Job Discussion Forums

[arslonga]

I am following the current debate about the pros and cons of teaching at the University of Buraimi, and I was wondering about the actual implications of the claims that such and such Gulf college / university is being set up by / associated / affiliated with a (group of) Western institutions. For example, the University of Buraimi appears to be affiliated with several Austrian universities, and yet, from the posts on this forum I cannot see the real impact that those affiliations have on the quality of the Foundation Program. Can anyone care to elaborate on this issue, not limited to this university? Thank you.

[madrileno]

Using the affiliation the UoB has with the Austrian institutions as an example, the relationship has no real impact on the quality of the General Foundation Programme.

The only variable that has real influence on the Omani students is they have the option of pursuing a degree that would be recognized both in Oman and in the EU. Many students don't choose this route, as it requires more studies on par with western standards. The students at the UoB are mostly content to pursue an Omani degree from Buraimi, which is far easier to get, and is only recognized in Oman.

Hope that helps.

[veiledsentiments]

Most, if not all, private colleges in the Gulf claim some kind of affiliation with this or that institution somewhere in the world. Ties are often vague... and ineffectual. Usually people from these institutions have visited and offered advice that may or may not have been followed.

From my experience, they have little or no effect on Foundations courses. They are all about getting the students up to speed to take the content courses which may be more related to the affiliated institution.

Let's say that any affiliations at any college/university would be irrelevant to my decision to accept a job anywhere in the Gulf. It would be decided on the package offered and their reputation based on my research - and whether I thought I could deal with their situation.

VS

[lizziebennet]

Hey there,

From what I have seen the Austrian institutions send people to help the university in different areas. They have set up things like the university's computer system and offered presentations for students about the courses affiliated with their particular institutions. I guess those that offer students joint degrees from their institutions either fully design or have a hand in designing and implementing whichever courses they are affiliated with at UOB.

As far as the GFP program goes the European partnerships affect us when it comes to the way we evaluate our student's language ability once they have completed their foundation year. Up until a semester ago we ran courses geared towards helping students to get at least a band 5 on the IELTS test. This was a stipulation required by the European partner universities if students wanted to enroll in their affiliated degree programs. The plan was to allow them to start the degree program after gaining a band 5 and then the students were expected to test and gain an IELTS band 7 score before they could graduate. This was to be the case for all UOB students even those only taking diplomas awarded by UOB only.

The students were not happy about doing the IELTS test and at one point protested about it. UOB with the MOHE decided that the students didn't need to take an IELTS test after all. So we stopped teaching an IELTS based curriculum at the higher levels.

Now rumor has it that we will be teaching IELTS again due to the Austrian partnerships. They require the students to have a certain level of English and to produce a relevant test score to prove it. They will not back down on this requirement.

The Austrian universities have hired education consultants (IMC) to evaluate UOB as an academic institution and advise on things to implement and ways to improve all programs including the GFP. They have visited on a number of occasions and have given advise which we have the implemented in order to improve the quality of the GFP program.

Hope this helps...

Lizzie

[veiledsentiments]

It seems to be following the usual pattern. The outside institution attempts to enforce the same rules that they would have in their country. An attempt would be made to do so until the students and administration realize that it may take many many years to get the students to that standard. The students often leave in a huff. The administration lowers the standards. When the outside institutions learn that, they try to force reinstatement of the standards... and they don't win that battle. At that point, they often break the relationship or change it in some way.

Same old merry-go-round...

VS

[lizziebennet]

lol V.S

What an apt description!

[The Steakinator]

At SUC (Sur University College) there were two agreements with non-Omani colleges and neither of them were worth much. The first was with Bond University in Australia and the second was recently something along the lines of a "shared purpose" that only amounted to SUC being able to borrow and adapt the entirety or parts of the engineering curriculum at the American University of Cairo.

Bond University was willing to certify/back up diplomas issued by SUC and there were talks of periodic faculty exchange, but that was about it. Every semester, a cheerful Pakistani-Australian Ph.D from Bond University would show up at SUC and make wry remarks about the students not being able to speak English and then hold a meeting with teachers in which he would hear teacher complaints and relay them to the admin.

The AUC thing will likely go the same way, it was signed in the 2011/2012 school year and will "activate" next year when the engineering department opens.