City University Of New York Research Articles

Creating a Broader Impacts Culture

Minority-serving institutions (MSIs), historically Black colleges and universities, and Tribal colleges and universities play a pivotal role in championing inclusivity and diversity within higher education systems across the nation. As catalysts for social change, they regularly engage in Broader Impacts (BI) work. However, these institutions often face challenges in resource allocation and a dearth of human capital to sustain vital operations, which hinders their capacity building efforts. This article explores how MSIs, exemplified by the City College of the City University of New York (CUNY), can empower faculty, staff, and trainees engaged in BI work to extend their influence beyond their institutions by adopting a community of practice and engagement (COPE) approach. By leveraging collective strengths of knowledge, expertise, and diversity, CUNY’s MSI campuses endeavor to foster a transformative ripple effect, shaping a more inclusive and equitable future through research and innovation. Beginning in Spring 2023, the City College of New York, in partnership with the Advancing Research Impact in Society (ARIS) National Science Foundation–funded center, embarked on initiatives to understand the existing BI culture, knowledge, and challenges to enhance BI and research development capacity across the CUNY system. This article discusses the pilot efforts and lessons learned from these endeavors.

Interview with Alexander Bauer, outgoing editor of the Journal

Sophie Vigneron, incoming editor of the International Journal of Cultural Property, interviewed Alex Bauer, who was the journal’s editor from 2003 to 2023. Alex is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Queens College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York, and Associate Director of the Sinop Region Archaeological Project, an interdisciplinary archaeological and heritage project on the landscapes and seascapes of the Black Sea coastal community of Sinop (Turkey).

Maintaining and Improving Virtual Call Centers for Public Health: The CUNY Recovery Corps Experience.

In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, individuals who tested positive, exposed contacts, and their families faced significant challenges in accessing essential resources for successful quarantine and isolation. These resources included alternative housing, food access, grocery delivery, missed wage assistance, transportation for household members, medical care, and more. The City University of New York (CUNY) Recovery Corps emerged as an innovative virtual resource navigation service to connect New Yorkers to essential resources and later to vaccinations, treatment, and services for Long COVID. The program prioritized reaching people living in underserved and under-resourced neighborhoods. Over 3years, it made a substantial impact, reaching 374728 New Yorkers and connecting 135147 to crucial resources. Implementing a successful virtual navigation center amidst a global pandemic posed unique challenges. It required well-established systems to provide services, manage staff, build community, and both assure and improve service quality. Continuous quality assurance and process improvement efforts resulted in a nearly 10-point increase in successful client-resource connections program-wide, with individual navigators showing improvements of up to 20%. Staff-led initiatives, such as population-specific resource guides and incentive awards, boosted morale and cohesion. Providing continuous professional development opportunities and requested training including trauma-informed care, self-care, and strategies for managing grief contributed to staff retention and improved client interactions. The CUNY Recovery Corps provides a blueprint for setting up navigation services for emergency response and supporting health and social services. The current paper delves into the intensive quality improvement efforts, program management infrastructure, and staff support that made this program a success. By applying these lessons on establishing and maintaining a virtual call center prioritizing the client's well-being and staff strengths, policymakers and social service leaders can effectively address various health and social service needs proactively rather than rebuilding after each disaster.

Hurricane Katrina survivor now helps NYC students deal with emergencies

Dr. Rhonda Mouton, Director of LaGuardia College Access for Retention and Economic Success (CARES) at LaGuardia Community College (part of the City University of New York), knows what it feels like to have housing uncertainty. In 2005, she and her family fled New Orleans just prior to Hurricane Katrina. She lost her home and her daycare business and had to begin anew not just for her and her daughter but for her extended family.

Hurricane Katrina survivor now helps NYC students deal with emergencies

Dr. Rhonda Mouton, Director of LaGuardia College Access for Retention and Economic Success (CARES) at LaGuardia Community College (part of the City University of New York), knows what it feels like to have housing uncertainty. In 2005, she and her family fled New Orleans just prior to Hurricane Katrina. She lost her home and her daycare business and had to begin anew not just for her and her daughter but for her extended family.

