By Jo McCulty Doctoral student Jinyan Fan, right, tested a new international student orientation based on theories developed by John Wanous, professor of management and human resources in the Fisher College of Business. The new program has been implemented by the Office of International Education.

International students benefit from research on orientation programs

By JEFF GRABMEIER, Research Communications

International graduate students face a lot of challenges -- as well as a lot of stress -- when they first come to Ohio State from their native countries. But now one of their own is applying research done at Ohio State to look for a better way to help these students adjust to their new surroundings.

Jinyan Fan is a doctoral student in psychology. His dissertation project involves testing a new orientation program for international students that he hopes will ease their entry into graduate work here.

The new program is based on a theory developed by John Wanous, professor of management and human resources in the Fisher College of Business. His theory suggests that most orientation programs for new employees don't focus enough on stress and adjustment issues faced by newcomers.

With the help and support of the Office of International Education (OIE), Fan is testing this theory through a revised orientation program he helped develop for new international graduate students. This program puts into practice many of the ideas developed by Wanous.

Ohio State ranks seventh in the country in hosting international students on campus, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Fan's ambitious dissertation project has received national attention; he won the Seymour Adler Scientist-Practitioner Doctoral Dissertation Grant from Aon Consulting. Fan competed with students nationwide to win the $5,000 award, which goes to dissertation proposals that use sound academic theory and research to solve real-world business problems.

While there are differences between the experiences of new employees and those of new graduate students, Wanous said there are enough similarities to provide a good test for his theory.

"New international graduate students are facing many of the stresses experienced by new employees, but the transition for these students may be even harder," Wanous said.

"They are facing culture shock, the shock of going from undergraduate to graduate programs, and then all the organizational issues of learning their way around a place as large as Ohio State."

The problem with most orientation programs for new employees is that they focus too much on information and legal matters and not enough on how employees can succeed in their new jobs, according to Wanous and Fan.

"Most orientation programs talk a lot about facts," Fan said. "It is OK to learn about the company, but those facts won't be very helpful for a new employee to make a better adjustment."

Fan gives a lot of credit to OIE for allowing him to work for their office and develop a modified orientation program to test Wanous' theory. He began as a volunteer in OIE in the summer of 2001, learning more about the office and their orientation programs. He received permission and support from John Greisberger, director of the office, and Kevin Harty, associate director, to test his new program. He then worked with Ben Williams, who heads the team that does orientation for international students, to introduce his modifications.

To prepare a modified program, Fan first interviewed new international graduate students in 2001 to find which international students faced the most adjustment issues and what those issues were. Based on their responses, and with input from OIE, he then designed a revised orientation program.

The revised program was limited to Asian graduate students, who Fan found faced the most adjustment issues. His program addressed their top three adjustment issues: the fast pace of the quarter system (as opposed to the semester system); language difficulties; and social interaction with Americans.

One of the major goals in facing these issues was reducing the unrealistically high expectations that new international students have about what they can accomplish right away, Fan said. For example, he said "many students think that now that they're in the United States, their English skills will be near perfect within six months or so." One goal of the orientation program is to help them develop more realistic expectations about how their language skills will progress, Fan said.

This focus on expectations comes straight from Wanous' research. Wanous calls his new type of newcomer orientation "Realistic Orientation Programs for New Employee Stress (ROPES). Wanous said all newcomer orientation programs should do what Fan's does: identify the difficulties newcomers are likely to encounter, give them realistic information about their place within the organization, and teach them coping mechanisms to deal with the stress they will face.

"These three ideas, combined together, should reduce newcomer stress, which in turn would lead to the newcomer's better early adjustment," Wanous said.

Fan conducted his orientation for 97 Asian graduate students autumn quarter 2002. Nearly all of the staff members in OIE helped him recruit eligible participants, according to Fan. And Sherif Barsoum, an OIE assistant director, helped conduct some of the orientation programs for students who didn't participate in the study, which allowed Williams to help Fan with his study.

Williams, a coordinator for OIE, was impressed with Fan's work.

"It was a reciprocal relationship," Williams said. "We gave Fan a way to work with international students on his dissertation project, but we also benefited from Fan's knowledge and ability to evaluate our programs and improve them based on current research."

It is too early to tell what effect the program has had on those who participated, Fan said. He plans on following up with those who participated for two quarters to see if the revised orientation program has helped in their adjustment to life at Ohio State.

Fan said he believes the program should be helpful, at least based on his own experiences as a new international graduate student from China.

"The orientation program we developed reflects a lot of my personal experiences," he said.

Discussing gender, disability issues

By Jo McCulty Harilyn Rousso, right, a disability activist and 2003 National Women's History Month honoree, conducts a workshop for faculty during her visit as part of the 2003 President and Provost's Diversity Lecture Series March 6 and 7. Stephen Kuusisto, assistant professor of English, listens.

Ohio State choice among top honors contenders

By JONI BENTZ SEAL, onCAMPUS staff

Some of the nation's top honors contenders vied for high-level scholarships during Ohio State's University Scholar Maximus Competition. The competition, which wrapped up March 7, is one way to encourage top high school seniors to take a good look at Ohio State and all the opportunities it has to offer them, said Linda Harlow, interim associate vice provost and director of Honors & Scholars. Since the competition's inception in 1991, 1,320 students have accepted Maximus Scholarships and enrolled in the University.

All applicants for freshman admission who are in the top 3 percent of their high school class and have a minimum ACT score of 29 or a combined SAT score of 1300 or higher, are named University Scholars. This distinction, given to 1,500 students this year, awards them a scholarship for four years, as well as an invitation to increase the value of that scholarship by participating in the Maximus Competition.

