By — John Yang John Yang By — Sarah Clune Hartman Sarah Clune Hartman By — Cali Steffenhagen Cali Steffenhagen Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/more-4-year-colleges-offer-2-year-degrees-to-reach-new-groups-of-students Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Audio About one in four college students is both first-generation and from low-income backgrounds, making the path to a college degree especially challenging. At Boston College’s Messina College, a new, two-year, fully residential associates degree program, a wide range of support is helping change that. John Yang visited the campus to learn more as part of our ongoing series, Rethinking College. Listen to this Segment Watch Watch the Full Episode PBS NewsHour from Dec 02, 2025 By — John Yang John Yang John Yang is the anchor of PBS News Weekend and a correspondent for the PBS News Hour. He covered the first year of the Trump administration and is currently reporting on major national issues from Washington, DC, and across the country. @johnyangtv By — Sarah Clune Hartman Sarah Clune Hartman By — Cali Steffenhagen Cali Steffenhagen