Job Discussion Forums

[tengerfu]

Anyone out there got anything new positive or negative comments about the Australian College of Kuwait? They are currently advertising for Foundation Program Instructors. There hasn't been any posts about them for almost a year. Good thing? Thanks.

[triedtolive]

Hi,

The only thing I have heard is that the President has recently resigned. Not sure why.

I also heard from a friend that they are expanding which is a good thing.

[Gulezar]

Well organized and systematic in the Foundation Program, and so far, all goes well. Can this really be the Middle East? Maybe when things are running smoothly, people don�t feel the need to express themselves and vent.

[Dedicated]

I have just received an e-mail from a very good Australian friend who is currently at ACK. I'll summarize the main points to help others :

*ACK says they are " honest and transparent in all dealings". The website states all Foundation Program teachers are native speakers - they are not, and they are the ones who haggle over grammar points.

*4 instructors left in the first 6 weeks.

*Class size 25-26 students, mostly arrogant, rude, disrespectful and unmotivated. But they are the customers - we have to entertain them.

*Class hours up to 30 per week - classes start at 8am until 7pm. If you are lucky, you teach from 8am until 4pm, otherwise 11am until 7pm. If you are a Business teacher, you may start at 8am and finish at 7pm, with nowhere to go during the day. Everybody MUST do 8 hours in the building.

* The "happy, safe and inspiring work environment" promised does not stretch to the accommodation. You are placed in single occupancy, fully-furnished apartments on arrival (fully-furnished being cheap, scratched furniture, dirty rug, filthy windows, one plate, one fork, one knife, one spoon, no saucepans, no frying pans, cockroaches or mice, a 40 year old twin-tub washing machine that floods the bathroom) and charged 280 KD per month for this (about �560, or double Sydney prices). It is Third World standard in an oil rich country.

* 20 days paid holiday a year, (1 month) but you can request 20 days UNPAID leave in the summer. This is in stark contrast to Kuwait University who pay 2,000KD (�4,000) furniture allowance on arrival, a 4 bedroomed apartment, 3 months paid summer holiday, plus 2-3 weeks mid-semester paid, with free transport and evening overtime paid.
*You arrive on a visitor's visa, and they promise "to transfer this to a work visa on arrival". The reality is that you work for about 10-11 weeks, then get sent to Bahrain for a medical exam. (If you fail this for any reason, you cannot get back into Kuwait and have to arrange for somebody to forward your worldly goods.) Then in Kuwait, you repeat the medical in about week 14, and only then can start the procedure for residence and can apply for a driving licence. My Embassy tells me this is illegal.

* This period corresponds with the probation period of 100 days - if you fail they don't pay your return flight or for these procedures.

* The "world-leading curriculum" means working through Headway coursebooks

* There is no standardisation, no guidance, no criteria.

* They are heavily advertising for January - I wonder why?

* The ceiling salary for a Foundation Instructor is 1,400 before deductions, so no reward for staying a long time.

VERY TRANSPARENT - it's a cheap-skate, money-making operation.

[Dedicated]

Forgot to mention two other points:
* ACK don't pay for accompanying spouses
* ACK don't pay for accompanying children or school fees.

[monkeybreath]

In response to the above posting regarding the Australian College of Kuwait, I would like to refute some of the comments made, and add some clarity to some of the unconstructive criticism given.

I work at the college - and have done so for a few years now. The Foundation program has certainly had its ups and downs in terms of its academic quality, but I believe that this is typical of newer institutions and would be very surprised if ACK's critics work at institutions that have not struggled to construct sound programs in their formative years. Most of the griping about ACK academically is unfounded - we operate under a continuous process of review, which has made our language programs more rigorous, and which will continue to identify weaknesses and raise the standard of our programs. Yes, we use Headway - not a bad course book, used in many language centres. We also supplement our programs with a lot of additional material that is designed bearing in mind the practical, vocational nature of the Diploma programs that our students are moving into. To suggest that there is [b]�no standardisation, no guidance, no criteria�[/b] is bollocks, all programs follow prescriptive unit and course criteria that is methodically reviewed by department heads and instructors who, contrary to suggestion, do give a damn.

