Describes a successful remedial calculus program targeted at Black and Hispanic students at the University of California at Berkeley designed to resemble an honors program that has been replicated at three other institutions. The program emphasizes collaborative study. (FMW)

A telephone registration system for first year students implemented at Alma College (Michigan), involves having freshmen confer with advisors during orientation week, then having the registrar's office contact the advisors. Despite limitations, the low-tech solution works well at extremely low cost. (MSE)

To assist integration of incoming freshman into the academic environment, improve social acclimation, and increase student retention, Northern Michigan University created a first-year experience program with community as its central focus. Its key to success is the use of block scheduling, combining a freshman seminar with other classes. Pilot…

A Brigham Young University program using students to provide individual advising and orientation assistance to entering students, an effort to reduce the problem of students accepting admission and not showing up, is described and discussed. (MSE)

Based on the idea that college student involvement in campus activities enhances student development, the University of Rhode Island has established a research project that gathers information on student cocurricular background and interests and monitors student participation in campus organizations and its correlation to student confidence and…

A Ball State University (Indiana) program to strengthen student retention involves a Freshman-Year Experience Committee of 40 professionals representing key units in academic and student affairs who collaborate to respond to the needs of first-year students. The committee has designed policies for freshman dismissal and midterm evaluation that are…

Mount Ida College (Massachusetts) has found the use of college administrators as mentors to students, complementing academic advising and faculty mentoring, to be an effective approach to strengthening the tie between first-year college students and their institutions. The impact has been noticeable in the campus culture as well as in student…

Argues for college learning communities as vehicles for high school reform, and by extension, for reform of K-12 instruction. Such learning communities can model sound academic practices that all students should master in their last year of high school and first year of college. Programs at Temple University (Pennsylvania) and Portland State…

Educating for Success, an instructional program designed to enhance college student self-esteem through analysis of personal successes and strengths, values identification, conflict management, and positive reinforcement was validated with 394 first-year college students in experimental and control groups. Results showed significant improvement of…

Orientation for first-year college students is important for students, parents, and the institution. It should fit institutional traditions, values, and culture, involve parents, be staffed by well-trained current students, and be carefully evaluated for improvement. Mississippi State University's program focuses on retention and is festive,…

After studying national literature and local needs, Kutztown University (Pennsylvania) created the Student Support Services Freshman Year Program to help at-risk freshmen acclimate to the campus environment and succeed in college. The program consists of five components: academic advising/counseling; a freshman colloquium; a student-mentor…

The University of South Alabama addressed a rapid increase in the population of limited-English-proficient (LEP) students in its freshman composition classes by developing classes in writing in English as a Second Language (ESL). These students were having difficulty in mainstream freshman composition classes, both with the proficiency level…

Murray State University (Kentucky) has approached the internationalization of the business curriculum by creating a bachelor of arts degree program requiring 2 years of foreign language study. To assess the program's overall success, three student surveys were undertaken. The first polled entering freshman business students in fall 1990 about…