This paper explores issues surrounding the interplay of college preparation, financial assistance, cultural norms, and transition to college for Appalachian first-generation college students from low-income rural families. The Robinson Scholars Program aims to significantly improve the college-going rate in 29 counties in eastern Kentucky. The…

This issue highlights the undergraduate experience and the increasingly important role of student affairs professionals in creating educational environments that enhance student success. It compares college students in the 1960s to today's students, noting that attitudes and behaviors of today's students are different from those of previous…

This report examines the factors that influence the postsecondary enrollment and persistence of rural Pennsylvania students, compared to students from urban and suburban areas. The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 provided data on 216 rural, 103 urban, and 323 suburban high school graduates from Pennsylvania. Depending on their status…

This paper provides an overview of the IT (Instructional Technology) Clinical graduate course at Virginia Tech and compares the perceived reality of the Clinical experience, in terms of benefits and concerns, with students' initial expectations. The paper begins with a discussion of the IT Clinical plan, the sociology of the learning environment…

Compared to traditional campus activities, field experiences appear to have some significant affective impact on college students. However, a knowledge of design techniques makes obvious the need for a major revision of the manner in which field experiences have been evaluated. (Author/LBH)

Recalls the elementary and secondary educational experiences of a Canadian graduate student in education. Connects personal incidents to pedagogical issues of student performance, teacher student relationships, self concept, and social development. Concludes with a correspondence between the student and one of his early teachers. (MJP)

A study investigated whether college students' experiences with three good practices in undergraduate education (faculty-student contact, cooperation among students, active learning) increased from 1990 to 1994. Subjects were 5,962 students in 17 baccalaureate and 22 doctoral-granting institutions. Results indicated increased faculty-student…

An institutional model to measure effect of student financial aid on matriculation and persistence was found to be both workable and potentially useful for college planning. It examines first-time attendance, within-year persistence, and year-to-year persistence of the entering class at an urban, public university, factoring in student background,…

A survey of 1,250 foreign and local students enrolled at 3 South Australian universities investigated their attitudes about study-related and personal experiences, and issues in student choice of university and subsequent evaluation of the institution. Results indicated that while foreign students experience more problems and more severe problems,…

Studies one generation of West Berlin (West Germany) students and their transition from elementary to secondary schools in an attempt to identify possible mechanisms of social discrimination. Analyzes variables such as sex, socioeconomic status, and nationality and their relationship to scholastic achievement. Contends that discrimination persists…

Describes the field experience component of a course for preservice English teachers called "Language in the Secondary Classroom," in which preservice teachers collaborate as equals with high school students, experiencing for themselves the real potential of adolescent learners and the contexts which allow for that potential to emerge.…

Analyzes Black student enrollment and earned degree trends in Michigan, 1965-80; examines institutional experiences of Black freshmen at University of Michigan, 1975-83; and assesses correlates of access, adjustment, and achievement of 700 Black college students who attended six predominately White public institutions in 1981. Makes…

A study investigated the influence of a precollege seminar for high school seniors on freshmen's anticipatory socialization, grade point averages, persistence, and overall adjustment to college. Results suggest that such a course may be useful in easing the transition to college. Improved college-high school collaboration was a byproduct of the…

Two collaborative learning programs for beginning college students are examined: the University of Washington's Freshman Interest Group and the Coordinated Studies Program at Seattle Central Community College (Washington). The study looks at whether and how such programs are effective. The programs appear effective in promoting commuter student…

A study of counseling interests of 2,575 college freshmen found females more interested in educational/vocational and emotional/social counseling than males and males more interested in improving learning skills and getting counseling for alcohol use. Counselors are advised to examine more than presenting problems in counseling freshmen.…