US Higher Education Institutions Research Articles

Unsafe at any Bandwidth: Towards Understanding Risk Factors for Ransomware in Higher Education

United States higher education institutions host an assortment of services that are accessible via public IP addresses. The wide variety of network services and the important personal and institutional data stored on such services make higher education institutions particularly desirable targets for attackers. This study analyses the vulnerabilities found through Shodan scans on these networks, in conjunction with institutional characteristics data taken from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), to examine correlations between an institution’s characteristics and the vulnerabilities found on its networks. By exploring this data, the study aims to bring awareness to the current state of higher education institution network security and determine vulnerability trends between certain institutions. Our analysis reveals that most institutions have many medium impacts but highly exploitable vulnerabilities, with most being on Apache HTTP servers. We also present that the most significant indicators of an institution’s vulnerability are its enrolment and yearly total expenses. We investigate how smaller institutions have lower numbers of vulnerabilities, but their vulnerabilities have the potential for higher impact. We conclude that there is a significant chance of ransomware risk in US higher educational institutions.

Unsafe at any Bandwidth: Towards Understanding Risk Factors for Ransomware in Higher Education

United States higher education institutions host an assortment of services that are accessible via public IP addresses. The wide variety of network services and the important personal and institutional data stored on such services make higher education institutions particularly desirable targets for attackers. This study analyses the vulnerabilities found through Shodan scans on these networks, in conjunction with institutional characteristics data taken from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), to examine correlations between an institution’s characteristics and the vulnerabilities found on its networks. By exploring this data, the study aims to bring awareness to the current state of higher education institution network security and determine vulnerability trends between certain institutions. Our analysis reveals that most institutions have many medium impacts but highly exploitable vulnerabilities, with most being on Apache HTTP servers. We also present that the most significant indicators of an institution’s vulnerability are its enrolment and yearly total expenses. We investigate how smaller institutions have lower numbers of vulnerabilities, but their vulnerabilities have the potential for higher impact. We conclude that there is a significant chance of ransomware risk in US higher educational institutions.

The intersection of industry and academia: assessing the perceptions and experiences of industry professionals who transition to academic roles in higher education in the United States

ABSTRACT Limited scholarly work has been conducted on the perceptions and experiences of industry professionals transitioning to full-time academic positions in US higher education institutions. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with former industry practitioners who transitioned to full-time academic roles to explore their motivations and challenges associated with the transition from industry to academia, as well as their desires to remain in higher education or return to the industry. Despite career-related challenges, participants valued collegial relationships and the direct impact on students, fostering a strong desire to remain in academia. They highlighted the need for improved leadership pertaining to preparation for academic careers, fair compensation, and enhanced training and mentoring support for working with students. This study provides valuable insights into the experiences of industry professionals in academia, emphasising the importance of comprehensive support and understanding in US higher education institutions.

Home away from home: international students' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of US higher education.

This study focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international students' overall experiences. We interviewed 22 international students from 11 countries and 17 universities in the US who participated in a large longitudinal study that aims to understand the physical and emotional wellbeing of young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Guided by Bronfenbrenner's ecological model, the findings suggested that students were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic at interpersonal, institutional, political, and personal levels. The results showed that the pandemic exacerbated existing stressors such as the lack of social support from family, various visa regulations, competitive and limited job opportunities, discrimination and xenophobia, particularly toward students from Asia, and financial burdens. Additionally, the findings highlighted students' perceived loss of the "American dream" and the uneven return on investment due to the pandemic. This study reveals the importance of US higher education institutions in supporting international students during the pandemic, particularly in terms of their sense of belonging. Recommendations for institutions drawn from the findings are proposed to better support international students during times of COVID-19 and beyond.

A Descriptive Quantitative Exploration of College Students of Promise During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The term Students of Promise is used for students considered to have a heightened risk status, which not only has a negative effect on students but also on the higher education institutions they attend. This quantitative study explored how the COVID-19 virus has impacted student populations at various US higher education institutions and to uncover what specific issues (financial, emotional, social) impacted students during this unprecedented time in light of student categories and student demographics. This study found statistical significance in Students of Promise characteristics and presents data on the behaviors, activities, and tools necessary for success, concerns surrounding COVID-19, and opinions on higher education factors. Implications are also discussed to include a deeper understanding of Students of Promise needs, social mobility, and advising. This study shows that Students of Promise continue to need academic resources but also ways to lower stress levels and to afford college.

