Quite recently a number of studies and investigations have been made in the area of first year student retention and completion unveiling a number of interesting observations and interpretations. Many students face difficulties because of the sudden change in the eduscape, the transition from secondary schools to higher institutions made more difficult because of the mutually exclusive lifestyles and expectations. The lower pass rates in first year courses, is especially noticeable for special cohorts such as distance students, late registrants, and students based in peripheral campuses and centres. The paper investigates the need for an online orientation module for regional and distance students in higher education. This ICT based initiative is designed to address the new students’ anxieties and fears, and ease adaptation to higher education. The module allows students to understand the dynamic environment of higher education, be well informed about the academic and social issues, recognize the skills needed to succeed, be engaged with their courses and programmes, know where and who to go for help, and also have the ownership of the University. The analytics of a pilot study are discussed with the strengths, challenges and opportunities
