We review the effectiveness of first-year seminars based on the widely used criteria of first-year grades and the 1-year retention rate. Meta-analytic results indicate that first-year seminars have a small average effect on both first-year grades (k = 89, N = 52,406, d = 0.02) and the 1-year retention rate (k = 195, N = 169,666, d = 0.11). We…

With the growing mobility of international students in Asia and the Pacific, Taiwan has become actively involved in promoting international academic exchange. This research investigates the experience of exchange students from the Philippines and mainland China and examines their needs while studying in Taiwan. Qualitative in-depth interviews were…

In responding to a global audience, universities are increasingly bound up in priorities of maintaining viability within landscapes of globalised market imperatives, and with changing paradigms of purpose; universities need to be accessible to all. In Australia, pathways to university provided by Credit Transfer have increased student mobility;…

This article describes the Transition Program implemented at a liberal arts college for newly enrolled students who have the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The diagnosis of ASD has risen dramatically; consequently, more students are arriving on college campuses with needs related to social pragmatic functioning. The Transition…

"Student Transition Project, University of Derby, Derby, UK." Whilst there is a significant consensus, in the literature, that student transition to HE plays a major role in future academic performance and success, there is, as yet, no broad agreement as to how best to support students during this process. Theoretical accounts of…

In November 2011, the author--Ivan Fuller, a professor of theatre and associate dean of the School of Fine and Performing Arts at Rider University--attended a joint symposium of the American Conference of Academic Deans and Phi Beta Kappa that was designed to wrestle with the question of why the humanities matter. At one session, participants…

Peer mentoring is often considered the single most effective strategy for increasing student retention and student satisfaction. As a consequence, mentoring programs have been implemented at most universities and are an essential feature of best practice transition programs. Yet, the literature is inconsistent regarding what the term entails and…

Recently there have been several sensational reports of serious consequences of freshmen initiation rites at Thai universities. The purpose of this study was to investigate Thai freshmen students' perceptions of the faculty initiation process. For this study, roughly 1,000 freshmen students took a pre-test during the first week of their initiation…

Context: Professional socialization is a key process in the professional development of athletic training students. The published athletic training education research has focused on many perspectives regarding socialization; however, it has yet to investigate the program director's (PD's) opinion. Objective: To gain insights from the PD on methods…

There are approximately 68,000 students in Houston Independent School District labeled as "English language learners" (ELLs). Many of these students have the additional obstacle of being recent immigrants who have been in the United States for three years or less. In recent years, the number of immigrant ELLs in the district has…

In the fall of 2007, the author came to Northland College excited for the opportunities that it presented--a low faculty-to-student ratio and professional connections. But what he was really interested in was the new student orientation to the college. It just happens that this was one of a number of trips comprising Northland's Outdoor…

Context: Professional socialization is a key process in the professional development of athletic training students. Literature has focused on many perspectives regarding socialization and has primarily focused on the undergraduate level. Objective: Gain insights from the program director at professional master's (PM) athletic training programs on…

Orientation is widely conceived to encompass activities that support the transition into educational institutions. The University of Cape Coast, Ghana places a premium on orientation for freshman year students and yet the impact of such programmes on students' performance remains a difficult thing to determine. This study, therefore, focuses on…

Induction for students entering university at level six is often less in-depth than that for students experiencing higher education (HE) for the first time. A week-long "Enhanced Induction" was developed specifically tailored to the concerns of the staff and students involved in an Animal Science "Top-up" at the University of…

A context-aware and mixed-reality exploring tool cannot only effectively provide an information-rich environment to users, but also allows them to quickly utilize useful resources and enhance environment awareness. This study integrates Augmented Reality (AR) technology into smartphones to create a stimulating learning experience at a university…