With the goal of improving student success, the chancellor of the California State University (CSU) system issued an executive order that required all CSU campuses to eliminate remedial math courses as of Fall 2018 and place all first-year students into appropriate General Education (GE) mathematics/quantitative reasoning courses. The Mathematics…

Learning communities have increasingly become a mechanism for education reform in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education. Recognizing that learning occurs both inside and outside the classroom, their emergence is partly a response to the critique that undergraduate education at American research universities lacks integrated and…

A place-based learning community called "Klamath Connection" was designed to improve the academic performance of freshman in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) majors at Humboldt State University, a midsize public institution in a location geographically and culturally unfamiliar to the majority of its students. The…

The 2010 edition of this monograph addresses many topics (e.g., administration of orientation programs, family involvement, student characteristics and needs, assessment, and orientation for specific student populations and institutional types) that were included in previous editions but approaches them with new information, updated data, and…

The Metropolitan Campus of Cuyahoga Community College (CCC) in Ohio conducted a survey of 239 institutions belonging to the University of South Carolina's National Resource Center for the Freshman Year Experience (FYE) to identify elements of a model program that could be established at other institutions. The summary revealed five key ingredients…

This monograph contains 15 papers on aspects of college and university student and family orientation programs. Following a prologue, "Reflections on the Future of Orientation," by M. Lee Upcraft, the papers are: (1) "Today's Students and Their Impact on Orientation and First-Year Programs" (Tony W. Cawthon and Michael Miller);…

This paper presents the design, implementation and assessment of the Columbia River Basin Environmental Research Project (CERP) curriculum. CERP is an online inquiry-based, regional geographic curriculum designed to improve technology skills and content knowledge about water quality and watershed-level processes. Student attitudes and knowledge…

One institution's experience in developing and implementing a freshman program is translated into suggestions for others, addressing such issues as faculty involvement, openness of discussion, program objectives, costs, faculty development, experimentation, and mistakes. (MSE)

At Fordham University's Lincoln Center campus in New York City, the large population of nontraditional students, primarily adults, is being encouraged to participate in the career planning process through existing programs, new scheduling, and new programing in four areas: freshman orientation; student activities; the career center; and academic…

Profiles an Introduction to Geography course that integrates first year experience (FYE) materials into the curriculum. FYE programs are designed to aid students in the transition to college, develop study skills, increase awareness of useful resources, help students understand the community of the university, and encourage critical thinking. (MJP)

Program descriptions, articles, an annotated bibliography, and a survey report on programs and services for students who are underprepared for college work as freshmen are presented. The survey report considers program design and delivery strategies at about 300 colleges, and the program descriptions concern: advising, basic skills instruction and…

Six undergraduate humanities courses and programs with a variety of structures and focuses are described, and sources of further information are given. (MSE)

An interdisciplinary program for freshmen at Pace University (New York) focused on development of critical thinking, nonverbal communication, writing, and speaking skills. Two sections of an English course, two of a public speaking course, and one of philosophy adopted common texts, common themes, and cross-disciplinary reinforcement of skills.…

This booklet contains information on the Languages of the Disciplines Project, a federally funded program that seeks to identify the problems in receptive communication encountered by beginning university students in specific disciplines and the techniques for helping these students overcome their problems. The first section of the booklet notes…

The special studies program at Hofstra University is designed for high school graduates applying to the university whose educational backgrounds require a more personalized approach to introductory college work. An attempt is made to minimize the risk of poor academic performance during the first year in college. A random sample of 24 students in…