When freshmen start college after high school, they often are confronted with a major life change. No longer micromanaged by teachers or scheduled by their parents, they experience a new sense of freedom.

Many students thrive in this environment, but others struggle.

"These students have been micromanaged, and to be away from that management structure is stressful," said Alice Lanning, director of Freshman Programs at the University of Oklahoma.

In order to help students succeed in college, OU has several programs that specifically target freshmen with the skills and resources they will need at OU.

"We don't want students to waste time or money by not finishing their degree," Lanning said. There are many reasons students drop out before graduation, including lack of preparation in both basic life skills and academically.

"We find a wider and wider gap about what students are expected to know on graduating high school and what students are expecting to know when entering college," Lanning said.

So the university has a variety of courses, scholarship programs, mentorships and groups to help students make a successful transition to college life.

The newly built 35,000-square-foot Lissa and Cy Wagner Hall on the OU campus is a one-stop-shop for University College, where all students are classified before declaring a major their sophomore year, and student academic services.

One program in Wagner Hall the university implemented in 1988 in order to aid in student retention is Gateway to College Learning. Gateway is a letter-graded, two-credit-hour elective course. The class is offered to first-semester freshmen and teaches study skills, campus orientation, university culture and reflective journals. There are about 55 sections of the class each fall, filled with no more than 25 students.

"It's designed as a transition course for high school to college learning," Lanning said.

The class has been deemed successful, she said.

"Students who take Gateway tend to make slightly higher grades and return (to OU) in higher numbers than those who did not take the course," Lanning said.

That success rate also applies to other OU programs targeting freshman retention.

The President's Distinguished Faculty Mentoring Program also boasts higher grade point averages among its freshman participants. Freshmen enroll in the one-hour class with a professor of their choice during the fall semester. Faculty members volunteer their time to mentor about 10 freshmen during the semester, and the experience is free for students.

The program began in 1998 and involves 37 mentors and about 400 students. The Center for Student Advancement, which administrates the program, sees it as an alternative to Gateway, said Lisa A. Portwood, director of the CSA.