Campus sustainability plans: past, present and future

PurposeThis study aims to describe the different elements included in campus sustainability plans (CSPs) in colleges and universities across the USA.Design/methodology/approachIt examines the contents and specific areas of emphasis of 155 CSPs using a document analysis approach. It determines the types and characteristics of the institutions that have adopted these plans.FindingsThe first CSP was written in 2000 and at least 155 plans have been written as of 2021. Only a small percentage of US institutions of higher education have a written CSP, and among those, large public institutions had the most. The quality of these plans varied greatly, indicating a lack of standardization. Engagement was the most discussed topic, and some aspect of campus operations was mentioned in every plan. Social equity was the least prevalent topic.Research limitations/implicationsThis research focusing on US colleges and universities may have overlooked plans that have other titles. Nevertheless, it is a fairly comprehensive analysis of campus sustainability planning efforts to date in the USA.Practical implicationsThis study has important practical implications for institutions that aspire to craft their first sustainability plan or those that wish to revise their existing plan in a comprehensive manner.Originality/valueThis study builds on a conceptual foundation of plan review by several other authors but presents a more robust and comprehensive method of application specific to CSPs. It fills a wide gap in the literature on the quality and content of CSPs by examining over five times more plans than were analyzed in an older study and addresses some of the research questions from previous articles.

Disrupted or sustained? Chinese international students’ perceptions of transnational hybrid learning amid politics and pandemic

Impacted by the global COVID-19 crisis and its sociopolitical shockwaves, pre-existing physical mobility patterns and traditional study-abroad experiences have been thoroughly disrupted and transformed. US higher education institutions have utilized the practices of transnational hybrid learning to sustain the quality and progress of international higher education. This article focuses on a study programme that integrates online and offline learning in Shanghai, China, coordinated by a non-profit international higher education exchange agency in partnership with eight US universities and one Chinese university from August 2020 to June 2021. Through semi-structured interviews with 32 Chinese students, this article finds that transnational hybrid learning offers students greater geographical and time flexibility, room for self-paced learning and controls on health risks while ensuring face-to-face interactions and physical activities. In addition, the localization of international education might motivate Chinese students to consider their career development that balances their interests and career prospects in response to political and economic uncertainties. However, the communication and learning gaps, weakened intercultural communication, sustained sociocultural alienation and contradictions of two sociocultural contexts render the overall programme experience less desirable. In sum, this article identifies the potential of virtual mobility beyond geographical and policy constraints in transforming and reimagining the practices of transnational higher education in a post-pandemic world.

Abolitionist Pedagogies, Pedagogical Labor

Abolitionist Pedagogies, Pedagogical Labor

Crisis communication and learning: the US higher education’s response to a global pandemic

PurposeThis study investigates the processes that the US universities and colleges used to learn during the COVID-19 pandemic and the factors that facilitated and impeded their learning processes.Design/methodology/approachTo address this study’s research questions, this study used a crisis communication and learning lens to interview crisis response team members from 30 US higher education institutions in May 2020 (the first pandemic semester). In October 2020 (the second pandemic semester), this study conducted follow-up interviews with 25 of the original interviewees. Overall, this study conducted 55 interviews.FindingsLearning during the COVID-19 pandemic is facilitated by a recognition of a serious deficiency in the current system and impeded by the need to act quickly. The findings demonstrate the process by which decisions, actions and strategies emerged during crises.Originality/valueThis investigation illustrates how crises can prompt organizational learning while demonstrating the critical role of internal and external resources in the learning process.

How to Improve Early Warning Systems at US Institutions of Higher Education

How to Improve Early Warning Systems at US Institutions of Higher Education

Implementation of US Higher Educational Institutions Experience in Formation of Students’ Civic Consciousness in Ukraine

Problem of formation Ukrainian students` civic consciousness is in the focus of research in philosophical and psychological and pedagogical sciences of Ukraine. United States of America is an example of the formation of civic consciousness in a democratic society. Education of citizenship of students on the basis of respect for the rights of every person, the recognition of the rule of law, conscious voluntary citizens to perform their duties and care for the common good is a key concept in US philosophy of higher education. This concept provides the priority of training students as responsible members of the democratic society to conscious activity for the benefit of the community. It is established that education Citizenship of student youth in the United States has a universal public nature. The state, higher education and social institutions are involved in this process environment (public organizations, mass media, institutions of the sphere culture, etc.). Students of higher educational institutions have been considered a resource for future social development in the United States of America that make a significant contribution to social transformation in society. Formation of students’ civic consciousness upbrings certain personal qualities, skills and attitudes necessary for a citizen of a democratic society.

