New RISE Initiative Empowers First-Gen Students Set to launch this fall, RISE will support first-generation students and their families in navigating a successful college experience.
By
Colette Greenstein
June 7, 2023
Image by Dave Green
Berklee is excited to announce RISE (Reaching Independence through Support and Engagement), a new initiative dedicated to supporting and empowering first-generation students and their families in navigating a successful college experience. Beginning in fall 2023, RISE aims to enhance the student experience through social networks, academic support, financial education, and parent and family engagement, creating a holistic approach to education.
We are excited to launch RISE and believe it greatly assists our first-generation artist-scholars, said Scott Trach, associate dean of student success programs. As a first-generation college student and Berklee alumnus, I understand how navigating higher education structures can be challenging. We have designed RISE to anticipate these challenges and assist students and families as they plan for and experience their first year at Berklee.
Under Trachs supervision, Student Success Programming has spent years developing the guiding principles for the RISE program and establishing opportunities to measure the success of first-generation students using institutional metrics. They recently found that over 16 percent of Berklees undergraduate population can be identified as first-generation based on their parent or guardians level of degree attainment. Berklee defines first-generation as any student whose parent(s) or guardian(s) did not complete a bachelor's degree, and/or the student has no current contact with their parent(s) or guardian(s), regardless of degree completion.
It is our hope that through RISE students will gain the knowledge and comfort to navigate the often confusing waters of higher education with increased confidence, and that parents and families will have a stronger sense of connection to their students college experiences, said Kera Murphy-Perron, director of student success programming.
Drawing from research and best practices, Murphy-Perron and her team found that first-generation students face unique challenges, including greater financial need, lower rates of degree attainment within 10 years, and less engagement with campus support services compared to their continuing-generation peers. We wanted to address these issues, but not from a deficit perspective, said Murphy-Perron.
At its core, RISE aims to further the three key priorities of Berklee's Thrive strategic direction: enabling students to graduate at higher rates and with less debt; supporting students to have a high-quality, engaging experience; and preparing students for purposeful, successful, and sustainable careers.
Nationally, first-generation college students and families are a growing population within our post-secondary communities, and this should be celebrated, said Christopher Kandus-Fisher, Ed.D., vice president of Berklees Student Success Division. I am overjoyed to be part of this important work at Berklee, and to continue to offer direct care and support services to ensure that our first-generation students are successful in achieving their academic and personal goals.
In May 2023, the Center for First-Generation Student Success, an initiative of NASPA and the Suder Foundation, announced that Berklee was accepted to the First Scholars Network for 2023-2024. According to the center, Berklee displayed a demonstrated commitment to improving experiences and advancing success for first-generation college students.
We are extremely honored to be selected as a First Scholars Network member by the Center for First-Generation Student Success, said Murphy-Perron. This selection is a confirmation of the college's strong dedication to supporting first-generation students and their families.
Related Categories
News
Most Popular
Illustration by Dana Smith
Music Licensing 101: How to Sync Your Music Learn how to create syncable music, stand out to music supervisors, and negotiate sync deals with these tips and insights from music licensing experts.
Latest
A spread from the spring/summer 2022 issue of Berklee Today
Images by Brian Guido/Design by Patrick Mitchell
Berklee Today Wins Bronze CASE Awards The awards recognized the magazines high-art design and improved redesign.
Rub n Segovia Cobo
Student Spotlight: Rub n Segovia Cobo The Berklee Valencia graduate student talks about expanding his production skills, empowering artists to express their ideas, and the release of his first studio album, Plastic Boy.
Image courtesy of Bahar Badieitar
Student Spotlight: Bahar Badieitabar The composition and performance major talks about her journey to Berklee from Iran, composing on the oud, and how she finds inspiration in the traditional and folkloric music of her home country.
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
10/06/2026
DAZN-owned digital-media company launches three fan-first series leaning into cr...
10/06/2026
Clear-Com has announced the appointment of Jason Dino as Southwest Regional Sales Manager USA, covering Southern California and the Southwest region. Dino joins...
10/06/2026
An 11% decrease in number of global broadcast deals reflects the organization...
10/06/2026
The Women Without Boundaries Awards recognize women whose work is advancing the future of media, broadcast, AV, workplace technology, digital experience, and re...
10/06/2026
Today is match day minus two for FIFA and HBS. On Thursday, there will be two ma...
10/06/2026
SES is supporting broadcast distribution of the world's biggest football tou...
10/06/2026
NDI has announced that BirdDog has become the first hardware manufacturer to achieve full NDI 6.3 compatibility across its complete lineup of cameras, encoders,...
10/06/2026
Vince Caputo and Scott Carter, winners of the 2026 Sports Emmy for Outstanding Post Produced Audio have been announced as presenters for the 2026 SVG Advanced A...
