International schools can benefit from new students' fresh vision. Some students exhibit "culture shock" on arrival, while others, like Kipling's cat, act as though "all places are alike to them." This article examines the newcomer's adjustment process by proposing a model of personal identity development and poses questions to test the theory…

A total of 137 students--72 program and 65 nonprogram participants--took part in a longitudinal study investigating the effect of an outdoor orientation program for freshmen at a small liberal arts college in the Northeast. Principal instrument was the Environmental Preference Questionnaire. Results indicated that the orientation program had a…

Identifies the extent to which the "Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale" (SDLRS) is a reliable and valid instrument for use with graduate students (N=356). Argues that the results of the study warrant the integration of such developmental constructs as tolerance, self-concept, creativity, initiative, self-understanding, and…

Discusses the integration of wilderness pursuits and outdoor opportunities with more traditional student orientation activities, an area of programming that has become increasingly popular over the last several years in response to changing student interests. Addresses the structure of wilderness pursuit orientation programs, liability issues, and…

Examined the effects on teaching techniques of faculty (n=68) at the University of South Carolina who taught a freshman seminar after completing a training workshop. Many faculty reported that they had transferred the new teaching techniques learned in preparation for the freshman seminar to their discipline-based courses. These included lecturing…

Accompanying the growth of freshman seminars and extended orientation courses has been a rich body of literature depicting the process and outcome aspects of the course. This paper provides an annotated review of the investigations on freshman seminar/extended orientation courses. The review is designed to provide faculty and administrators with…

This handbook for incoming students describes procedures, services, programs, and opportunities at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park. First, the handbook outlines procedures for enrolling in classes, covering admissions, placement tests, registration, fee payment, and adding, dropping, or changing classes. A section on new student…

Describes the Open Campus program of the University of Rochester in which during a 10-day period in April applicants who have been offered admission but have not decided to enroll are invited to the campus for one to three days. They room with volunteer student hosts, sit in on classes, etc. (JT)

This handbook provides students at the Tuscarora Intermediate Unit Adult Education Center with information about the General Educational Development (GED) test, staff, alumni association, programs and services, and rules and regulations. It provides a summary of Adult Center programs, lists rules, and contains practical information on location,…

A newsletter format and a one-day on-campus orientation program for parents were compared using three criteria: factual knowledge, attitude, and perceptions of the university. Results indicated that different systems of information dissemination have differential effects on the parents of incoming freshmen. (Author)

At the beginning of the l974-75 term, Florida A & M University innovated the concept of the miniquarter. Its central purpose was to foster the development of the collegiate life styles, attitudes, motivations, and work-study habits almost absolutely demanded by competitive curricula. The idea appeared to be rational, relevant, and workable.…

Current freshman orientation practices among U.S. colleges and universities are described and comments upon the degree of concurrence between these practices and an evolving philosophy of freshman orientation are made. Letters requesting copies of orientation programs were sent to a random sample of 160 colleges and universities, divided equally…

Since new student orientation programs are planned to help the college assimilate large numbers of incoming students into its community with a minimum of agitation and to help the student to effectively adapt to unfamiliar surroundings quickly and effectively, orientation planners must clearly understand the manner in which students interact with…

Describes the College Orientation Program offered by South Mountain Community College in Arizona, an intensive three-day program focusing on study skills, coping strategies, skills assessment, and exposure to postsecondary education. Explains operational considerations; collaboration among high schools, community colleges, universities, and…

Tests the claim to comprehensiveness of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives by analyzing educational objectives of some freshmen orientation programs and those connected with human developmental tasks. It is concluded that the taxonomy should be enlarged with a fourth domain: actual induction into tasks for which students are being…