Induction

History of the institutional attention to the first-year student experience in the twentieth century evolved from a position of benign neglect to a focus on student survival. As the firstyear experience movement began to mature in the late twentieth century, attitudes shifted to that of helping students do more than simply survive, but to helping students become successful. Now, in the twenty-first century, we are at the dawn of another paradigm shift and find attention focusing on the concept of thriving, as an approach to help a diverse student body move beyond simple success to having meaningful and transformative college experiences (Schriener et al., 2012). In this chapter, the authors will outline how the induction experience, when tailored to the specific needs of students, can be the foundation for student success and thriving. To help students thrive at university, they must be provided with both adequate challenge and support to grow and learn, and adequate time to reflect on their myriad of experiences. While the arrival and orientation period is no doubt an important time for students, by its time-limited design, it does not offer the opportunity for developmental learning and adequate assimilation experiences. Although students may ‘need’ a wealth of information about campus processes, support resources, and student services at the very outset of their university experience, they simply cannot absorb so much information all at once. Attempting to introduce students to everything they need to know to be successful during orientation has been likened to asking thirsty students to drink from a fire hose. Institutions adept at helping students thrive will provide only what is necessary for students during the orientation process and retain the rest for the induction period when the information is most relevant, and students are most receptive to it. The induction period, therefore, offers the prospect for institutional efforts that will best help students transition to the university lifestyle, and learn how to thrive as university students in an environment that requires them to identify their own needs, values, and goals, and develop the skills necessary to succeed academically and socially. Arnold van Gennep’s anthropological work of the early twentieth century, “Les rites de passage” (1908), provides a basis for serious consideration of the induction process in today’s colleges and universities. His work acknowledges that a life is made up of a succession of stages that form movement from one social situation to another (e.g. birth, social puberty, marriage, parenthood, retirement from work). These “rites of passage” when analyzed further can be viewed as a three-step process of “separation,” “transition,” and “incorporation” (van Gennep, translated by Vizedom and Caffee, 1960). The induction

to support each student on an individual level during what is often a challenging time for the students and university staff. Case Study 14 by Nicola Shapland at Griffith University in Australia discusses a program that is tailored to the specific needs of an academic micro-population (pharmacy students) to ensure their successful transition to the academic rigor and culture of their program. This effort proved successful by helping students integrate their coursework, career experiences, and social connections to develop academic competence and social confidence to begin to thrive at their university. Case Study 15 by Heather Maietta at Merrimack College in the USA introduces the Career Passport, which was created to provide academic and vocational guidance to first-year students. With the use of the Career Passport, students were provided an opportunity to reflect on their first-year experience, and were challenged to engage with a variety of programs, services, and resources on campus to help them thrive. The Career Passport helps students find a sense of direction and purpose as they transition into and through the first year. Case Study 16 by Alison McMurray at the University of Manchester in the UK highlights a program that promotes the thriving of female students in the science, engineering, and technology fields. This program aims to help these students transition into the field by helping them align their expectations of pursuing a degree and then a career in the field with reality, connecting them to resources and opportunities to get engaged in the field, and helping them establish relationships with peers and mentors to support their academic and career journey.