Does OER Research-Based Learning Improve Performance: A Case Study from Students Enrolled in a Community College at City University of New York (CUNY)

This study investigates the effectiveness of Open Education Resources (OER) and research-based learning. A quantitative analysis was conducted on students enrolled in Macroeconomic courses at a City University of New York (CUNY) community college in Spring 2018 and Spring 2019. Prior studies have shown the positive effects of conducting research in natural sciences. Yet, there is a lot to be inquired about regarding the impact of research-based learning on social sciences and the use of OER materials as a cheaper and more equitable alternative to commercial textbooks. Additionally, this study evaluates the academic effectiveness of research-based learning through assessment scores through a new indicator, the growth mindset profile. Findings should be used to assess critically research-based learning applications incorporated with OER materials and open pedagogy, as well as to consider the duration, wide application throughout the program rather than isolated courses, and design of course assignments and research projects to engage students actively and effectively.

Note-taking and Its Impact on Learning, Academic Performance, and Memory

Note-taking is a significant part of students’ academics because it improves their learning and helps them with their memory. Writing effective notes that are concise helps students to understand the information easier and allows them to retrieve information efficiently. Note-taking allows students to organize information and to enhance their cognitive processing. There are many different ways to structure notes such as intentional free notes, outline notes, and matrix notes. Therefore, it is important that students find their own structured way to write effective notes during lecture. The purpose of this research study is to investigate whether effective-note-taking improves the quality of learning and memory retrieval for students. A survey was administered and collected from 200 students of the City College of New York during fall of 2022. The survey questionnaire included Likert-type and open-ended questions, which was used to examine the students’ thoughts, perceptions and their views about the benefits of effective note-taking. The data suggest that student’s ability to note-taking and their method of note-taking is positively correlated with their GPA and performance. Furthermore, most students believe note-taking is vital to have a higher academic performance. Furthermore, the data suggests that the students’ perceptions is that effective note-taking helps them with their memory and information retrieval.

It’s About Time: The Inequitable Distribution of Time as a Resource for College, by Gender and Race/Ethnicity

Existing qualitative research in higher education on students’ work and family commitments already suggests that time as a resource for college is likely not distributed equitably by race/ethnicity or gender. However, the relationship between race/ethnicity, gender, and time as a resource for college has yet to be quantitatively measured in large-scale higher education research. This study explored whether gender or race/ethnicity correlated with differences in time as a resource for college; and further, the extent to which differences in time as a resource for college may be explained by other factors such as age, number of children, and access to childcare. Retrospective survey responses (n = 41,579) on self-reported time use were merged with institutional data records from students at the City University of New York (CUNY), a large diverse public university in the U.S. Women, Black, and Hispanic students were all significantly more time poor than male, White, or Asian students. Age accounted for significant portions of these differences, perhaps because it correlates with increased work and family responsibilities. Having children as well as a student’s access to childcare also explained a significant portion of inequitable distributions of time as a resource for college.

Meta-Analysis of Children's Moral Education in the Digital Era: A Bibliometric Analysis (1977-2021)

This study uses bibliometric methods to conduct a meta-analysis of research on children's moral education in the digital era, published between 1977 and 2021. The study analyzes literature to address questions related to children's moral education in a digitalized society, where digitalization affects various aspects of social life and changes ways of thinking and living. The bibliometric analysis excludes the year 2022. Data was collected to examine the contributions of various authors, research institutions, and countries in this field. The analysis identifies key authors contributing to the field, with Cooney, M., Firth, A., and Herman-Pillath, C. being the most prolific. Leading research institutions include Delft University of Technology, City University of New York, and Cornell University. The United States, the United Kingdom, and China are the top contributing countries. The study also visualizes the types of documents published, with articles being the most common (48.6%), followed by book chapters (27.6%), books (10.0%), reviews (9.0%), conference papers (2.1%), editorials (2.1%), and notes (0.7%). This study highlights the importance of moral education in the digital era, emphasizing that effective methods—such as best practices, socialization, counseling, mindfulness, humor, and supervision—are crucial for children to navigate digital media responsibly. The findings provide valuable insights for families, educators, and policymakers to enhance moral education strategies in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Life Stressors as Predictors of Community College Students’ Course Outcomes: The COVID-19 Pandemic as a Focusing Event

