate in politics, students worry about paying for their education. In a 2007-2008 statistical profile of freshmen at four-year colleges reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education, more than 60 percent of surveyed students had concerns about paying for college.
“There’s a lot of concern, particularly among first-generation families,” Valencia noted.
“It’s an investment that you must take on faith. How do you know it’s worth it?”
Most students won’t realize the value of a higher education until they’ve experienced it for themselves. Jessica Alva, a junior history major from La Habra, wasn’t planning to attend college until her father pushed for her higher education. “I’m glad I came here,” she said. “I’m glad I have this opportunity. It’s influenced my life and made me look at things differently.”
The challenge for university officials, said Case, is to make sure students understand and take advantage of the quality education that Cal State Fullerton provides.
“A first-class education is available if students will take advantage of it,” he said. “The banquet table is loaded. Select a plate, and enjoy a five-star meal.”
