Document Type

Other

Publication Date

7-2026

Abstract

James Madison University offers a variety of Pre-Weeks of Welcome (PREWOW) experiences for incoming first-year and transfer students, allowing them to enhance their transition to the university and build connections with other new students and JMU staff in small-group settings. These experiences also provide early access to move-in and opportunities to learn about campus resources.

This report analyzes participation in JMU’s PREWOW programs, including student success outcome summaries across cohorts, propensity score matched comparisons for programs with sufficient sample sizes, and demographic and noncognitive characteristic descriptions for the 2024 cohort. Because PREWOW participation is voluntary and observational, propensity score matching was used to create more comparable groups of participants and non-participants based on available demographic characteristics. Outcomes examined included fall and spring cumulative GPA, fall-to-spring persistence, and fall-to-fall retention. Results indicate modest positive associations between participation in the DMAD or MOAT programs and cumulative GPAs, whereas no significant associations were observed for persistence or retention. Demographic characteristics and confirmatory factor scores are also presented to provide additional descriptive context for the 2024 PREWOW cohort.

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