US Universities Research Articles

From high school to higher education: Is recreational marijuana a consumption amenity for US college students?

AbstractThis paper examines how recreational marijuana legalization (RML) affects first‐time college enrollment in the US using a unique college‐level dataset and various estimation methods such as difference‐in‐differences and event study. I find that RML increases enrollments by approximately up to 9%, without compromising degree completion or graduation rate, and it boosts college competitiveness by offering a positive amenity, as evidenced by the rise in out‐of‐state enrollments relative to neighboring states. In addition, I find no evidence that RML affects college prices, quality, or in‐state enrollment. This effect is stronger for non‐selective public colleges in early‐adopting RML states.

CEO compensation: US college student and adult perceptions

Purpose This study aims to understand differences in perceptions of CEO compensation between working adults and business students in the USA before and after reading CEO pay information. Design/methodology/approach Participants completed a survey about their perceptions of chief executive officer (CEO) compensation before and after reading CEO compensation information that included the median CEO-to-employee ratio and salary in 2021. Findings Working adults and business students had similar levels of concern about CEO compensation. Participants were more concerned with CEO compensation after reading information about CEO pay but also believed CEO pay was more justified, contrary to equity theory (Adams, 1965). Among the student and adult samples, women and noninvestors were more likely to have concerns about CEO compensation than other participants. Practical implications Individuals may not understand the components of CEO compensation, and the size of CEO salaries may be difficult to comprehend. Educators and the media should consider presenting CEO compensation information in a different way, for example, how long it takes a CEO to earn as much as an average employee does annually, for the public to understand how much more CEOs are paid than their employees. Originality/value Little research exists on CEO compensation understanding and concerns. This research opens the opportunity for future studies on CEO compensation, for example, that consider variables other than CEO pay (e.g. equity and other forms of compensation) and what individuals believe CEOs do that justifies their high compensation.

Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and its association with sustainable dietary behaviors, sociodemographic factors, and lifestyle: a cross-sectional study in US University students

BackgroundPromoting healthy and sustainable diets is increasingly important and the Mediterranean Diet (MD) has been recognized as an appropriate example that can be adapted to different countries. Considering that the college years are the time when US young adults are most likely to adopt unhealthy eating habits, the present study assessed adherence to the MD and the sustainability of dietary behaviors in a nationally representative sample of US university students, aiming to identify crucial levers for improving their eating behaviors.MethodsMD adherence and the adoption of healthy and sustainable dietary patterns were assessed through the KIDMED and the Sustainable-HEalthy-Diet (SHED Index questionnaires, respectively, administered through an online survey that also included sociodemographic and behavioral questions. Non-parametric and logistic regression analyses were performed.ResultsA sample of 1485 participants (median (IQR) age 21.0 (19.0–22.0); 59% women) correctly completed the survey. A medium adherence to the MD was the most prevalent (47%). According to multivariate logistic regression analysis, the likelihood of being more compliant with the MD increased when meeting physical activity recommendations, having a high SHED Index score, having the willingness to purchase and eat healthy and sustainable dishes, eating ultra-processed plant-based meat alternatives foods daily, and regularly attending the university canteen.ConclusionsEncouraging dietary patterns rich in plant-based foods and with a moderate intake of animal products is crucial to increasing the adoption of healthy and sustainable diets, and university dining services represent a suitable setting to build a supportive environment that educates students on human and planetary health.

The joint operation of five career indecision factors: A longitudinal examination

AbstractWhile extensive research has explored the taxonomy of career indecision, a longitudinal examination of the joint operation of major indecision factors is lacking. Tracking a sample of US college students (n = 261) over three time points, the current study examined a mediation model involving lack of readiness, neuroticism/negative affectivity, interpersonal conflicts, need for information, and choice/commitment anxiety. The results showed that need for information mediated the positive predictions of lack of readiness and interpersonal conflicts for subsequent choice/commitment anxiety. However, neuroticism/negative affectivity did not predict need for information while controlling for lack of readiness and interpersonal conflicts. Therefore, the current study suggests that motivational and interpersonal barriers could undermine readiness for committing to a career direction because these barriers could impede information collection. The theoretical and practical implications of this study are deliberated along with its limitations and recommendations for future studies.

