Formal mentoring programmes continue to gain popularity in higher education, mirroring trends in industry. The study described in this article examines the design features of a formal mentoring programme for first year undergraduates and focused on three key aspects--the matching process, training and orientation, and interaction frequency. The…

Students' perceptions during their first semester at university may be critical in the decision to continue or discontinue studies. In this study we consider students' perceptions of what factors enable successful transition to university. Using qualitative research, students' perceptions are obtained by in-depth interviews and focus groups that…

This study examines the attrition and achievement of a sample of 295 students in an on-campus tertiary bridging program at a regional university. A logistic regression analysis using enrolment status, age and the number of absences from scheduled classes at week three of the semester as predictor variables correctly predicted 92.8 percent of…

Over the past decade in Australia there has been an increasing focus in higher education on identifying cogent approaches for assisting first-year university students in their transition into the university setting. In recent years, an emerging body of literature has given emphasis to the efficacy of a range of strategies for engaging first-year…

In this study international and domestic students were compared on variables such as accommodation and financial satisfaction, social support, mismatched expectations, academic stress, dysfunctional coping, and psychological distress. International and domestic students (N = 86 for each group), enrolled at a large Australian university based in a…

Teaching styles in New Zealand and Queensland, Australia, are considered within the framework of basic value orientations--industrial, social, academic, and humanistic. (Editor/RK)

Discusses academic support programs for distance education students and describes the results of an evaluation of the orientation program at the University College of Central Queensland (UCCQ). A questionnaire was used to determine the costs of the program, whether student needs were being met, orientation attendance, and needed changes or…

Orientation in this report refers to the various adjustment processes that students need to make to function effectively within a postsecondary institution. The major aim of the study was to obtain an outline of the range of problems encountered by respondents at Flinders University in a 1975 questionnaire survey of their adaptation to the…

The aim of this study was to identify the best way to prepare and give support to Western Australian teachers when they assume their first appointments. Subjects included 15 percent of all new teacher appointments in the state of Western Australia in 1977. These were interviewed personally, as were their principals and superintendents. The…