Build campus-wide capacity to support undocumented & immigrant students.
BRIDGE trains entire campus departments together, so support never depends on which office door a student walks through.
Trusted by educators at ten campuses across six states, from the nation's largest public university system to liberal-arts consortia.
Undocumented student support isn't one office's job.
Support gets stronger when more offices know how to respond.
A student's future shouldn't depend on which door they walk through.
Schools are the last place these students are still fully present. Let's meet the moment.
The gap isn't a lack of care.
It's a lack of shared, current knowledge.
Immigration policy shifts by the month. A student might approach financial aid, an advisor, a professor, or the front desk, and get four different answers. BRIDGE gives every department one accurate, current foundation, so students get consistent guidance no matter where they start.
"There can be variations in support even within the same school system."
"Most departments refer students to the first-gen center even when the student needs help with something specific, like financial aid or career planning."
"The people interacting with students day to day aren't always up to date on the latest policies, and there's always a risk of unintentional misguidance."
Educators leave measurably more prepared.
Across two cohorts, BRIDGE moves the numbers that matter most. Certified educators report they are more confident, better resourced, and ready to act on what they've learned.
The 94% and 4.6/5 reflect certified-educator surveys; the +76% and +58% are self-reported growth from the Fall 2025 cohort, before vs. after the program.
The BRIDGE pathway.
Every step moves practitioners from understanding to real, lasting change on campus: Learn, Apply, Connect, Change.
Expertly curated foundation
Specialized knowledge from across the field, in one accessible certification. A shared language that ends inconsistent guidance.
"BRIDGE gave me a shared language for conversations I was already having with students, but didn't always feel fully prepared for."
Support for each role
Every department learns its lane: what it can answer, when to refer, and how to coordinate across campus.
"It helped me understand what my office can actually do, what we shouldn't try to answer alone, and when it's better to connect a student with someone who has more expertise."
Allies and live updates
An ongoing network with timely policy updates, shared resources, and channels for each campus.
"The most helpful part was realizing who else on campus is doing this work. Now I have actual people I can reach out to or refer students to."
Campus action
A Campus Action Proposal turns learning into concrete change: new resources, programs, or policy your campus can implement.
"The capstone made me apply the sessions at my campus: what we already have, what's missing, and where students may still be falling through."
Guided sessions. One shared foundation.
Spanning law, access, well-being, and data privacy, ending in a Campus Action Proposal. The order flexes to fit your campus, so there's no fixed sequence.
Introduction to the undocumented & immigrant community
Core immigration statuses, humanizing terminology, demographics, and how DACA & TPS work.
State & federal laws & policies
How federal and state immigration law shapes access, equity, and campus operations.
Access to higher education
Admission, tuition, licensing, and funding barriers, plus intersecting student identities.
Pathways after college
Alternative funding, ITIN vs SSN, independent contracting, and career advising without work authorization.
Supporting mental health & well-being
Trauma-informed care, stigma, and legally safe counseling for undocumented students.
Protecting students & their data
FERPA, warrants, the visibility trap, and safe data-collection practices.
Department-specific support strategies
Role-specific actions across admissions, financial aid, advising, basic needs, and leadership.
Campus Action Proposal
A grounded proposal that drives sustainable institutional change on your campus, beyond BRIDGE.
About an hour a week, offered twice weekly, with recordings for anyone who can't join live. A self-paced + hybrid format is coming soon.
A credential, a toolkit, and a year-round community.
A verifiable digital badge
A shareable credential with a unique ID, verifiable any time at firstgenempower.org/bridge-verify.
A year-round ally network
A private Slack community, with campus-specific channels, that keeps allies connected long after the sessions end.
A participant resource portal
Slides, recordings, guides, and Q&A in one place your whole team can return to whenever they need it.
Always-current guidance
As immigration policy shifts, so does BRIDGE. Timely updates keep your team accurate, not working from last year's rules.
Led by people with lived experience. BRIDGE is designed and taught by immigrant professionals who understand the community firsthand.
What certified educators say.
My biggest takeaway, after seeing the speakers, is that there is hope. I appreciate that they share their personal experiences and the resources available. Knowing about these resources is life-changing.
Participant · Santa Rosa Junior College
Post-graduate preparation changed my outlook on how to support students for life after graduating. I was very pessimistic and uncomfortable with this topic before, but now I feel much more comfortable talking to students about opportunities and ideas for their future.