10/06/2026
FOX One today unveiled a slate of new product features and enhancements designed to elevate the viewing experience for fans on the official streaming platform o...
10/06/2026
Primary production partners Dome Productions and Raycom Sports once again played...
10/06/2026
The Women in Sports Filmmaking Experienceship is an immersive professional devel...
10/06/2026
The league has expanded its HSAN architecture for the NBA Finals to manage more ...
10/06/2026
The inaugural MoonPay X Games League (XGL) Winter Draft will take place Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at Cosm Los Angeles from 7-9 p.m. PT. The event will strea...
10/06/2026
The University of Oklahoma (OU) Athletics Department and Learfield have announce...
10/06/2026
The Video Services Forum (VSF) has released TR-06-4 Part 8, a new specification for RIST Satellite-Hybrid: Out-of-Band Method. The specification creates a mecha...
10/06/2026
Riedel Communications provided the communications infrastructure for the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Lisbon, supporting live medical proc...
10/06/2026
A still from The Doom Generation by Gregg Araki (Courtesy of Sundance Institute)
By Lucy Spicer
Have you checked out our Sundance Film Festival 101 list yet...
10/06/2026
Get Hands-On with Interfaces & Mic Preamp Brands
If youre after a new interface or preamp, then GearExpo UK is the place to be! Well have a whole host of au...
10/06/2026
November 13-14 2026, The Midway, San Francisco
Following their recent rebranding, MONO Music Conference (formerly Music Expo) have officially announced thei...
10/06/2026
Debut instrument free for limited time
deFORM is the debut release from newly founded developer ebbandflow, and it's being offered as a free download fo...
10/06/2026
Alone Australia Season 4: Meet the Cast
10 June, 2026
Media releases
WATCH THE TRAILER
Smash-hit survival series Alone Australia drops its highly anticipa...
10/06/2026
DEADLY THEN, DEADLY NOW, DEADLY ALWAYS: SBS & NITV IGNITE NAIDOC WEEK 2026 WITH ...
10/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF advance laser-based drone defense with THORIS LCS Rohde & Schwarz is showcasing THORIS at ILA 2026: A sovereign, end to end counter...
10/06/2026
MAHLE and Rohde & Schwarz develop application for sensor testing of modern drive...
10/06/2026
Production and Development Funding supports the creation of compelling, commercially viable, artistic and culturally relevant South African screen content. Deve...
10/06/2026
Media buyers and sellers can now compare YouTube reach from computer, mobile, an...
10/06/2026
Accedo, Humans not Robots, and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) have announced the launch of Ecoflow X. Formerly an IBC Accelerator project, ...
10/06/2026
Frequency, the engine powering the world's leading streaming television channels, today announced that James Smith has joined the company as General Manager...
10/06/2026
At the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Lisbon, Riedel Communications provided the communications infrastructure for live medical procedures s...
10/06/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media, and entertainment managed services, today announced the launch of its Content Exchange platform powered by Or...
10/06/2026
Klvr will showcase how venues, integrators and production teams are rethinking disposable battery usage at InfoComm 2026 (Las Vegas, June 17-19, booth #N6311). ...
10/06/2026
The Video Services Forum (VSF) has further enhanced the Reliable Internet Streaming Transport (RIST) protocol by incorporating a new feature, RIST Satellite-Hyb...
10/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/06/2026
10 Jun 2026
VEON's Banglalink Brings Every World Cup 2026 Match to Football...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
How to watch every ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 match live on Sky Sports
Where is the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 availabl...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
P RLA brings first-ever Beautifully Clean Oral Care'...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
Sky reveals pulse-pounding first teaser trailer for upco...
10/06/2026
Wuppertal June 10, 2026
Riedel Artist at the Heart of the 14th World Live Neurovascular ConferenceAt the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Li...
10/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Showcases New Mobile Experience, Collections and Games Vision in APAC
Product
10 June 2026
GlobalSouth KoreaJapan
Link copied to c...
10/06/2026
Back to All News
Ready to Join? The Netflix Fan Club Arrives at Cannes Lions
Business
10 June 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Download all assets
N...
10/06/2026
Chemists snap together complex 3D molecules from highly reactive radicals-without losing their shape Scripps Research team develops stereoretentive radical-radi...
09/06/2026
Kiswe announces an expanded long-term partnership with ONE Championship (ONE), t...
09/06/2026
SiriusXM will broadcast FOX Sports' English-language commentary for all 104 FIFA World Cup 2026 matches from June 11 through July 19, available to subscribe...
09/06/2026
EVS has announced it is changing its corporate name from EVS Broadcast Equipment to EVS, reflecting the company's expanded portfolio beyond broadcast equipm...
09/06/2026
Fox Corporation and the NFL have announced a multi-year agreement to bring NFL c...
New RISE Initiative Empowers First-Gen Students Set to launch this fall, RISE will support first-generation students and their families in navigating a successful college experience.
