Retention Effects of an Outdoor Orientation Program at a Midwestern University

Authors

  • Jerome Gabriel University of St. Francis

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18666/JOREL-2018-V10-I4-7320

Keywords:

wilderness orientation, outdoor orientation, retention

Abstract

Outdoor orientation programs are not a new idea. They date back to programs at Dartmouth College in 1935. Since then, these programs have continued to expand to now include over 191 programs at private and public institutions. The effects of these programs, including developing emotional autonomy, mature relationships with peers, a sense of place, and social support, have also been well researched. Beyond student development, the benefits for the university, including improved retention and persistence of first-year students participating in the programs, have also been well established. This paper seeks to add to the established research pattern of the effectiveness of these programs while examining the structure of one such program and its possible contributions to the retention success of its students. Results for the retention of students engaged in the outdoor orientation program for first to second year ranged from a low improvement of 11.9% over university retention rates to a high improvement of 16.3%. For retention across all years, results ranged from 3.9% to 20.9% improvement over university retention. Structural components of the course that research has shown to support its effectiveness included the combination of a weeklong outdoor experience with a formal semester-long classroom course, as well as the inclusion of professional staff/faculty on each experience to increase student support during the return to campus.Subscribe to JOREL

Author Biography

Jerome Gabriel, University of St. Francis

Dr. Jerome Gabriel is Assistant Professor of Recreation and Sport Management at the University of St. Francis specializing in leadership and skill development of outdoor recreation students.

References

Austin, M. L., Martin, B., Mittelstaedt, R., Schanning, & Ogle (2009). Outdoor orientation program effects: Sense of place and social benefits. Journal of Experiential Education 31(3) 435-439. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/105382590803100315

Bell, B. J. (2006). Social support development and wilderness pre-orientation experiences. Journal of Experiential Education, 28(3), 248-249.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/105382590602800307

Bell, B. J. (2006). Wilderness orientation: Exploring the relationship between college preorientation programs and social support. Journal of Experiential Education, 29(2), 145-167. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/105382590602900206

Bell, B. J. (2012). Assessing the effectiveness of an adventure based first year experience class. Journal of Student Development, 53(2), 347-355. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/csd.2012.0031

Bell, B. J. & Chang, H. (2017). Outdoor orientation programs: A critical review of program impacts on retention and graduation. Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership, 9(1), 56-68. https.//doi.org/10.18666/JOREL-2017-V9-I1-7501

Bell, B. J., Gass, M. A., Nafziger, C. S., & Starbuck, J. D. (2014). The state of knowledge of outdoor orientation programs: Current practices, research, and theories. Journal of Experiential Education, 37(1), 31-45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1053825913518891

Bell, B. J., Holmes, M. R., & Williams, B. G., (2010). A census of outdoor orientation programs at four-year colleges in the United States. Journal of Experiential Education 33(1) 1-18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/105382591003300102

Bowling Green State University, Office of Institutional Research. (2016). Flow Model Archive, 2008-2013 [Data Set]. Retrieved from http://www.bgsu.edu/provost/institutional-effectiveness/institutional-research/flow-model-archive.html

Campbell, T.A. & Campbell, D.E. (1997). Faculty/student mentor program: Effects on academic performance and retention. Research in Higher Education, 38(6), 727-742.

DeNicco, J., Harrington, P. & Fogg, N. (2015). Factors of one-year college retention in a public state college system. Research in Higher Education Journal, 27(1), 1-13.

Frauman, E. & Waryold, D. (2009). Impact of a wilderness orientation program on college student’s life effectiveness. Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership, 1(2), 189-207.

Gass, M. (1987). The effects of a wilderness orientation program on college students. Journal of Experiential Education, 10(2), 30-33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/105382598701000208

Gass, M. (1990). The longitudinal effects of an adventure orientation program on the retention of student. Journal of College Student Development, 31(1), 33-38.

Gass, M. (1999). Programs in higher education. In J.C. Miles & S. Priest (Eds.), Adventure education (pp. 377-412). State College, PA: Venture Publications.

Graunke, S. S., & Woosley, S. A. (2005). An exploration of the factors that affect the academic success of college sophomores. College Student Journal, 29, 367-376.

Hill, W., Nolan, C. D., & Scrogin, J. (2010). QUESTS: An urban university outdoor experience orientation program as a retention vehicle. Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership, 2(2), 156-158. http://dx.doi.org/10.7768/1948-5123.1058

Hooke, D. O. (1987). Reaching that peak: 75 years of the Dartmouth Outing Club. Phoenix, Canaan, NH.

