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The purpose of this paper is to assess the consistency with which quality is maintained in the orientation process. Orientation is a key university process intended to prepare new students for life in higher education (HE). For open and distance learning (ODL), orientation can be a key process for lessening some of the challenges associated with the separation of the learner and the lecturer. Indeed, for ODL students, orientation can be fraught with a variety of challenges one of which could be quality problems.

Convenient sampling was used to obtain a total of 89 students in the first semester and 34 students in the second semester. The respondents came from all the eight districts in the Midlands province of Zimbabwe. They belonged to various degree programmes found in the eight faculties of the institution. Correlation was used to determine quality variations. Using a mixed methods approach, the study sought the views of the students and the relationships between activities done in the two semesters of 2018. SPSS version 16.0 software was used to compute Spearman’s correlations whereas content analysis was used to analyze the open-ended responses to the questa-view. This mixed methods approach helped the researchers to analyze and compare the quality of the orientation sessions.

Results yielded a positive and high significant correlation between first and second semester variables (r=0.916, p=0.000), a finding indicating that staff members in the Midlands Regional Campus of Zimbabwe Open University have not changed their ways of conducting orientation. On a scale of 1 (least effective) to 5 (most effective), the average ratings for the presentations in the first and second semesters were 4.08 and 4.26, respectively. In the qualitative analysis, adequacy of the venue, timing, coverage of aspects and use of media were all rated positively for the two sessions. However, for the two sessions, some students mentioned negative sentiments to do with the provision of needed materials at time of student registration, the public address system, orientation packages, time management and communication.

This paper looks at the process of orientation as it was done at one regional campus of an ODL institution in Zimbabwe. It also analyses the quality of the orientation using correlation as a lens that measures consistency and also by critically analyzing content in the respondents’ voices. Implications are that the findings and recommendations can also be applied in other ODL (and even non-ODL) institutions with a view of finally coming up with common policies and procedures with regards to providing quality service and support to the twenty-first century student.

Findings were relevant and could be used for designing applicable orientation programmes in ODL institutions and for improving the quality of student support and services.

While a number of studies have been carried out on orientation in HE, it would appear that research on orientation in ODL institutions, especially in Zimbabwe, appears minimal, hence this study covers an unexplored niche.

The purpose of this study was to improve the orientation experience of commencing first-year undergraduate business students to better prepare them for the reality of their academic studies through the development and implementation of a Commencing Student-Needs-Centred Orientation Framework.

The methodology of this study used survey analysis and focus groups to explore low orientation efficacy scores from the cohort and resulted in a reconceptualisation and restructure of the existing orientation programme. The new programme was completed and implemented, and student’s perceptions remeasured. Evaluation was performed using sources of data across three semesters.

Intervention success is demonstrated across three semesters by sustained and continuously improving orientation efficacy scores. Overall, student orientation efficacy improved by 19.6 per cent in the first implementation (B, n = 44), and an improvement of 22.8 per cent was seen in the third semester (C, n = 177), when compared to the first semester (A, n = 164).

The primary limitation of this study is that the exploratory framework was applied and evaluated only within a single discipline of business, and in one Australian university with a predominantly first-generation student population.

The paper is a guide for the design of an orientation day programme informed by an evidence-based framework identifying the transition needs of commencing students entering higher education, which is tested for its efficacy in preparing students for their academic role, and for success.

Orientation is an important, yet under-researched aspect of engagement and retention in today’s universities.

This paper aims to outline the conceptualization, design and implementation process of an escape room-style game for first-year student orientation sessions hosted by a combined academic unit including a university library, archives and museum. The game can be customized and adapted for a variety of learning environments and purposes.

Breakout EDU kits have been used to create escape room-style games to teach curricular content in new and engaging ways. This orientation session was designed to teach new students how to find and use essential collections and resources on each of the unit’s websites by using a fun, collaborative and engaging game.

According to post-orientation survey responses, an average of nearly 80% of all new students felt that the Breakout EDU orientation game was either “Moderately Effective” or “Very Effective” in preparing them for their first day of classes. Documented observational assessments further suggest that students had fun playing the game and appreciated the hands-on approach to library orientation.

Although the use of both digital and non-digital games in library orientations are heavily documented, there has been very little research conducted on the use of escape rooms in this context, and almost no research has been conducted on the use of Breakout EDU kits for library orientations. This paper provides a practical example of how academic libraries can incorporate a customizable and highly engaging escape room-style game into first-year orientation sessions of nearly all sizes.

