COLLEGIATE OUTDOOR ORIENTATION - PROGRAMMING AS A HIGH-IMPACT PRACTICE

Oct 15, 2026

Outdoor orientation programs (OOPs) use wilderness or adventure experiences to help incoming first-year students transition into college and university life. The study examined resilience and flourishing outcomes from two OOP trips in Virginia and North Carolina using the Brief Resilience Scale and the Mental Health Continuum Short Form, alongside thematic analysis of open-ended participant responses. Findings showed a statistically significant, large increase in flourishing from pre- to post-trip results and that post-trip responses reflected achievement of program objectives.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Literature Review and Theoretical Framework

High Impact Practices

Resilience and Flourishing

COLLEGIATE OUTDOOR ORIENTATION PROGRAMMING AS A HIGH-IMPACT PRACTICE Eddie Hill, Ph. D. Weber State University Abigail Rossiter Old Dominion University Mike Willett, M.S. Old Dominion University Chris A. B. Zajchowski, Ph. D. University of Idaho Erik Edwards, M.S. Old Dominion University Eleanor Crofford, M.S. Old Dominion University Abstract Outdoor orientation programs (OOPs) use wilderness or adventure experiences asa transition of incoming first-year students to college and university settings. We explored resilience and flourishing outcomes from two OOP trips in Virginia and North Carolina using the Brief Resilience Scale, the Mental Health Continuum Short Form, and a thematic analysis of participant responses to open-ended survey items. Results illustrate a statistically significant, large effect size difference in flourishing between pre-and post-trip responses (d = .89), and the thematic analysis of open-ended posttrip questionnaire items illustrated the attainment of each of the program’s OOP objectives. These results mirror previous findings evidencing the continued importance of this form of experiential learning to engender student success in higher education settings and further justify OOPs’ inclusion within a high-impact practices framework. Keywords: outdoor orientation program (OOPs), high impact practices, resiliency, flourishing, student success Please direct inquires about this manuscript to: Eddie Hill, Ph.D., [eddiehill@weber.edu](eddiehill@weber.edu) College Student Affairs Journal, Volume 41(1), pp. 46-57 ISSN 2381-2338 Copyright 2023 Southern Association for College Student Affairs All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. 47 College Student Affairs Journal Vol. 41, No. 1, 2023 facilitated discussions often accompany the day’s activities. The process of debriefing helps leverage“a high degree of isomorphism” between the OOP experience and what might be faced during the first year of college (Hannah, 2018, p. 363) . OOPs formally began over 80 years ago at Dartmouth College, and by 2019 there were over 212 OOPs at 17 percent of the colleges and universities in the United States (Bell, 2022) . OOP research indicates these experiences increase student success through the development of transferable skills during hands-on outdoor experiences (Pickard et al., 2020; Andre et al., 2017), the creation of relationships and social support systems (Austin et al., 2010), and fostering commitment and positive attitudes towards the university (Howard et al., 2016; Wolfe & Kay, 2011) . Yet, despite ever-growing literature demonstrating their important co-curricular role in student success, there is no mention of OOPs specifically within the HIP framework. Thus, in this study, we expand on research investigating the impact of outdoor adventure education on noncognitive skill development (c.f., Richmond & Sibthorp, 2019) for university students, specifically through assessing resilience and flourishing outcomes from two OOP trips in Virginia and North Carolina. Results mirror previous OOP literature, which evidences the ability of this form of experiential learning to engender student success, further justifying OOPs’ inclusion within a high-impact practices framework. Literature Review and Theoretical Framework High Impact Practices (HIPs) increase student success when implemented on college campuses (AAC&U, 2021). HIPs range in length, experience, and level of involvement. Some require students to be extensively engaged (e.g., living-learning communities) in less-comprehensive programs, which can be curricular or co-curricular (Goff et al., 2020) . Some HIPs involve undergraduate research and service learning. The latter allows stu- High Impact Practices 48 dents to learn from one another and develop relationships while assisting community partners (e.g., Battistoni, 1997, Cooper et al., 2013; Goff et al., 2020; Jacoby, 1996). In service-learning HIPs, the most

FAQs

What is the purpose of outdoor orientation programs (OOPs)?

OOPs use wilderness or adventure experiences to support first-year students’ transition into college and university settings.

How did the study measure resilience and flourishing outcomes?

It used the Brief Resilience Scale, the Mental Health Continuum Short Form, and thematic analysis of participant responses to open-ended survey items.

What were the key results regarding students’ flourishing after the trips?

Post-trip responses showed a statistically significant, large effect size difference in flourishing compared with pre-trip responses (d = .89).

Oct 15, 2026

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