Freshman Orientation Course Research Articles

Associations between Alcohol-Free Sources of Reinforcement and the Frequency of Alcohol and Cannabis Co-Use among College Freshmen.

Co-use of alcohol and cannabis is common among young adults in the United States. A behavioral economics framework indicates that greater engagement in substance-free sources of reinforcement may be protective against co-use frequency. The current study tested the association between proportionate alcohol-free reinforcement and the frequency of co-use among college freshmen. Participants (N = 86) were freshmen who enrolled in a freshman orientation course and completed surveys at the beginning of the semester. Past month alcohol use, cannabis use, and reinforcement from alcohol-free and alcohol-involved activities were assessed. A zero-inflated Poisson regression was used to test the association between proportionate alcohol-free reinforcement and days of co-use. The results indicated that proportionate alcohol-free reinforcement was negatively associated with co-use days in the count model when controlling for alcohol use days and gender as covariates (β: -3.28, p = 0.016). Proportionate alcohol-free reinforcement did not significantly differentiate individuals who did not engage in co-use in the zero-inflated model (β: -1.68, p = 0.497). The study suggested that greater proportionate alcohol-free reinforcement may be associated with lower engagement in the co-use of alcohol and cannabis among young adults. Increasing engagement in alcohol-free sources of reinforcement may be considered a target for co-use prevention or harm reduction efforts.

A behavioral activation intervention administered in a 16-week freshman orientation course: Study protocol

IntroductionThe transition from high school to college is a developmentally sensitive period that is high-risk for the escalation of alcohol use. Although risky drinking is a common problem among freshmen, engagement in treatment services is very low. College alcohol interventions target drinking directly at a time when students may be uninterested in changing their drinking. Approaches that indirectly target drinking may be particularly effective. Behavioral activation (BA) is an intervention that indirectly addresses mental health conditions by guiding individuals to engage in reinforcing activities that align with their values (Lejuez et al., 2001). A pilot study of a BA intervention administered in a semester-long freshman orientation course reported a significant decrease in drinking-related problems compared to students in standard orientation course (Reynolds et al., 2011). MethodsThe cluster-randomized trial will test the efficacy of BA administered in a semester-long (16 week) freshman orientation course, compared to a standard orientation course in 540 freshmen spread over 36 course sections (18 sections each). A 5-month post-treatment assessment will measure durability of effects. DiscussionThe study will test a promising BA intervention that addresses factors limiting participation in other programs by targeting alcohol use indirectly and by integrating an intervention into college curriculum. This study represents a first step toward developing an intervention course that could be widely disseminated to address the persistent college drinking problem and its consequences. Clinical trials registration numberNCT04038190.

A Behavioral Activation Intervention Administered in a College Freshman Orientation Course

A Behavioral Activation Intervention Administered in a College Freshman Orientation Course

A freshman orientation program to provide an overview of the medical learning roadmap.

International accreditation of medical education was introduced in Japan in 2013 and is planning to be applied in late 2014 or 2015. Students will need to cope with the resulting changes and to recognize by what route they will learn medicine. Therefore, a freshman orientation course, which was based on problem-based learning (PBL) and had been held for first-year students, was modified as an awareness reform program in which students would learn "how to learn medicine." We investigated whether this program has led to useful changes in students' recognition of the way of learning in medical school and their directions as learners. The program was held for 114 first-year medical school students in 2013 and consisted of PBL tutorials, large-classroom lectures, simulation learning using role-play with simulated patients, and team-based learning (TBL), presented in this order. Learning modules that is made with an integration of the clinical sciences with the basic biomedical and the behavioral and social sciences were provided. A nonanonymous questionnaire survey asking" what learning methods are effective for you?" was conducted before and after completion of the course. Furthermore, group answers obtained in TBL were investigated. The score for the question" To what extent can you imagine your route of learning during your 6 years?" significantly increased from 3.1±0.99 (mean±SD) before the course to 3.5±0.88 (p<0.01) after the course. The score for the question" To what extent is the small-group learning, such as PBL, useful for you?" significantly increased from 3.9±0.73 to 4.2±0.71 (p<0.05). Group responses in TBL sessions indicated that students desired classes that presented tasks and regarded" emphasis on reflection" and" observation of senior physicians as role models" as the most important methods for learning interview skills. We believe students should acquire active learning attitudes as adults early in their 6 years of medical school. The level of understanding of" how to learn as adults" was 3.7 and indicated a moderate result. This course employed many educational strategies, and we believe it helped students understand what they learn and how to learn during their 6 years of medical and to get an overview of the learning roadmap.

Success Begins in Nursing Freshman Orientation Course

Success Begins in Nursing Freshman Orientation Course

Pompeii on the Mississippi: The view from New Orleans.

