Orienting and welcoming first-year students to campus and to honors programs are often key components of program development. At an institutional level, successful orientation programs can positively affect retention rates from the first to second year. The greater a student's involvement and integration into the life of the university, the less…

While "transfer" has become, in recent years, a subject of great research interest to our field, we still have much to learn about how we can best use this research knowledge to inform local efforts in program development. In this profile, we describe the foundations of the Dartmouth Institute for Writing and Rhetoric and explain how…

This article documents one university's struggle to create a first year program that can be taken seriously by both students and faculty. (GCP)

Argues that freshman composition courses should incorporate the study of communications systems (Cybernetics) and the idea that a situation or subject cannot be explained by a single series of logical steps (Overdetermination) as part of their rationale. (RB)

Describes the specific steps of action relating to the creation of a comprehensive bibliographic unit at Rosemont College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Author/LLS)

This conference was designed to assist educators and administrators at small colleges in the planning, implementing, and refining of programs designed to enhance students' first-year experience. The conference addressed the special environments, challenges, and opportunities for success in the first-year experience. Conference presentations were…

Provides the rationale for an open composition laboratory, such as the one at Auburn University, within a remedial freshman English program. Suggests guidelines for the design and implementation of such a laboratory. (RL)

A program focusing on recruitment of new freshmen at the University of Colorado at Boulder illustrates some major planning considerations in the development, implementation, and evaluation of a marketing plan. (MSE)

Offers a brief look at the history of freshman writing programs, examines the UCLA program in some detail, and comments on the state of such programs in general. (FL)

This issue examines the problems and issues that affect students in the first year of college and reviews current institutional efforts to enhance the learning and retention of first-year students. It also offers a set of suggestions for trustees who seek greater understanding and more active engagement in campus decisions related to the first…

California Lutheran University's seven-week freshman seminar focuses on building relationships and helping students make decisions about their college and occupational careers. Issues arising in the course's evolution include the role of peer advisors, major vs. non-major advising, maintaining institution-wide support, and credit and academic…

BEGINNING IN 1964, THE RHETORIC DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS BEGAN AN EXTENSIVE STUDY OF ITS RHETORIC PROGRAM. IN SUMMER 1965, THE INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF MET WITH HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS AND CONSULTANTS TO REVIEW THE UNIVERSITY'S PROGRAM AND TO PLAN A REVISION OF THE BOOKLET, "STANDARDS IN FRESHMAN RHETORIC AT THE UNIVERSITY OF…

As part of the development of a university-wide writing program at the University of Michigan, a study was undertaken to judge the effectiveness of various composition courses. A pretest consisting of a writing sample was given to 3,913 entering students and evaluated. Students were then assigned to a regular composition class, to a tutorial…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of a 3-year program, the Queens College (New York) Freshman Year Initiative (FYI), which emphasizes the importance of the academic community and the role of faculty in integrating freshmen into the college community. The program has become institutionalized and currently involves 600…

This monograph explores and discusses issues related to student-athletes with emphasis on entering student-athletes, and on development of programs to facilitate positive relationships between student-athletes and their universities. Following an introduction by the editor, the included chapters are: (1) "An Interview with Mike McGee" (Betsy O.…