First-Generation Students

First-Generation Students

While the definition can be complicated, at DMACC, being a First-Generation student means that your parents/guardians did not complete a bachelor's (4-year college or university) degree. Some colleges and universities use a different definition. Learn more at the FirstGen Forward Network website.

In July 2025, DMACC kicked off two initiatives to boost First-Generation student success:

• We were accepted, as 1 of 60 institutions in the Class of 2025 cohort, into the FirstGen Forward Network. The FirstGen Forward Network is a national model for 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.
• We also are the fiscal agent for the First to Finish! Local College Access Network (LCAN), a program focused on building college-going culture among First-Generation students in Des Moines.

In January 2026, DMACC will open the First-Generation Student Success Hub on Ankeny Campus (Building 5, Room 1209).

Below are some resources available to First-Generation students at DMACC and in the Des Moines community:

• TRIO Student Support Services (College Students)
• TRIO Upward Bound (Pre-College Students)
• First to Finish! Local College Access Network
• FirstGen Forward - Student Resources