College-age adults gain weight more rapidly than the general population, with a mean weight gain of ~1.8 to 4 kilograms during their first year at college. The purpose of this pilot RCT was to test the efficacy of a semester long internet weight-loss program based upon social cognitive theory for overweight college freshmen. Qualitative focus groups were used to provide feedback on content of the active intervention. Participants (n=27; mage=18.5±.6; mweight=90kg±18; 74% female) were randomly assigned to the active intervention (Fit Freshmen; FF) or a health information control group and completed baseline and 3 month follow-up measurements. When compared to controls FF participants experienced higher improvement in self-regulatory skills for portion control, fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity (all p's<.05). Consumption of dietary fat and added sugar also decreased significantly for FF subjects when compared to controls (all p's<.05) while total energy intake differences were significant (p<.09). Trends in increased physical activity were present, but not significantly different between groups. Finally, FF lost significantly more weight than controls (mdifference=2.2kg; p<0.05) and more fat mass (mdifference=1kg; p<0.09). Themes for content improvement included providing a more detailed meal plan, reducing email contact, and increasing social activity opportunities. Program characteristics that were positively evaluated included the flexible exercise program, incentives for weight loss, and use of an onsite weigh station. This study provides promising outcomes for a scalable internet-based weight loss program for college freshmen and highlights features that could be improved to be more attractive to this population. / Master of Science

Students entering college with a pre-selected major have often developed some beliefs and knowledge related to their major. Domain identification (DI) and interest are two constructs that could be particularly useful to researchers and practitioners examining the first year experiences of college students within their prospective major. This dissertation examines how first year college students and their professors perceive DI and interest in a prospective science major within the context of courses designed to introduce students to their major. This dissertation uses a manuscript format to examine DI and interest through theoretical analysis and the lived experiences of first year college students and their professors. The theoretical manuscript (Chapter 3) compares the theory and research supporting Osborne and Jones' model of DI as well as Hidi and Renninger's (2006) and Krapp's (1999, 2002) models of interest development. The two empirical manuscripts (Chapters 4 and 5) qualitatively explore perceptions of first year college students and their professors by focusing on the following areas: (a) first year college students' perception of their DI and interest in their prospective major, (b) professor's perceptions and support for their first year students' DI and interest in a prospective science major, and (c) the similarities and differences between these perceptions. Taken as a whole, the findings of these manuscripts highlight the theoretical and practical distinctions between the two constructs. Although the models are similar in framing DI and interest as value-based concepts that develop through experience, they each possess a distinct theoretical framing and definition for value. This distinction between the value components of DI and interest is emphasized in the students' descriptions of their current major's relevance to their future goals and aspirations. Themes emerging from both of the qualitative studies are generally consistent with Osborne and Jones' (2011) model of DI; however, the findings of these studies did not fully align with Hidi and Renninger's (2006) model of interest. The comparison of student and faculty perceptions provided support for some methods the professors used to encourage the development of DI and interest in their students. / Ph. D.

The primary purpose of this study is to investigate and modify an instrument by which the prediction of high risk withdrawal students can be accomplished at an emerging state university. The study utilized 334 members of the freshman class at the state university. Study participants received no special programming or treatment prior to completion of the questionnaire. The subjects were required to complete Alexander Astin's Prediction Scale. Measures taken were: pre-college background, family background, educational aspirations, expectations about college, student characteristics, source of financial aid, work status and place of residence during student‘s freshman year. The statistical treatment of the data collected within this investigation required several techniques in determining its significance. An analysis of variance was employed to ascertain the differences existing between the independent and dependent variable established within the investigation. A multivariate regression analysis was used to designate the exact location of the differences revealed by the ANOVA program. An analysis of these computations revealed differences existing between males and females. Multiple regression revealed a difference in each of the four steps of each group when compared to the other group. The findings of this investigation warrant the following general conclusions: 1. That the freshman year is very crucial in the persistence of students at the university by the highest percentage of withdrawals coming from the freshman class. 2. That entering freshmen with grades higher than A had a better than 50% chance for retention; other research supports this position. 3. That dissatisfaction with the program or lack of money contributes significantly to reasons for student withdrawal. 4. That financial stability of parents of students who attended the university is important in the persistence of all students. 5. That cooperative efforts from the local, state, federal and institution's financial communities is a must in keeping the availability of work opportunities for students who desire and have the need to work. 6. That commitment to the educational goals of the university was a major concern of enrollees. 7. Finally, that being able to "fit" both academically and socially was very important to incoming enrollees. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a Systematic Career Planning Program on short-term retention and the academic major selection rate of entering college freshmen. The sample consisted of lll randomly selected freshmen who were enrolled in freshman orientation classes during the fall semester at a historically Black university. Three groups (experimental, control, and comparison) were identified and compared. There were 37 subjects in each group. The experimental and control groups were comprised of students who were undecided about a college major, with the experimental group participating in a Systematic Career Planning Program, the treatment variable. The comparison group had declared college majors and did not participate in the Systematic Career Planning Program. The Major-Minor-Finder was employed to assist students in career decision-making (Cutler, Ferry, Kauk, and Robinett, 1983). Based on the findings in the study, short-term retention and college major selection rate differed significantly among the groups. More of the experimental group participants chose college majors and remained in e college during the spring semester than did the control group participants. The retention rate was greater for males than for females. Noted differences among the groups implied that the treatment had a positive impact on experimental group participants. Similar career planning programs were recommended for entering college freshmen as well as other undecided students on a larger scale. it was also recommended that a systemic study be conducted to determine whether the salutary impact of the Systematic Career Planning Program resulted from the administration of the career decision-making instrument and other instruments or from the efforts of a trained professional adult, or both. / Ed. D. / incomplete_metadata

The study examines the use of hypnotic audiotapes designed to affect study habits and attitudes. It is assumed that exposure to the hypnotic audiotapes will improve study habits and attitudes. It is further expected that exposure to the audiotapes will improve students' self-concepts and adjustment to college work, as well as reduce anxiety. Previous studies are cited which indicate that hypnosis has had a positive effect on learning. Hypnosis has been shown to be an effective means of changing specific behaviors.

