The literature on international students predominantly emanates from the Western perspective and offers rich insights into international students' adaptation experiences. While university services improve these experiences, limited studies have investigated the role of pre-support assistance prior to students' arrival. This paper fills that gap…

Discusses academic support programs for distance education students and describes the results of an evaluation of the orientation program at the University College of Central Queensland (UCCQ). A questionnaire was used to determine the costs of the program, whether student needs were being met, orientation attendance, and needed changes or…

In 1996, Ohio's Terra Community College undertook a project to substantiate the need for a comprehensive orientation program and to develop such a program, including a pre-college session and a college orientation class. Information was gathered through a literature review, suggesting that orientation creates a bond between the student and the…

The Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) regularly evaluates the experience of international students in Canada through a benchmarking survey. Canada First 2009 represents the fourth time CBIE has conducted this research. Previous editions appeared in 1988, 1999 and 2004. This year's survey used a revised questionnaire similar to…

The transition from elementary school to middle school or junior high school can be exciting, stressful, scary, and fun all at once for young adolescents. The stress of this transition can either be diffused or augmented by school procedures for introducing these students to the school. In this study, a needs survey was given to a heterogeneous…

Views of 48 foreign students concerning orientation needs at the University of Connecticut were surveyed. The following orientation activities were identified as most important, and are listed in the approximate order of importance: (1) U.S. government regulations (about visas, immigration, social security, and taxes); (2) needs of the spouse…

This paper reports on the use of qualitative methods to determine first-year student perceptions of the Orientation program delivered by North Carolina State University. One hundred thirty freshmen were interviewed, in groups of 6 to 10, to learn about their orientation experiences, and why they felt some sessions were helpful, and where sessions…

Findings and recommendations of a University of Alberta task force study on the mature student are presented. Study objectives were as follows: to identify the characteristics of the mature student population at the university, to identify major concerns and needs of this population, to determine to what extent the university meets the needs of…

A 1980 needs assessment survey of women students at the University of California, Davis, was undertaken. The 327 women respondents (41 percent response rate) were undergraduate, graduate, and professional school students. In addition to collecting information about female respondents, including marital status, number of children, career plans, and…

The purpose of this study is to find out from transfer students exactly what they are afraid of or nervous about when they start over in a new school and examines the implications these anxieties may have for teachers. During the transition, transfer students often suffer social, academic, and emotional distress which can impede their adjustment…

Matriculation legislation, instituted in California in 1986, intended to develop a program of services to guarantee equitable access and success to all students who enroll in community colleges. In an effort to evaluate the success of its matriculation efforts, Sierra Community College (California) conducted a survey of 1,044 students in 1990. The…

Immigrant and refugee students at the University of California, Berkeley, were surveyed in spring 1980 to assess their needs. Of the 311 mailed questionnaires, 208 responses were received. The data were analyzed by language group, class level, and immigrant/refugee status. The major areas of difficulty for these students were the large amount of…

This report presents the findings for private four-year colleges that participated in ACT's 2010 What Works in Student Retention survey. The report contains information pertinent to only these institutions. Appended are: (1) Data for Private Four-Year Colleges and Universities; and (2) What Works in Student Retention: Instrument. (Contains 15…

This report presents the findings for community colleges with twenty percent or more Black students enrolled that participated in ACT's 2010 "What Works in Student Retention survey." The report contains information pertinent to only these institutions. The following are appended: (1) Data for Two-Year Community Colleges with greater than or equal…

This report presents the findings for community colleges with twenty percent or more Hispanic students enrolled that participated in ACT's 2010 What Works in Student Retention survey. The report contains information pertinent to only these institutions. Appendices include: (1) Data for Community Colleges with greater than or equal to 20% Hispanic…