Describes a scavenger hunt assignment in a freshman orientation course. Uses the idea of the scavenger hunt as a way to locate and utilize campus resources and gain insight into the grading and self-evaluation process. Contains four resources, with sample assignments appended. (NB)

Reports on author's experiences using lower-division developmental education (DE) students as teaching assistants in developmental social science courses. Includes benefits, such as assisting in students' socialization and dispelling DE stigma, and drawbacks, such as tension created by authoritarian role. Also includes comments made by students…

John N. Gardner, Associate Vice Provost at the University of South Carolina (USC), responds to questions concerning cutbacks and in programs aimed at first-year college students, the role played by USC's Freshman Year Experience course, academic credit for support programs, teacher training for support/developmental courses, teaching style, open…

Noting that too many people, including college teachers and administrators, view literature as entertainment and, thus, impractical in the "real world" of employment, a teacher at North Hennepin Community College in suburban Minneapolis supports requiring literature as the primary reading in Freshman English classes. After remarking that…

The city is described as a place where strangers meet, and that is also what happens in the public space of the composition classroom. If students share anything, it is an awareness of the need to negotiate the institutional demands of the freshman writing class and an invitation to enter the public forum where the issues can be divisive,…

Addresses the issue of student engagement in education. Suggests that reasons behind high dropout rates for first-year students may include the college's adherence to the traditional learning paradigm that characterizes the student as a passive learner. Urges institutions to move toward learning through engagement. (NB)

Generally speaking English department faculty respond very differently when reading freshman writing than when reading most other kinds of writing. Mina Shaughnessy has pointed out that "ordinary readers" try to understand what they are reading, but the writing teacher, "like a lawyer examining a client's document for all possible ambiguities and…

A description is provided of the use of a group process approach to the Freshman English research paper at El Paso Community College. After highlighting problems associated with traditional approaches to freshman research papers, an overview of the group process approach is provided, along with warnings for instructors who might view the approach…

An examination of current textbooks for freshman English composition courses reveals that authors, editors, and publishers continue to perpetuate outmoded techniques which frustrate, rather than enhance, student writing ability. Most notable of these techniques is the unnecessary emphasis placed on complicated rules of grammar. Such an emphasis…

Suggests ways in which instructors can engage students in large classes. States that short weekly written student responses can ameliorate the problems of dealing with large classes. Explains that such responses help students gain power over the material and assists in developing competence. (Contains 19 references.) (NB)

Reviews the literature on the reasons that students drop out of college. Offers a plan for freshman retention that asks students about their goals at registration, provides them with a six-hour orientation emphasizing academic excellence, teams them with a faculty mentor, and includes a mandatory for-credit seminar on attending college. (DMM)

Describes a study applying the Tinto Model to predict student persistence/exit in a community college setting. A questionnaire assessing background, environmental, and integration variables was administered to full-time students during their first semester, successfully predicting subsequent persistence/exit behavior and affirming the utility of…

An overview is provided of the relevant concepts from Total Quality Management (TQM), fuzzy logic, and the chaos theory of education in an effort to support the case for student success courses. First, the paper discusses student success courses, which emphasize helping students develop the skills needed to identify, create, and pursue an…

Reviews the literature on student attrition and suggests ways to increase enrollment and re-enrollment at community colleges without establishing labor-intensive programs and services. Focuses on the creation of the necessary environment for retention; the importance of campus-based research; and ways of predicting and preventing unnecessary…

This study examined the enrollment rates and policies related to non-resident first-time-in-college (FTIC) students at State University System (SUS) institutions in Florida. It found that non-resident FTIC students were not taking SUS admission spaces from qualified Florida residents in any great numbers. Nevertheless, it recommends that: (1) the…