Background or Context: The COVID-19 pandemic may be considered a focusing event that has drawn greater attention to the physical and mental health of community college students. Purpose, Objective, Research Question, or Focus of Study: This study examined community college students’ self-reported life stressors pre- and post-pandemic-onset to identify any reported differences, both in occurrence and in impact on course completion. Research Design: Surveys were collected after the COVID-19 pandemic onset at the City University of New York’s largest community college. The 529 students enrolled in STEM subjects were asked about potentially stressful life events experienced during spring 2020 and how strongly these impacted the time or energy they had for their studies (response rate 88.2%). Conclusions or Recommendations: Students’ reporting of the presence of life stressors, as well as their rating of the impact on their studies, were significantly predictive of subsequent course outcomes. However, stressors reported as beginning prior to the pandemic had a larger and more significant relationship with course outcomes than those reported as beginning after pandemic onset. Further, stressors were already highly prevalent prepandemic, with over three-quarters of students reporting them. Although the pandemic may have drawn attention to the existence and impact of stressors, it may simply be a focusing event that drew heightened attention to a pre-existing issue. Results from this study indicate that life stress may significantly impact the outcomes of community college students even outside of pandemic conditions, suggesting that this is a critical area for community colleges to address.

Abstract 3554: Using All of Us cancer data on the Researcher Workbench to advance career development

Abstract This session will provide an overview of the All of Us Research Program (All of Us) dataset, discuss a mechanism to build the capacity of research institutions using the All of Us dataset, and outline the career benefits researchers experienced from using the dataset. All of Us is building a national health dataset to accelerate medical breakthroughs. It is used by cancer researchers to advance health research and career development. This dataset is large and diverse, both in the data types available as well as the demographics of participants: as of April 2023, health data from 413,450+ participants is available to researchers, from a variety of distinct data types, including survey responses, physical measurements, electronic health records, whole genome sequencing, wearable data, and genotyping arrays, with 75% of participants self-identifying as underrepresented in biomedical research and about 45% of participants self-identifying as racial and ethnic minorities. Researchers already leverage this dataset, with All of Us data used in more than 210 publications across peer-reviewed journals. In addition, this dataset is useful for cancer researchers - All of Us EHR data indicates over 60,700 participants are diagnosed with at least one type of cancer, and more than 10% of research projects underway (725/6,945 as of September 2023) using the All of Us dataset are cancer-related, making it the top condition studied by researchers. To help build capacity at research institutions, All of Us collaborated with the NCI Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD) Partnerships to Advance Cancer Health Equity (PACHE) to develop a Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) titled Administrative Supplements to Support "All of Us" and Health Disparities-Related Pilot Research Projects at NCI CRCHD-Funded PACHE Partnerships. The focus of this NOSI was on P20 and U54 awards associated with research projects led by PACHE researchers interested in exploring the connections between social determinants of health outcomes and populations experiencing cancer health disparities. NIH awarded investigators at the following institutions: City College of New York, University of California, Irvine, and Temple University. Principal investigators of these awards will provide an overview of their work, describe how they analyze the All of Us dataset, and discuss how their use of the dataset has helped advance their career as cancer researchers: Karen Hubbard (City College of New York) Project Title: Relative and Intersectional Analysis of social determinants of Lung Cancer Risk among Black and Hispanic All of Us respondents Hannah Lui Park (University of California, Irvine) Project Title: Improving breast cancer risk assessment and prevention in Asian American women Lin Zhu (Temple University) Project Title: Elucidating the Roles of Metabolic Syndrome and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease among Asian American Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B Citation Format: Karriem S. Watson, Rubin Baskir, Division of Engagement and OutreachAll of Us Research Program, Karen Hubbard, Hannah L. Park, Lin Zhu. Using All of Us cancer data on the Researcher Workbench to advance career development [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 3554.