The purpose of the study was to compare the academic stress of freshmen in a community college with that of freshmen in a university. An additional purpose was to determine if gender, ethnicity, or semester course load was related to perceived academic stress. The sample consisted of a total of 303 university and community college freshmen from English and Psychology classes at the University of North Texas and Richland Community College during the spring semester, 1989. The instrument that was administered to these volunteer students was the Academic Stress Test, a 35-item checklist of possible academic stressors. The students were asked to check the items which were perceived by them to be stressful and had occurred during the current semester. The T-statistic was used to analyze the total mean stress score for each variable being considered. Multiple regression was used to determine if there was any possibility that the variables might have a predictive effect for academic stress. It was found that for these freshmen students there was a significant difference between the perceived academic stress of community college freshmen and university freshmen. The mean academic stress score for university freshmen was higher than the mean for community college freshmen. Likewise, the perceived academic stress of females was significantly higher than that of males, and higher for those taking more semester hours than for those taking fewer semester hours. There was found to be no significant difference in the perceived academic stress of white and non-white freshmen college students.

This study attempted to determine if participants in admitted student programs at Ball State University matriculated and persisted at a greater rate and had more academic success than students who did not participate in admitted student programs.Students who participated in one or more admitted student programs matriculated at a greater rate (73.3%) than those who attended on-campus admissions programs (59.0%) and those who did not attend an admitted student program or an on-campus admissions program (42.7%). Matriculates who attended an admitted student program persisted into the second semester of study at a greater rate (93.9%) than those who attended no programs (77.5%), and had a higher mean grade point average in the fall semester (2.85/4.00) than those who attended no programs (2.58/4.00). / Department of Educational Leadership

D.Phil. (Education) / The purpose of this study was to apply the "Learning and study strategies Inventory" (LASSI) on first year students in South Africa and Taiwan, Republic of China, in order to identify possible differences in their respective learning strategies. It was attempted to identify effective learning strategies for both groups. The sample consisted of 1489 first year students at the Rand Afrikaans University and 2053 first year students at the chengchi University in Taiwan, the Republic of China. The following statistical package programmes were used in the study: ** The BMDP3D and BMDP4M programmes for factor analysis to determine cross culture comparability. The Kuder-Richardson 20 formula in the NPSO programme for item analysis and the concomitant determination of involvement. T-square and Student's t-tests for independent groups of programmes with the view of identifying possible differences between the two experimental groups. The statistical results showed that: The two experimental culturally; v) groups are comparable cross significant differences exist in respect of the learning strategies of the two student groups. Distinction was made between the merits and problems regarding the learning strategies in the respective countries. The most common problems in the two groups are: 1. The learning content dealt with in class is regarded as worthless. 2. Students spend too much time with friends. 3. Students experience problems with identifying the central idea when reading. 4. When writing a test they often realize that in their studies they have placed the emphasis on the less important study content

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / There is a growing concern for the high drop-out and failure rate of university students in their first year. Numerous studies have been undertaken to determine the reasons for the high student failure. It appears as if there are academic and social factors which affect learning. One factor that has only recently been investigated is the learning strategies of the student. Learning strategies entail the way in which a student plans and executes his studies, and the processes that are involved in this activity. This study was undertaken to determine whether a difference exists between the learning strategies of a first year student who has supportive family relations versus a first year student who has unsupportive family relations. This study consists of two parts. A literature study constitutes the first part. in which the concepts family relations and learning strategies' are correlated. This is followed by an empirical study on the relationships of students with supportive family relations and students with unsupportive fami7y re7ations and their use of learning strategies. To determine the degree to which the student experiences family support, the PHSF-Relations Questionnaire was used. The Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) was used to determine the student's use of learning strategies. Two components of the PHSF-Relations Questionnaire namely Family Influences and Personal Freedom were studied to determine the degree of family support of the first year student. The empirical investigation made use of the first year students registered at the Rand Afrikaans University in 1990. These students were divided into groups according to sex, and language preference. The resultant groups were: Afrikaans speaking males and females and males and females speaking other languages. The- statistical analysis was done by the Statistics Computer Service. It was empirically shown that: There are significant differences between the use of learning strategies by first year students with supportive family relations versus first year students with unsupportive family relations in most of the cases. Concerning the component Family Influences, no significant difference was found between first year males speaking languages other than Afrikaans with supportive family influences and those with unsupportive family influences. Concerning the component Personal Freedom, no significant difference was found between first year Afrikaans speaking malestudents and first year female students with home languages other than Afrikaans. Motivation, Selection of main ideas and Test strategies are the components of the use of learning strategies that are most dependent on supportive family relations. Certain components of learning strategies are not significantly dependent on the degree of family support of the student, for example : Study Aids and Information Processing.

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