Yes we have large class numbers - 25 in a classroom is the general maximum which is occasionally exceeded. All instructors agree that this number is not conducive to language learning, but this is a private college after all, and the executive group insists that these numbers are necessary in order to keep the college afloat. Plenty of dissent from academic team � but nonetheless many of our staff are very committed to the task at hand, despite this hurdle

Calling ACK students [b]�mostly arrogant, rude, disrespectful and unmotivated�[/b] is a crass generalisation. Many of our students are polite, genuine and extremely respectful � far more so than Western students of the same age. As for their motivation � it is an unfortunate fact that many people of all ages in this country are unmotivated � a side effect of living in circumstances of plenty and rarely being held accountable. Dedicated�s comments reveal more about the lack of awareness his friend has about the social complexities of life in Kuwait than they do about ACK students in particular. Many students in Kuwait see their education as imperative primarily to their chances of marriage, so an expectation that they will approach their studies with the compelling factors of career and financial security pushing them is na�ve. That is not to say that ACK provides a social arena for matchmaking � students are very much encouraged to approach their studied seriously.

The non-native speakers that we have teaching on the Foundation program are fluent English users with accents, who generally work harder than a lot of their native speaking counterparts. They generally have a level of language awareness that aids their students� language acquisition, and generate dynamic lessons that far exceed [b]�haggling over grammar�[/b] � an offensive comment.

We sign contracts that suggest 30 hours of teaching a week � this is a left over from original contracts which the executive group refuse to change so they get more bang from their buck, but has NEVER been implemented in practical terms. No instructor in the Foundation program has done more than 20 hours a week over the last 2-3 semesters without having received overtime payment. In the business program, instructors are asked to do some long days in return for having very little or no teaching on other days, thus enabling them to work four day weeks, or do very short fifth days. Yes everybody must do 8 hours in the building � they like to see us here, and there is plenty of prep to do.

Yes, we get only 20 days paid holidays a year � but everyone is well aware of this when they sign the contract, so I am not quite sure why people then act surprised. If you want longer holidays, don�t sign. Having said this, it would be great to get more paid leave, and we do feel that the summer semester during which we teach portions of classes is a waste of time that does not benefit students, and in fact contributes to instructor fatigue.

Yes we have high instructor turn over � Kuwait is not the most attractive of places upon initial experience and unfortunately the financial reward is just not motivating enough to maintain instructors, particularly from Australia. But many people do stay, find Kuwait a liveable enough place, and the college an affable enough place to work. The lack of financial incentive is a [b]MAJOR[/b] issue that needs to be addressed immediately as the current package is simply not competitive in this region. The fact that Foundation instructors have been consistently paid far less than their Diploma- teaching counterparts is a slap in the face which is countered by management with an argument of supply and demand. Until more instructors quit and give this as their reason for doing so, I doubt things will change.

[b]ACCOMMODATION[/b] � Here I agree with Dedicated�s friend wholeheartedly. The accommodation supplied by ACK is a disgrace that guarantees new instructors start off at the college on the wrong foot, feeling unwelcome and uncomfortable. There are several different ACK accommodation buildings, and the standard between them is unfortunate. The initial building was quite clean and well furnished, although feels a bit like a serviced apartment � not at all the kind of place that would convince a new instructor to settle in long term. These apartments are overpriced � but so is all accommodation in Kuwait. The college would be far better off waking up to the kind of incentives that HCT use, allowing people to furnish a quality apartment and dig in for the long haul. A major problem is that the package presented to newcomers is given as a bulk salary figure, but is in fact calculated as salary + accommodation allowance + travel allowance � no free accommodation thrown in, so people are very disappointed when their decent salary then gets fritted away on very average accommodation for very high costs.

Finally, no there are no extras for spouses or children, but as far as I am concerned why should there be? Single people don�t get supplements, if you have family and don�t want to pay for them, then living overseas may not be ideal for you.

My primary gripe about the college is that we receive almost no professional development opportunities, and what PD funding exists is farmed out to PHD research grants that will give ACK a nice kickback in terms of glory. In my time here, what I have learned has been from experience and a personal commitment to improve my skills, not from ACK trying to enhance my skills-base and thus the skills-base of the organisation.

That�s my rant � ACK isn�t an ideal place to work, but it sure is not as bad as all these other postings make out � evidenced by the fact that there are very few comments posted by its employees. Thanks for reading!

