Yu "April" Chen

Associate Professor in Higher Education

Contact
yuchen@lsu.edu
202D Peabody Hall
225-578-6878

Education
Bachelor's Degree: Pedagogy, Beijing Normal University, 2005
Master's Degree: Educational Sociology, Beijing Normal University, 2008
PhD: Educational Leadership (Higher Education), Iowa State University, 2014

Photo of Yu "April" Chen

Dr. Yu "April" Chen is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Louisiana State University. She received her doctoral degree in Educational Leadership (Higher Education) with a minor in Statistics from Iowa State University in 2014. Prior to working at Louisiana State, she was a post-doctoral research fellow at Iowa State University. 

Dr. Chen uses both advanced statistical and qualitative methods to study (a) community college transfer students, (b) STEM success among underrepresented student populations, and (c) the experiences of international students. Her scholarships have been published in top-tier higher education journals such as Research in Higher Education, Community College Review, and Community College Journal of Research and Practice, and Journal of College Student Retention. She has delivered more than 40 scholarly presentations at premier national research conferences such as the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Association for the Studies of Higher Education (ASHE), and the Council for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC). Dr. Chen received the LSU Alumni Association Rising Faculty Research Award in 2020 for her outstanding records of scholarship and published research. 

Dr. Chen serves as the editorial board member for the Journal of The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition (2021-2023). She serves on the conference evaluation committee for ASHE (2021-2023) as well as the Division Co-chair for Equity, Diversity, and International Division in CSCC (2020-2021, 2021-2022). 

Chen, Y., & Hu, X. (2021). The nudge to finish up: A national study of community college near completers. Research in Higher Education, 62, 651-679. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-020-09613-9 

Chen, Y., Li, R. & Hagedorn, L. S. (2020). International reverse transfer students: A critical analysis based on field, habitus, social and cultural capital. Community College Review, 48(4), 376-399. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552120932223 

Chen, Y. & Upah, S. (2020). Data analytics and STEM student success: The impact of predictive analytics informed academic advising among undeclared first-year engineering students. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 22(3), 497-521. https://doi.org/10.1177/1521025118772307  

Chen, Y. (2020). Data-driven decision-making literacy in community college: The role of leadership competencies. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 44(5),347-362. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2019.1592032 

Chen, Y., Ran, L., & Hagedorn, L.S. (2019). Undergraduate international student enrollment forecasting model: An application of time series analysis. Journal of International Students. 9(1), 242-264. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v9i1.266 

Chen, Y. & Starobin, S.S. (2019). Formation of social capital for community college students: A second-order confirmatory factor analysis approach. Community College Review, 47(1), 3-30. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552118815758 

Chen, Y. & Starobin, S.S. (2018). Measuring general self-efficacy among community college students: A structural equation modeling approach. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 42(3), 171-189. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2017.1281178

Chen, Y. (2020). Does social capital predict post-transfer GPA? A comparison of community college transfers and lateral transfers. A research paper presentation at ASHE 2020 Annual Conference. Virtual Conference, November 21, 2020.

Chen, Y., Davis, K. & Stone. M. (2019). Community college transfer students’ success in Louisiana: The role of different forms of social capital. A research paper presentation at the ASHE 2019 Annual Conference. Portland, Oregon, November 14, 2019.

Chen, Y., Li, R., & Hagedorn, L. S. (2019). Penalty or reward: Do community college transfer experiences impact post-baccalaureate salaries? A research paper presentation at AERA 2019 Annual Conference. Toronto, Canada. 

Liu, Y., Wang, Q., Chen, Y. & Kang, Y. (2019). The “lost seekers” in elite universities: The intersection of family, social and university. A poster presentation at AERA 2019 Annual Conference. Toronto, Canada. 

Chen, Y., Li, R., & Hagedorn, L. S. (2018). Does reverse transfer help us? Unique perspective from international students. A research paper presentation at the CSCC 2018 Annual Conference. Addison, TX, April 27, 2018.

Upah, S. & Chen, Y. (2018). Measuring the impact of a predictive analytics informed academic advising on the selection and change of major among first-year, first-term students in engineering using propensity score matching. A poster presentation at the AERA 2018 Annual Conference. New York, NY.

Chen, Y. & Hu, X. (2018). The nudge to finish up: A national study of community college near-completers. A research paper presentation at the ASHE 2018 Annual Conference. Tampa, Florida, November 15, 2018.

Weatherly, M. & Chen, Y. (2017). Predictors of academic motivation among NCAA division II student-athletes. A roundtable presentation at the ASHE 2017 Annual Conference. Houston, Texas, November 10, 2017.

Chen, Y., Monaghan, B., Schmit, M., Dejear, M., & Upah, S. (2017). Data driven decision-making literacy in community college: The role of leadership competencies. A research paper presentation at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) 2017 Annual Conference. San Antonio, Texas, 2017.

Title of grant: A Modern Approach to the integration of Programming and Mathematics

  • Founder: The U.S. Department of Education (DOE): Education Innovation and Research (EIR)
  • Grant amount: $3,997,292
  • Role: Co-PI
  • Time of Service: 2019-2021

Title of grant: BRBYTES: Baton Rouge: Bringing Youth Technology, Education and Success

  • Founder: National Science Foundation (NSF): Computer Science for All
  • Grant amount: $1,000,000
  • Role: Co-PI
  • Time of Service: 2019-2021

Title of grant: Promoting Transfer Students Retention and Success in CHSE: Social Capital, Social Engagement, and Peer Mentorship

  • Founder: College of Human Sciences and Education, LSU
  • Grant amount: $5,000
  • Role: Principal Investigator
  • Funding period: January 1, 2019 – December 31, 2019 

Title of grant: Beyond the community college penalty: Predictors of post-baccalaureate salaries among community college transfers

  • Founder: Louisiana State University ORED Summer Stipend Program
  • Grant amount: $5,000
  • Role: Principal Investigator
  • Funding period: July 2018

Title of grant: The community college impact on employment outcomes: Do community college transfers experiences a salary penalty in the labor market? 

  • Founder: The Council for the Study of Community College (CSCC)
  • Grant amount: $2,000
  • Role: Principal Investigator
  • Funding period: April 2017 – April 2018