Participant · John Jay College
The breadth of available resources that are there for students. If I was supporting a student, I would now feel confident saying that they are truly not alone.
Participant · Bryn Mawr College
This program has helped open the dialogue on campus about the resources available and the best ways to support our undocumented students.
Participant · Hunter College · CUNY
The capstone helped me move from understanding the issue to thinking about what I could actually change on my campus.
BRIDGE Certified Practitioner
I love the BRIDGE program so much. I truly learned, and beyond that I connected with so many more people on campus who all share the goal of supporting undocumented students in the ways we can.
Participant · Tri-College Consortium
Hearing in more depth the emotional concerns of the undocumented student experience was both sobering and grounding. It lays the foundation for why this work is so vital in ensuring our campuses remain diverse, curious, and resilient.
Participant · Hunter College
The research, resources, and testimonials helped me better understand the deep impact this has on undocumented students. I continue to feel empowered to ensure their needs are met, with great hope beyond their time with us.
Participant · Fall 2025 cohort
We have the power to help our students in meaningful ways.
BRIDGE Certified Practitioner
Take BRIDGE your way.
Whether you're one practitioner or a whole system, there's a way in.
Enroll as an individual
For educators, advisors, student-facing staff, and nonprofit practitioners who want direct access to certification.
- Self-paced learning modules (coming soon)
- Credential ID & certificate workflow
- Applied capstone connected to your role
Bring it to your campus
For colleges and universities building a shared, trained internal network across departments.
- Group enrollment & campus reporting
- Capstones tied to campus practice
- Institutional impact packet after the cohort
Expand access through a network
For organizations, funders, and networks extending BRIDGE across a field or region.
- Partner referral & discount codes
- Network-specific reporting
- Shared community-of-practice pathway
Built and vetted by the field's leaders.
BRIDGE wasn't built alone. It's built with CUNY's undocumented-student experts, reviewed for legal accuracy by pro-bono counsel, and backed by the country's leading higher-ed immigration coalition.
CUNY's Office of Undocumented & Immigrant Student Programs helped develop and revise the BRIDGE curriculum, grounding it in real practice across 25 campuses.
One of the country's leading law firms reviews the curriculum for legal accuracy, so what educators learn is sound, precise, and up to date.
The Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education & Immigration champions BRIDGE and helps carry it to campuses nationwide.
Every BRIDGE credential is publicly verifiable.
Each certificate carries a unique ID (like BRG-XXXX-XXXX). Anyone, from a dean to an HR team to a partner, can confirm it in seconds.
Opens the official verification portal at firstgenempower.org/bridge-verify.
What educators and campuses ask first.
Yes. The curriculum is developed with subject-matter experts and reviewed for legal accuracy by pro-bono counsel, and it's updated as immigration policy shifts, so your team is never working from last year's rules.
Not at all. BRIDGE is built for staff and faculty across every department, with no prior expertise required. You'll leave knowing your lane, what your office can support, and when to refer.
Anyone who interacts with students: financial aid, admissions, advising, career services, basic-needs and wellness, faculty, and leadership. BRIDGE is strongest when whole departments go through it together.
About an hour a week across a series of guided sessions. To certify, you complete the session requirement and design a Campus Action Proposal. A self-paced + hybrid option is coming soon.
You stay current. Certified educators keep receiving timely policy updates and remain in the year-round alumni network, so your knowledge doesn't expire.
Both. Individual enrollment is now open, and campuses can enroll groups with no participant cap plus an institutional impact packet. Networks can offer BRIDGE to their members with referral discounts.
BRIDGE uses sliding-scale pricing to stay accessible, with individual and campus options and discounts for partner networks. Tell us a bit about your situation in the form below and we'll share specifics.
Become the educator your students can count on.
Tell us a little about you and we'll follow up with dates, pricing, and the best way in, whether that's just you or your whole campus.
- In partnership with CUNY & the Presidents' Alliance
- Reviewed for legal accuracy
- 570+ educators already trained
Prefer email? info@firstgenempower.org
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Disclaimer
We are currently accepting applications from higher education institutions only. We hope to expand access in the near future to include individuals, nonprofits, and other organizations. In the meantime, our Undocu-Ally training and student-facing workshops are open to everyone.