[Dedicated]

Here is the latest bulletin from "Our man on the ground in ACK" :

"This has been a busy week in which only one Business instructor has walked out (see YouTube), the Student Activities Officer has resigned, and the aviation engineering students are not happy to find out that 2 years at ACK are not recognised outside.

In reply to the previous posting, it is clear this is somebody in management as he has no idea just how disgruntled teaching staff are. He says he wants to refute statements, but actually agrees on huge class size, poor accommodation, holidays, 8 hours in the building, and no professional development. He completely missed the point about non-native speakers - this was to indicate the website is breaking Australian Trade Descriptions by saying "All FP teachers are native-speakers". Does this comply to PUC/AQFT/AUQA standards? Now he has upset all the native speakers by saying their NNS colleagues work harder than them. Where is the evidence for such a remark?

ACK was established in 2000 and the first group of diploma graduates was in 2006. One cannot argue teething problems for much longer.

As for the rude statement ("bollocks" - tut-tut) about criteria and standardisation, please look at the Foundation Program audit standards posted on the website, promising compliance and continuous improvement.
* Please provide evidence of benchmarking against similar Foundation Programs.What data is used for benchmarking?
* Please provide policies and procedures for the marking of examinations and guidelines for assessors, in compliance with AQTF/PUC. How are FP assessments and exams moderated? Where are the specific criteria for marking writing and speaking, in particular? Now everyone is "doing their own thing", so totally subjective and unstandardised.
* As for professional development, why does ACK have a Vice President for Academic Affairs, a Director of Teaching and Learning, a Head of Foundation Program, all non-teaching, if they are not introducing and developing activities for staff development ? They need to be proactive, not just bewailing the fact there is none.May I suggest that they monitor staff satisfaction and address any issues.
* What is the budget allocation for FP staff development? Please provide incentives for academic faculty to undertake applied research. (A recent request for 500KD to buy software in the Engineering Dept for research was declined)
*Who designed the survey form for FP students to complete about their teachers? It shows a total ignorance of how to design a questionnaire and carry out research - no internal or external validity;two items in one question; leading questions; carried out by an Arab speaker as the students couldn't understand the questions......
However, teachers are judged by this and copies held by the Academic Director.
* The comment about Kuwaiti students " education is imperative to their chances of marriage" is condescending in the extreme, and offensive to students with career goals. Perhaps the FP head wishes this to be included in the practical/vocational nature of the Diploma? He hit the nail on the head by stating " ACK is a social arena for matchmaking" - just one look in the cafeteria, in the gardens, in the corridors confirms this. This appears to be the main purpose for many to be in college.

Let's hope the new President (an ex-HCT director) can promptly address some of these issues.

[grapejuice]

There are many issues that upset the teachers in all depts. There was mention of research money. Ha, nice chance, don't go to ACK for that because it will most likely get denied! Your PHD will suffer. The issues that were posted are true. There was alot of talk about accademic issues and students however the main issue is you, teachers are treated poorly. They are told if you don't like where you live, move out, but give notice first. (Told rudely by management in an email response to any complaint, it's rare anyone will tell you anything in person.) This may seem fair. Let me point out ACK policy, all teachers are given a 100 day trial period before the contract is finalized. They can ax you with a days notice if they want. So most teachers do not complain out loud and stay quiet. The ones that don't are made to feel bad. Mutany I cry, but the fear of getting fired is real, ARR. In addition, ACK really drag their feet to get the teachers working visas, claiming every excuse except, we don't want to get your visa until we know you'll work out. So the new teachers that haven't left, are going on 3 months and may get the working visa by mid December! This seems illegal, is it? All this to make a point, "If you don't like where you live, move out!" That is the attitude at ACK. They know they've got the teacher's in a corner. It's difficult to rent an apt., car, get on with life without the civil ID which requires the visa. To make things worse there is a rumor that the school is skimming of the top with the rents! Who knows?

