Job Discussion Forums

[veiledsentiments]

JCM

I'm glad that you like Sharjah, but this is just my opinion. I found it pretty blah. Some may think my taste a bit odd, but I actually found Ras al-Khaima much more interesting than Sharjah. There is just no accounting for taste, is there?

BTW, I saw an advertisement on the TESOL website for a Director of IEP at AUS. Does this mean that Shannon is leaving? Over the years, most teachers have been quite happy with his direction there.

Mark100

Thanks for your description of your interview with HCT. It is nice to have specific details to add to the angst and frustration that I have heard in the past after people went through it.

I think that you would have found that working for them can be much more pleasant than going though their interview process. Personally, I think all places are looking for 'yes men' - it is just that this interview makes it more out front - and it does probably weed out a number of 'rabble rousers' while also weeding out many good teachers.

I find the non-ability to chose your location to be very off-putting, but I expect that it is a necessity for them - otherwise they would never be able to hire people for the more infamous branch(es). (lurkers: see Job Information Journal for history)

VS

[JCMach1]

RAK, surely you jest !

[Sharjahmite]

Yes, Shannon is leaving at the end of the 2004 summer term. He is returning to the Department of English in order to spend more time doing research (I believe he is also writing a book) after heading the American University of Sharjah IEP for seven years or so. Being a program administrator doesn't give you much time for that kind of work. He was an unusually good director will be missed by all who worked with him (believe me, I've seen BOTH ends of that spectrum!). You'd be hard-pressed to find a more professional and collegial working environment than here at the AUS IEP, which has largely been the result of enlightened leadership (read: democratic, competent and trusting). I hope we get more of the same with his replacement.

[veiledsentiments]

Sharjahmite,

And here I was on the other thread also saying nice things about Shannon.

When you say the Dept of English, do you mean at AUS?

VS

[Sharjahmite]

Yes, VS, that would be the English Department at AUS. If prospective students score 500 or higher on the TOEFL, they can be matriculated into AUS, but they are required to take one or more (depending on placement exams) of a series of "COM" courses (taught through the English Department) which, for the most part, focus on academic writing skills. These COM courses are AUS's equivalent to a freshman writing course you might find in a comparable American institution. The IEP, on the other hand, takes in students who have not matriculated into the university because their TOEFL score falls beneath 500. These students will study EAP until such a time (ostensibly within one academic year) that they are able to score 500 on the TOEFL. There is a movement afoot (both within the IEP and the university as a whole) to "reset" the matriculation benchmark TOEFL score to 530 for a student to be matriculated into AUS and possibly a minimum of 400 to be admitted into the IEP. Both the IEP and the English Department are separate units within the College of Arts and Science.

[veiledsentiments]

Hi Sharjahmite,

I've done my share of 'Freshman Writing' equivalents around the ME and have had to deal with the great variance in writing levels that come with the territory. Personally I feel that raising the TOEFL input score will be somewhat helpful, but not as relates to writing. It is far to easy to get a 530 or significantly higher and only be able to write at an extremely low level. Entrance to the credit level Comp course should come from a formal essay writing test, not a TOEFL or IELTS or any other general writing exam. They do not take into consideration the particular problems of the Arabic speaker. That is why many places have a bridge writing course between the IEP and Credit Comp courses.

But, I digress - again. Will JShannon be teaching over there or in administration?

VS

[JCMach1]

[rickit]

I don't suppose there's any chance of reviving this thread? I"m looking for more information on AUS that's current... I'm still looking, but this is what I found first so thought I'd try it....

Any takers out there?

Rickit