This study is aimed to measure and understand the relationship between individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) and entrepreneurial intention (EI) among students of higher learning institutions (HLI’s) in India. This study is focused on understanding IEO dimension of proactiveness, innovativeness and risk-taking attitude and EI across gender, academic background, and regions. Many recent and past studies confirm that there is an apparent gap in the literature to understand this phenomenon among students of higher learning institutions.

The study is based on a sample of 393 students studying in 35 different universities and institutions in the North, South and Western regions of India. The data were analyzed using hierarchical regression and ANOVA.

The empirical result shows a relationship and a positive impact of individual entrepreneurial orientation dimensions upon entrepreneurial intentions. Controlling for gender, males depict higher perseverance toward individual entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial intentions. The same result was found for management and entrepreneurship students who also depict a higher (mean) t-value than science, engineering students. The findings of this study reveal a significant contribution to the academic literature by highlighting the influencing role of gender, academic background, and region upon entrepreneurial intentions.

The study reveals that institutional culture, lack of academic rigor, regional difference, economic gaps, gender perception, and overall culture may be considered as bothering forces for entrepreneurship to grow via institutions. These forces, if eliminated, can help build an institutional environment helpful for entrepreneurial progression in the country.

There are limited studies available in the context of individual entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial Intention relationship. This study provides the analysis for Indian regions and uses data collected from different universities and institutions of India.

The paper's purpose is to test: whether there are significant differences between England and Israel, in terms of perceptions of market orientation (MO) in higher education (HE); which MO dimensions (student, competition, intra‐functional) indicate more positive attitudes and whether the differences are significant; and the reliability of the instrument for using a larger sample of respondents internationally.

A comparative (online) survey of 68 academics in England and Israel was conducted during the academic year 2007. The MO questionnaire used comprises 32 factor items rated on a six‐point scale, categorised using three headings: market (student‐customer) orientation; competitor orientation; and inter‐functional coordination.

Overall, academics in both countries indicated that their HE institution is oriented towards meeting students' needs and desires, and cares for students' well‐being, teaching and learning. In addition, the respondents alluded to their contribution to internal marketing, i.e. to the promotion of their university through their own work tasks and performance.

The study was restricted to a comparison of only two universities, one in Israel and one in England, and the sample size is small.

The meeting of student needs, and a student centred approach can be an institutional mission, as well as a government driven initiative imposed on universities through the introduction of a market.

As MO frequently underpins the development and implementation of successful organisation‐environment relationships, the current paper is a first attempt to trace the contextual determinants of this orientation by comparing its frequencies and elements in two different HE systems.

General causality orientation is a mini-theory within the self-determination theory (STD). The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of general causality orientations (autonomous, controlled, and impersonal) on perceived stress and self-esteem among students in a women-only college.

Data were collected through a questionnaire administered to students (n = 132) of a small women-only university in Roanoke, Virginia, USA. The survey included questions on the three general causality orientations, perceived stress, and self-esteem; the survey also included questions on student satisfaction, financial resources, and academic performance, used as control variables in the study.

Autonomous orientation was not significantly related to self-esteem or perceived stress. Controlled orientation negatively influences self-depreciation. Finally, impersonal orientation positively influenced self-depreciation and negatively affected self-confidence.

Faculty and administrators in women-only universities should be encouraged to implement programs that strengthen the sense of optimism among female students. Student support services that emphasize enhancing autonomous orientation could be even more helpful by offering interventions that help students overcome their impersonal orientation.

While previous studies have concentrated on autonomous orientation, this study provides recommendations for overcoming impersonal orientation among female undergraduate students in women-only colleges to enhance self-esteem and reduce stress.

Integrative leadership theories are thriving in the literature, yet very few studies have explored individual characteristics of integrative leadership and conditions that may promote individuals’ integrative leadership orientation. In particular, little is known about the factors that may promote undergraduate college students’ development of an orientation toward integrative leadership, although many colleges and universities are charged with developing future leaders to tackle grand societal challenges. The purpose of this study was to examine higher education institutions’ contributions to college students’ civic engagement and multicultural competence as well as the relationships between these contributions and students’ development of an integrative leadership orientation. Using a multi-institutional survey of college seniors (n = 5,922), the results of this study suggest institutional efforts to develop students’ multicultural competence and civic engagement are positively associated with undergraduate students’ development of an integrative leadership orientation.

