Business School International Alumni: A Story of Grit

Business is a top choice of study for international students in countries such as the U.S., UK, Australia, and Canada; however, knowledge about the post-graduation experiences of international business school graduates varies across hosting countries and is somewhat limited. Few business schools in the U.S. survey alumni to determine how their learning experiences have impacted their professional success. Fewer still have explored the role of English language proficiency for these graduates. This study collected data from online surveys to examine the on-campus and post-graduation experiences of international alumni to determine factors that impacted their academic and professional success, with an emphasis on English language development. Findings identified five themes—achievement-oriented, long-term commitment, involvement, sense of belonging, and experiential learning. Although participant success was largely due to their own grit, schools of business and their professors could do more to contribute to this success, particularly in the areas of curriculum and pedagogy.

Translation as Charitable Currency: Internationalization Through International Alumni Giving

As higher education continues to internationalize, the United States higher education system remains a predominantly English-speaking entity. This research-in-progress will examine how United States institutions of higher education engage with English-language learning international alumni to explore how these alumni are asked to give back to their alma mater. I hypothesize that many institutions of higher educaiton may be perpetuing academic capitalism by viewing international alumni as sources of financial support and not as sources of rich linguistic capital that could be leveraged to further diversify the institution and facilitate equitable access to higher education.

International Students and Investments Abroad

This paper analyses the impact of education networks on the FDI from the United States and United Kingdom to 167 countries during 1999–2011. Proxies of networks are international students in the United States and United Kingdom and American and British alumni associations abroad. Results show that international students boost British FDI, while their influence on American FDI is weaker and restricted to non-OECD economies. International alumni associations strongly attract both American and British FDI to the alumni home countries. The different impact of education networks on American and British FDI is partly related to the two countries’ use of soft and hard power. The pro-FDI effects of student ties are disrupted by the use of hard power.

Attrition rates in neurosurgery residency: analysis of 1361 consecutive residents matched from 1990 to 1999

OBJECT The objective of this study is to determine neurosurgery residency attrition rates by sex of matched applicant and by type and rank of medical school attended. METHODS The study follows a cohort of 1361 individuals who matched into a neurosurgery residency program through the SF Match Fellowship and Residency Matching Service from 1990 to 1999. The main outcome measure was achievement of board certification as documented in the American Board of Neurological Surgery Directory of Diplomats. A secondary outcome measure was documentation of practicing medicine as verified by the American Medical Association DoctorFinder and National Provider Identifier websites. Overall, 10.7% (n = 146) of these individuals were women. Twenty percent (n = 266) graduated from a top 10 medical school (24% of women [35/146] and 19% of men [232/1215], p = 0.19). Forty-five percent (n = 618) were graduates of a public medical school, 50% (n = 680) of a private medical school, and 5% (n = 63) of an international medical school. At the end of the study, 0.2% of subjects (n = 3) were deceased and 0.3% (n = 4) were lost to follow-up. RESULTS The total residency completion rate was 86.0% (n = 1171) overall, with 76.0% (n = 111/146) of women and 87.2% (n = 1059/1215) of men completing residency. Board certification was obtained by 79.4% (n = 1081) of all individuals matching into residency between 1990 and 1999. Overall, 63.0% (92/146) of women and 81.3% (989/1215) of men were board certified. Women were found to be significantly more at risk (p < 0.005) of not completing residency or becoming board certified than men. Public medical school alumni had significantly higher board certification rates than private and international alumni (82.2% for public [508/618]; 77.1% for private [524/680]; 77.8% for international [49/63]; p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in attrition for graduates of top 10–ranked institutions versus other institutions. There was no difference in number of years to achieve neurosurgical board certification for men versus women. CONCLUSIONS Overall, neurosurgery training attrition rates are low. Women have had greater attrition than men during and after neurosurgery residency training. International and private medical school alumni had higher attrition than public medical school alumni.