Purpose: The transition to college presents significant challenges for many students as they navigate new academic and social experiences. In the USA, 30% of first-year students drop out before their second year. Research indicates that mentoring programs help students achieve social integration and likely have a positive effect on their…

Outdoor orientation programs (OOPs) use wilderness or adventure experiences as a transition of incoming first-year students to college and university settings. We explored resilience and flourishing outcomes from two OOP trips in Virginia and North Carolina using the Brief Resilience Scale, the Mental Health Continuum Short Form, and a thematic…

There is a growing demand for a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) trained workforce in the United States. In order to remain globally competitive, the US needs to increase the STEM workforce not only in numbers but also diversity. Colleges and universities throughout the US need to not only gain STEM majors but retain them…

This study examines the effectiveness of a new approach for a university transition program that uses a location-based game to familiarize first-year students with the university environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involved 775 university students from 15 faculties, 9 from Human and Social Sciences and 6 from Technology and…

Contribution: A peer-mentoring plan designed to support engineering students during their transition from high school to university. This article addresses the adaptation challenges faced by first-year students in engineering programs. Background: The transition to university is a critical period for students, marked by significant lifestyle…

In 2020, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) faculty within a United Kingdom university implemented an online personal tutoring model. This model aimed to deliver a consistent experience to ~1000 students, supporting learning and fostering a sense of belonging during a global pandemic. Here we describe and evaluate a Curriculum…

Attrition of first-year university students remains a global problem, and this is also of great concern in South African higher education. In an effort to address this challenge, many higher education institutions offer peer mentoring programmes to assist first-year students with their adjustment to university life, in order to improve their…

This study examined an intervention designed to improve sense of belongingness for new students at a medium-sized, four-year, public university in the Eastern United States. A randomized controlled trial was used to assess the impact of The Connection Project, a novel, 9-session intervention in a sample of 128 first-year students (77 treatment, 48…

The development of a student identity as it relates to the transition of commencing students to higher education has long been identified in the literature as essential to success. As importantly, the existence of a sense of belonging has been considered key to transition and success and the formation of a student identity. Less prominent in the…

The mental health of students learning online is a critical task for many countries around the globe. The research purpose was to analyse the factors affecting the quality of mental health of young individuals who learnt under conditions of not total lockdowns but adaptive quarantine restrictions. The research involved 186 volunteers from…

College students with disabilities continue to experience various challenges in their transition into postsecondary education. However, limited research has focused on their initial transition, despite the significance of its impact on college students with disabilities. This qualitative study examined first-semester transition experiences among…

Mentoring is a widespread practice in different sectors in society. It is particularly prevalent in higher education. Many have acknowledged the various transitional challenges encountered by first-year tertiary-level students. Greater support is therefore needed for this particular student group. This mixed-methods year-long case study examined…

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…

First-year seminars (FYS) are well-tested and trusted programs to facilitate students' transition to college. This study adds to the body of evidence about the value of seminars through analysis of a large multi-institution dataset and documentation of the positive association between participation in a first-year seminar and student engagement in…

Effective veteran-student programs that include advising help to bridge military culture with campus culture. These programs assist with military-to-campus transitions and achieving veteran-student academic success. Persistent outreach is an advising strategy that includes proactive and intentional engagement that anticipates student concerns. The…