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…

Freshmen Pre-Orientation Programs (FPOPs) can be powerful outreach tools for incoming college students and provide an exciting introduction to the field of engineering. The benefits reach not only the first year students, but also the upperclassmen who help to run the programs and the departments that sponsor them. A family of three engineering…

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

Two collaborative learning programs for beginning college students are examined: the University of Washington's Freshman Interest Group and the Coordinated Studies Program at Seattle Central Community College (Washington). The study looks at whether and how such programs are effective. The programs appear effective in promoting commuter student…

An experimental program was undertaken to find a means of facilitating the teaching of art to large numbers of students in a Humanities course at the University of Miami. Original paintings were available for study in the University art gallery, but there was insufficient room for large classes in the gallery and a specialist teacher was not…

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.…

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,…

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…

These proceedings report on a 1994 conference on the planning, implementing, and refining of programs designed to enhance the first-year experience of college students in urban settings. Early sections detail conference aims, background and policies. One section describes workshops on various topics, provides a profile on the keynote speaker, and…

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…

This volume contains abstracts of the presentations on the freshman and entering student programs at over 100 colleges, community colleges, and universities in the United States and Canada. Each abstract describes institutional programs and provides a name, address, and telephone number of the person to contact for additional information. Among…