One of the challenges that commencing university students in computing degree programs face is the difficulty in engaging with the abstract and complicated theories in the computing discipline. In particular, it is hard for beginner computer architecture students to visualise the link between the theory of digital logic and the behaviour of the…

A study was conducted at Phillips County Community College (PCCC) to analyze the impact of freshman orientation classes on students' persistence and academic performance. The participants in the study were all first-time, full-time freshmen who entered PCCC during the fall 1982, spring 1983, or fall 1983 semesters. During the registration process,…

During 1987-88, Manor Junior College, in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, developed a semester-long freshman seminar designed to help students understand the college system, to strengthen students' identification with their vocational program and career choice, and to improve students' academic competencies and confidence in their ability to achieve…

Dutchess Community College (DCC) in Poughkeepsie, New York, has developed a series of 1-hour, noncredit study skills courses (CSS), which use the content of introductory credit courses as a vehicle for teaching study skills. These course-specific study skills are taught by the instructors of the related credit courses, and stress practical work…