program. Because of this, we aim to expand the program throughout the student’s time at JMU. In building on our existing program, we aim to provide first-generation students with access to tutoring which often has cost prohibitions, career mentoring which is vital to landing a job following graduation, and additional opportunities to build on their sense of belonging. This program's expansion will require additional funding beyond what the College of Business has committed to. However, we believe that with success the College of Business, or the larger university community, will commit to making this program a staple for the College of Business and potentially other colleges within the university. This program takes an innovative approach, as it addresses many of the issues that researchers have identified as preventing first-generation students from being academically successful. First, first-generation students are often less academically prepared to enter college than their continuing-generation peers. Through academic workshops at the beginning of the summer, we aim to address common areas of concern as identified by College of Business faculty. Second, since first-generation students do not have parents who attended college, these students often have no social capital when they encounter new or difficult things in college. By building a program that is community based, we aim for the students to have peers, peer mentors, and faculty and staff members that they are comfortable with prior to the start of classes. By continuing the community-based model during the semester, we aim to provide students with a support network that helps them feel as though they belong at JMU. As the program grows through new cohorts, we hope that the previous cohorts will become peer mentors for the new students. Specifically, we will actively seek out high performing students who make it into COB 300 from the initial cohorts to come back to serve as paid peer mentors to help provide newer students with some insight into how to navigate JMU and the College of Business. Beyond developing an internal program, we also aim to help students understand the importance of being informed and engaged citizens. We plan to partner with other College of Business organizations to conduct local community-based service projects. Beyond developing a sense of civic engagement, the aim of these efforts is to provide the students with the opportunity to give back.
Benefit to JMU
Currently, James Madison University ranks 420 out of 433 in terms of social mobility, according to US News and World Report. Additionally, the new Carnegie Classification System ranks JMU as having low access. Through this program, we aim to improve both measures. We hope to improve social mobility by getting more first-generation students through the College of Business, which currently has the second highest starting salary when ranked by major. For access, our program offers students a small scholarship, that is currently funded through the College of Business, which we hope can attract more first-generation students to help improve access to JMU.
Madison Trust 2026 Project Proposal
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