Background: The short-term impacts of outdoor orientation programs (OOPs) have been documented in the literature for close to 40 years. While there is a fair amount of research examining the immediate effects of OOPs, there are relatively few studies exploring long-term impacts. Purpose: This study examined the important longitudinal "lessons…

In this article, we report on the experiences of newly arrived South Asian international students (undergraduate and graduate levels) with accessing healthcare services in a small town setting in British Columbia, Canada. The objective of the study was to better understand the barriers and facilitators of accessing healthcare services. We used a…

Over the past three years, Jobs for the Future (JFF) has been supporting a community of more than 100 U.S. community colleges (CCs) and over 25 nonprofit organizations (NPOs) worldwide implementing the Google IT Support Professional Certificate training program. During this engagement, JFF has gathered valuable insights about best practices in…

To address feelings of "placelessness" and "not belonging," many colleges and universities have implemented outdoor orientation programs developed to assist students with the transition from home. Outdoor orientation programs, in which students participate in some form of adventure activity away from campus (usually in a…

The purpose of this study is to determine if student confidence levels change when attending a series of five pre-semester orientation success workshops. This research was conducted at a Canadian Community College whose attrition rates for the Practical Nursing program within the host college average 36%. The workshop sessions occur prior to the…

Mature students are making up an increasing proportion of the student population at Canadian colleges and universities. At Assiniboine Community College (ACC), in southwestern Manitoba, an average of 360 mature students enrolled in various programs each year from 2008 to 2013. These mature students bring with them unique strengths and challenges.…

This study contributes to applied and theoretical research for schools and districts by helping inform programs and policies directed at school improvement, raising student achievement, and high school completion. The paper features recent results of ongoing research on student orientation to school that was assessed via a multidimensional Student…

Although outdoor orientation programs, as a special type of orientation designed to enhance student retention, are relatively commonplace in the United States - we are not aware of any such campuswide initiatives in Canada. Research indicates that outdoor orientation programs impact students in a positive way, enhancing academic success, personal…

Fuelled by globalisation, the internationalisation of higher education in Canada is happening at a rapid pace. One manifestation of internationalisation is the increasing enrolment of international graduate students in Canadian institutions. Many of these students face challenges and barriers in integrating into Canadian academic environments…

Increases in the frequency of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) within the postsecondary education system are now beginning to surface. Through a review of the literature this paper will focus on the persistence, retention and successful completion of autistics in the postsecondary education (PSE) sector. The author found no concrete statistics for…

What exactly is an "outdoor orientation program?" First offered in the United States in the 1930s by Dartmouth College, outdoor orientation programs (OOPs) use adventure programming to help incoming students adjust to university or college. Typically, these programs are conducted in a wilderness or backcountry setting, are several days…

A newly developed measure of the quality of students' involvement in cocurricular activities was used to assess the relationship between quality of involvement and adaptation during the transition to university. Results indicated that the higher the quality of students' involvement, the better their adjustment to university. The relationship…

Each year, 700,000 students from around the world come to the United States and Canada to study. For many, the experience is as challenging as it is exciting. Far from home, they must adapt to a new culture, new university system, and in many cases, a new language. The process can be overwhelming, but as Charles Lipson's "Succeeding as an…

A school orientation program was developed to: (1) create a positive base for home-school communication; (2) provide parents with some information related to school entry skills; and (3) provide an initial positive school experience for beginning students. (Author)

Describes a peer helping orientation program for first year college students using upperclass students as peer helpers. Reports study of effectiveness of peer helping program which compared students in the peer helping group (N=88) to no-contact (N=34), living at home (N=37), and residence hall (N=74) students. Results indicated significant…