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Academics in Western universities, especially those in the United States, are frequently called on to serve as quality gatekeepers in other higher education systems. International opportunities for service to the profession can take many forms, ranging from program reviews to expert consultations, and they constitute a great opportunity to learn about a different higher education system and gain perspective about deeply held assumptions. These opportunities are fraught when not approached with intellectual humility and can result in negative outcomes, amplified by power asymmetry and the disproportional weight of the perspective of Western academics. Cultural sensitivity can be learned and, regardless of our area of specialization, we all can become better-quality gatekeepers and have a more positive impact in the world.

Both Canada and the United States enrol a significant number of international students. However, in March 2020, both countries closed their borders and increased restrictions to international travel due to COVID-19, which had a direct impact on international students' ability to travel between their home countries and study destinations. This article examines the impact of COVID-19 on international student enrolments by asking two related questions: first, how did government policy address international students' difficult reality in the wake of COVID-19? And, did international student enrolments change as a result? With regard to policy, we find a stark divergence: Canada's federal policies quickly adapted to support international students and ensure they remained eligible for post-graduate work permits, preserving the appeal of Canada as a study destination. Meanwhile, in the US, federal policies for student visas required international students to maintain physical presence, reflecting a more hostile stance towards immigration, characteristic of the Trump administration. Despite these differences, with regard to enrolments, we find largely similar patterns, with COVID resulting in only a small decline in international student enrolments nationwide. A more worrying trend for both countries is that selective institutions seem to have been less impacted than access-oriented institutions.

Despite the long presence of assessment and quality assurance in US higher education, questions and concerns about higher education quality in this higher education system have been salient for the last several decades. Compliance and student learning are two frequently competing rationales for the implementation of assessment practices. This article explores assessment processes in three public universities in the United States to illustrate common challenges harmonizing these two rationales. The analysis compared institutions along four dimensions: (a) accountability, (b) educational mission, (c) assessment framework, and (d) student learning outcomes. Based on the present analysis, we argue that assessment for accreditation compliance and assessment for student learning are in fact different processes, based on the way they are implemented in US institutions. As a result, we claim that assessment for accreditation compliance is insufficient for improving higher education quality when student learning is taken into consideration. By studying the application of "tuning" in the United States, this paper also contributes to cross-national analyses and the comparative literature in higher education.

Multiple refugee crises are taking place simultaneously in several regions of the world. Despite the fact that large numbers of refugees are children and youth, research on policy discourse related to the educational access of refugees beyond remains limited. This situation is particularly acute in the USA even though over 3 million refugees have resettled in that country over the course of the last three decades. In this paper, we take a policy-as-discourse approach (Ball in Education reform: a critical and post-structural approach, Open University Press, Philadelphia, 1994; Discourse Stud Cult Politics of Educ 36(3):306-313, 2015) to analyze policies related to post-secondary education access among refugees in the USA. This analysis reveals refugees' status in US policy as an invisible group, frequently confounded with other groups under the euphemistic umbrella term "New American." Moreover, in these policies, refugees are represented as economic burdens, and their economic independence is presented as the key priority of relevant US policies.

Global citizenship education is full of contradictions and tensions. Neither the global nor citizenship are neutral concepts, and both come with long histories of violence, oppression and exclusion. While global citizenship education has often been discussed from a policy- or institution-level perspective, it is necessary to examine closely the practices that bring this concept to life at the course and individual instructor level, as well as beyond the classroom. In this article, I provide a first-person, first-hand analysis of the shortcomings of implementing global citizenship education in universities through the practice of internationalisation at home (IaH). I analyse a campus environment where US and international students lived and learned together, until they were separated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought a new perspective to the (im)possibilities of global citizenship within higher education. In doing so, I search for a pedagogy of dwelling or inhabiting as a possible way of enacting Global Citizenship Education.

Stratification and status competition are prevalent dynamics. This study explores the construction of legitimacy among some of the most prestigious higher education institutions in North America by analyzing the use of quality emblems (e.g., symbols associated with accreditation or rankings) on institutional websites among members of the Association of American Universities (AAU). We apply Lyotard's concept of performativity to guide a visual content analysis process. The visibility of emblematic quality varies primarily according to length of AAU membership. The study contributes to understanding legitimation in the competitive higher education field and the role that websites play in this process.

