Dr. John N. Gardner remembers a time when colleges and universities paid little attention to the plight of freshmen adjusting to the rigors of college life. At the University of South Carolina (USC) in 1970, the neglect of students -- especially that of freshmen -- coupled with brewing anti-Vietnam War sentiment led to a student riot on the normally placid southern campus, he recalls.

Gardner, who began teaching history at South Carolina's flagship university in 1970, believes USC -- like most colleges and universities at the time -- did little to nurture a sense of community among students and neglected to help them develop academic survival skills.

"Schools had not fully considered the importance of the freshman year as the basis for student success," says Gardner. "We had to take a look at the freshman year as a key period."

In the aftermath of the student riot, about of soul-searching among university officials led them to cobble together one of the first comprehensive, semester-long courses designed to help freshmen adjust to college life. Gardner grew interested in the university's efforts and in 1974, he assumed the administration of the course.

"Back then, I saw that the course had enormous potential. I needed more time to develop [it]," he says.

Twenty-four years later, "University 101", the USC freshman year survival course, has spawned dozens of similar courses at other campuses and has led to the establishment of the national Resource Center for the Study of The Freshman Year Experience and Students in Transition, which is based at USC.

Developing and Refining the Program

At USC, Gardner says, more than 2,200 students were enrolled in 108 sections of "University 101" this part fall. The total freshman enrollment was roughly 2,900 in the fall of 1997. When the course began in 1972, it enrolled only 264 students in 17 sections.

"Over its twenty-six-year history at USC, more than 43,000 students have taken University 101," Gardner says.