The ALANA (Asian, Latin, African, and Native American) Mentoring Program was established at Saint Clair County Community College, in Port Huron, Michigan, to address the identity issues facing ALANA freshmen through peer mentoring. Mentors provide social and academic support, support students in thinking critically and role playing, and directly…

In an effort to achieve ethnic parity for underrepresented minorities at the University of New Mexico College of Engineering, precollege and undergraduate programs were developed to recruit and retain Hispanic and American Indian students. The Math, Engineering, and Science Achievement (MESA) program is a coherent, longitudinal program organized…

Summaries of papers from the 1978 National Conference on Academic Advising are presented. Among the 58 papers are the following: "Faculty Advising as Faculty Development" (Howard Kramer); "Student Self-Assessment Systems and Academic Advising" (John H. Clarke, Christopher Robles, Joanne Yphantis); "Development and Utilization of a Peer Advising…

The Fundacion Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho, a large Venezuelan scholarship program that sends students to study in the United States and other countries, is discussed. Information on program objectives, issues, and problems was obtained from work with students at the University of Pittsburgh, the literature, program records, and interviews with…

This article offers the opinion that school mental health services should be built around the question: "What useful roles can schools play as part of a concerted social effort targeted to the enhancement of children's wellness?" The article suggests that there are many important roles: practical, repair-oriented roles, and new roles…

The University of Minnesota, Morris campus, developed a bridge program called the Gateway Program to meet the special concerns of African American and American Indian incoming freshmen. The program initially prepares students for higher education through a 4-week summer program that includes an umbrella course in math, computer literacy, and…

Although early intervention programs have enjoyed popular and legislative support, little hard data exist on the long-term consequences of these efforts. This study examined the long-term effects of the Child-Parent Center (CPC) program in Chicago. Begun in 1967, the program operates out of 24 centers, located in proximity to the elementary…

This paper explores the myths surrounding the higher education of commuter students and investigates their needs and concerns. Today's college students include increasing numbers of adult, female, minority, and part-time students. Commuter students, i.e., those living off-campus, make up the largest and most diverse group. Many of these students…

A consortium program of eight private colleges in Southern California that focuses on student retention efforts is described. Each college has a retention task force consisting of faculty, administrators, student affairs staff, and students. A steering committee with one representative from each college, generally the dean of students, coordinates…

Literacy, which has only positive connotations in most cultures, has long been associated in Native communities with colonial education, "the reculturing and reeducation of American Indians by the secular and religious institutions of colonizing nations." Early educators imposed literacy on Indian children attending government-organized boarding…

Although a basic premise of higher education is that students must take the primary responsibility for their own learning, problems arise when the focus throughout elementary and secondary schooling is on passive, rote learning with the student totally dependent on the teacher and text, as in Islamic schools. The educational shock experienced in…

Proceedings of the 1980 National Conference on Academic Advising are presented. The more than 50 papers are organized as general sessions, preconference workshops, and paper sessions. For the paper sessions, summaries are presented, which are either written by the presenters or the publication editors. Articles and authors include the following:…

A project was conducted to develop and implement a coordinated program of supportive services for the physically and sensorially limited adult at the postsecondary level. Phase I consisted of removing architectural barriers, establishing an advisory committee, staffing the project, preparing the budget, and purchasing needed equipment. During…

This report compiles data on three 5-year federally sponsored dropout prevention programs: ALAS (Achievement for Latinos through Academic Success), the Belief Academy, and Check & Connect. The introduction to the report presents background information on the dropout problem and related issues that face youth with learning and emotional…

This Master's degree project developed a program for decreasing disruptive student behavior in order to increase the amount of on-task time in the classroom. Types and occurrences of disruptive behavior were documented over a 6-week period in two classrooms at each of two junior high schools (grades 6-8) in Illinois. Analysis of the data revealed…