If you are coming for the money, maybe, but it's not that great considering the rents and other costs. Life here is boring and there isn't much to do. It depends on your situation I suppose. I like the staff, everyone is nice, the students can be hard to handle, but they are young adults. You'll want to consider vacation too. When we signed, we were told 1 month paid and 1 month no pay option, total two months. Yet another email came the other day, you can only request 1 of two 7week periods during the summer, and YOUR summer holiday can not straddle the two periods designated by management. mmm, makes me think of rollin' rollin' keep them teachers teachin' Hya, Rawww Hiiiiide!
If teaching is your career, you may also have a family, ACK doesn't help with anything concerning them. $$$ It will cost you alot. Tickets, living costs, school fees can be expensive, you may be better off somewhere with half the salary but family friendly.

Lots of little things to warn about but...more later.

[monkeybreath]

Dedicated wrote �In reply to the previous posting (monkeybreath - Nov 25) , it is clear this is somebody in management as he has no idea just how disgruntled teaching staff are.�

It never ceases to amaze me how one is slapped with the label "management" if posting anything even remotely positive about the institution that one works for. Rest assured - I am not management, just a pleb like everyone else. And I am well aware of the discontent of staff - I hear/see/experience it every day just like you Dedicated - and if you re-read my posting you will see that I do agree with a lot of the problems that you outlined - I just don't see the need to look only at the negative points of the college - it is relatively comfortable but could be greatly improved, yes. It is not the writhing pit of misery that you make out.

I did not miss the point regarding your comment about NNS - as this is not an official enquiry but an informal forum for opinions I don't feel the need to evidence my statement beyond that I believe they do far more than "haggle over grammar points" - they do a great job, and my comment should not have offended the many hard working NS instructors we have. I agree that ACK should update their statement that all instructore are NS - a statement made to reassure Kuwaitis that they will not end up with Egyptian instructors, as is the case in other colleges apparently.

Dedicated wrote "ACK was established in 2000" - not true. ACK's first semester was in October 2004, so it is going relatively well for a college that has been operational for three years, and whose numbers have grown from about 250 to 2000. Unfortunately there are still many problems that need to be addressed, but the college has certainly not been open for 7 years.

Monkeybreath wrote "Many students in Kuwait see their education as imperative primarily to their chances of marriage, so an expectation that they will approach their studies with the compelling factors of career and financial security pushing them is na�ve" - this is not a condescending comment, it is a realistic comment. Go ahead and ask your most hard working, career driven student whether marriage does not motivate his/her studies to at least a minor degree - you will see that I am right. Of course many students are driven by their career goals, but it is a simple fact of life in Kuwait that getting a higher education has the added benefit of allowing you to marry well. You are contradicting yourself, Dedicated - first you call ACK students �mostly arrogant, rude, disrespectful and unmotivated" then you tell me there are students with career goals who would be offended by my comments??? Make up your mind...

You misquote me too - I said that ACK is NOT providing a social arena for matchmaking - although I do find it wonderful to see our students sitting outside, chatting, enjoying the sunshine while they have lunch, lingering in the halls - reminds me of happy times I had at university, and I still managed to get pretty good results - stop begrudging our students the opportunity to relax during their breaks and enjoy being young!

As I am merely a worker-bee, like you, I do not have the auditing information you request at hand, but I do know that the recently revised Level 3 program is currently being externally validated by TAFE Tasmania. The Foundation Business and Engineering programs that cater for unsuccessful British system high school students without IGCSEs or a Kuwait High School Certificate are both TAFE validated training packages.

As for many of your other questions, including PD allocation for FP, design of the student satisfaction questionaire, benchmarking and compliance - I would think that your Head of Department would be the best person to answer these questions - may I suggest that you air your grievances with him, and try to make some changes on the ground rather than online?

You seem very happy with your experience at HCT - and I would say that if a person has the qualifications and inclination to work for HCT, they should - they certainly have a great package. Perhaps in comparison ACK does seem a little small town, but with the backing of the UAE Govt I would expect their institutions to be far superior to a private college in Kuwait. I agree - let's hope that the new ACK president makes an impact.

[Dedicated]

Monkey breath,

I'm not in Kuwait, I'm at a university in the UK, and was merely asked by a distraught friend to post information. I'll leave it to others, such as "grapejuice" to continue the entries.

[Dedicated]

Monkey breath

P.S. I've just done a quick google search about ACK, and found at least 5 sites that clearly state" established in 2000". Should they all be changed too? Rather misleading otherwise.

