Biology Intensive Orientation for Students (BIOS): A biology “boot camp”
Open accessAbstract
The Biology Intensive Orientation for Students (BIOS) Program was designed to assess the impact of a 5-d intensive prefreshman program on success and retention of biological science majors at Louisiana State University. The 2005 pilot program combined content lectures and examinations for BIOL 1201, Introductory Biology for Science Majors, as well as learning styles assessments and informational sessions to provide the students with a preview of the requirements of biology and the pace of college. Students were tracked after their BIOS participation, and their progress was compared with a control group composed of students on the BIOS waiting list and a group of BIOL 1201 students who were identified as the academic matches to the BIOS participants (high school GPA, ACT score, and gender). The BIOS participants performed significantly better on the first and second exams, they had a higher course average, and they had a higher final grade than the control group. These students also had higher success rates (grade of “A,” “B,” or “C”) during both the fall and spring semesters and remained on track through the first semester of their sophomore year to graduate in 4 yr at a significantly higher rate than the control group.
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One STEM bridge program measured retention each semester after the bridge program through students' fourth semester in college.
“one program measured retention each semester after the bridge program through students’ fourth semester in college (Wischusen and Wischusen, 2007; Wischusen et al., 2011)”
From Building Better Bridges into STEM: A Synthesis of 25 Years of Literature on STEM Summer Bridge Programs (2017) · cites this paper as Wischusen and Wischusen, 2007
The BIOS Assessment section (page not available in our copy) says the authors tracked biology majors into the fall of sophomore year to assess retention. The Future of BIOS section reports results by the third semester of college, but this paper does not report retention measured each semester through the fourth semester. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredOne STEM bridge program controlled for both gender and a measure of prior academic ability between bridge students and comparison students who did not participate.
“One program controlled for both gender and a measure of prior academic ability between bridge students and comparison students who did not participate in the program (Wischusen and Wischusen, 2007).”
From Building Better Bridges into STEM: A Synthesis of 25 Years of Literature on STEM Summer Bridge Programs (2017) · cites this paper as Wischusen and Wischusen, 2007
Four additional STEM bridge programs measured self-efficacy even though they did not explicitly state increasing student self-efficacy as a goal.
“Additionally, four programs measured self-efficacy, even though they did not explicitly state increasing student self-efficacy as a goal (Wischusen and Wischusen, 2007; Russomanno et al., 2010; Raines, 2012; Wheeler and Wischusen, 2014).”
From Building Better Bridges into STEM: A Synthesis of 25 Years of Literature on STEM Summer Bridge Programs (2017) · cites this paper as Wischusen and Wischusen, 2007
The review had difficulty finding information about the costs of bridge programs, including overall program cost, cost per individual student, and the source of program funds, although some reports do provide specific cost information.
“We had difficulty finding information about the costs of programs, including how much programs cost overall, program costs per individual student, and where the funds to run the program come from, although some reports do provide specific information (e.g., Wischusen and Wischusen, 2007).”
From Building Better Bridges into STEM: A Synthesis of 25 Years of Literature on STEM Summer Bridge Programs (2017) · cites this paper as Wischusen and Wischusen, 2007
Wischusen and Wischusen (2007) and Jackson et al. (2024) considered high school GPA, ACT or SAT scores, major, and gender.
“Wischusen and Wischusen (2007) and Jackson et al. (2024) also considered high school GPA, ACT or SAT scores, major, and gender.”
From Methodological Choices When Assessing Summer Bridge Programs in STEM Majors: A Scoping Review (2026) · cites this paper as Wischusen and Wischusen (2007)
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Research works printed but not linked: 9
- Chevalier, L., Chrisman, B., and Kelsey, M. (2001). SUCCESS week: a freshmen orientation program at Southern Illinois University Car- bondale College of Engineering. Paper presented at the Interna- tional Conference on Engineering Education, Olso, Norway.
- Fletcher, S. L., Newell, D. C., Anderson-Rowland, M. R., and New- ton, L. D. (2001a). The Women in Applied Science and Engineering Summer Bridge Program: easing the transition for first-time female engineering students. Paper presented at the Frontiers in Education Conference, Reno, NV.
- Fletcher, S. L., Newell, D. C., Newton, L. D., and Anderson-Row- land, M. R. (2001b). The WISE Summer Bridge Program: assessing student attrition, retention, and program effectiveness. Paper pre- sented at the 2001 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Albuquerque, NM.
- Malave, C. O., and Watson, K. L. (1998). The Freshman Integrated Curriculum at Texas A&M University. Paper presented at the Pro- ceedings of ICEE 98 Conference, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Miller, T. K. (ed.) (2003). The Role of Orientation Programs for Students. CAS: The Book of Professional Standards for Higher Education 2003, Washington, DC: Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education.
- Reyes, M. A., Anderson-Rowland, M. R., and McCartney, M. A. (1998). Freshman Introductory Engineering Seminar Course: Cou- pled with Bridge Program Equals Academic Success and Retention. Paper presented at the Frontiers in Education Conference, Tempe, AZ.
- Strumpf, G., and Wawrynski, M. (eds.) (2000). NODA Databank 2000, College Park, MD: University of Maryland: National Orienta- tion Directors Association.
- Tester, J. T., Scott, D., Hatfield, J., Decker, R., and Swimmer, F. (2004). Developing recruitment and retention strategies through "Design4Practice" curriculum enhancements. Paper presented at the 34th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education, Savannah, GA. University and College Trend Data (2006). Louisiana State Univer- sity Office of Budget and Planning, Baton Rouge, LA.
- Upcraft, M. L., Gardner, J. N., and Barefoot, B. O. (eds.) (2005). Challenging and Supporting the First-Year Student: A Handbook for Improving the First Year of College, San Francisco, CA: Jossey- Bass.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Getting Under the Hood: How and for Whom Does Increasing Course Structure Work?
Eddy, S. L., & Hogan, K. A. (2014) · CBE—Life Sciences Education · doi:10.1187/cbe.14-03-0050 · Cited by 553 · see citing works
Gottesman, A. J., & Hoskins, S. G. (2013) · CBE—Life Sciences Education · doi:10.1187/cbe.12-11-0201 · Cited by 123 · see citing works
“control group, in classroom performance and in persistence in the major (Wischusen and Wischusen, 2007).”
BackgroundAshley, M., Cooper, K. M., Cala, J. M., & Brownell, S. E. (2017) · CBE—Life Sciences Education · doi:10.1187/cbe.17-05-0085 · Cited by 122 · see citing works
Methodological Choices When Assessing Summer Bridge Programs in STEM Majors: A Scoping Review
Caballero Díaz, D., Amin, A., Musa, P., & Leung, V. (2026) · Education Sciences · doi:10.3390/educsci16020220
- Authors
- Wischusen
- Venue
- CBE—Life Sciences Education
- Published
- 2007-06
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 172-178
- ISSN
- 1931-7913 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC1885899
- OpenAlex
- W2141288650
- Cited by
- 35
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 1 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 7.32
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- CBE—Life Sciences Education (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Civil War Book Review (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- Louisiana State University
- Directorate for Biological Sciences
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Higher Education Research Studies
- Social Sciences › Education › Science Education and Pedagogy
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Career Development and Diversity
- Keywords
- first-year students, biology majors, student retention, academic performance, introductory biology course, academic advising, transition to college, LSU
- MeSH terms
- Biology, Data Collection, Educational Measurement, Students, Electronic Mail
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