Contribution: A peer-mentoring plan designed to support engineering students during their transition from high school to university. This article addresses the adaptation challenges faced by first-year students in engineering programs. Background: The transition to university is a critical period for students, marked by significant lifestyle…

Prior research has shown that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted American college students; however, few studies have focused on first-year students and their experiences with attending college during unprecedented circumstances. To address this gap, first-year college students (N = 268) completed online questionnaires assessing their…

Why do college students persist with their education, especially when facing challenges? We answer this question by exploring the complexities surrounding college student retention, using the organizational research lenses of job embeddedness, normative pressures, and the unfolding model of turnover. We first developed a college embeddedness scale…

This study examined peer social support, locus of control as determinants of school adjustment among freshmen in Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria. The study adopted Ex post facto as research design. The sample comprised 600 participants randomly selected from all the schools/faculties (as used in Nigeria). A total of 75 students were each…

Nearly 40% of Canadian university students are depressed. However, strong social support may mitigate adverse outcomes for some. This study examined: (1) If students who showed initial depression were more likely to experience poorer end-of-semester well-being (continued depressive symptoms, burnout, and poor social and academic adjustment); and…

Drawing on the commognitive framework, we construe the secondary-tertiary transition (STT) as a distinctive element in the pedagogical discourses of various communities. Our interest rests with university tutors in light of the emergent recognition of their impact on undergraduates' mathematics learning in many tertiary contexts worldwide. We aim…

The COVID-19 pandemic that began in March 2020 gave rise to a number of challenges for first-year experience activities at universities globally. One of the key challenges was the process of onboarding first-year students through an orientation programme that could not take place face-to-face as per the norm. In 2021, the first-year orientation at…

Objective Examine neuroticism's impact on the relationship between depressive symptoms and sleep quality during the college transition. Participants First-year students (N = 302) from a southeastern university in the USA. Methods A longitudinal cross-lagged panel model assessed direct and indirect effects between self-reported sleep and depressed…

The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of adult learners in a first-year seminar course at Columbia State Community College, located in middle Tennessee, to determine if the content of the course has an impact on the learners' adjustment to college. With the statewide initiative to reach a goal of 55% of the state's population…

This study aimed to explore the factors reported by first-year international students which helped or hindered their experiences of transition to a multicultural higher education institution in the United Arab Emirates. Descriptive phenomenology was used to portray participants constructed and co-constructed views, formed through their individual…

The paper presents the design and evaluation of a voluntary online introductory stoichiometry (VOIS) course aimed at facilitating the transition from secondary to higher education. The course utilized simple analogies and adaptive feedback through a formative scaffolding assessment. The study assessed the effectiveness of the VOIS course through…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of helicopter parenting on first-year college students at a selected Historically Black College and University in Mississippi. Helicopter parenting is a style of parenting that involves excessive control and overprotection of children. This study utilized the social capital theory to evaluate…

The transition from school to university is challenging and a greater knowledge of the first-year student experience will enable staff to better support their students. University- and government-run student surveys fail to capture the depth and breadth of the first-year experience and so qualitative research is needed to get a more nuanced and…

Belonging is critical to first-year student success and persistence in higher education. However, differing definitions make it challenging to fully understand why belonging is significant. Foregrounding student voice, this research explored how first-year Australian university students talked about their belonging. Using Kahu and Nelson's (2018)…

Over the past few decades, standards-based educational reforms in the U.S. have sought to enhance students' college and career readiness. The most recent wave of such reforms has emphasized writing as an essential aspect of college readiness and a 21st century skill necessary for success in the workplace. A common feature of these conversations…