EFFECTS OF OUTDOOR ORIENTATION PROGRAMS ON LEARNING TRANSFER OF UNIVERSITY FRESHMEN

Abstract

Many universities struggle to maintain high student retention rates as many students drop out before graduating. Previous studies indicate that the most crucial period to retain students is between their freshman and sophomore year, and that students are more likely to leave an institution during this time frame (Wang, Cullen, Yao, & Li, 2013). As an effort to intervene low retention rates, universities have implemented student orientations to help with the transition from high school to college.

One type of student orientation is an outdoor orientation program (OOP). OOPs are designed to use the outdoors as a medium to teach participants valuable skills such as effective communication and teamwork, and then later the skills can be used in another setting.

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of freshmen college students as compared to upperclassmen concerning how well OOPs influenced specific life skills, as well as explore what type of transferrable life skills were considered most important to participants.