Report: "Success at Monash" (SAM) Orientation Week Academic Transition Program

The “Success at Monash” program operated on a large scale for commencing students for the first time in Orientation Week 2005 on the Caulfield and Clayton campuses. Consisting of two 2-hour sessions, the first session prepares students to understand university study,

work in groups, give oral presentations; the second session develops students’ library research skills and their academic writing skills, in the context of a typical assignment

question. The program brings together faculty, Library, and Language and Learning staff. The student evaluations administered on completion of the program indicate that overall, the students evaluated the program highly, but thought that it could be reduced in time. The major recommendations of this report are that the program be continued in 2006 at Caulfield and Clayton, and that it be made compulsory for all students to attend. However,

the length of the program should be reduced to three hours in total. More formal processes for enrolment of students also need to be put in place.