Measuring the impact of organizational characteristics on the sustainability performance of US institutions of higher education

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to determine how organizational characteristics at higher education institutions (HEI) influence their sustainability performance as measured by the advancement of sustainability in higher education’s sustainability tracking, assessment and rating system (STARS).Design/methodology/approachThis analysis identified 11 independent variables to measure the impact of four general organizational characteristics – structure, commitment, culture and planning – on sustainability performance. Through an examination of relevant literature, especially that specific to HEI, 13 hypotheses were formulated to test the impact of these organizational characteristics on sustainability performance and to explore the relationships between these characteristics. Using self-reported STARS data from US HEI, a variety of statistical methods, including ordinary least squares regression, ANOVA, Chi-square test and bi-variate correlation, were used.FindingsThe analysis suggests that HEI with both a sustainability office and a sustainability committee, more staff in a sustainability office, a more comprehensive sustainability plan and earlier and more frequent STARS submissions had higher STARS scores. Furthermore, doctoral-granting HEI had higher STARS scores and were more likely to have the organizational characteristics of higher-performing HEI.Originality/valueAlthough other studies have used STARS data to examine organizational characteristics, this study includes more organizational characteristics, and it explores both their relationship to sustainability performance and their relationship with each other.

A renewed purpose for public serving professionals focused graduate programs in global higher education ecosystem

This explanatory study explored what graduate programs should embrace in educating public serving professionals to become able to respond to paramount challenges unknown at the time of studies. For conceptual frameworks, the study employed (a) principal-agent theory on how predominant philanthropic organizations pushed the creation of globalized higher education industry post-World War II (WWII) and (b) world-systems theory to delineate the spatial penetration of the hegemonic intellectual core. The study found that the post-WWII’s geopolitically driven overseas engagements by US higher education institutions (HEI) orchestrated by well-resourced philanthropic giants such as Ford Foundation made a ground for what we see today: a globalized HEI industry governed by the core with the hegemonic power, termed for the study as a global higher education ecosystem. The study noted that irrespective of if the concerned HEI occupies the position in the core or not, rootedness in the place and its people is the key for public focused programs precisely because of their nature of public-ness. The study then drew three programmatic constructs as referential for late comer HEI to assume meaningful roles for the society they serve through their public serving professionals focused graduate programs: (1) contextualization of globally standardized academic contents into classroom discussions by connecting with cases/situations surrounding given society; (2) positioning the program as a post-entry milestone for public sector professionals to become better prepared state-building force by focusing on the linkage of theories and practices; and (3) HEI specific, unique intellectual identify exploration that is anchored to the place and to its own constituency. The study concluded that today’s graduate programs designed for public serving professionals could frame its objective, as a renewed purpose, to educate academically informed state-builders with the capacity to craft and perform own actions as new realities arise in front of them.

University air travel and greenhouse gas mitigation: an analysis of higher education climate policies

PurposeNumerous higher education institutions have created policies that aim to reduce their carbon footprints. Most policies focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions related to energy production and consumption. One area that has received less attention has been greenhouse gas emissions from university air travel. The purpose of this paper is to understand how US higher education institutions address university air travel emissions.Design/methodology/approachThe present research used qualitative document analysis to examine the climate policies of 44 doctoral institutions. The analysis sought to establish themes across a range of climate policy documents from the sampled institutions. Intercoder consensus, peer review and member checking were used to increase the reliability and validity of the analysis.FindingsFive major themes emerged from the documents: no consideration of air travel, lack of quality data for accurate consideration, recommendations to offset air travel emissions, support for videoconferencing and other suggestions for mitigation. These themes are discussed in detail, as are practical suggestions and implications stemming from this and related research.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is based on a sample of US doctoral institutions and their public documents. It is therefore limited in its generalizability.Practical implicationsInstitutions need to create a culture in which individual behavior changes toward lower travel are supported. Though problematic, institutions in the USA need to strive to implement suggested offset programs. Given the ubiquity of virtual presence, institutions need to further support videoconferencing.Originality/valueTo the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is among the first to examine how higher education institutions in the USA address air travel emissions.

Designing COVID-19 vaccine mandates in colleges and universities: a roadmap to the 10 key questions.

COVID-19 transmission among students, faculty, and staff at US institutions of higher education (IHEs) is a pressing concern, especially with the dominance of the highly contagious Delta variant and emergence of the Omicron variant. From the start of the pandemic to May 26, 2021, >700,000 cases were linked to US colleges and universities. To protect their populations and surrounding communities, IHE administrators are increasingly considering COVID-19 vaccine requirements. Roughly one-quarter of the nearly 4,000 college and university campuses across the US have announced COVID-19 vaccine mandates for students or employees. However, deciding to require vaccination is only the first of multiple decisions, as IHEs face complex issues of how to design and refine their mandates, including whether to require boosters. Mandates vary significantly in stringency, implementation, impact on members of the college or university community, and net benefit to the institution. This essay examines 10 key questions that an IHE must face in designing or refining a COVID-19 vaccination mandate. Showing that these 10 questions were carefully considered may be crucial if the institution's mandate is challenged. Ultimately, how an IHE designs its mandate may make the difference between meaningful risk mitigation that advances institutional goals and benefits students, faculty, and staff versus a public health failure that erodes trust, raises equity concerns, threatens to undermine preexisting vaccination requirements, and divides the campus.

