Mature students are making up an increasing proportion of the student population at Canadian colleges and universities. At Assiniboine Community College (ACC), in southwestern Manitoba, an average of 360 mature students enrolled in various programs each year from 2008 to 2013. These mature students bring with them unique strengths and challenges.…

The purpose of this study was to examine determinants of Black male students' engagement with faculty in the community college. Data from this study were derived from the 2011 three-year cohort of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE). Using data from 11,384 Black male respondents within 260 community colleges, this study…

Humans, as social creatures, look to others for affiliation, support, and guidance while also having the capacity to offer something of value to someone in need (understanding, compassion, reassurance, hope, etc.). While offering such support can be easy, almost innate, for some and less natural for others, basic helping skills can be learned and…

Hazing, associated with initiation, aims at taking newcomers from novice status to a status of functional and acknowledged members of a new group. However, the process is often dangerous, injurious, and usually secretive. Hazing may occur as an unauthorised component of institutionally sanctioned orientation programmes commonly held for new…

With growing concerns over higher education accountability and diminishing resources, student retention rates and the reasons why students remain at a post-secondary institution continue to persist. Since the 1960s, researchers have examined cognitive and non-cognitive factors that impact whether or not students stay at a particular post-secondary…

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…

One-day transition to university workshops have been successful in enhancing peer networks. This study aimed to influence the transition from a Foundation Degree to a third year Undergraduate Degree programme through the use of peer led workshops. Two 2-hour workshops were planned and delivered by five previous students of the Foundation Degree,…

Using data from the Virginia Community College System and building upon prior Florida-based research, this study examines whether student success course enrollment has positive associations with shorter term student outcomes, including earning any college credits within the first year and persisting into the second year. The present study finds…

The present study utilizes a multilevel approach to assess the effects of four different types of intervention on college student retention, focusing on the interaction effects between the student characteristics and the types of intervention. The program effects on a 3-year trend are also explored. The findings of the present study reveal that…

With a solid GPA, numerous extracurricular achievements, and an acceptance letter from an excellent college, it seems that all of your hard work in school has paid off. Now what? What can you expect from college life, and how can you get the most out of it? This book answers these questions to help you excel in college. Deans at America's top…

The objectives of this research were to identify: 1) promising institutional practices for retaining and graduating low-income, first-generation community college transfer students at four-year institutions, including any transfer-specific support systems; 2) outcomes of transfer students (i.e., graduation rates) at four-year institutions in…

This exploratory study was designed to examine the 2006-2007 qualitative and quantitative data of community college students enrolled in face to face (F2F) and online student orientation programs. The purpose of this study was to determine if the presence of an F2F orientation would increase the retention rates of students in an online course. The…

Community colleges across the country have created innovative, data-informed programs that are models for educating underprepared students, engaging traditionally underserved students, and helping students from all backgrounds succeed. However, because most of these programs have limited scope, the field now has pockets of success rather than…

Describes the characteristics of today's college student population, noting ways in which they differ from the students of the past and exploring what the characteristics of these students means for the design and conduct of orientation programs. (SLD)

The 2010 edition of this monograph addresses many topics (e.g., administration of orientation programs, family involvement, student characteristics and needs, assessment, and orientation for specific student populations and institutional types) that were included in previous editions but approaches them with new information, updated data, and…