MCLA Recognized for Commitment to First-generation College Students

NORTH ADAMS — FirstGen Forward announced Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) as a new member to the FirstGen Forward Network class of 2026. To be selected as a FirstGen Forward Network member, MCLA displayed a demonstrated commitment to improving experiences and advancing success for first-generation college students.

The FirstGen Forward Network provides a three-phase approach — network member, network leader, and network champion — to scaling holistic first-generation student success by engaging and empowering higher education institutions to transform the first-generation student experience, advance academic and co-curricular outcomes, and build more inclusive institutional structures. With the new class, the network includes more than 500 institutions of higher education, including two statewide systems, representing 48 states and the District of Columbia.

“We are excited to welcome Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts to the FirstGen Forward Network,” said Martina Martin, vice president of FirstGen Forward. “Throughout the application process, MCLA demonstrated a clear commitment to advancing success for first-generation students, backed by a willingness to align strategy, data, and campus-wide efforts for long-term impact. Their leadership reflects a meaningful investment in creating the conditions where first-generation students can thrive.”

In this first phase of the network, selected institutions will participate in the FirstGen Forward Network Virtual Kick-off on Thursday, Aug. 20. As a network member, MCLA’s interested faculty and staff are afforded opportunities to engage with peer institutions also working to create environments that improve the experiences and success of first-generation students, and will participate in monthly calls, professional development, goal setting, blog development, annual reporting, and more.

After successful completion of the network member phase, institutions may progress to the second phase, FirstGen Forward network leader, in which institutions receive an evidence-based and research-supported framework of actionable priorities supported through monthly workshops, diagnostic tools providing critical institutional insight, robust data sharing as part of the national Postsecondary Data Partnership, guidance of expert coaches along each step of the experience, and more. Ultimately, all network institutions strive for national leadership as FirstGen Forward network champions.

“There is nothing quite like seeing a new generation of institutions step into this network with purpose and passion,” said Stephanie Bannister, president of FirstGen Forward. “FirstGen Forward exists because we believe institutions are strongest when they learn alongside one another, sharing evidence-based practices, working through challenges together, and advancing first-generation student success at scale. MCLA is joining a community of practitioners doing exactly that, and the class of 2026 represents a remarkable groundswell of energy and commitment. I know MCLA will be a meaningful contributor to what we build together.”