Rules, Risk, and Racialization: Chinese International Students’ Experiences with Compliance and Care Through Non-Academic Misconduct Policies in U.S. Higher Education

This qualitative study examines how first-year Chinese international students (CIS) understand misconduct policies and procedures, and how those experiences relate to belonging. Drawing on interviews with 14 Chinese international undergraduates at a private research university, the study applies AsianCrit and IntlCrit to analyze how race, foreignness, and noncitizen status shape students’ encounters with institutional policy. Findings show students often learned misconduct policies through a hidden curriculum of compliance without clear institutional teaching. Participants described uncertainty and fear about the adjudication process and racialized experiences of hierarchy, otherness, and visa-related risk. Policies were accepted as necessary but rarely associated with trust or inclusion. Instead, students relied on peers for guidance while maintaining self-discipline for compliance. The study argues that non-academic misconduct processes are experienced not simply as administrative procedures, but as a racialized institutional system. Implications include redesigned policy education, stronger peer-informed support, and more relational conduct practices for international students.