To reduce student depression and its academic consequences, a preventive training program for freshmen provided one group (n=85) with a semester-long course in personal competencies (affect management, self-control, social skills, and problem solving), and one group (n=86) with an academic skills course. Both groups were equally effective.…

Comparison of 825 first-generation college students and 1,860 traditional college students in 23 diverse institutions after completion of 1 year found first-generation students differed from others in both entering characteristics and college experiences. Although traditional students made greater net gains in reading, the groups gained similarly…

Attrition in engineering programs continues to be an important issue for universities across the country. This study examined the connection between student performance in barrier courses and persistence in engineering. Quantitative results showed that high school academic experience, student behaviors (including study habits, work habits, coping…

This paper reports on an investigation into learning through discussions by undergraduate social work students. Second-year students studying psychology for social work experienced discussions began with face-to-face tutorials, and then continued for some time after online. This study used closed-ended questionnaires to investigate what students…

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…

This paper discusses retention techniques that can be used with minority students at predominantly white colleges, focusing on four phases that are critical to the retention and academic achievement of minority students: acceptance, acclimatization, responsibility, and productivity. In the acceptance phase, the college community should attempt to…

This study evaluated a first-year pilot program to improve retention, academic achievement, and student satisfaction of 49 academically underprepared freshmen at Assumption College (Massachusetts), a predominantly white, Catholic, liberal arts institution. Students were identified by low verbal, math, and total SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test)…

CURRENT BELIEFS ABOUT THE EXTENT OF THE INFLUENCE OF COLLEGE EXPERIENCE WERE SURVEYED BY A REVIEW OF REPORTED RESEARCH. THE PRINCIPAL CONCLUSIONS FORMULATED BY THE AUTHOR FROM THE LITERATURE STUDIED WERE (1) THE OUTCOME OF COLLEGE EDUCATION IS LIKELY TO BE A COMPROMISE BETWEEN THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ENTERING FRESHMEN AND THE IDEALS OF LIBERAL…

In this study, the relationship between students' expectations for the environment of the college they are about to enter and the level of formal education completed by their parents was investigated. It was hypothesized that entering freshmen students whose parents both had only a high school education differed from entering freshmen whose…

Hypothesizing that positive change in students' attitudes concerning leadership behavior would result from participation in a basic level five-week course at the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), 80 student participants (16 years or older) were pre- and post-tested for attitudinal change. Using the Leadership Opinion Questionnaire (LOQ),…

This study examined the academic experience of college freshmen during their first semester (Fall, 1997) at Champlain-St. Lawrence College (Quebec, Canada) a two-year college in the Quebec Cegep system. Students completed a motivational questionnaire before and after the semester. Analysis was aimed at examining reasons for the 42 percent…

High schools in the United States face tremendous challenges involving changes in cultural and economic forces and necessities. They need to transform themselves into places of learning where knowledge is relevant to students' needs and aspirations. Because many traditional high school structures are large, compartmentalized, and impersonal, they…

The relationships among measures of vocational interest, life history data, educational performance, and number of courses taken (by area) were explored in a college freshman sample of 1,892 students. Canonical correlation analysis was used to uncover and describe the major relationships among the variable sets. (Author/JKS)

A study of 40 medical students who used an interactive child abuse computer simulation to learn clinical reasoning skills found that students thought the exercise was both interesting and educational. Performance on the simulation was not related to gender or experience but was related to academic performance. (CR)

A study of 2,100 freshmen at a public university examined the relationship of financial aid at 3 levels (receipt of any aid, total amount of aid, type/amount of aid), grade point average, and full- versus part-time attendance to persistence from the first to the second semester. With the exception of scholarships, financial aid did not affect…