The Freshman Experience

Remembering back (waaay back) to my own freshman experience at a large state university, I can easily understand why some students never make it past their freshman year. I was a first-generation college student, and felt very much like a fish out of water. I had no frame of reference to prepare me, nor any real notion of what I wanted to accomplish. I started out as an honors student, having earned straight As in high school, and ended up six years and several majors later with an indifferent GPA and an odd collection of credits that finally added up to a degree. That I finished at all was probably owed to the fact that I really had no other desirable alternatives.
So what can be done to make the transition from home to college less bewildering and more productive? Many colleges and universities have implemented freshman experience courses, under various labels. These courses typically blend content such as study skills, time management, college life orientation, career assessment, and so on. Higher ed professsionals who implement such courses are faced with decisions such as, should the course be required? Should it be required for all students or just those who have no prior college experience? What should be the background of those teaching the course? Can it be offered online? Should it be a course for credit or simply an orientation?
The company Noel-Levitz has an assessment called the College Student Inventory. This tool enables students who take it to see a profile of themselves and characteristics that will either facilitate or present barriers to their success in college. Could advising professionals use the results of such an assessment to 'case manage' students with multiple barriers and target support services for them? What about mentoring? Would freshman students benefit from having a mentor to support them throughout that pivotal first year? Should the mentor be a peer student or a faculty or staff member who can help them navigate the confusing red tape of college bureaucracies?