American and British Universities’ Experience in Forming Student Mindsets

TThe paper focuses on issues of building students’ mindsets at leading British and US universities according to global universities’ ratings and serving as elite training centers for international organizations. The major research question aims to uncover the key ideology that shaped the Anglo-Saxon higher education system. The ideology that shaped the AngloSaxon higher education system is evident through the design of Social Sciences and Humanities programs at British and US universities, targeting world leaders and global organization employees. The research method employed was contentanalysis of a range of international studies devoted to educational pathways of leaders,leadership training programs,structure and contents of the two eminent undergraduate Oxford University 3-year courses: Philosophy, Politics and Economics (BA), Global Governance and Diplomacy (M. Sc.), an interdisciplinary program Human, Social and Political Sciences (HSPS) offered at the University of Cambridge, as well as missions of a select world leading universities (the case of Harvard). The authors conclude that graduates of European and US university programs tend to identify themselves as “exceptional” and privileged Euro-Atlantic actors of international relations, which, in turn, largely influence the current state of global affairs.

Addressing imperial evasion: toward an anti-imperialist pedagogy in teacher education

ABSTRACT Despite the pervasive impact of US imperialism, it is often ignored in US schools and teacher preparation programs. This paper introduces the concept of imperial evasion, which refers to the process of ignoring and denying imperialism and its effects. The authors argue that it is imperative that educators work to interrogate imperialist ideologies through curricula, and prepare future educators to disrupt such ideologies, policies, and practices in schools. Using a collaborative scholarly personal narrative approach, the authors discuss their experiences and approach to designing and teaching a course on migration and education at a US university. Ultimately, this paper responds to calls to disrupt imperial ideologies in education by (1) providing a framework for identifying and naming imperial evasion and how it operates through schooling; and (2) describing and reflecting on curricular and pedagogical approaches to disrupting such evasions in a teacher education course.

Role of information sources in adherence to COVID-19-related safety measures among college students in the USA

Objective During the COVID-19 pandemic, information sources such as public officials, national/international media, social media, public health agencies, college/university officials, etc., played a vital role in adherence to safety measures, including hygiene practices, social distancing, and mask-wearing. We analyze the role of trusted sources of information in adherence to safety measures and explore potential disparities among US college students during the pandemic. Methods We analyze Healthy Minds Study (HMS) 2020–2021 COVID Module data and utilize multivariable logistic regressions controlling for sociodemographic and COVID-19-related factors. Subgroup analyses were conducted by gender, citizenship status, race, and educational level. Results Significant differences were found in adherence to safety measures when information was received from different sources. Demographic subgroups within the college student population depended on different sources of COVID-19-related information. Adherence to COVID-19-related safety measures also differed by demographic characteristics. Conclusion This analysis supports the necessity for targeted health-related messaging among US college students.

Combining human and artificial intelligence for enhanced AI literacy in higher education

This paper seeks to contribute to the emergent literature on Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy in higher education. Specifically, this convergent, mixed methods case study explores the impact of employing Generative AI (GenAI) tools and cyber-social teaching methods on the development of higher education students’ AI literacy. Three 8-week courses on advanced digital technologies for education in a graduate program in the College of Education at a mid-western US university served as the study sites. Data were based on 37 participants’ experiences with two different types of GenAI tools–a GenAI reviewer and GenAI image generator platforms. The application of the GenAI review tool relied on precision fine-tuning and transparency in AI-human interactions, while the AI image generation tools facilitated the participants’ reflection on their learning experiences and AI's role in education. Students’ interaction with both tools was designed to foster their learning regarding GenAI's strengths and limitations, and their responsible application in educational contexts. The findings revealed that the participants appeared to feel more comfortable using GenAI tools after their course experiences. The results also point to the students’ enhanced ability to understand and critically assess the value of AI applications in education. This study contributes to existing work on AI in higher education by introducing a novel pedagogical approach for AI literacy development showcasing the synergy between humans and artificial intelligence.

