COVID-19 and U.S. Higher Education: The Realities of Undergraduate International STEM Students’ Experiences

Arianna Cooper; Trina Fletcher

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: International Division Technical Session 5: COVID-19 Pandemic Lessons and Best Practices
Page Count: 12
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--41311
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/41311
Download Count: 265

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Paper Authors

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Arianna Cooper Florida International University

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Arianna Cooper joined Florida International University in August 2021 where she is pursuing her PhD in Engineering and Computing Education. Prior to FIU, she obtained her bachelor’s in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering from her alma mater, Indiana Tech. She is from the Bahamas and has lived in the United States for six years. Her research focuses on the experiences of STEM international students who have migrated to the United States for higher education. Today, she will be presenting on COVID-19 and U.S. Higher Education: The Realities of Undergraduate International STEM Students’ Experiences.

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Trina Fletcher Florida International University

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Dr. Trina L. Fletcher is an Assistant Professor of Engineering and Computing Education and a Faculty Fellow for the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) at Florida International University. Her research includes asset-based studies on women and people of color within STEM education and engineering and computing education at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Dr. Fletcher uses large-scale data sets to conduct research using mixed-methodologies focused her target populations. She is a 2022 NSF CAREER awardee for a project centered on developing a database using quantitative and qualitative longitudinal data on STEM professionals experiences beginning in K-12 to their current professional occupations. She is an elected steering committee member for EngineerGirl, the leading initiative for the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) to increase the number of girls going into engineering. Her awarded grants include NSF RFE, NSF RAPID focused on COVID-19, Department of Energy (DOE) NNSA MSI Partnership Program grant and several corporate and foundation grants. Prior to FIU, Dr. Fletcher worked in engineering and operations for two Fortune 500 companies and served as the Director of Pre-college Programs for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).

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Abstract

Higher Education is the fifth largest service export sector in the United States, with international students contributing $17.7 billion to the U.S. economy each year. There is a plethora of reasons students migrate to the U.S. to further their education, including but not limited to: (1) increasing their chances for long-term success and increased self-efficacy; (2) supporting their family through educational advancement; and (3) gaining access to high quality education. Prior research highlights how international students face challenges linked to federal restrictions and policies that potentially hinder their academic success, all of which were heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Information such as this leads raises concerns around the current state of undergraduate international STEM students in the U.S. and access to resources (i.e. scholarships, fellowships, internships, full-time jobs, etc.), especially compared to their domestic counterparts. This insight is particularly true for individuals seeking to obtain a degree within STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) as the U.S. serves as an incubator for STEM talent due to the abundance of workforce opportunities present. Therefore, it is important to explore the experiences of undergraduate International STEM students pursuing degrees in the U.S., especially as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a lingering effect within higher education. Our target population has an influential impact on the nation's economy, particularly H1-B visa sponsored jobs at top companies within the technology sector driving a large portion of our growth within the STEM workforce. This work in progress focused on qualitative analysis centered on the experience of undergraduate international STEM students. This study includes a literature review that highlighting the latest findings around our target populations’ experiences during the pandemic. Following that, the methods highlight our proposal to conduct a qualitative analysis including interviews with current students. The methods section closes with a draft of the interview questions which center around their experiences, barriers and challenges they face (past and present) related to the pandemic and information related to access to resources. Lastly, an overview of the proposed impact, implications of this study once complete and overarching conclusions. The goal is to get feedback from the broader ASEE community, finalized the interview protocol, conduct the interviews, analyze, and share results and use the overall findings to propose new directions and future work for the broader community.

Citation
Format

Cooper, A., & Fletcher, T. (2022, August), COVID-19 and U.S. Higher Education: The Realities of Undergraduate International STEM Students’ Experiences Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41311

TY - CPAPER
AB - Higher Education is the fifth largest service export sector in the United States, with international students contributing $17.7 billion to the U.S. economy each year. There is a plethora of reasons students migrate to the U.S. to further their education, including but not limited to: (1) increasing their chances for long-term success and increased self-efficacy; (2) supporting their family through educational advancement; and (3) gaining access to high quality education. Prior research highlights how international students face challenges linked to federal restrictions and policies that potentially hinder their academic success, all of which were heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Information such as this leads raises concerns around the current state of undergraduate international STEM students in the U.S. and access to resources (i.e. scholarships, fellowships, internships, full-time jobs, etc.), especially compared to their domestic counterparts. This insight is particularly true for individuals seeking to obtain a degree within STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) as the U.S. serves as an incubator for STEM talent due to the abundance of workforce opportunities present. Therefore, it is important to explore the experiences of undergraduate International STEM students pursuing degrees in the U.S., especially as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a lingering effect within higher education. Our target population has an influential impact on the nation's economy, particularly H1-B visa sponsored jobs at top companies within the technology sector driving a large portion of our growth within the STEM workforce.
This work in progress focused on qualitative analysis centered on the experience of undergraduate international STEM students. This study includes a literature review that highlighting the latest findings around our target populations’ experiences during the pandemic. Following that, the methods highlight our proposal to conduct a qualitative analysis including interviews with current students. The methods section closes with a draft of the interview questions which center around their experiences, barriers and challenges they face (past and present) related to the pandemic and information related to access to resources. Lastly, an overview of the proposed impact, implications of this study once complete and overarching conclusions. The goal is to get feedback from the broader ASEE community, finalized the interview protocol, conduct the interviews, analyze, and share results and use the overall findings to propose new directions and future work for the broader community.

AU - Arianna Cooper
AU - Trina Fletcher
CY - Minneapolis, MN
DA - 2022/08/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - COVID-19 and U.S. Higher Education: The Realities of Undergraduate International STEM Students’ Experiences
UR - https://peer.asee.org/41311
DO - 10.18260/1-2--41311
ER -