Surveyed over 25 years first-year students entering college undecided about a major. Entering students' responses were consistent in terms of their demographic characteristics, reasons for attending college, and levels of undecidedness. Their levels of anxiety about choosing a major increased only slightly. They did not differ significantly from a…

Created and tested the Senior Concerns Survey. An exploratory factor analysis revealed four areas of concern for college seniors: career related concerns, change and loss related concerns, graduate/professional school related concerns, and support related concerns. (EV)

Examined whether college graduation rates of students taking a first-year seminar differed significantly from a comparison group. Found a significantly greater graduation rate for those enrolled in the seminar. Also found that the effect of the seminar was greatest for students from middle to lower high school deciles and minimal for students from…

First-year students completed surveys on their study habits and grade predictions, which were compared to final course grades and retention, and then to enrollment status and cumulative grade point average (GPA) 8 years later. Found that graduates earned higher course grades and higher cumulative GPAs and more accurately predicted their course…

Tracked five cohorts of first-year students for 6 years to determine how many, by gender and race, were academically suspended, how many of those returned, and of those who returned, how many graduated. Found that a greater percentage of males than females and Black than White students were academically suspended. Minority males were the most…

Examined the relationship between academic service quality and instructional quality in higher education. Found a high correlation between academic service and instructional quality, with academic service overlapping instructional quality in three dimensions: enthusiasm, organization, and rapport. (EV)

Examined the results of at-risk students' participation in a learning strategies tutorial concurrently with enrollment in general biology. Results were mixed, but refinement of the tutorial in a follow-up study showed positive changes in learning behavior and higher final grades than at-risk control group students. (EV)

Interviewed 28 first-year students enrolled in a first-year experience course at a southern metropolitan university to better understand students' attitudes regarding the institution, their coursework, and their lives outside of the classroom. Identified six major constructs: student involvement in academics, the purpose of education, importance…

Examined 91 first-year female students' perceptions of their pre-college and new collegiate friendships. Found that they have difficulty letting go of pre-college friendships and investing in new friendships. (EV)

Examined the outcomes for student participants in an academic-advising Science Cohort pilot program, in which students were clustered with a group of faculty who taught all their courses. Found that Cohort students had higher grade point averages and completed more credit hours than control group counterparts. (EV)

First-semester college students completed college transition courses which incorporated information on emotional, communication, and critical thinking skills. Their ability to understand, regulate, and harness emotions, and their retention rate, were higher than students completing a transition course lacking the emotional skills component. (EV)

Surveyed instructors in the freshman seminar program at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs about effects of teaching in the program. Found several recurring themes of opportunity and challenge within three categories: professional, personal, and political. For example, faculty reported an increased sense of connection to students and…

Examined the college adjustment demands and developmental tasks unique to college women with eating disorders. Their issues included problematic perfectionism associated with academic and personal adjustment; managing the health consequences, dysfunctional behavior, and stress of eating problems; and social support needs. They also tended to share…

Examined the relationship of race, traditional academic measures (high school GPA and rank, ACT scores), and nonacademic variables (measured by the Bryson Instrument for Noncognitive Assessment, or BINA) to the first-year grades of specially-admitted college students. Found that predictors of college success functioned differently for blacks and…

Surveyed recipients of the Outstanding First-Year Student Advocate award given annually by the National Resource Center for The First-Year Student Experience and Students in Transition and Houghton Mifflin Company. Found that advocates played politics, worked across boundaries, had well-articulated plans, co-opted the opposition, tackled tough…