First-generation student success has been a constant and unifying strength for CSU. In 1984, thanks to a determined push from the Board of Governors, faculty, and staff, CSU became the first university in the country to offer scholarships specifically for first-generation, limited-income residents. 

This work continued and coalesced in 2009 through the formation of the First-Generation University Initiative (FGUI), which created a solid foundation to build upon for the 2020 Race, Bias, and Equity Initiative proposal — a collaboration of the then-Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Enrollment and Access, the Division of Student Affairs, and the Provost’s Office. The promising commitment of CSU continued in a 2019 partnership with the Center for First-generation Student Success at NASPA, which offers institutions evidence-based support to advance first-generation student success. 

CSU was selected in 2023 to join the First Scholars Network, a third phase of the Center for First-generation Student Success, signaling CSU’s ongoing commitment to supporting first-generation student success.

The Center for First-generation Student Success evolved into FirstGen Forward, a network with a three-phase approach to scaling holistic first-generation student success, and CSU advanced through the first two phases. In 2025, CSU became the first university in Colorado to be recognized as a FirstGen Forward Network Champion, one of only 32 institutions nationwide to serve in this group of national leaders in advancing first-generation efforts and contributing to an important knowledge base of evidence-based practices, leadership engagement, and scaling student supports.