This study examined the dispositions, experiences, and expectations of international students in a developing country to understand the increasing phenomenon of reverse student flows and the role of the political economy in international student mobility. Students' dispositions, experiences and expectations-referred here collectively as ''orientations''-served as the guiding framework for this study. Data were drawn from survey responses from 279 international students at universities throughout Mexico and analyzed to explore the orientations among students from Europe, Latin America and North America. Findings showed significant differences among international students' dispositions, experiences, and expectations by these geographical regions of origin. In a broader context, this research addressed the important role of developing countries as not only senders but also receivers of international students. This research also demonstrated the ways that the political economy shape the orientations of students studying abroad.

Informed by the experiences of former peer mentors, this qualitative study examines the structure of opportunity of a university retention program. Extending the concept of social capital, the study investigates the experiences of students who served as peer mentors, and how their involvement in the retention program has influenced their social and academic development while in college. Findings suggest that employing peer mentors can be mutually beneficial to retention efforts since the peer mentors were trained to demonstrate aspects of advocacy, role modeling, and acting as human bridges for the program participants while also benefiting from those very forms of institutional support embedded in the program structure. Specifically, peer mentors developed important peer-to-peer and peer-to-staff social relationships that aided in their own retention.

Dr. Matthew T. Siniawski is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Loyola Marymount University. He has advised over 40 different senior capstone project design teams since 2004, and is particularly interested in the design of assistive devices for children with disabilities. He is a an active proponent of service-learning and is interested in understanding how such experiences impact the technical and professional development of engineering undergraduate students. Impacts of Service-Learning Projects on the Technical and Professional Engineering Confidence of First Year Engineering Students AbstractFirst-year engineering students at Loyola Marymount University (LMU), a primarily liberal arts private undergraduate institution, can participate in service-learning projects through an engineering living-learning community. In addition, service-learning projects were recently offered at LMU for first-year engineering students not participating in this living-learning community. The impact of service-learning on students' engineering design self-efficacy and engineering learning outcomes were assessed. An instrument was adapted from a combination of previously validated instruments that measure engineering design self-efficacy and interventional impacts on technical and professional engineering learning outcomes. The instrument also includes a reflection component on personal development, social impact, academic enhancement, university mission, and ethics. A mixed-methods approach was used to examine differences between first-year engineering students who participated in service-learning projects during the fall semester of 2014 and those who did not. Students participating in service-learning projects showed significantly higher gains in confidence in both technical and professional engineering skills. Female students in particular showed the most dramatic gains, with an average increase of 81.6% in technical engineering confidence as a result of their service-learning course. The higher gains in confidence can be attributed to the students learning more about how to identify and understand stakeholder needs and design requirements.

-The challenge of creating impactful and long-lasting service opportunities for engineering students lies in how to best implement programs in the unique setting of each academic institution. This paper presents a critical reflection of two different models of learning through service opportunities for engineering students that have evolved over the past six years at Loyola Marymount University. In particular, we highlight the history and lessons learned from four different case studies involving both extra-curricular international service projects and course-based service-learning opportunities for engineering students. Overall lessons learned that emerged from our experience include: 1) Students should receive course credit for participating in engineering-oriented service projects; 2) Opportunities for student participation should be vertically integrated throughout the curriculum; 3) Develop and sustain long-lasting relationships with your community partners; 4) Obtain university support for long-term success; 5) Start to conduct assessment of your stakeholders; and 6) Utilize the resources at your institution in order to promote cooperation. We hope that our lessons learned can be used to help guide other primarily undergraduate institutions in implementing service-oriented engineering projects.