A study was conducted at Golden West College (GWC) in California to analyze the relationship between first-time students' participation in the college's assessment and orientation programs and their fall-to-spring persistence at the college. The study sample consisted of fall 1991 students who had declared either transfer, degree, or certificate…

White, Black, and Hispanic students were studied during their transition from school or work to a community college. Students (N=71) at the College of Lake County (CLC) in Illinois attended focus groups formed according to race or ethnic group (White, Black, or Hispanic) in the spring and fall semesters to discuss their goals, experience, and…

A survey was conducted at Mesa College in San Diego, California to assess student satisfaction with the college's matriculation services. The in-class survey was administered over a 2-week period to a random sample of classes based on an 8% sample of the student population. The results of the study, based on a 78.7% response rate, included the…

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…

In 1987, the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges initiated a three and one-half year evaluation of the statewide matriculation program, a legislatively mandated effort to assist community college students in identifying and achieving their educational goals. This report evaluates the implementation of matriculation during the…

Programs providing academic support services in colleges and universities and the evaluation of these services are reviewed. Attention is also directed to the need for opportunities in higher education for students with marginal high school academic records, and responses to the need by institutions of higher education. It is suggested that there…

A program was developed at Mercy College, Detroit, to reduce attrition among conditionally admitted, full-time (CAFT) students--about one quarter of entering students at this small, urban, four-year college. The very high attrition rate among CAFT students (95%) was found to be unrelated to academic performance or program quality, and solutions to…

Issues related to the enrollment and education of foreign students in American graduate schools are examined. Most of these students come from developing countries and are often sent to the United States to acquire skills and training needed in their countries. Engineering is the field with the greatest concentration of foreign students. Although…

The recommendations presented in this report were developed by Triton College's Retention Committee, which was established in Fall 1980 to involve a large and representative number of faculty in the identification of actions teachers could take to improve student retention and success. After introductory material detailing the committee's mission…

This paper examines the unique make-up of selective colleges as opposed to those with open admission policies, variances in individual colleges, and how Upward Bound students can be prepared for selective colleges. Some orientations of selective colleges have been described as realistic, scientific, enterprising, and conventional. All of these…

CURRICULUM MATERIAL FOR EDUCABLE MENTALLY RETARDED CHILDREN IS OUTLINED. THREE BROAD AREAS OF INSTRUCTION ARE--(1) SOCIAL SKILLS, INCLUDING OCCUPATIONAL TRAINING (WITH EXAMPLES OF FORMS FOR RECORD KEEPING), FAMILY LIVING, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERSHIP, (2) ARITHMETIC SKILLS, AND (3) LANGUAGE SKILLS. MATERIAL IN EACH AREA IS DEVELOPED FOR PRESENTATION…

This product of the Leadership Training Institute/Vocational and Special Education contains a series of policy papers intended to identify and address several issues that relate to providing postsecondary vocational education services to handicapped learners. Six papers address these topics and issues: (1) Legislative Issues Affecting…

Retention research and action programs are reviewed, and findings from the 1979 national survey entitled "What Works in Student Retention" (WWISR) are examined. The WWISR survey was designed to identify, analyze, and compile information about campus efforts to improve student retention in higher education. Questionnaires on retention were analyzed…

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.…

Accommodating diverse learning styles of students has long been espoused as a principle of good practice in undergraduate education. Much progress has been made during the past two decades in using active, collaborative, and problem-based learning, learning communities, student-faculty research, service learning, internships, and other…