| An ethnographic investigation of student orientation programs at two Southern California private, 4-year liberal arts colleges examined the ways in which an institution's ethos is embedded in its student orientation program, and how the meanings which new students derive from the ethos form the foundation for their successful integration into the social, cultural and academic life of the institution. A single investigator observed the orientation programs at both institutions, and documented the experiences of new students through their first week at each campus site. Interviews of students, faculty and administrators at each institution were conducted through the first ten weeks of the fall semester, as well as the collection of documents and artifacts that reflect aspects of culture, from which salient themes were distilled indicating the presence of an ethos at each institution. New student interviews revealed the nature of their encounters during orientation, and how the themes that reflect ethos characterized their adjustment to college. While these themes were unique to each campus, and the orientation programs at each campus echoed this uniqueness, common factors that impacted the link between orientation and ethos included: whether student affairs or faculty directed the planning of orientation, the nature and degree of upperclass student involvement, the nature of faculty involvement, and the degree to which orientation emphasizes student engagement. Orientation programs that promote successful assimilation of ethos involves: the promulgation of a coherent institutional ethos, human scale interactions, upperclass students acting as peer mentors, active involvement of faculty, a focus on engagement, and broadly understood themes that link the curricular and co-curricular aspects of life at the institution. |
