Discusses the special needs of commuter students and provides suggestions for improving student services and programs for them. Suggestions are incorporated into an improvement model based on four general categories: services, programs, advocacy, and research. (RC)

Reviews retention research and examines programs that use freshman orientation courses and student leadership development as components in aiding retention. Concludes that overall awareness of university and its resources and integration into academic and social aspects of college life seem to be key factors in student retention. (Author/ABL)

Orientation at the graduate level can serve many functions such as reducing anxiety, familiarizing students with new academic challenges, and orienting students' spouses. It can also improve student retention, satisfaction, and success. Guidelines for developing programs responsive to graduate students' diverse needs are offered. (Author/MSE)

Describes a national study of extended orientation courses. Finds them equally common at two- and four-year colleges but different in administrative structures and content emphases. Two-year college courses have larger class sizes, shorter durations, and less varied content and are less likely to be required or to introduce an academic discipline.…

Presents back-to-school activity suggestions from elementary school teachers around the country, noting how they extend a warm welcome, soothe first-day fears, and encourage students to get to know one another and the teacher. (SM)

Many minority students face problems when attending community colleges. Adjustment to college life requires skills and knowledge for understanding the higher education system that minority students often lack. Minority students could benefit by being involved in decisions affecting them; an orientation to higher education is essential. (JOW)

The transition from elementary school to middle school brings apprehension to both students and their parents. At one school, parents and teachers worked together to improve the transition process with visits to the middle school, an information packet, orientation programs, and a teacher-made video. (MLF)

Examines induction and admission practice for refugee school children into Britain's public schools, highlights the educational issues and concerns of newly-arrived refugee families, and discusses what schools can do to make their entry into the school system less problematic. The author explains how good admission and induction practices can…

Researchers say transition programs need to last longer than just the first few days of a new school year. Most transition programs consider only one thing helping students adjust to their new school. Schools need to go through a transition process of their own, paying serious attention to the research on transition, adjusting to the students, and…

Distance education programmes warrant the use of innovative intervention practices to enhance student learning experiences. Academic and social empathy by faculty has been shown to enhance student retention in programmes along with their critical thinking abilities. Using Holmberg's theory of teaching-learning conversations as the guiding…

Drawing from a national survey of community colleges, this book documents trends in the employment and integration of part-time faculty in American community colleges. Chapter 1, "Focusing on the Problems: Part-Time Faculty in American Community Colleges," describes the economic, technological, and demographic imperatives generating the increased…

In an effort to inform commuter students of services and programs on a regular basis, the University of Maine at Orono launched a campaign consisting of a newsletter and orientation sessions targeted directly at commuter students. The newsletter included topics of special interest to commuter students such as housing services, ridesharing, child…

Twenty-six contributed papers address aspects of parents programs developed by colleges and universities. Papers have the following titles and authors: "Parents--Who Are They and What Do They Want?" (Clark Oldroyd); "Bringing Parents into the Institutional Family" (John Sayre); "Parents Programs and Philanthropy Along the…

A quasi-experimental design using four matched groups of 88 students each of entering college freshmen investigated the question of whether increasing exposure to different types of orientation programming would have any effect upon freshman academic performance and reaction to college. The types of orientation included: (1) traditional…

This handbook is designed to help Vietnamese parents of school age children in California understand the operation of the schools. Printed in Vietnamese and English, it is designed in a question and answer format. Included in the handbook is information on student enrollment from kindergarten through grade twelve, public school programs and…