Risk perception and use of personal care products by race and ethnicity among a diverse population.

Personal care products can contain phthalates, parabens and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals. However, information on perception of risks from personal care product use and how use varies by race and ethnicity is limited. We evaluated differences in personal care product use and risk perception in a diverse sample of participants recruited from a US college campus and online. A self-administered questionnaire captured information on sociodemographic factors, personal care product use trends and perception of risk associated with them. Pearson's chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used to determine differences in personal care product use and risk perception by race and ethnicity. Ordered logistic regressions were performed to measure associations between personal care product use frequency across racial/ethnic categories. Participant (n = 770) mean age was 22.8 years [standard deviation ± 6.0]. Daily use of make-up (eye = 29.3%; other = 38.0%; all = 33.7%) and skincare products (55%) was most frequently reported among Middle Eastern and North African participants. Non-Hispanic Black participants reported the highest daily use of hairstyling products (52%) and lotion (78%). Daily make-up use was more frequently reported among females (41%) than males (24.6%). Levels of agreement were similar across racial and ethnic groups, that personal care product manufacturers should be required to list all ingredients (≥87%). There were significant associations between the frequency of use of some personal care products and racial/ethnic categories when the use frequencies of participants from other racial/ethnic categories were compared to the use frequency of non-Hispanic White participants. There were significant differences in daily use frequency, levels of trust, perception of safety and health risks associated with personal care products by race and ethnicity, underscoring that there may be different sources of exposure to chemicals in personal care products by race and ethnicity.

Army Orientations and Student Handbooks: Two Perspectives on Student Exchange during the US Occupation of Japan

In 1951, the largest cohort of Japanese exchange students in history arrived in the United States. Between 1949 and 1952, around 787 Japanese nationals received Government Aid and Relief in Occupied Areas (GARIOA) scholarships, intended to cultivate a learned group of people to spread American ideas in Japan. The purpose was to provide Japanese university graduates with first-hand experience of US democracy; earning advanced degrees was secondary. The Army produced elaborate orientations and films to explain this goal to GARIOA recipients, who were among the only Japanese able to travel abroad and attend US universities. Because students found Army materials insufficient in preparing them for the challenges of studying and living in the United States and because they wanted to use the GARIOA program to their own ends, they wrote their own handbooks. A prime example is A Handbook for Japanese Students Going to America (Beikoku seikatsu sama zama), 1956, by the Exchange Student Association (Beikoku ryūgakusei kai). This article argues that Army orientations and student handbooks described Occupation-era educational exchange from two different perspectives and helped both groups to achieve their version of success and to engage in a larger conversation about the political role of exchange students in Cold War diplomacy.

Bargaining identity: A transnational multilingual student's fight against raciolinguistic positioning in English departments

This study contributes to the limited research on linguistic racism in higher education settings. It examines a transnational multilingual student's experiences with the English language and English literature across Indian and US universities, and the influences of language ideologies on her academic pursuits. Qualitative methods were used to collect data that include the student's written reflection on her experiences, talks-around-text interviews, and artifacts of her academic work. Raciolinguistics and positioning theory support data analysis. Findings indicate that, across Indian and US universities, the student was continuously positioned by others as lacking in English competence, resulting in academic and psychological trauma for her. However, the student also exercised agentive resistance and fought to reposition herself as a legitimate speaker of English and student of English literature. Implications are offered for research, theory, and educational practice.

