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…

Many universities and colleges are moving from traditional on-campus teaching to also teaching online courses to distant students. Institutions face many challenges in supporting their distant students and need a holistic view of the support that distant students require. This paper proposes ways that institutions could meet these needs of online…

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…

Social isolation and loneliness, cultural shock, and lack of commitment to minority students have been suggested as barriers to educational attainment for many minority college students. Blacks are severely underrepresented in the sciences and in mathematics, and these issues and concerns are not uncommon to black students enrolled in the School…

Literature on counseling adult college students is extremely limited; few if any training programs are currently operating with the purpose of preparing counseling specialists in adult education. Moreover, college/university orientation programs for new entering adult part-time evening students are virtually nonexistent. Recognizing the need for…

Many institutions have stepped up their efforts to recruit talented black students. Dartmouth's weekend, called "Experience Dartmouth," has become one of its most successful recruitment tools. Weekends planned by undergraduate students and increased involvement of black alumni are described. (MLW)

At the University of South Carolina, John Gardner directs University 101, a three-credit course designed to teach freshmen some basic "college survival skills," such as study techniques, constructive ways to relate to peers and professors, and how to use career center. In the last few years, it has been copied by hundreds of colleges in…

Many institutions are taking freshman orientation more seriously by challenging students before they start classes and giving them a more thorough introduction to campus life than ever before. The biggest changes in orientation are occurring among community colleges. Some of the experiences at Georgia Tech are described. (MLW)

A six-week summer transition program for students with disabilities entering the University of Arkansas includes academic advising and personal counseling, enrollment in six hours of college credit, and participation in a range of social and recreational activities. Participants rated the program as good college preparation. (MSE)

Compared three types of orientation programs offered to new students at Salisbury State University (Maryland) traditional, alternative, and outdoor. Findings suggested enrollees in the outdoor program had better adjustment and higher retention rates than enrollees in other programs. The study concluded that interaction/ collaboration among…

Guidelines are presented for assisting students with disabilities in their transition to college. A higher education transition model is described with three curricular elements: (1) psychosocial adjustment (such as college-level social skills); (2) academic development (such as career awareness); and (3) college/community orientation (such as…

Trends in the enrollment of adult students in higher education are examined, and some inappropriate policies and procedures presently in effect at colleges and universities that are obstacles to adult learners are discussed. The demographic picture of the adult student population is presented as are projections for the general population and…

In the Fall Quarter, 1975, the University Division of General Studies introduced a University Seminar Program whose aim was to provide new students, freshmen and transfers, with a more humanistic introduction to Bowling Green State University. The results and conclusions of the evaluation study regarding the first year of the program's operation…

The use of a comprehensive academic advising program in conjunction with a sustained academic orientation program through the freshman year has resulted in a 13.27 percent increase in the retention rate of high-risk students at a regional campus of Pennsylvania State University. The components of CORE are described. (Author/MLW)

The variety of efforts made by several hundred small liberal arts colleges in the areas of classroom instruction, individual student supervision, academic advising, and orientation programs to foster a context in which student-faculty interaction becomes more likely is examined. (MSE)