This year, 1,233 students competed for 120 high-level scholarships, including 10 Presidential Scholarships, which offer full in-state tuition and fees, and room and board; 30 Medalist Scholarships, which provide full in-state tuition; and 80 Tradition Scholarships, which cover half of the in-state tuition. Each scholarship is renewable for four years.

Nearly 2,500 essays were written by the participants, and each was evaluated by at least two faculty members. Harlow said more than 300 faculty were involved in one or more aspects of the competition, including participation on a University-wide committee that reviewed the essay ratings, standardized test scores, high school rank, and high school curriculum to select the recipients of the additional scholarships.

Cream of the crop

In addition to scholarship competitions such as the Maximus, potential honors students look to other aspects of the program to provide a complete and well-rounded college experience -- including a foundation for opportunities beyond college. It is among these attributes that Ohio State's Honors program must remain competitive.

"These students come to Ohio State with strong academic backgrounds and high expectations," Harlow said. "They are looking at some of the most prestigious and selective institutions in the country. But once they set foot on campus, meet our faculty and staff at the Kuhn Honors & Scholars Center, and get a sense of what the college experience will be, they feel right at home, and many make the decision to enroll in the fall."

Not only has this year's pool of honors applicants increased in number -- by about 17 percent -- they represent markedly better-prepared students, with ACT scores heavy in the above-average range (29 and higher), and an increased number of valedictorians, salutatorians and National Merit finalists.

"Based on the quality of the applicants we're getting, it seems clear that word is getting out that Ohio State is the school of choice for well-prepared students," said Martha Garland, vice provost and dean of undergraduate studies. "This is making it easier for us to invest in programs and make definitive plans to continue in the direction we're moving."

According to Harlow, Ohio State's Honors program is attractive for its small classes taught by top faculty, and the opportunity to study with some of the best students at the University. Honors students also enjoy an enriched curriculum; special research, travel and study abroad experiences; and interaction with faculty and other prominent figures outside of class through a number of honors activities. Honors students also have special leadership opportunities to become honors ambassadors, honors hosts, tutors in an adopt-a-school program, and participants in Leadership Ohio State.

Acceptance is just the first step

But being accepted into the Honors program and graduating with honors are two separate accomplishments. Although the program provides many opportunities, honors students are expected to not only perform higher academically than their non-honors counterparts, but participate in extra-curricular and co-curricular activities not required of other students.

"There are some fairly challenging requirements, which are varied among the honors programs through the colleges," Harlow said.

For example, Harlow said that more than 60 percent of honors students are enrolled in Arts and Sciences. These students must choose to complete either an Honors Contract, which is a curricular plan of honors courses, upper division courses, and other challenging courses, or they must write an honors thesis. Although some students successfully complete both, some students work toward these goals but fall short in the end. Recent data from the Arts and Sciences Honors Office indicated that 84 percent of graduating seniors had met one or both of those requirements, and thus graduated with an honors distinction.

The College of Engineering, Harlow said, enrolls about 30 percent of honors students; these students are required to accumulate a fixed number of points by selecting from a list of activities, including a senior thesis, a minor in a non-engineering field, study abroad experience, internships, and research experience, such as participating in the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum.

Harlow said just these two examples -- covering 90 percent of honors students -- testify to the challenging requirements. And because of all that is expected of them, Harlow said certain "perks," such as priority scheduling, end up being more like a scholarship, an earned privilege.

"All across the University, we offer students special resources designed to meet their individual needs," Harlow said. "Chemistry students have labs; health science students have clinical settings; and architecture students have studios. Our highest ability students have the capacity to learn at the very highest levels -- perhaps even to become researchers themselves -- so it is completely appropriate for us to provide these students with the resources that can expand their horizons to the fullest."

It's more than GPA ...

And expanding horizons reaches beyond the classroom. In addition to periodic GPA reviews, other factors may be considered in maintaining honors status, especially if the student's GPA slips below the college honors minimum, which ranges from 3.2-3.5. Some colleges may rate student activities, leadership roles, and research and internship opportunities among other more stringent honors criteria, according to Harlow.

"The faculty honors advisory committee, the honors liaisons within the colleges, and several faculty committees are working to increase honors options," Harlow said. "We need to increase the number of research opportunities available and create a better structure for helping students successfully participate in major fellowship competitions. We also have a group of alumni currently working to create a series of high-profile internships for our students.

Better monitoring as students move through the program is one area Harlow is looking to improve. She and her team will begin scheduling one-on-one meetings with students this spring, starting with major merit scholarship holders.

"We hope these sessions will reconfirm the students' commitment in the program, provide them with the needed resources, and re-engage them in honors activities," Harlow said.

The Honors team also plans to revive another lost tradition -- a series of celebratory functions designed to call the various honors and scholars cohorts together to celebrate their achievements.

Program review

Now that the honors program is running at full speed under Harlow's interim leadership, an integrated program review will commence this spring. The review will include examination of the program by both internal and external groups. However, one area that won't be the focus of the review will be limiting the size of the program.

Harlow said the suggestion that a smaller honors program would create the perception of a more prestigious program would also be limiting to the number of high-ability students who enroll at Ohio State.

"The quality and academic preparedness of the overall student body is becoming increasingly better, and therefore, the Honors program must become increasingly competitive and offer benefits that attract top students," Harlow said. "Our goal is to emerge from this review with confirmation that our structure, both at the ‘local' level in the colleges, and for the program as a whole, are on target to offer different features to serve the various needs of our honors students across the University."