Contemporary models of academic work reflect a process of compression given that busy (time compression), jet setting (space compression) scholars constitute the norm of academic success. Valuable reflections from mobile academics are available, and yet, such narratives are often confined to individual voices and perspectives. In this paper, we endeavor to present a collaborative analysis of our shared experience as short-term foreign experts at a Chinese Normal University, simultaneously embracing and being troubled by our institutional and individual desires to become global. Throughout our analysis, we focus on the contrasts of our national, racial and class identities of origin and those we enacted while teaching in China. In doing so, we pay attention to the literal and metaphorical meaning of mobility. Our project explores ways in which mobility is(n't) always privileged, as well as whether and how we experience time -- space compression contrasting our class, race, nationality and sexual orientation differences.

The article emphasizes the critical importance for higher education leaders to adopt a global outlook in decision-making across all organizational levels. It argues that understanding international trends and data is essential for navigating challenges such as student mobility, financial sustainability, and geopolitical influences.

Background: Patients with type‐2 diabetes (T2DM) are at increased risk of developing diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) and experiencing impaired wound healing related to underlying microvascular disease. Purpose: To evaluate the sensitivity of intra‐voxel incoherent motion (IVIM) and blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) MRI to microvascular changes in patients with DFUs. Study Type: Case–control. Population: 20 volunteers who were age and body mass index matched, including T2DM patients with DFUs (N = 10, mean age = 57.5 years), T2DM patients with controlled glycemia and without DFUs (DC, N = 5, mean age = 57.4 years) and healthy controls (HC, N = 5, mean age = 52.8 years). Field strength/Sequence: 3T/multi‐b‐value IVIM and dynamic BOLD. Assessment: Resting IVIM parameters were obtained using a multi‐b‐value diffusion‐weighted imaging sequence and two IVIM models were fit to obtain diffusion coefficient (D), pseudo‐diffusion coefficient (D*), perfusion fraction (f) and microvascular volume fraction (MVF) parameters. Microvascular reactivity was evaluated by inducing an ischemic state in the foot with a blood pressure cuff during dynamic BOLD imaging. Perfusion indices were assessed in two regions of the foot: the medial plantar (MP) and lateral plantar (LP) regions. Statistical Tests: Effect sizes of group mean differences were assessed using Hedge's g adjusted for small sample sizes. Results: DFU participants exhibited elevated D*, f, and MVF values in both regions (g ≥ 1.10) and increased D (g = 1.07) in the MP region compared to DC participants. DC participants showed reduced f and MVF compared to HC participants in the MP region (g ≥ 1.06). Finally, the DFU group showed reduced tolerance for ischemia in the LP region (g = −1.51) and blunted reperfusion response in both regions (g < −2.32) compared to the DC group during the cuff‐occlusion challenge. Data Conclusion: The combined use of IVIM and BOLD MRI shows promise in differentiating perfusion abnormalities in the feet of diabetic patients and suggests hyperperfusion in DFU patients. Level of Evidence: 1 Technical Efficacy: Stage 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LGBT students continue to be vastly invisible in the international higher education literature and often face hostile learning environments, both in the classroom and in the larger university environment. This study follows a narrative inquiry approach to explore and document the experiences of tongzhi–the most widely embraced identity label among individuals romantically and sexually attracted to people of their same gender in contemporary Chinese societies–students in Mainland China. We interviewed six male university students who identify as tongzhi in order to understand their educational experience, the learning environments they experience in the classroom, and their interactions with the academic staff. Despite very different individual narratives, the findings reveal a resilient student population and a strategic approach to managing complex relationships and navigating self-disclosure. We offer recommendations for future research and for practitioners invested in promoting inclusive learning environments for all students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academics in Western universities, especially those in the United States, are frequently called on to serve as quality gatekeepers in other higher education systems. International opportunities for service to the profession can take many forms, ranging from program reviews to expert consultations, and they constitute a great opportunity to learn about a different higher education system and gain perspective about deeply held assumptions. These opportunities are fraught when not approached with intellectual humility and can result in negative outcomes, amplified by power asymmetry and the disproportional weight of the perspective of Western academics. Cultural sensitivity can be learned and, regardless of our area of specialization, we all can become better-quality gatekeepers and have a more positive impact in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]