An NAU professor has begun researching the effects of the Sino-American 1+2+1 Dual Degree Program, which provides an opportunity for Chinese students to receive degrees from both an American and a Chinese university.

This semester, Thomas DeStefano, a professor of educational psychology, began collecting data from NAU’s involvement in the program. By May 2010, DeStefano intends to study the programs at five of the American universities and five of the Chinese universities. His research will include surveys, focus groups and interviews with about 500 students and 200 faculty and staff members.

NAU is one of 14 American universities, along with more than 50 Chinese universities, participating in the program. The program is run through a partnership between the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the China Center for International Educational Exchange.

Students participating in the program spend one year at their home university in China, the next two years at an American university, then return to their home university to finish their education. Upon completion, they receive degrees from both universities.

DeStefano said the focus of his research is to analyze the adjustments the Chinese students make to the American education system.

“There’s been a lot of research done on American students but very little done on international students,” DeStefano said. “I hope to get some rich information on how students are succeeding.”

DeStefano said the goal of the research is to discover how to improve the program for both American and Chinese students.

“We’re seeing how the Chinese students affect the learning environment of American students and how to improve the transition process for Chinese students,” DeStefano said. “We’ll find things that are going well and things that need to be improved.”

DeStefano said he became interested in the research project after four years of running a summer program that took students to China to learn about Chinese culture.

Stevie Stanford, a Ph.D student in counseling psychology, is one of three graduate students assisting DeStefano. Stanford said his participation in one of the summer programs inspired him to join this project.

“I was actually able to travel to China with Dr. DeStefano and a group of students in the summer of 2006,” Stanford said. “So when I had a chance to take an assistantship to help with this research project, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity.”

NAU joined the dual-degree program in 2005 with an initial group of 17 students. Over the past four years, 75 students from 14 Chinese universities have attended NAU through this program. There are currently 16 participants studying at NAU.

Xia Jiang, a student academic specialist at the Center for International Education, helps these students adjust to American culture.

“Most of the students work very hard,” Jiang said. “But their biggest challenge is English proficiency.”

Jiang said the students take part in a wide range of majors, but most choose business.

According to Jiang, participating in the program is hard for a lot of Chinese families because of the price. The cost for the two years the students spend at NAU is $45,000. However, he said it is harder for business majors because two years often is not enough.

“Most business majors spend about three years at NAU,” Jiang said. “It takes more time for them to finish their studies.”