Yu Chen

• PhD
• Associate Professor at Louisiana State University

Compared to other educators, career and technical education (CTE) instructors often possess significant industry knowledge but limited pedagogical skills. Some may define their jobs as role models or trainers for the next generation of professionals, rather than teachers. In this case study, we interviewed 12 CTE dual credit instructors at a CTE ce...

Vertical transfers, those who transferred from a 2-year institution to a 4-year institution, often face multifaceted challenges and lower success rates upon arriving at the receiving 4-year institutions. This quantitative study focused on three forms of social capital related to post-transfer adjustment, retention, and success for vertical transfer...

This study investigates if baccalaureate holders who initially attended a community college prior to transferring to a four-year college or university earn lower wages post-graduation than their counterparts who exclusively attended the four-year. In other words, we explore the existence of a penalty for community college attendance on annual salar...

Community college near-completion students are community college starters who have accumulated a considerable number of credits but left college without any postsecondary educational credential. This quantitative study examined a nationally representative sample and intended to reveal significant predictors of becoming a community college near-comp...

Since the launch of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) in late 1990s, a series of transfer related policies have been implemented in the state of Louisiana. However, limited empirical studies have focused on transfer students’ success in the Louisiana context. This study filled the research gap by examining influential fac...

Objective: International reverse transfer students are international students who begin their postsecondary journey at a four-year institution but subsequently transfer to a community college. In this qualitative study, we examine the lived experiences of international reverse transfers to understand the reasons for reverse-transfer and to understa...

This quantitative study explored the statistical relationship between American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) leadership competencies and data-driven decision making (DDDM) literacy among rural community college leaders in the Midwest. Specifically, the authors examined how AACC community college leadership competencies may predict the le...

This study developed statistical models to forecast international undergraduate student enrollment at a Midwest university. The authors constructed a SARIMA (Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average) model with input variables to estimate future enrollment. The SARIMA model reflected enrollment patterns by semester through highlighting sea...

This study developed statistical models to forecast international undergraduate student enrollment at a Midwest university. The authors constructed a SARIMA (Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average) model with input variables to estimate future enrollment. The SARIMA model reflected enrollment patterns by semester through highlighting sea...

Objective: This quantitative study constructed a statistical model to measure family social capital and college social capital among community college students. The authors also examined influences of these two types of social capital constructs on degree aspiration. Method: This study utilized the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathema...

Data-driven decision making (DDDM), or the use of data to inform educational practices, has become an emerging field of interest over the past decade for educational leaders and researchers. The purpose of this quantitative study is to examine community college leaders’ perspectives on institutional DDDM practice, especially those DDDM practice for...

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics student success is an important topic in higher education research. Recently, the use of data analytics in higher education administration has gain popularity. However, very few studies have examined how data analytics may influence Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics student success....

This study examined a psychosocial mechanism of how general self-efficacy interacts with other key factors and influences degree aspiration for students enrolled in an urban diverse community college. Using general self-efficacy scales, the authors hypothesized the General Self-efficacy model for Community College students (the GSE-CC model). A Con...

This chapter examines exemplary practices and challenges of recruiting and retaining women in information technology programs in an Iowa community college context.

This case presents an empirical study that examined how general self-efficacy functions as a predictor of community college student’s degree aspiration directly and indirectly via various key factors (i.e., social capital, personal input, transfer readiness). This study is unique because the author (a) utilized general self-efficacy scale and (b) u...

This quantitative study examined the predictive impact of a series of factors on female community college students’ intention to transfer in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The STEM Student Success Literacy survey (SSSL) was utilized to collect data from a large, diverse community college located in Florida. After the data...

This quantitative study examined how social capital and finances influenced community college students’ intent to transfer to a four-year institution within STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields. Focusing on the community college students enrolled in a rural midwestern state, the authors employed a structural equation modeling to...

This study examined the influence of community college students’ engagement on their intention to transfer and major in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) field. The STEM Student Success Literacy Survey was used to collect data among all 15 community colleges in Iowa. The authors developed a measurement model for community college...

Using statewide survey study data collected from more than 5,000 community college students, this study examined the impact of a preengineering curriculum on students’ self-efficacy level after they entered rural community colleges. Project Lead The Way (PLTW), is a project-based learning curriculum for middle and high school students that strives...

This study analyzes the data collected through the Financial Literacy project conducted in the fall semester of 2010 at a land grant research university in the Midwest. A survey instrument, which includes 43 items that measure constructs such as parental influence, financial knowledge and behaviors, and working experience of students while attendin...