A study at Cape Technikon (South Africa) investigated college choice decision making by surveying 923 applicants during the application process and 314 enrollees during orientation. Results show demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of applicants and enrollees differ, applicants consider multiple institutions, alumni and friends are the…

Describes a study conducted at four North Carolina community colleges of the relationship between completion of an orientation by new students, higher retention, and grade point averages. Indicates that completing an orientation course during the first term of enrollment promotes and improves student performance regardless of age, gender, race,…

Orientation for first-year college students is important for students, parents, and the institution. It should fit institutional traditions, values, and culture, involve parents, be staffed by well-trained current students, and be carefully evaluated for improvement. Mississippi State University's program focuses on retention and is festive,…

Discusses community college efforts to assess student needs, increase persistence, and enhance transfer education, offering recommendation on the provision of guidance and counseling, opportunities for faculty-student interaction, and orientation programs. Questions current definitions of transfer effectiveness. Asserts that students themselves…

Interinstitutional collaboration can help educators in local communities identify and respond to the unique challenges they face. Student support services at high schools and community colleges can work together to design programs (e.g. new student orientations, counselor-to-counselor activities, staff development) to assist students in their…

Students around the globe have unique first-year experiences but struggle with many of the same challenges. This monograph focuses on their journeys and provides insights for educators interested in learning about how institutions across the globe provide supports to students dealing with first-year transition issues. Based on the successful…

This monograph presents data from a 1994 national survey on freshman seminars gathered from 1,003 accredited, two- and four-year colleges with student populations of over 100 students. The survey investigated the content and structure of freshman seminars in a mail survey of provosts/vice presidents for academic affairs at 2,460 institutions Among…

A college student orientation program is described which incorporates outdoor adventure activities. The purpose of the program is to challenge the participants and encourage cooperation between individuals. The two general categories of adventure activities used in this program are low risk (initiative games, nature walks, camping, and nature…

A survey of 25 international students studying in Massachusetts colleges gathered information on 4 specific aspects of their American college experience (recruitment, orientation, adaptation, and acculturation) as well as about their experiences with English. In interviews, nine students said they had had no problems with the English language;…

The graduate student orientation program conducted at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is described, and supplementary orientation materials are provided. The orientation program incorporates the following thrusts: instructional and research programming, personal and professional development, departmental programming, social interaction, and…

The University of California at Los Angeles's (UCLA's) Transfer Summer Program (TSP) is designed to increase the academic achievement, retention, and graduation rates of underrepresented and low-income students and to ease their transition from community college to UCLA. In 1989, a study was conducted to assess the extent to which TSP students…

This minicourse has been designed for counselors to use with "About High School, Book 4" of the Educational Opportunities in Virginia publications. It consists of a sequential series of six 45-minute classroom guidance sessions to be conducted with seventh grade students. The course focuses on helping students, with parent involvement,…

A study was conducted by the Learning Assessment Retention Consortium of the California Community Colleges to determine the extent to which the state's community colleges had implemented matriculation practices which were recommended by the Board of Governors in 1984, but which had not received state funding. The study investigated college…

Efforts to train graduate student instructors (GSIs) at the University of California, Berkeley, are considered in this newsletter issue. Administrative changes and ways to improve GSI selection, training, and evaluation are considered, along with: proposed changes in graduate student teaching titles, grants to help faculty and departments…

This paper presents selected research findings from Monitoring the Future, an annual series of national surveys focusing on lifestyles and drug use among representative samples of American high school seniors that has been conducted every year since 1975. The presentation focuses on two issues: aspects of lifestyle currently associated with drug…