College students report high levels of stress, with academic performance serving as a major contributor. The purpose of this study was to examine how drinking to cope with stressors related to student grade point average (i.e., GPA), while testing academic achievement orientations (i.e. mastery or performance) as possible moderators for this relationship.

In total, 325 undergraduate college students from a university in the Mountain West of the USA reported on GPA, daily drinking, coping and academic achievement orientations.

Drinking to cope negatively predicted GPA. Holding a mastery academic achievement orientation was related to higher GPA, whereas a performance academic achievement orientation was related to a more deleterious relationship between drinking to cope and GPA. However, neither orientation (i.e. mastery or performance) moderated the relationship between drinking to cope and GPA.

Regardless of academic achievement orientation, drinking to cope was negatively associated with GPA. The negative relationship between drinking to cope and GPA for those with a performance orientation may suggest that these students drink to cope with academic stressors. Importantly, students who choose to drink alcohol to cope with academic stress may paradoxically experience poorer academic performance. Future research should examine whether teaching a mastery orientation to college students can protect against the deleterious effects of drinking to cope on GPA.

Goal orientations and classroom goal structures proved to be highly predictive of classroom-related behaviors and academic achievement. The purpose of the present study was to predict students’ classroom behaviors from goal orientations and classroom goal structures and compare those predictions across students with and without learning problems. Participants were 209 typical students and 18 students with learning difficulties/disabilities (LD). Individual goal orientations and perceptions of classrooms’ goal structures were assessed using self-reports. Student behaviors were assessed over five consecutive days during school hours. Using Multilevel Random Coefficient Modeling (MRCM) procedures, results indicated that mastery approach goals and a mastery goal structure were positive predictors of positive affect, student engagement and students’ perceptions of reinforcement from teachers. Mastery avoidance goals were a negative predictor of positive affective states and a positive predictor of both negative affective states and perceptions of punishment. Last, performance approach goals and a performance goal structure exerted deleterious effects on students’ positive classroom behaviors, particularly for students with LD. When matching mastery goals with a mastery goal structure, effects were significantly more pronounced, and in the desired direction, compared to the matching of performance goals with a performance goal structure. Implications of the findings for practice are discussed.

This study aims to examine the relationship between entrepreneurship education and students’ intentions and tests for moderating effects of students’ perceived experience and family entrepreneurial orientation, which may strengthen or weaken the effect of entrepreneurship education on intention.

Data were collected through a questionnaire from 584 students in the vocational program at an Indonesian public university. Entrepreneurship education was measured using instruments by Walter and Block (2016) that evaluated the entrepreneurship education provided by faculty. Entrepreneurial intention used a measurement by Vamvaka (2020), which measured students’ choice of intention, entrepreneurial career commitment and nascent entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship education has a positive association with students’ entrepreneurial intentions. The results also evidence higher entrepreneurial intention levels in students from families oriented toward and experienced in entrepreneurship. The results also reveal that student experience and having friends who become entrepreneurs reduce entrepreneurial intention, but the difference is not statistically significant.

The main limitation of this survey is that it was drawn from a single university in Indonesia with only domestic students, whilst the study was also designed cross-sectional. Therefore, the generalisability of the results is still limited. This study uses a single item for measuring friends and own influences, which only measure personal experiences. A more multidimensional measure of family, friends and own influence can be further developed to gain more robust results supporting these findings.

The study contributes to understanding the role of family-related variables, particularly family entrepreneurial orientation and experiences, on the development of entrepreneurship education and intention in emerging global market forces. Through family engagement in entrepreneurship education, a family can boost students’ entrepreneurial intention by delivering various capitals (e.g. business value, financial and social capital) and providing practical learning. The results imply the necessity to conduct new subjects, courses or university programmes that can include family-related business in entrepreneurship education.

Despite the expansion of research related to entrepreneurship education and intention, the relationships between perceived experience, family entrepreneurial orientation and students’ entrepreneurial intentions have not been adequately studied, particularly in Indonesia. This work contributes to the existing knowledge of entrepreneurship education by providing two moderator variables that may boost entrepreneurial intention: perceived experience and family entrepreneurial orientation. This work demonstrated how perceived experience and family orientation interact with entrepreneurship education and intention.