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Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology / Fred O. Bradley / This study investigated the impact of an extended orientation program, Wildcat Warm-up, on academic performance and retention. The study sought to quantify differences between students who participated in the program and those who did not attend in terms of grade point average and retention to sophomore year. Participants in the study were all domestic, full-time, freshmen undergraduate students enrolled at the institution in the fall semester (2004 to 2007). This study sought to provide descriptive and predictability data by comparing two groups of students. One group consisted of participants in Wildcat Warm-up while the second was a comparison group matched on ACT composite score, residency status, and gender. Institutional data were analyzed, including student self-report record information, institutionally generated grade reports from the end of each semester, and enrollment information. The participant group and comparison group were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The first two research questions provided a preliminary analysis of the overall impact of the extended orientation on the two measures identified for the study: freshman grade point averages and retention. The first research question and hypothesis were explored with a two-group independent samples Chi-square test with a dichotomous response variable. The second research question and hypothesis were explored with an analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) for both first and second semester grade point averages. The third research question and remaining hypotheses were explored through a logistic regression analysis using the forward stepwise method. This study found there was a relationship between retention to sophomore year and Wildcat Warm-up participation and slight significant differences between first semester grade point averages for the two groups. In both cases, the strength of the association was small, but significant. The logistic regression analysis allowed for the creation of odds ratios for the predictor variables of the study where it was discovered when all other variables remain constant, the odds of a Wildcat Warm-up participant being retained from freshman to sophomore year were 31% higher than for a non-participant. While statistical significance was found, practical significance considerations did not allow much, if any of the variance, to be attributed to Wildcat Warm-up participation.

The purpose of this study was to improve the mean scores on the COMPASS college placement test after guiding students through a PowerPoint presentation referred to as COMPASS orientation. Scores obtained from college placement tests indicated a large number of entering college students were not prepared for college-level classes. During the 2006–2007 academic year, 1,427 COMPASS placement tests were administered to students enrolling in the Big Sandy Community and Technical College (BSCTC). Of that number, over 70% produced scores at or below the level requiring developmental education. Data showed that only 28% of the students taking the COMPASS placement tests required no developmental course work and could enter college-level general education classes and receive college credit. This study proposed that a short orientation immediately preceding the COMPASS placement test would increase COMPASS placement test scores. Findings from the study showed that a 5-minute pre-test orientation did not significantly improve the mean test scores in reading, writing, or pre-algebra on the COMPASS placement tests. The study showed that algebra scores had a significantly improved mean score on the exam after intervention with the COMPASS orientation tutorial PowerPoint presentation. Recommendations from this study suggest that orientations and workshops should be mandatory for all college applicants. Online web sources should contain materials and web links for COMPASS study questions, COMPASS Web site addresses, and college pre-test workshops and orientation dates. Stakeholders such as local advisory committees, community businesses, and high schools should be involved with college application requirements. How underprepared college students impact the available workforce pool and the local economy should be discussed, and these businesses should be enlisted to suggest avenues for improving testing outcomes and college success.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / It is unknown if the Summer Seminar program, which gives rising high school seniors a six-day look at Naval Academy life, has resulted in a more successful midshipman. While not previously discussed in literature, there are an abundance of studies on civilian recruiting and orientation programs, as well as realistic job previews and expectation-lowering procedures. Based on this literature, it is theorized that Summer Seminar program participation will be positively correlated to increased graduation rates and increased academic cumulative quality point ratings, as well as increased military and physical performance. This hypothesis was tested using multiple hierarchical regressions on population data obtained from the Classes of 1997 through 2003. Success is defined using seven dependent variables organized by academic, military, and physical performance. The key independent variable is participation in the Summer Seminar program, while eleven other independent variables control for demographics, selection criteria, and proven indicators of success. Participation in the Summer Seminar program had a significant relation to increased graduation rates, increased academic cumulative quality point ratings, increased military cumulative quality point ratings, and increased physical readiness test scores. This study concludes that the Summer Seminar program makes a unique contribution to midshipman success at the Naval Academy. / Lieutenant, United States Navy