Content area
Abstract
The major purpose of this study was to determine which of the six areas of concern studied were perceived by entering freshmen, parents of entering freshmen, and faculty at the University of Nebraska at Omaha as being of paramount concern during the freshman year. The areas studied were academics, campus life, career goals, finances, personal identity, and relationships. The secondary purpose was to design a new or modified freshman orientation program for the University of Nebraska at Omaha based on the findings from this investigation. Data were analyzed using frequencies, means, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and post hoc procedures.
Three instruments were designed, aimed at students, parents, and faculty members. The instruments were analyzed for content validity and subjected to analysis through the Scale program using Cronbach's alpha. Completed questionnaires were received from 144 freshmen, 87 parents, and 91 faculty members which constituted a 65 percent overall return rate. Data were collected between November 1980 and April 1981. Results of the ANOVA and post-hoc procedures indicated statistically significant differences among the means of four areas: academics, campus life, personal identity, and relationships.
The mean scores for career goals, academics, personal identity, and finances were ranked in identical order, first through fourth, respectively, by both freshmen and parents. The mean scores for academics, career goals, relationships, and finances were perceived by faculty alone as the first, second, fourth, and fifth areas of concern, respectively. The areas of campus life and relationships were, according to mean scores, the areas of least concern.
Findings of this study suggest that student personnel staff should work cooperatively with academic staff in designing learning environments, such as a freshman seminar course. These kind of academic experiences can facilitate total student development and foster individual growth in handling the concerns of the freshman year.
