Background: Undergraduate outdoor orientation programs facilitate students' transition into college. Research has yet to be conducted on the few programs at medical schools, which may have unique benefits given the specific challenges of transitioning to medical school and high rates of burnout among medical students. Purpose: This mixed methods…

Purpose: The transition from school to higher education is a complex process. Peer mentoring is often used by institutions to facilitate this process. The purpose of this research, which was conducted at a South African university, was to determine whether a peer mentoring programme, which involved a large number of students and a limited number…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to improve the orientation experience of commencing first-year undergraduate business students to better prepare them for the reality of their academic studies through the development and implementation of a Commencing Student-Needs-Centred Orientation Framework. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology…

Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), published in November 2004, states that all young people should be "successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors to society and at work". These are commonly referred to as the 4 capacities of CfE. CfE also recommends that the curriculum should be designed…

This study investigates the experiences of mature students across three higher education institutions in the UK. The issues arising are of relevance to academics who are involved in widening participation and in evaluating support in their own programmes for the diversity of students. The sample includes mature students from programmes in Health,…

Examined the perceived orientation needs of college freshmen and transfer students (N=527) and whether these needs were met or unmet. Results showed that new students, both before and after orientation, saw academic and career planning as the primary objective of an orientation program. (WAS)

Examines the perceived needs of incoming freshmen on a newly created instrument, the Freshman Survey. The instrument contains four scales with items related to personal/emotional, social, academic, and career needs. Freshmen indicated higher pre- and post-orientation needs on the academic and career scales. Also discusses student needs with…

Examined the effect of orientation in altering concerns of new college students. Measured the change in level of student concern about academics, finances, physical layout, university structure, social integration and identity, housing, and social relationships. Results indicated that overall student concerns were reduced for the seven areas. (RC)

Surveyed college freshmen and professionals involved in orientation planning to compare their perception of student needs. Planners emphasized money and housing needs while students ranked academic concerns highest. Program activities responding to these needs included personal interviews, course schedule planning, registration assistance and…

In 1996, Ohio's Terra Community College undertook a project to substantiate the need for a comprehensive orientation program and to develop such a program, including a pre-college session and a college orientation class. Information was gathered through a literature review, suggesting that orientation creates a bond between the student and the…

This 59-item annotated bibliography covers suggested reading material published between 1956 and 1991 to assist college faculty and administrators in promoting first year success for college freshmen. The bibliography is divided into seven sections of resource materials. Section 1 contains suggested readings on both objective research on the…

In this article, the author describes how the orientation staff at the University of Louisville used a unique blend of play and student learning to engage more students more deeply in their orientation experience as they learn the basics for success in college. This approach to orientation is based from Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul, and John…

The Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) regularly evaluates the experience of international students in Canada through a benchmarking survey. Canada First 2009 represents the fourth time CBIE has conducted this research. Previous editions appeared in 1988, 1999 and 2004. This year's survey used a revised questionnaire similar to…

This paper reports on the use of qualitative methods to determine first-year student perceptions of the Orientation program delivered by North Carolina State University. One hundred thirty freshmen were interviewed, in groups of 6 to 10, to learn about their orientation experiences, and why they felt some sessions were helpful, and where sessions…

Studies of the educational development of adults were conducted to (1) identify adults' perceptions of the personal and institutional factors that help and/or impede them in successfully completing the admissions process for entry into postsecondary education and (2) develop and validate interventions that will enhance adults' decision and…