Laskey, M. L. & Hetzel, C. J. (2011). Investigating factors related to retention of at-risk college students. Learning Assistance Review, 16(1) 31-43.

Michael, J. M., Morris-Dueer, V. & Reichert, M. S. (2017). Differential effects of participation in an outdoor orientation program for incoming students. Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership, 9(1), 42-55. https.//doi.org/10.18666/JOREL-2017-V9-I1-7483

Quinn, T. (2016). The impact of an outdoor orientation program on student persistence [Abstract]. Coalition for Education in the Outdoors Biennial Research Symposium; 2016 January 22-24, Bloomington, IN.

Reason, R.D., Terenzini, P.T. & Domingo, R.J. (2006). First things first: Developing academic competence in the first year of college. Research in Higher Education, 47(2), 149-175 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-005-8884-4

Shelton, E. (2003). Faculty support and student retention. Journal of Nursing Education, 42(2), 68-76.

Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226922461.001.0001

Tinto, V. (1999). Taking retention seriously: Rethinking the first year of college. NACADA Journal, 19(2), 5-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.12930/0271-9517-19.2.5

Tinto, V. (2010). From theory to action: Exploring the institutional conditions for student retention. Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, 25, 51-89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8598-6_2

Turner, P & Thompson, E. (2014). College retention initiatives meeting the needs of millennial freshman students. College Student Journal, 1(11) 94-104.

Vlamis, E., Bell, B. J., & Gass, M. (2011). Effects of a college adventure orientation program on student development behaviors. Journal of Experiential Education, 34(2), 127-148. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/105382591103400203

Wolfe, B. D. & Kay, G. (2011). Perceived impact of an outdoor orientation program for first year university students. Journal of Experiential Education, 34(1), 19-34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/105382591103400103

Seven Principles Overview. (n.d.). Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics. Retrieved February 12, 2016, from https://lnt.org/learn/seven-principles-overview

Downloads

Additional Files

Published

2018-10-25

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 4 (2018)

Section

Research Note

License

Sagamore Publishing LLC (hereinafter the “Copyright Owner”)

Journal Publishing Copyright Agreement for Authors

PLEASE REVIEW OUR POLICIES AND THE PUBLISHING AGREEMENT, AND INDICATE YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE TERMS BY CHECKING THE ‘AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS COPYRIGHT NOTICE’ CHECKBOX BELOW.

I understand that by submitting an article to Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership, I am granting the copyright to the article submitted for consideration for publication in Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership to the Copyright Owner. If after consideration of the Editor of the Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership, the article is not accepted for publication, all copyright covered under this agreement will be automatically returned to the Author(s).

THE PUBLISHING AGREEMENT

Assignment of Copyright


I hereby assign to the Copyright Owner the copyright in the manuscript I am submitting in this online procedure and any tables, illustrations or other material submitted for publication as part of the manuscript in all forms and media (whether now known or later developed), throughout the world, in all languages, for the full term of copyright, effective when the article is accepted for publication.

Reversion of Rights

Articles may sometimes be accepted for publication but later be rejected in the publication process, even in some cases after public posting in “Articles in Press” form, in which case all rights will revert to the Author.

Retention of Rights for Scholarly Purposes

I understand that I retain or am hereby granted the Retained Rights. The Retained Rights include the right to use the Preprint, Accepted Manuscript, and the Published Journal Article for Personal Use and Internal Institutional Use.

All journal material is under a 12 month embargo. Authors who would like to have their articles available as open access should contact Sagamore-Venture for further information.

In the case of the Accepted Manuscript and the Published Journal Article, the Retained Rights exclude Commercial Use, other than use by the author in a subsequent compilation of the author’s works or to extend the Article to book length form or re-use by the author of portions or excerpts in other works.

Published Journal Article: the author may share a link to the formal publication through the relevant DOI.

Author Representations

  • The Article I have submitted to the journal for review is original, has been written by the stated author(s) and has not been published elsewhere. 

  • The Article was not submitted for review to another journal while under review by this journal and will not be submitted to any other journal. 

  • The Article contains no libelous or other unlawful statements and does not contain any materials that violate any personal or proprietary rights of any other person or entity.
  • I have obtained written permission from copyright owners for any excerpts from copyrighted works that are included and have credited the sources in the Article.
  • If the Article was prepared jointly with other authors, I have informed the co-author(s) of the terms of this Journal Publishing Agreement and that I am signing on their behalf as their agent, and I am authorized to do so.