Associations between Illicit ADHD Medication Use and Aspects of Mental Distress Among College Students

The illicit use of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) medication has become a prevalent issue on college campuses. Illicit ADHD medications are used without a medical prescription. The concern is that these medications are psychostimulants that may alter brain chemistry and affect the quality of brain maturity in individuals who do not need them medically, which potentially can affect mental health. An alarmingly high percent of reported illicit ADHD medication users are college aged students between the age of 18 and 22 years. Little is known about the effect of illicit ADHD medication use on mental well-being among college students. Thus, the purpose of the study was to assess the impact of illicit ADHD medication use on different aspects of mental distress among college students. The study collected 702 responses from undergraduate students at several US colleges and included self-reported data on illicit Adderall use, age and symptoms of mental distress. The anonymous survey was created in Google Forms. Mental distress was evaluated through The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). The data were analyzed in SPSS, Version 28.0, using Pearson’s Correlation Coeffcient. Of the 72.5% of the participants who reported using ADHD medication without a prescription, 71.4% reported academic reasons as their motivation for use. There is a positive correlation between feelings of worthlessness and illicit ADHD medication use (p<0.05). Age was negatively correlated with feelings nervous (p<0.01) and restless or fidgety (p<0.01). Additionally, a negative correlation was found between age and being able to do only half or less of what you would normally have been able to do (p<0.01). On the other hand, illicit ADHD medication use was negatively correlated with feeling that everything was an effort (p<0.05), as well feeling unable to work or carry out normal activities (p<0.01). Our results suggest that students who use ADHD medication illicitly are more likely to experience symptoms of mental distress. Interestingly, our findings propose that the younger the age of use, the higher the risk of mental distress. We received no support or financial grants. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Stressed Out: Identifying Inequities and Underlying Causes Associated With Pre-med Student Stress

Stress is among the top mental health concerns of US college students and hypothesized to be especially high among pre-med students. Yet, the extent to which pre-meds’ stress differs from other college science students’ stress, as well as the underlying factors contributing to pre-meds’ stress are understudied. Given that stress is disproportionately likely to impact students who are already underrepresented and underserved in science and medicine, it is integral to identify what underlies student stress. Study Objective: We conducted a sequential mixed-methods study to identify what factors exacerbate pre-med stress and the severity of pre-med stress compared to students who are not pre-med. Hypothesis: We hypothesized the competitive nature of being pre-med would account for the majority of pre-med stress and that their overall stress levels would be higher than those of their counterparts. Methods: In Study 1, we conducted an exploratory qualitative interview study with 30 undergraduate pre-meds to assess what aspects of being pre-med exacerbate their stress. We built on this work in Study 2, with a survey of 551 science undergraduates to (a) assess how generalizable the findings from Study 1 were among undergraduate pre-meds at scale and to (b) assess whether students with different career tracks express different levels of stress. Our specific research questions were: 1) On average, do students perceive that pre-meds have higher stress than non-pre-med science majors? 2) Do pre-meds report higher levels of academic stress, perfectionism, social comparison, and perceived competitive environment in science college courses? 3) What aspects of being pre-med induce stress? and 4) What recommendations do pre-meds have for instructors and institutions to decrease pre-med stress? We used open coding methods and regressions to analyze our data. Results: We found that most students perceived that pre-med students had higher stress than their peers. However, while pre-meds reported higher levels of social comparison, they did not express higher academic stress, perfectionism, or perceived competition compared to their peers in science. Regardless of career path, being a woman or non-binary, identifying as a person excluded because of their ethnicity or race (PEER), financially unstable and having a lower GPA significantly predicted a higher academic stress score. Aspects of the medical school application underlying pre-med stress include worrying about not being good enough or maintaining a competitive GPA. Conclusion: This study highlights the levels of stress among pre-meds do not differ compared to non-pre-med science undergraduates, but that women or non-binary students, PEERs, students who are financially unstable and those with lower GPAs are more likely to experience stress in the context of undergraduate science. This work provides student-produced recommendations for ways in which instructors and institutions can decrease the stress associated with being a pre-med student. This study was funded by an ASU Online Undergraduate Research Scholars program seed grant. Graduate student Mohammed is funded by an NSF GRFP #026257-001 and PI Cooper is funded by an NSF CAREER #2143671. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Trends in Diagnosed Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder in US College Students, 2017-2022