Old Neoliberalism in the US University

Old Neoliberalism in the US University

Integrating disability and developmental theories for an equitable inclusive education: towards transformative educational praxes

The US higher education institutions are legally bound to provide equal educational opportunities for diverse learners. This paper contends that despite the growing interest in implementing more inclusive pedagogy, those efforts still fall short of systematically addressing intersecting, oppressive, and anti-ableist practices in the classroom. I call for a theory that frames disability in the context of learning and development and overcomes dichotomized, reductionist and individualistic notions of disability and learning. Drawing on Critical Disability Studies, Vygotsky’s theory of defectology and the Transformative Activist Stance, this paper outlines a transformative pedagogy framework for inclusive, equitable, and anti-ableist education for all learners.

Survey of Available Information on the Risks and Contraindications of Oral Hormonal Contraceptives on Higher Education Websites

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is one of the most common cardiovascular disorders after myocardial infarction and stroke. Primary manifestations include deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, which are often preventable and often underdiagnosed. Patients with inherited thrombophilia or family history of VTE are at increased risk for VTE. Acquired VTE risk factors include the use of oral hormonal contraceptives, such as combined oral contraceptive pills (COCPs) containing estrogen and progestin. Women with a family history of VTE are advised not to take COCPs; possible alternatives include use of progestin-only contraceptive pills or non-oral contraceptive methods. Currently it is unknown if young women at college are given information regarding this potential risk when seeking oral contraceptives. Thus, higher education websites can provide a potential venue to promote awareness of this risk. In this study, we reviewed a sample of higher education websites in the US to assess availability of information on oral hormonal contraceptives and their risks for young women.Methods: US higher education institutions for this survey and categorized into 5 major types: community colleges, liberal arts institutions, private for-profit institutions, public non-profit institutions, and private non-profit institutions; 25 institutions from each category were included for analysis. The study was conducted using the Google search terms “birth control pills,” “oral contraceptive pills,” OR plus the university name. Mention of contraindications, risk factors, and blood clot warnings was noted for each website and categorized as to whether the information appeared on the institution's webpage or as a link to an external reference source. Information listed was further classified by risk factors and contraindications mentioned.Results: A total of 125 US higher education institution websites were assessed. Eighteen (14.4%) of the 125 offered information on COCP-related clotting risks. Community colleges and private, for-profit institutions had no information on birth control available either on their webpage or through an external link. Only 3 of 25 (12%) liberal arts institutions discussed clotting risk information. Five of the 25 (20%) public, nonprofit institutions surveyed provided information on their student webpages; three of these 5 offering information through their website as well as through a link to an external website. Of the private, non-profit institutions surveyed, 2 (8%) provided information through their institution's website and 4 (16%) provided information through external sources. Regarding contraindications, 2 (8%) liberal arts schools provided information on their website only, identical to the percentages seen with private and public non-profit institutions. Additionally, 4 (16%) private non-profit universities and 2 (8%) public, non-profit institutions provided information only through external sources. Two (8%) public non-profit institutions provided information both on their website and through external links. Overall, only 6 (4.8%) of the 125 institutions described family history or inherited prothrombotic blood disorder as a potential contraindication or risk factor for COCP-related clotting, all 6 of which were public or private non-profit institutions.Conclusion: The results of this study raise the question of whether higher education institutions are providing the appropriate risk and contraindication information for women considering oral contraceptives as a birth control method. This suggests that there is an opportunity for more birth control education to be provided by higher education institutions. [Display omitted] DisclosuresSarmiento: Quest Diagnostics: Current Employment. Sahud: Quest Diagnostics: Current Employment. Wong: Quest Diagnostics: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company.

Balancing finances, politics, and public health: international student enrollment and reopening plans at US higher education institutions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Drawing from resource dependence theory, this study explores the extent to which international student enrollment related to institutional decisions to shift to in-person instructional strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. We focus our study particularly on July 2020, a time during which tensions around international students’ legal status in the US were especially high. Our results suggest that leaders at private not-for-profit institutions were significantly more likely to shift instructional strategies to include more in-person instruction, thus allowing more international students to enroll but also placing at risk the health of individuals on their campuses and in their local communities. A similar result was not found for public institutions. These results speak to the extent to which private institutions in the US have become financially dependent on international students’ tuition and have clear implications for the financial futures of US higher education institutions.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10734-021-00768-7.

Practical Use of Media Education Components in the Development of Linguistic and Cultural Patterns by Foreign Students in the Process of their Adaptation Training in the US Higher Education Institutions

Practical Use of Media Education Components in the Development of Linguistic and Cultural Patterns by Foreign Students in the Process of their Adaptation Training in the US Higher Education Institutions