Proceedings of the first National Conference on Academic Advising, sponsored in 1977 by the University of Vermont, are presented. Among the 36 papers presented are the following: "Making Advising Work: Basic Elements in Developing and Implementing a Successful Academic Advising Program" (David S. Crockett); "A Community College Academic Advisor's…

An article and descriptions of programs for first-year college students are presented. In "As Freshmen First," John Orr Dwyer recounts the history of the word "freshman" and outlines some of the characteristics of the 1980s first-year student. Recognizing the problems that face students entering college for the first time, he…

Comparison of the responses of Asian, black, and white honors students attending a first-year seminar at a large research university found that Asians differed most often from white and black students on all issues. Academic issues most often engendered group differences. Results suggest that racial subgroups in the honors student population have…

This paper compares freshmen who enrolled in the College Seminar at Ramapo College (a 4-year liberal arts college in New Jersey) with freshmen who have not taken the seminar. The seminar course includes units on higher education in America; study skills (e.g., writing papers, research skills, taking notes, time management, computer skills);…

A study was done to examine student opinion of the campus advising services at the University of California Davis campus in Spring 1990 as a follow up to a similar study conducted in 1987. The study used the Student Opinion Survey and mailed it to a stratified random sample of 1,649 students. Of the surveys sent, 57.7 percent were returned. The…

This booklet presents questions that can be used by a college or university task force looking at the freshman year experience and/or the broader undergraduate experience. It can also be utilized to aid the process of campus self-study or assessment. The questions are arranged under three major headings: (1) Campus Policies, Processes, and…

To help new students clarify goals, understand the demands of college, and successfully adjust to college life, Queensborough Community College (QCC), in Bayside, New York, developed the "Introduction to College" program. The program combines a 4-week orientation seminar with a writing-accross-the-curriculum approach to help QCC's…

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…

This study sought to answer the following questions: Are commuting students different from resident students? Are commuters a heterogeneous population? Do trends in commuter concerns from 1973-75 persist in 1976? A sample of 1475 incoming freshmen at the University of Maryland, College Park, who attended the 1976 two-day freshman orientation…

The Transition Class is an alternative model to the traditional college sequence of developmental courses. Offered as an option to prospective students before they complete the college application and financial aid procedures, the 12-week Transition Class is nongraded and free of charge. By taking the class before they fully matriculate in the…

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 monograph contains 14 papers on all aspects of college and university student and family orientation programs. The papers are: (1) "Orienting Today's Students" by M. Lee Upcraft; (2) "Theoretical Perspectives on Orientation" by Michael Dannells; (3) "Trends and Issues in Orientation Programs" by Gerry Strumpf and…

The need to examine college student attrition as an approach to the expected demographic decline in the 1980s, and case studies that demonstrate retention improvement and successful techniques are considered. Information is presented on the progress of typical freshmen (graduates, transfers, and dropouts) and patterns of interrupting studies.…

The effectiveness of a California State University, Long Beach, program to prepare incoming students for university-level work and educational processes was assessed in 2 surveys of new students (n=1,100, n=1,613) and 1 of 80 who had taken the course previously. Key elements in program success were identified: course content; teaching techniques;…

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…