Inequalities in student enrolment, retention and success for specific demographic groups exist throughout the higher education sector. Although there are numerous and diverse initiatives implemented in universities to support student retention and/or success, experience and/or satisfaction, the feasibility or effectiveness of programs targeting…

Using data from a learning module embedded in all first-year seminars, researchers found evidence suggesting that librarians are uniquely qualified to deliver information literacy instruction compared to campus faculty. The study analyzes writing assignments from first-year modules taught by either librarians or campus faculty for two academic…

This paper discusses the development and implementation of a locally-sourced corpus to address the specific needs of an ESL writing program. The paper begins with a description of the motivation and development of the "Corpus of Ohio Learner and Teacher English" (COLTE), a large in-house corpus consisting of assessed ESL student writing…

The College Completion Network conducted a systematic review of the research literature on advising strategies, summarizing the evidence for a wide range of advising strategies that have been the focus of research conducted during the past 2 decades. Simultaneously, the network conducted virtual focus groups with administrators at 47 2-year and…

The College Completion Network conducted a systematic review of the research on advising strategies that support college completion. Several key findings can inform policy and practice: Holistic and comprehensive interventions that combine multiple components to meet student needs improve student outcomes. These types of interventions provide…

Wikipedia can serve as an effective, engaging tool for teaching key information literacy skills. This article examines the experience of seven faculty members and over four hundred students who edited Wikipedia as part of a first-year seminar. We review the literature surrounding the pedagogical value of Wikipedia and then discuss our goals in…

All incoming students have a first experience with their institution. This article reviews literature on adult education, online learning, and first-year student success to articulate the scope of experiences and programs that ought to be included in institutional efforts aimed at helping adult students be successful in their first year of online…

Selecting an undergraduate institution in the United States has been one of the most challenging experiences in college students and their families' lives. Students must weigh in both academic and non-academic factors during the college selection process. Once students have selected a 2-year or 4-year institutions, they are required to take a set…

Offers annotated citations that outline the structure of programs for incoming freshmen at some colleges, and discuss the outcomes related to participation by students. Asserts that these types of programs are more difficult to structure at community colleges because many students attend part-time or have outside obligations that limit the time…

While America's two-year colleges are diverse in function, mission, clientele, and organizational structure, they share a common identity in their commitment to a developmental philosophy. A rarely used, but nonetheless tenable and cost-saving path to development involves exploring strategies which simultaneously contribute to faculty, student,…

This report presents study results from a 1988 survey of institutions of higher education (N=1,164 responses) who have instituted freshman seminar programs. Specifically, the survey sought to determine the extent to which colleges and universities were offering a freshman seminar course, defined by the survey instrument as a special course for…

This report provides a conceptual framework for guiding decisions regarding the administrative delivery and course content of the freshman orientation seminar. The proposed framework relies heavily on empirical evidence generated by college-level research in the areas of student retention, student learning and academic achievement, and student…

There is a large body of well-conducted research that supports the value of freshmen orientation seminars in promoting the success of first-year students at community colleges. Orientation programs have been shown to improve retention, program completion, and the level of academic performance of these students. In addition to improving student…