Over the years, a number of interventions aimed at increasing student engagement and performance have been implemented in higher education. Some of these, labeled high-impact practices (HIPs), when done well, have led to documented evidence of student success. Two approaches that have been identified as HIPs--first-year seminars and learning…

An active and successful peer advising program in a college setting is discussed. The assumption was that new students needed the support and advice of experienced counselors to help them develop academic competence, and upper-division students could provide that support. (MLW)

The presentation outlined in this paper provides: (1) a brief account of the conception, initiation, and implementation of a bibliographic instruction program to serve all freshman students, and to serve such special populations as international and minority freshmen; (2) an outline of the general characteristics of each category of students, the…

University of California writing instructors must teach poorly prepared freshmen how to survive English classes and how to adapt the skills they learn to the rest of their university writing assignments. Reading, thinking, organizing, and stylistic problems are discussed. (MLW)

Describes a study skills program for college freshmen that was based on information obtained from older college students about the problems they had encountered as entering freshmen. (FL)

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 collaborative course, "The Human Encounter with Alcohol," offered to freshmen at the University of Colorado College of Arts and Sciences is described. The idea was to offer a subject that would intellectually interest students, as well as provide a subject suitable for freshmen level library research. (MLW)

Peer advisors can often help entering freshmen adjust to the environment of a large university by serving as experience guides, advisors, confidantes, or friends, to whom the new students can easily related. The Peer Advising Program at Iowa State is described. (Author/MLW)

The Reduced Load Program, instituted in 1973 at the Indiana University School of Medicine to allow students two academic years to complete their first-year course requirements, is described. This program was developed as an alternative to dismissal for students experiencing academic difficulty. (MLW)

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…

The University of California at Berkeley has developed a Mathematics Workshop the purpose of which is to improve serious deficiencies in minority students' mathematics and study skills. Now in its second year, the workshop has five functions: (1) building a community of minority freshmen that is academically-oriented and a source of peer support;…

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)

The Career Introduction Model discussed in this chapter is an early intervention strategy intended to support the first-generation freshmen enrolled in the Education Opportunity Program (EOP) at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS). The model is an interactive approach to assist students in connecting their academic pathway to their…

Brigham Young University (Utah) creates a personalized student profile based on high school academic records, American College Testing data, and student interests and concerns. The profile leads to an individualized letter recommending a first-year course of study and sources of additional help. Faculty freshman advisors are trained in use of the…