Results of a task force review of the student flow model at Mount Royal College (Alberta, Canada) are presented. Issues and recommendations are considered for: (1) pre-admission; (2) admission, academic advising, registration, and orientation; (3) instruction/academic support; and (4) post-graduation. Goals include: provide accurate information to…

The "Shadow" program at a middle school in Atlanta allows fifth graders to "shadow" sixth grade middle students to ease transition from elementary school. This study used questionnaires to compare the social adjustment of program participants and non-participants, as well as teacher attitudes toward the program. Results showed…

In the context of the steady increase in foreign law students undertaking graduate study in the United States, some recommendations are made for helping foreign students bridge the gap between their home country's legal environment and that of the United States. A single-semester orientation course is outlined. (MSE)

Evaluated distance students' ratings of the importance of strategies to facilitate self-directed learning in the National Open University, Taiwan. Topics include content validity; differences between current and inactive students, including motivation; institutional support services; orientation programs; instructional styles; course design; and…

Exposes and analyzes the damage done to school effectiveness by erroneous reasoning that arises from contamination by the fallacy of bifurcation, a fallacy that insists that educators must choose between an academic-achievement orientation and an expressive, social, and cultural orientation. Concern for both areas will generate a synergistic…

A study was conducted at Sacramento City College to determine the effect of "College Success" (CS), an extended orientation class, on students' academic performance and persistence. The study included three groups of students: 116 students enrolled in CS, 104 students who attended a 4-hour New Student Orientation (NSO), and 84 students who…

The goal of the 1985 Queensborough Community College (QCC) Pre-Freshman Summer Program (PFSP) was to ease the transition from high school to college for entering College Discovery freshmen in order to improve their academic performance and increase their chances for retention at QCC. The 6-week program included academic tutorials in reading,…

In the summer of 1985, New York City's High School Preparation for Raising Educational Performance (PREP) Program included an English as a second language (ELS) component. The ESL component was designed to help recent immigrant students develop the listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in English necessary for success in the mainstream…

The goal of Queensborough Community College's College Discovery Pre-Freshman Summer Program (PFSP) is to ease the transition from high school into college for entering College Discovery freshmen, and thereby improve their academic performance and increase their chances for retention at the college. An evaluation of the PFSP was conducted in 1987…

The effectiveness of the Plattsburgh Freshman Seminar program, which was designed to increase student retention, was evaluated. The 45 hour, three credit program was designed to help students clarify educational and personal goals, to increase faculty-student contact, to develop communication skills, and to familiarize the student with the…

Analyzes the sequence of decisions students make in their transition to college, and finds six distinct time periods in the formal process that students go through. This decision-making process can be described using information management strategies of "prototype-matching" and "striving-for-future-selves." Argues colleges can use this information…

Examines the relationship between completion of a freshman orientation course at the University of South Florida and retention (enrollment during a subsequent semester following completion of the course), academic performance, and graduation. Findings show that course participants performed better on measures of retention and academic performance,…

This study examined the effectiveness of different topics/activities included in a freshman orientation course in enhancing the students' perception of their successful adjustment to college life and the impact of these subjects on the student level of persistence. The results support the Tinto stage model of persistence since the elements of the…

This publication was written in response to a need among colleges of agriculture to examine alternative recruitment strategies. It assesses efforts by the University of Georgia's College of Agriculture to recruit students through an annual campus visitation program entitled "Ag Horizons: A Career Institute." Since 1984, Ag Horizons has…

Describes and evaluates the staffing, scheduling, thematic underpinning, activities, and student recruitment efforts of New York City's 1983 summer PREP program for introducing new students to the city's high schools. Also covers site selection, student and teacher attitudes, differences from previous years' programs, and recommendations for the…