The transition into college remains one of the most formative and complex phases in an individual's life. Institutions of higher learning have responded to the challenges facing first-year students in myriad ways, most often by offering summer orientation programs, dynamic living-learning environments, tailored academic and psychological support…

This article describes the development, implementation, and results of an extensive assessment of students and student learning outcomes in an interdisciplinary, integrative learning community. This assessment project took a comprehensive view of student learning by examining specific data and direct and indirect measures of academic growth for…

The Social Studies Department at Argo Community High School felt a need to provide its students with a viable alternative to the traditional course offerings in the social studies curriculum. A one semester trial course entitled Individual and Society was described. (Author/RK)

A classification system for freshman courses that is useful as a planning tool and descriptive guide is presented and examples of analogous programs are described. Three approaches to freshman courses--interdisciplinary, developmental, and utilitarian--form a continuum, since many courses are derived from more than one philosophical base. The…

This monograph reviews the impact of the freshman year and the four years of undergraduate study on a central dimension of personal development: the formation of character and its progression from late adolescence to young adulthood. A foreword by Nevitt Sanford places the discussion in the context of a general loss by American universities of…

A model that includes three distinct syllabi for orientation courses for different subgroups of the college or university freshman population is presented. Among the groups with special needs are underprepared students who may be motivated but need skill development, and underachieving students characterized by untapped potential. One means of…

A course entitled "Strategies for Academic Success," conducted in the Division of Developmental Studies at the University of Georgia, is described. The sample syllabus focuses on self-awareness and can be adapted to meet the needs of other institutions. The course is designed to promote awareness and development of psychological, social,…

A longitudinal study of 101 college students investigated the ways in which their college and postcollege experiences fostered development of complexity in their assumptions about knowledge, by emphasizing independent functioning, collaboration, direct involvement in learning, and subjective decisionmaking. Results suggest these experiences be…

Maine's York County Technical College (YCTC) developed a College Success Management course to help students learn and adopt strategies that promote their college success. In designing the course, a review of related literature was completed to determine the background and purposes of student success courses, data on student attrition, expected…