Jenny J. Lee

International students’ experiences and attitudes at a US host institution: Self-reports and future recommendations

This article examines international students’ experiences at a US university and how these might influence them to recommend or not recommend that others from their home country attend it. Data were collected via online survey at a large public university in the US Southwest. Students from predominantly non-White regions of origin had more negative experiences. Findings suggest that perceptions of unequal treatment are a major factor influencing international students’ attitudes.

How risky are one-shot cross-sectional assessments of undergraduate students?

The purpose of this study was to explore the extent of possible input bias associated with the rapidly growing use by colleges and universities of one-time cross-sectional assessments of students. The results presented in this study demonstrate that cross-sectional assessments of enrolled college students are very difficult to interpret because they inevitably reflect characteristics of the same students when they first entered college. For those forms of engagement that have to do with how students allocate their time, it appears that the majority of variation among institutions is attributable to entering freshman characteristics rather than to institutional policies or practices. Thus, rather than relying solely on student outcome data, institutions should ideally also collect pretest or input information from the same students when they first matriculate.

Common Hepatic Nuclear Factor-4α Variants Are Associated With High Serum Lipid Levels and the Metabolic Syndrome

Hepatic nuclear factor-4α (HNF-4α), a transcription factor involved in the regulation of serum lipid and glucose levels, has recently been associated with type 2 diabetes. The HNF-4α gene (HNF4A) resides on chromosome 20q12-q13.1, which, in addition to type 2 diabetes, has also previously been linked to high triglycerides in Finnish familial combined hyperlipidemia (FCHL) families. FCHL, characterized by elevated levels of serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, or both, is a common dyslipidemia observed in up to 20% of patients with premature coronary heart disease. Considering the clear phenotypic overlap between type 2 diabetes and FCHL, both predisposing to high serum triglycerides and glucose intolerance, we tested this gene for association in dyslipidemic families originating from two distinct populations, Finnish and Mexican, and comprising 1,447 subjects. Our data show that common HNF4A variants and haplotypes are associated with elevated serum lipid levels and the metabolic syndrome (P = 0.008–0.04), as well as with elevated glucose parameters (P = 0.008–0.03), using family-based association analysis. Importantly, both Finnish and Mexican families shared two common lipid-associated HNF4A haplotypes (P = 0.005 for total cholesterol and 0.006 for triglycerides). In conclusion, we show for the first time that common HNF4A variants are associated with high serum lipid levels and the metabolic syndrome.

Using Web Surveys to Reach Community College Students: An Analysis of Response Rates and Response Bias

This study was designed to examine response rates and bias among a sample of community college students who received a district-wide survey by standard mail or e-mail. Findings suggest that predictors of response and types of responses are not appreciably different across paper and online mail-out samples when these samples are “matched” in terms of key demographics. Rates of response, however, differ by mode of survey administration, gender, and race/ethnicity.

The shaping of the departmental culture: Measuring the relative influences of the institution and discipline

Despite its fundamental role in the structure and function of higher education, departmental culture has received little attention from higher education scholars and virtually no research has been done on how departmental culture is shaped by the larger disciplinary and institutional cultures. This study demonstrates the extent to which different aspects of departmental culture can be attributed to the influence of institutional and disciplinary cultures.

Understanding Students' Parental Education Beyond First-Generation Status

The goal of this study is to explore and compare the experiences and views that community college students face across multiple levels of parental education. The findings demonstrate significant differences across five different parental education levels, arguing that future research ought to expand current notions of parental education beyond a binary comparison (having a college educated parent or not).

Career goals, pathways and competencies of geography graduate students in the USA

This study examines the motivations and career goals of geography graduate students and the extent they are prepared in transferable skills. Women and students specializing in geographic information science and technology are primarily motivated by career opportunities in the private sector, whereas doctoral students express a preference for academic career paths and their goals are more influenced by faculty and departmental prestige. Students in Masters programs and those specializing in physical geography are more likely to seek positions with government employers. Masters and doctoral programs are providing opportunities for students to develop competency in a wide-range of transferable skills. However, there are many organizational and business-oriented skills that employers value but which are not commonly taught in graduate curricula in geography programs.

Coming to America: challenges and difficulties faced by African student athletes

There is a considerable lack of literature on international student athletes despite the extent to which colleges and universities are increasingly relying on them to heighten the winning reputation of their sports programs. This research focuses on international student athletes from Africa. Based on interviews of 16 student athletes from seven different African countries, the range of their experiences upon entering universities in the United States, particularly their challenges, were identified. Many of the serious issues affecting the student athletes were matters related to the host environments underestimations about the African student athletes’ desires to learn, misunderstandings about their culture and religions and other negative assumptions that undermined their academic success. We also found that the vast majority of these student athletes experienced negative stereotypes and discrimination based on their race and their region of origin.

Tangles in the Tapestry: Cultural Barriers to Graduate Student Unionization

Using a case study approach, the authors identify cultural barriers confronting graduate student unionization. A theoretical framework grounded in principles associated with organizational culture is utilized. The findings have significance for universities as graduate student unionization increases in magnitude throughout the United States.

What Is the Greater Good? The Discourse on Public and Private Roles of Higher Education in the New Economy.

This study examined the ways that the ‘public good’ of higher education is being conceptualised as economic benefits and cost/benefit rationalities in the current economic downturn. Based on the case of Arizona in the United States, a discourse analysis of speeches was performed on the way public, state and institutional leaders described ways that the public higher education system must respond in the changing global economy with less state funds directed towards public institutions. The findings demonstrate the changing public nature of higher education from emphasising individual over societal benefits, thus also reflecting changing funding sources.