Freshmen beginning their undergraduate education enter college with various backgrounds and expectations. Institutions seek to properly acclimate first-year students into this new transition. One way to help a first-year student transition into college is with a first-year program. First-year programs provide a unique space for students to adjust…

University educators struggle to provide effective assistance to students for the transition to college life (Center for Collegiate Mental Health, 2019). Like many other institutions, Florida State University, population 42,000, has grappled with how best to help students meet these challenges. In 2018, the university administration requested a…

As students transition from one phase of the education pipeline to the next, support programs are often put in place to make the transition and onboarding process as smooth as possible. While support programs for first-year students entering college directly from high school are common place at most institutions, onboarding practices for transfer…

First-year seminars and university induction programmes are embedded with academic and social skills required by students to transition into their first year of study. The first-year seminar at the University of the Free State is a credit-bearing module called UFS101, and is a prerequisite for degree completion. Students are assessed through…

Describes and evaluates the University Seminar Program for incoming freshmen students which focuses on aspects of university, academic, and cultural life. Extensive evaluation of the program indicates that the seminar has been successful in providing new students with useful information and has influenced student retention. (RC)

To assist integration of incoming freshman into the academic environment, improve social acclimation, and increase student retention, Northern Michigan University created a first-year experience program with community as its central focus. Its key to success is the use of block scheduling, combining a freshman seminar with other classes. Pilot…

After studying national literature and local needs, Kutztown University (Pennsylvania) created the Student Support Services Freshman Year Program to help at-risk freshmen acclimate to the campus environment and succeed in college. The program consists of five components: academic advising/counseling; a freshman colloquium; a student-mentor…

To help new students clarify goals, understand the demands of college, and successfully adjust to college life, Queensborough Community College (QCC), in Bayside, New York, developed the "Introduction to College" program. The program combines a 4-week orientation seminar with a writing-accross-the-curriculum approach to help QCC's…

The effectiveness of a California State University, Long Beach, program to prepare incoming students for university-level work and educational processes was assessed in 2 surveys of new students (n=1,100, n=1,613) and 1 of 80 who had taken the course previously. Key elements in program success were identified: course content; teaching techniques;…