Research shows that enriching learning experiences such as learning communities, service-learning, undergraduate research, internships, and senior culminating experiences -- collectively known as High-Impact Practices (HIPs) -- are positively associated with student engagement; deep, and integrated learning; and personal and educational gains for…

What is at stake when our young people attempt to belong to a college environment that reflects a world that does not want them for who they are? In this compelling book, Navajo scholar Amanda Tachine takes a personal look at 10 Navajo teenagers, following their experiences during their last year in high school and into their first year in…

Over the years, a number of interventions aimed at increasing student engagement and performance have been implemented in higher education. Some of these, labeled high-impact practices (HIPs), when done well, have led to documented evidence of student success. Two approaches that have been identified as HIPs--first-year seminars and learning…

The responsibility for college success has historically rested with the student, but since the 1980s, educators have taken increasing ownership of this, designing structures that increase the likelihood of learning, success, and retention. These efforts have included a variety of initiatives--first year seminars, learning communities,…

For the past three decades, American higher education has paid increasing attention to the beginning college experience--to ensuring that entering students make a successful transition to college. Yet, much of the extant research and practice literature focuses on the experience of first-year students entering four-year colleges and universities.…

The 2010 edition of this monograph addresses many topics (e.g., administration of orientation programs, family involvement, student characteristics and needs, assessment, and orientation for specific student populations and institutional types) that were included in previous editions but approaches them with new information, updated data, and…

Residence life programs play a key role in recruiting students, helping them make a successful transition to a new institution, and in retaining them, whether students are enrolling for the first time, transferring from another institution, or entering graduate school. Chapters in this book address theories of learning and development, new…

This volume is part of a series of 18 monographs on service learning and the academic disciplines. It is designed to help teachers, administrators, and students realize the potential of service learning in Spanish. Following a Foreword by Carmen Chaves Tesser and an Introduction by Josef Hellebrandt and Lucia T. Varona, the four essays in Part 1,…

This document reviews the results of the first comprehensive survey of the first year in Canadian postsecondary education, and examines the range and consequences of courses of study. It explores students' perceptions of their first year, and evaluates the programs and services that were offered. Chapter 1 compares and contrasts the American and…

This book aims to assist Latinos who are thinking about going to college. The book is divided into four parts and is organized by steps. Part 1 discusses preparing for college. Steps identify 10 new ways of thinking to get ready psychologically for the SAT or ACT exams and college itself; provide forms, tips, and a sample letter to assist in…

Students around the globe have unique first-year experiences but struggle with many of the same challenges. This monograph focuses on their journeys and provides insights for educators interested in learning about how institutions across the globe provide supports to students dealing with first-year transition issues. Based on the successful…

This second volume of "Proving and Improving" collects essays from the First-Year Assessment Listserv, which is hosted by the Policy Center on the First Year of College and the National Resource Center. Like the first volume, this one brings together the nation's leading experts and practitioners of assessment in the first college year.…