An examination of the recent literature revealed there are no established standards for orienting online doctoral students. To address this problem, the relevant literature was examined and suggested that doctoral students can be effectively oriented to their academic environment when provided with the requisite programmatic and institutional…

With the conclusion of major military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. institutions of higher learning are experiencing an inflow of student veterans on a scale not seen since the conclusion of World War II. In response, a large number of American colleges and universities quickly sought to exploit this glut of new students by arbitrarily…

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…

Discusses development of the LTH (Lund Institute of Technology) program, which combines an orientation process with a support system to help new students in their transition from secondary school to university studies. Essential components of the program seek to stimulate the learning process of students, while encouraging them to find a balance…

In 1996, Ohio's Terra Community College undertook a project to substantiate the need for a comprehensive orientation program and to develop such a program, including a pre-college session and a college orientation class. Information was gathered through a literature review, suggesting that orientation creates a bond between the student and the…

In order to help teachers and students assess the preferred cognitive styles of individual learners, Mount Hood Community College introduced and tested the use of cognitive mapping in its orientation program. A task force of managers, counselors, and instructors: (1) decided to use the Modified Hill Model to assess nine dimensions of student…

This five-part report summarizes the development, implementation, and evaluation of an experimental advisement and registration process for new students at Glendale Community College. Part I examines the impetus for the new program in the college's desire to more effectively place students in need of developmental instruction and, then, outlines…

In spring 1992, a group of faculty and staff at East Central College (ECC) in Union, Missouri, met to reconsider the school's orientation process, which had had limited success since its inception in 1987. The group developed a list of objectives for the orientation process and grouped them under the headings of skills, awareness, involvement, and…

A program was developed at Mercy College, Detroit, to reduce attrition among conditionally admitted, full-time (CAFT) students--about one quarter of entering students at this small, urban, four-year college. The very high attrition rate among CAFT students (95%) was found to be unrelated to academic performance or program quality, and solutions to…

A survey was conducted to obtain more reliable data on Native Americans in higher education and to ascertain the factor contributing to their success and failure in college. A questionnaire was mailed to 79 colleges and universities serving the largest percentage of Native Americans in the United States. A total of 33 valid responses were…

Laney's Success Model for First-Year Students attempts to increase retention by accommodating students and encouraging learning. It requires an institutional commitment for student academic success and tries to dispel the forces of attrition: academic boredom, difficulty adjusting to college life, and academic underpreparedness. The first-year…

This report presents the findings for public four-year colleges and universities that participated in ACT's 2010 What Works in Student Retention survey. The report contains information pertinent to only these institutions. Appended are: (1) Data for Public Four-Year Colleges and Universities; and (2) What Works in Student Retention: Instrument.…

This report describes the key elements of an alternative access program at Mount St. Mary's College (California), from the recruitment and orientation of culturally diverse students to those ongoing academic and support services necessary to student persistence to graduation. The model is outlined in chapter II. Chapters III and IV describe how…