Are Top Management Teams Compensated as Teams? A Structural Modeling Approach

I develop two empirical models to quantify agency friction caused by moral hazard in top management teams. They capture shareholders’ distinct perspectives on compensating top managers: the Individual Model, in which managers in a firm unilaterally shirk, and the Team Model, in which managers choose effort jointly. The Team Model rationalizes observed compensation better than the Individual Model, underlining the importance of managerial coordination and team-based incentives. This paper also offers novel estimates of agency friction in a team production setting. Risk premium explains a large portion of the pay differential across and within firms. Firm value would have dropped between 4% and 15% if managers shirked. Additional counterfactual estimation suggests that shareholders could reduce the total compensation by up to $17 million if they were to switch from the individual perspective to the team perspective. This paper was accepted by Shivaram Rajgopal, accounting. Funding: This work was supported by the Professional Staff Congress and the City University of New York (PSC-CUNY) [Grant 67780-00 45]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2024.4982 .

The potential epidemiologic, clinical, and economic value of a universal coronavirus vaccine: a modelling study

With efforts underway to develop a universal coronavirus vaccine, otherwise known as a pan-coronavirus vaccine, this is the time to offer potential funders, researchers, and manufacturers guidance on the potential value of such a vaccine and how this value may change with differing vaccine and vaccination characteristics. Using a computational model representing the United States (U.S.) population, the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and the various clinical and economic outcomes of COVID-19 such as hospitalisations, deaths, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) lost, productivity losses, direct medical costs, and total societal costs, we explored the impact of a universal vaccine under different circumstances. We developed and populated this model using data reported by the CDC as well as observational studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. A pan-coronavirus vaccine would be cost saving in the U.S. as a standalone intervention as long as its vaccine efficacy is≥10% and vaccination coverage is≥10%. Every 1% increase in efficacy between 10% and 50% could avert an additional 395,000 infections and save $1.0 billion in total societal costs ($45.3 million in productivity losses, $1.1 billion in direct medical costs). It would remain cost saving even when a strain-specific coronavirus vaccine would be subsequently available, as long as it takes at least 2-3 months to develop, test, and bring that more specific vaccine to the market. Our results provide support for the development and stockpiling of a pan-coronavirus vaccine and help delineate the vaccine characteristics to aim for in development of such a vaccine. The National Science Foundation, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Institute ofGeneral Medical Sciences, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, and the City University of New York.

Differential Prediction for Disadvantaged Students and Schools: The Role of High School Characteristics

Validity studies of college admissions tests have found that, on average, students who are Black or Hispanic earn lower freshman grade-point averages (FGPAs) than predicted by these test scores. This differential prediction is used as a measure of bias. These studies, however, conflate student and school characteristics. The differential prediction affecting minoritized groups may arise in part because they attended high schools in which college enrollees, regardless of race, perform worse than predicted. Using data on students who graduated from New York City public high schools in 2011 and enrolled in the City University of New York, we examined this using college admissions and high school test scores. There was no differential prediction based on race/ethnicity among students within high schools when school characteristics were accounted for. Instead, overprediction of FGPA was associated with the school proportion of enrolled Black and Hispanic students. Overprediction was larger in models with high school test scores.