Trends in Diagnosed Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder in US College Students, 2017-2022

Retrospective perceptions of support for career development among PhD graduates from US and New Zealand universities

PurposePhD graduates are entering an increasing range of careers, but past research has highlighted a lack of preparation for these careers. This study aims to explore the reflections of PhD graduates from science and humanities and social science disciplines regarding support for career development (CD) during their study.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design and collected 136 survey responses and interviewed 21 PhD graduates from two US and one New Zealand universities to investigate their career readiness. Using the lens of Cognitive Information Processing theory, the authors explored the development of self-knowledge and career options-knowledge, and how support at the macro (institutional), meso (departmental) and micro (supervisors) levels influenced CD.FindingsDuring doctoral study, there was very poor engagement with CD activities. Graduates displayed limited self-knowledge and poor knowledge about career options. Graduates reported drawing mainly on their departments and supervisors for career guidance. Although there were pockets of good practice, some departments were perceived as promoting academia as the only successful outcome, neglecting to support other possible pathways. Some graduates reported excellent supervisor support for CD, but others described disinterest or a damaging response if students said they were not wanting to pursue academia.Originality/valueThe enabling aspects for developing self- and options-knowledge are collated into a conceptual model, which identifies key factors at institutional, departmental and supervisor levels, as well as for PhD students themselves.

Revenues, ultimate sovereigns and resource allocation at Finnish, Swedish, UK and US universities

This article explores how the level of funding and the governance model at universities are related to their resource allocation, measured as the balance between faculty and other personnel. Data from 2019 are used to construct scatterplots of the relationship between other personnel per faculty and revenue per faculty in the UK, the US, Sweden, and Finland. The study indicates that the more financial resources a university has, the more the workforce will be dominated by nonfaculty. This is explained by Bowen’s revenue theory of cost: universities raise all the money they can and spend all they raise. Institutions that limits their growth in order to maintain exclusivity are particularly prone to amass large economic resource and attain a high nonfaculty to faculty ratio. However, resource allocation can also be affected by the governance model. Where faculty elect the university board, faculty also comprise a larger share of the personnel. This might be explained by Tullock’s theory of the politics of bureaucracy: middle management is loyal to the ultimate sovereign, which elects the university board, and if this sovereign is the faculty, middle management will allocate resources to what it believes is in the interest of faculty, such as teaching and research. For example, Oxford and Cambridge, where the ultimate sovereign is a large collegial body consisting of almost all teachers and researchers, achieve positions in international university rankings comparable to those of the top US universities at a fraction of the cost.

Multimodality in third turn repetitions: Evaluation, mitigation, and the pursuit of responses in a Korean-as-foreign-language classroom

This conversation analysis (CA) study extends our understanding of the complexity of three turn instructional sequences by investigating the multimodal turn design of a teacher’s third turn repetitions (TTRs) and the actions accomplished in the third turn position as well as subsequent post-expansions. The videorecorded data are from an undergraduate Korean as a foreign language classroom at a large US university. The analysis reveals how a teacher coordinates resources such as language, prosody, gaze, gesture, body movements, and objects during and immediately following TTRs to mitigate negative evaluation, direct student attention to trouble sources, and intimate answers. The findings show that actions accomplished by talk, i.e. negative evaluation, and actions accomplished by multimodal resources like gaze, i.e. directing attention, may be undertaken simultaneously. The article contributes to understandings of teaching as complex and contingent interactional work by unpacking in fine-grained detail the moment-by-moment multimodal unfolding of pedagogical practice. We conclude by discussing implications for teacher preparation, namely the central role microanalysis of videorecorded classroom interaction should play.