[monkeybreath]

Hi Dedicated,

The college was established under Kuwaiti Law 34/2000, governing private universities in Kuwait - perhaps this were the confusion lies...? I can't find any other sites besides an Education and Training International site which refers to establishment in 2000. Perhaps the parent company AMAS was establised in 2000. Not sure.

I agree that any incorrect reference to the college having been established in 2000 should be changed.

I am glad that you have acted as medium on behalf of your friend - it is good to discuss issues that affect teachers - I think I just got very fired up at what I considered unfair remarks about our students, who can be very trying, but who are certainly changing for the better.

Thanks.

[grab-bag]

The workload is way out of order. Far too much teaching time. Teachers have way too much to do. This leaves them exhausted and worn out.
The housing situation also leaves a lot to be desired. The housing for most people is substandard. If you have a good home environment, you feel readier to cope with the stresses of an exhausting work environment. If your home is substandard and depressing, you feel depressed when you get to work. This place is good for workaholics or young inexperienced teachers who want to get some experience at doing a little bit of everything.

Like other money making institutions in Kuwait, making a profit is the priority. Teachers are incidental - a necessity but an exploitable one. The main advantage of course, as usual, is there are some excellent teachers in the system. These guys help prop up the others. If you are into learning as much as you can about teaching, this is the place for you. If you are an an upwardly mobile track, I would advise you look elsewhere.

[grapejuice]

I have been keeping my ears open. I am not surprised to hear that a few teachers across the depts., have had various issues. They've been told by their respective supervisors to deal with it on their own! Where is the backbone management! Moral is diving. Who travels so far to feel this way? If anyone needs a job, I am sure there will be vacant positions next semester. Management is recycling too. LOL

I hope more teachers post here.
Monkeybreath, if you are a teacher, good on you, you've got a great attitude, however if you are management, shame on you! You need to get your act together many, are suffering under your watch.

Grab-bag is right about working and living conditions.
Do you have ants, roaches or mice where you live?
Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My! (Wizard of Oz)
Hookers and Transvestites and Pimps Oh My! (Apt. of Oz)

[Home_Owner]

Now is the time for my 2 cents!!!!!!.

I am a "teacher" here at the ACK and I feel more like a babysitter. If you can get the students to show up to class (grade incestives for 80% attendance or higher is policy doesnt work) and if you can get them to pay attention (no policy for that) and if you can get them not to cheat (is a policy but enforcement leaves a bit to be desired ) then you are doing ok. the housing here is not first rate i will admit to that but for a single person it will do sorta. one of the biggest things here is that you cant do anything without a civil id(almost to the point of not being able to use a bathroom without it) so getting a new place to live is almost impossible not to mention personal transportation for the few sights there is to see here. on a positive note the shopping here is good and most places will go out of there way to ensure repeat clientel.

back to the school for a second. students here are great for the most part the social aspect of the "college" is well planned and most of the kids all 2000 of them know everyone. but unlike other places things here work on WASTA if you dont have the only way to get it is thru the students. some of the students dont care that they fail as mom and dad have lots of money and buy there way back into the semester managment needs to start getting tought on students. IF a STUDENT complains about a teacher the teacher is automatical in the wrong and things happen depending on how well you are liked by managment.

Civil ID. this process is long and drawn out by the shear amout of paper required and the fact that only 2 people can sign off on the paperwork from the college. most of the time they are on leave of traveling with there other ventures. most of the teachers here are not happy about the lenght of time this process takes but the school does not give them a chance to attempt this on there own most of them have been waiting for 120 plus days and with ramadan and 2 eid holidays in the last 3 months they are still 15 to 20 days away from getting the most basic of required forms of id in this country. when asked how much longer things here will take the management and HR staff just say INSHALLAH (in god's time).

Classes. most of the classes in the bussiness and english departments are spelled out so well that an anyone that can speak can give the courses and in the engineering area's they are devolping as they go most of them just before teaching the lesson they just finished for next semester. the growing pains of the ACK are large they are growing in too many directions at once and this leads to lots of confusion. most departments are asked to submit for proffessional devolpment and when consumables they require but i have yet to see any money spent on either

if you have any questions i will be happy to answer other than the id questions