The University of Tasmania (UTAS), like many of its mainland counterparts, is increasingly paying attention to issues of transition and the student first year experience. One initiative, the First Year Teaching Forum, devotes a day to staff (academic and general), from all campuses, to meet together to consider, discuss and pose solutions to first year issues. In 2008, staff attending the forum were allocated to interdisciplinary teams and asked to draw on their own experiences to propose models for first year at UTAS. The resulting models have been analysed to outline the major themes that emerged with a view to identifying initiatives and strategies that could be considered for future implementation.

Keywords: first year experience, orientation, transition