Hurricane Katrina's landfall on August 29, 2005, has had a profound affect on the lives of everyone living in coastal Louisiana and Mississippi. Leaving behind a vast swath of destruction and many dead, the storm has reshaped lives, careers, and perspectives. This article is largely a personal statement about a university professor's experience of teaching a course on Pompeii in post-Katrina New Orleans. For 6 years she has taught a course on the material culture and lives of the Romans at Pompeii. Lecturing on the destruction of that city in January 2006, less than 3 weeks after her own return to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, led her to consider what lessons might be gained from Pompeii and other past disasters. The article shares this professor's experience in teaching a freshman orientation course that attempts to understand Hurricane Katrina within a historical framework, examining past catastrophic events in urban areas and developing new approaches to the Pompeii course, linking it to the Katrina disaster and New Orleans' recovery. The author offers some brief comments on an aspect of the public discourse about Katrina, the comparison of New Orleans' disaster with the destruction of Pompeii.

Freshman Orientation, Persistence, and Achievement: A Longitudinal Analysis

This longitudinal study (2001–2005) considers the impact of a freshman orientation course on the persistence of black and white students at a mid-southern university, as well its relationship with college achievement (GPA). Controlling for gender, race, high school GPA, and decided on major, logistic regression was used to assess persistence; multiple regression for evaluating college GPA. Though the orientation course had a positive impact on persistence to the second year and first year GPA (particularly for black students), it failed to have impact beyond the second year. Topical gaps in the course's content are considered as a possible influence in the lack of long-term persistence. Possible future research is discussed.

Impact on Freshmen Retention of Orientation Course Content: Proposed Persistence Model

This study examined the effectiveness of different topics/activities included in a freshman orientation course in enhancing the students' perception of their successful adjustment to college life and the impact of these subjects on the student level of persistence. The results support the Tinto stage model of persistence since the elements of the orientation course most highly correlated to persistence were topics and activities dedicated to: 1) the development of strong social networks (with both faculty and students) and 2) integration into the institution. Results also suggest that certain topics/activities should be included in orientation courses in order to help students become more effective in dealing with their external relationships as specified in the Astin attrition model. Specifically, results indicate that if a student did not have exposure to study skills, advising information, curriculum planning, group activities, and campus tours, they were less likely to re-enroll.

The Utility of Career and Personality Assessment in Predicting Academic Progress

We examined the ability of four career and personality assessment inventories to predict students’ first-year college performance and persistence. Among our sample of 677 college freshmen who enrolled in a freshman orientation course, subscales from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Strong Interest Inventory, and Social Skills Inventory uniquely predicted first-year college GPA, and subscales from these three instruments and the Career Factors Inventory uniquely contributed to the prediction of freshman-to-sophomore persistence, each after controlling for ACT/SAT scores. Our findings suggest that college counseling and career center staff may provide valuable retention-promotion efforts by helping to identify students at risk for poor academic performance or attrition on the basis of commonly used career and personality assessment inventories.

Combining Academic Advising with a Freshman Orientation Course in an Integrated Baccalaureate–Medical Degree Program: Evaluation of the System

The effectiveness of an advising system that combines a freshman seminar course taught by advisors for the students that they advise in a combined baccalaureate–medical degree program was analyzed. Students reported satisfaction with the seminar course, and more than 80% felt that they were more likely to seek out their advisor as a result of participating in this course. After the new advising system was implemented, the number of students receiving an A or B in a required biology course increased from nearly 70% to approximately 80%. In addition, students' first year grade-point averages increased modestly.

PREDICTING THE RETENTION OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Survival analysis was used to model theretention of 8,867 undergraduate students at OregonState University between 1991 and 1996. Attrition wasfound to increase with age, and decrease with increasing high school GPA and first-quarter GPA.Non-residents had higher attrition rates than didresident and international students, and students takingthe Freshman Orientation Course appeared to be atreduced risk of dropping out. Statistically significantassociations of retention with ethnicity/race andcollege at first enrollment were also noted. Aproportional hazards regression model was developed topredict a student's probability of leaving school basedon these demographic and academic variables. Theseanalyses are helping to guide the university's effortsto improve retention through marketing, recruitment, and the development of orientation and otherprograms.

Student and Instructor Perceptions: Emphasis on Cognitive and Affective Goals in a Freshman Seminar by Faculty and Student Affairs Professionals

The authors explore traditional assumptions about the relative emphasis faculty members and student affairs administrators place on cognitive and affective development in the classroom. Through use of the Instructor Self-Assessment Forms and the Student Assessment Form, both groups' perceptions of the extent to which faculty and student affairs administrators emphasized these goals in a freshman orientation course are examined.

A computer science freshman orientation course

This paper describes an orientation course for beginning computer science majors. The course is different from the CS 1 or computer literacy courses, but similar in intent and content to orientation courses in engineering, business, and other fields. Its purpose is to give students an overview of computer science and an idea of what computer professionals do so that students can make an informed career decision. Other emphases for the course are practice in problem solving, experience working in groups, teaching basic technical (non-programming) skills, social and ethical issues, and making students aware of the resources and opportunities available to them such as internship programs. Influences and constraints on the design of the course and suggested changes the next time the course is taught are also described.

Student and Instructor Perceptions: Emphasis on Cognitive and Affective Goals in a Freshman Seminar by Faculty and Student Affairs Professionals

The authors explore traditional assumptions about the relative emphasis faculty members and student affairs administrators place on cognitive and affective development in the classroom. Through use of the Instructor Self-Assessment Forms and the Student Assessment Form, both groups' perceptions of the extent to which faculty and student affairs administrators emphasized these goals in a freshman orientation course are examined.