Using Speculative Design to Understand Preferred Futures for the Design and Use of Tracking Data in U.S. College Sport Teams

US college sports teams are increasingly adopting personal data technologies, such as wearable sensors, with a goal of improving individual and team performance as well as individual safety. These tools can also reinforce the power that coaches hold over student-athletes and compromise student-athletes' needs for privacy and agency. To investigate preferred, and anti-preferred, approaches for navigating this complex sociotechnical challenge, we used a speculative design approach in which student athletes and technology design students developed three videos that portray tensions between student-athletes and coaches around the use of sports tracking technologies. We then shared these videos with 15 participants including student-athletes, coaches, and designers. Drawing on the perspectives of student-athletes, team staff, and designers embedded in the videos and expressed in reaction to the videos, we describe preferences for boundaries on tracking and sharing, how tracking data represent athletes, and for data practices. We also propose design requirements and recommendations for use to better align tracking technologies with these preferences.

Intention and behavior toward eating whole grain pasta on a college dining campus: Theory of Planned Behavior and message framing

The consumption of whole grains has several health benefits, however, most US consumers – including young adults – do not meet the recommended consumption intake. To understand the underlying factors affecting the intention and consumption of whole grain pasta, a survey based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was developed and administered to US college students. For four weeks, participants (n = 325) either did not receive any information (control) or received weekly messages on the health benefits of whole grain pasta (e.g., high fiber and niacin contents) in the forms of gain- (treatment 1) or loss-framed (treatment 2) information. Variables of the TPB model and consumers’ perceptions were investigated both at Time 1, when the first message was received (week 0), and at Time 2, one month after the intervention (week 4). Results from the two moments were compared. We found that the TPB measures and perceived usefulness were not influenced by the treatment group; however, the gain-framed message engendered greater message engagement than the loss-framed one. Finally, results from the structural equation model showed that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control were positively associated with the intention to consume whole grain pasta, and the intention was a strong determinant of participants’ behavior. Based on our results, implications and suggestions for future studies are discussed.

The impact of ChatGPT on academia: A comprehensive analysis of AI policies across UT system academic institutions

Since ChatGPT was released by OpenAI, an American company, in 2022 for the public, ChatGPT has become the talk of every town, as evident by its over 180 million users worldwide. This chatbot's ability to engage in human-like conversations, answer questions, and generate diverse content has sparked widespread debates across various fields, including education. In response to the growing rise and influence of ChatGPT, educators have contrasting opinions; some view ChatGPT as an opportunity, whereas others regard it as a challenge that needs to be addressed on time. In order to deal with the complexities caused by ChatGPT in the field of education, universities have formulated their policies on AI. Guided by the research question, "How does universities' policy on AI reflect academia's view toward ChatGPT?" this study attempts to review the AI policy of the nine academic institutions under the UT system of the United States. The primary goal is to understand the extent to which universities have adapted their policies in response to the challenges and opportunities posed by ChatGPT and how these policies reflect the broader sentiments within academia. To achieve this, this study reviews the universities' policies regarding AI using a qualitative data analysis methodology. The primary data sources include official policies, statements, and guidelines developed by the universities in response to the challenges and opportunities presented by ChatGPT. While reviewing the policies, the study determines whether ChatGPT is banned and why. Or embraced, and if so, in what ways? By examining these policies, the study aims to uncover the various approaches universities have taken to integrate or regulate the use of ChatGPT within academic environments. The thesis of this study is twofold. First, it seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of how US universities have responded to ChatGPT in the educational landscape. This involves identifying common themes, concerns, and strategies institutions employ to deal with the complexities introduced by this generative language model. Second, the study aims to contribute to existing scholarship by offering insights into how academia adapts to the influence of AI technologies like ChatGPT. This study examines the intersection of AI and education and the evolving nature of educational norms in the digital age by uncovering the diverse perspectives and approaches within university policies.