Socialization Experiences of First Year non-Western International Master’s Students at a Mid-Western University

As the international student population continues to increase in the United States’ higher education institutions, the need to explore the significance of socialization as a necessary predictor to academic success has become inevitable. While most studies on students’ socialization had investigated socialization experiences of students in general, there has been a paucity of research that specifically explored the socialization experiences of first-year international master’s degree students from non-Western countries. This study’s findings revealed respondents’ varying perspectives on adjustment, group support, social experiences, making friends, among other constructs, and implicated the need for more support services as well as the need for international students to take ownership of their socialization, determination, and persistence.

A Demographic Shift in College Students: A Preparatory Guide for Political Scientists and the Discipline

As United States higher education moves from the gilded age to a more challenging one, this research examines how the changing demographics of American college students should influence how political science faculty teach their classes. With more first-generation, underrepresented students (FGUS) on college campuses, the study offers five best practices to improve student success for political science faculty. Additionally, the research proposes that the content in political science courses should reflect the changing demographics of our students – both in revising our existing courses and offering new ones. Finally, diversification of faculty in political science is vital when teaching students of underrepresented groups.

Professional Networks Within U.S. Higher Education: Avenues to Foster Career and Institutional Success

Within the United States, higher education is a ladder up to greater socioeconomic status. In spite of this fact, today’s students need to focus on more than just completing their education. This scholarly essay focuses on the value of professional networks, in conjunction with institutions of higher learning, in career advancement and upward movement in socioeconomic levels. This essay emphasizes the role that professional networks play in enhancing the value of a bachelor’s degree and provides evidence that students and institutions benefit from the development of professional networks both in support of the advancement of students’ careers and in the engagement of alumni. The essay also demonstrates the benefits to academic institutions themselves when alumni engagement is fostered to a greater degree.

Stratification with Honors: A Case Study of the “High” Track within United States Higher Education

At present, U.S. postsecondary sorting is best evidenced by an increasingly stratified system of higher education. However, very little attention is paid to even deeper levels of stratification within colleges and universities where academic tracking and its consequences are manifest. Given this significant lack of attention to deepening levels of stratification within many of the most “accessible” postsecondary institutions in the U.S., the purpose of this article is threefold: (1) to introduce readers to the notion of academic tracking within the postsecondary sector, (2) to situate honors education within the U.S. postsecondary tracking structure, and (3) to demonstrate the depths of stratification within a system that is lauded as the contemporary architect of social mobility. Based upon qualitative data collected during the 2016–2017 academic year at one public 4-year “accessible” university, findings illustrate the persistence, structure, and depths of stratification as an unintended consequence of one university’s efforts to reconcile the competing goals of excellence and equity.