Bridges: United States Academia for First-Generation and International College Students

Reviewed by Susan Steel, Academic Reading Professor/Adjunct Faculty, Johnson County Community College on 4/22/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Comprehensiveness: First generation, international, non-traditional, and diverse college students will find meaningful information that is varied and comprehensive.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Accuracy: Text contains quality information on accreditation, financial aid, and academic terminology. Information is relevant for today’s students and covers a wide variety of subjects.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Relevance: This text could assist a nearly all new students. It covers a wide range of material and contains answers to many questions common to first time college students. Bridges: United States Academia for First-Generation and International College Students is a relevant source for almost all students.

Clarity rating: 4

Clarity: This text is a great resource for students and would be a great addition for use in a college success style course. ESOL students would especially benefit from teacher enhanced instruction while using this text. Although many students would find the text straightforward and comprehensible. Bridges: United States Academia for First-Generation and International College Students would be well used to facilitate class discussions.

Consistency rating: 5

Consistency: The text is consistent and new students will find the quality of content useful as they search for answers to most commonly asked questions as well as many unusual questions they may have about college life.

Modularity rating: 5

Modularity: The text contains user-friendly links and references to outside resources. It is well organized and very readable. Students will feel comfortable when accessing any and all content from the text.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Organization: The text was highly navigable, and the organization was presented in a sequential and logical manner. Customization of the text to a format that conforms to a specific course syllabus would be practical and easy to accomplish.

Interface rating: 5

Interface: Highly useful.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Grammatical: No grammatical errors were contained in this text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Cultural: In this day of diversity, this text is exceptionally inclusive in attending to various races, ethnicities, and backgrounds of students as they navigate themselves through the system of American colleges and universities.

Comments

All new students could benefit from using this resource. It is a highly comprehensible and widely inclusive text which contains an extensive variety of information that students will find most helpful as they travel through their college years.

Reviewed by Jasmin Kwon, Professor, Middle Tennessee State University on 4/30/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This is a good book for first-generation students and international students in getting familiar with the US higher education system and experience. The book includes a thorough list of topics for a first-year experience.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The book presented accurate information. Some information needs to be addressed in separate ways for a first-generation student and an international student. For example, the book can add information for international students who need to prepare for their F1 visa grace period and any possible authorized optional practical training (OPT) opportunities during the 4th year of college and after graduation (p. 71).

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Content is up-to-date. Additional details or updated relevant information can be added, for example, how to understand syllabi and navigate various course types: conventional, web-assisted, remote, hybrid, and online course.

Clarity rating: 5

The book is clearly written to be accessible to first-generation students and international students making the transition from high school to college. It includes a remix of various online data/resources and work from other OEN books e.g., College Success (2015), no limits (2018).

Consistency rating: 5

The book is written consistently.

Modularity rating: 4

The book has three parts, getting in/getting through/appendix, and includes clear smaller sections of text with subheadings.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The book can be more expanded to fit the curriculum of a college orientation course. It could be used as the text for a first-generation or international student specific section of the freshmen seminar or as part of First Year Experience programming.

Interface rating: 5

No significant issues with the book's interface. The book was easy to read and navigate through the e-book (PDF).

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The book is well written and is free of grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The book covers and is sensitive to diverse cultures and backgrounds. Even though “More Quotes from the field” section can be helpful, it could have been better organized in more consistent, sensitive, and respectful way. For example, "I have a specific message for . . .Asian-American students…and Students of color…” (p. 93-95)

Comments

This is a good book for incoming freshmen and international students. I also appreciated that it can be beneficial for instructors to understand students’ perspectives. A lot of faculty would be interested in reading and discussing the book.

Reviewed by Rebecca Steen, Academic Advisor II/Adjunct Faculty, Rogue Community College on 1/11/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Comprehensiveness: Table of Contents is varied and covers a comprehensive amount of information for a new student. First generation, international, non-traditional and diverse college students are addressed and content is tailored in meaningful ways.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Accuracy: Text was error-free and relevant even with author's personal perspective influencing content. Information on accreditation, financial aid, and academic terminology was current and accurate.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Relevance: All new students could benefit from a resource like "Bridges: United States Academia for First-Generation and International College Students" as it provides guidance to multiple areas of the college experience. This text would be a positive impact on any new student and covers everything from understanding and navigating college to how to be a successful student.

Clarity rating: 4

Clarity: The text itself can be utilized as a tool but students would likely need guidance in reviewing and understanding specific sections. Customize the text to unique classroom content seems the most appropriate way to approach the use of this text. It is unlikely that students would be able to draw as much information on their own meaning each reading should be selected to pair with a lesson that involves discussion and measurable outcomes.

Consistency rating: 5

Consistency: The text is consistent but I would have liked to see a little more content on understanding syllabi and approaching assignments as a new student.

Modularity rating: 5

Modularity: The online resource was clear and organized which made it very approachable and easy to read. Connections to outside resources were available and no broken links or disruptions were found. "The University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing has a free, very comprehensive digital title called College Success (2015) that includes sections on subjects such as listening strategies, note-taking, and preparing for tests that this book does not."
https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/college-success. -Shawn Higgins

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

Organization: The text was easy to navigate and I found the organization was logical. However, it would be easy to adjust the sections and reorder them to tailor to lessons of individual classrooms, which was very convenient.

Interface rating: 5

Interface: 5/5

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Grammatical: No grammatical errors found.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Cultural: This text specifically addressed various races, ethnicities, and backgrounds of students that might find themselves in an American college environment and new to the experience. Inclusion was an overarching theme within the text.

Comments

"...being successful in college is about making connections, seeing relationships, solving problems, engaging actively, and figuring out how to get from “here” to “there.” Find bridges where they already are; figure out how to make them when you need them." -Shawn Higgins
For how inclusive the content was, I felt that the title could have been updated to reflect who could benefit from using this academic resource; all new students.