"If 18-year-old Demarcus Jones doesn't get up promptly for his 10 o'clock math class at the University of Cincinnati, he'll first get a text message from Judy Mause and then she'll arrive in person, banging on his dormitory door."
Mause calls it "intrusive advising."
Jones is one of 24 UC freshmen living in Gen-1 House, an off-campus residence designated for low-income, first-generation college students. Mause is the program's coordinator and she will do everything from wake-up calls to checking in with professors to make sure Gen-1 students keep their grades up and fit into campus life.
That's because if left to the odds, only three of the 24 Gen-1 House freshmen would graduate.
Nationally, 89 percent of low-income "first-gens" leave college within six years without a degree. More than a quarter leave after their first year - four times the dropout rate of higher income second-generation students.
