Stresses the importance of developing rural education initiatives that address the changing workforce in rural areas and the accompanying need for career preparation beyond high school. Describes a program at Edinboro University (Pennsylvania) that prepares rural high school students for career decision making and builds connections between rural…

Simon Fraser University's program of English language support for Indonesian graduate students is described. The program's special features include team teaching, extended planning time, and focus on students' specialized academic needs. Recommendations for other similar programs are given. (Author/MSE)

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…

A study of a summer bridge program's effects on low-income and minority groups students during their first year at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that such programs can facilitate transition and adjustment to university or college life and improve academic performance and persistence rates. (Author/MSE)

This small book is designed to be an easy-to-read, practical introduction for college freshmen to the college setting. Written by a college art instructor and designed to answer many of the questions that official college publications may not answer clearly, it presents information in short, direct, one or two paragraph items. The items are…

It is estimated that, on average, three out of ten school (or as high as seven out of ten) children experience some type of school adjustment problem. This paper outlines a program designed for children who have mild school adjustment difficulties in the early grades (K-3) and who are at risk of more serious difficulties as they become older. This…

This paper discusses the characteristics of nontraditional student populations, reviews programs of interest, identifies problems and concerns of these students, and provides a model for orientation sessions targeting nontraditional populations. Following a brief introduction, section II discusses the characteristics, retention, and academic…

The first-semester orientation course at Irvine Valley College (IVC), in California, a non-required course taught by counselors, covers time management, study skills, academic policies, career and academic major exploration, and support services. In an effort to evaluate the effectiveness of the course, a study was conducted of the 1990 freshman…

This publication contains two reports describing the development and beginning evaluations of two separate programs of the Baltimore (Maryland) School and Family Connections Project designed to increase parents' involvement in their children's learning in urban middle grades schools. The first report, "Reactions of Parents, Students, and…

To address the needs of African American students at Beaver College in Glenside (Pennsylvania), a one-credit freshman orientation course on Afrocentricity was developed. The course was intended to increase the comfort level between the institution and its culturally diverse students and add additional support for increased retention of African…

The Student Affirmative Action Program at California State University, Long Beach was designed to serve the needs of Latino students, an underrepresented population in higher education, and to help eliminate identified institutional barriers to their participation. Barriers include inadequate orientation and information, poor planning and academic…

This report provides a conceptual framework for guiding decisions regarding the administrative delivery and course content of the freshman orientation seminar. The proposed framework relies heavily on empirical evidence generated by college-level research in the areas of student retention, student learning and academic achievement, and student…

This resource guide provides practical information to educators directly involved with vocational education for the limited-English-proficient (LEP) population. Part I describes the nine major features of promising vocational education programs for LEP students: program approach, program duration, institutional support, staff commitment,…

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…

Materials from a spring 1986 teaching assistant (TA) planning meeting held at the University of Washington are presented. The training meeting was sponsored by the Center for Instructional Development and Research (CIDR). Contents include: a list of workshops; a timeline for planning TA orientation activities; information on CIDR print materials,…