THE DEVELOPMENT AND UTILIZATION OF IMAGE:NYC: THE INTERACTIVE MAP OF AGING

Abstract Online interactive maps are an effective tool to visualize and understand socio-spatial locations of populations layered across the availability of relevant resources. These maps are integral in efforts to advance policies, programs and planning for specific sociodemographic groups. This presentation will describe the development and impact of IMAGE:NYC, The Interactive Map of Aging by The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) in partnership with the Center for Urban Research at The Graduate Center at the City University of New York. IMAGE:NYC displays the current and projected population of adults aged 65 and older in New York City with overlays of age-friendly resources, services, and amenities at the neighborhood level. The map draws on several data sources such as the 2016-2020 American Community Survey, local and federal voting patterns, and up-to-date information on health, recreational and housing services. The map has served as an invaluable tool for NYC policymakers, planners, researchers, health care and social service providers. In addition, the IMAGE:NYC model has also been replicated by Rutgers University to create similar maps for two counties in New Jersey. This session will demonstrate the utility of this mapping tool and concrete ways to develop a similar map in other localities.

Investigating Online versus Face-to-Face Course Dropout: Why Do Students Say They Are Leaving?

Despite more focused attention in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, high online attrition remains both a concern and a mystery; gaps in our knowledge exist as to why students so often do not complete online courses. Pre-pandemic, and using a sample of 780 students who dropped out of fully online courses (or the same course face-to-face) from a large university system in the Northeast U.S., students were explicitly asked about their specific reasons for course withdrawal. All students enrolled in a fully online course (or a face-to-face section of the same course) at the City University of New York (CUNY) in fall 2015 were invited to take the online survey from which this study data was taken. Results indicate that there were distinct differences in the patterns of reasons given by online and face-to-face students: although the perceived quality of the instructor/instruction was deemed important to student persistence in both modalities, it seemed to be of greater importance face-to-face than online. Furthermore, issues related to time were found to be more prominent reasons for dropping for online learners than face-to-face learners. Findings from this study shed new light on the impetus for online attrition, with implications for online policy and course design in a post-pandemic era.

Weighing In: Faculty Recommendations for Policy and Practice at Post-Remedial Community Colleges

ABSTRACT Considering the importance of faculty’s role in policymaking – especially when related to student success – this study provided a comprehensive analysis of faculty’s perceived obstacles to student success in post-remedial academia, as well as their suggestions for improving outcomes. This study analyzed survey feedback from faculty (N = 849) at 12 different colleges at the City University of New York (CUNY), from both 2-year and 4-year institutions, across a range of disciplines, from both tenured and untenured faculty, and from both part-time and full- time faculty. Respondents, overall, identified worsening academic literacies, a reduction in academic standards, and an overall reduction in student success since developmental education has been phased out. Faculty also suggested an array of policy, curricular, and classroom-level solutions that would help student outcomes in post-remedial academia. These included reinstating exam-based placement protocols, developing students’ academic literacies more rigorously, and re-offering pre-requisite (remedial) coursework.

Invited Symposium 1: Traumatic Brain Injury: Highlighting the Contributions of Dr. Harvey S. Levin Ph.D., ABPP-CN, FACSM 1946 - 2022

Invited Symposium 1: Traumatic Brain Injury: Highlighting the Contributions of Dr. Harvey S. Levin Ph.D., ABPP-CN, FACSM 1946 - 2022

Teacher Certification during Multiple Pandemics in the Epicenter of it All

Teacher certification exams were put on hold as New York City became the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis in March of 2020. State officials closed testing centers and school buildings, and teacher candidates began to panic as administrators at their student teaching placements worked feverishly to adjust. This changed teacher candidates’ ability to complete the performance assessment required for certification (edTPA). Concurrently, COVID-19 was disproportionally affecting the Black community (Phillips et al., 2020) and areas with limited financial resources. Based on the demographics of students at The City University of New York, there were extensive health challenges for many of its Black and low-income teacher candidates and their families. Prior to the pandemic, there were already concerns about its challenges and costs both for teacher candidates and for schools of education may be a barrier to entry for those already underrepresented in the teaching profession (Davis, 2015).

Eanes Leads York College into the Future

Dr. Berenecea Johnson Eanes, president of York College (City University of New York), embraces creating and sustaining supportive networks, noting that succeeding in academic leadership requires like‐minded people who share your goals.