Job Discussion Forums

[aljeddawi]

It has nothing to do with being serious. Our students are not motivated at all and with no English learning background. The teachers are demotivated by huge amount of memos to implement (most of the time the admin even forget what they ask for). You have to submit absentee list on daily basis, you can get telephone calls at midnight about a meeting the other day or to sub another teacher. You can never guarantee you have a day off or two because they call you whenever they wish, so you cannot spare time for your family which forced many of my colleagues to send their families back home. If and when a student complains about you, with or without any basis, this is the end of the story. The prevailing policy here is "make them happy". Out of 170 teaching staff, only the coordinators are happy who are also hand-picked by the admin because of their loyalty. If one teacher arrives his class late, all the teaching members will get a warning for that. I do not want to go into details, but to cut it short, you want to experience hell, this is the right place, then come here.

[Linguist]

[freesoul]

aljeddawi,
How many native speakers currently teaching at KAU ELI are there?

Thanks
F

[eclectic]

aljeddawi-- are you saying you get no vacation time, then? If you can't even get a day off or two, what happened then to the "2 months plus Islamic holidays" many of us were told about?

just curious, aljeddawi--

[aljeddawi]

Dear FREESOUL,
I know you and I believe you can count native speakers in the department as your other colleagues. You know inside and out of the department more than an ordinary teacher. That is very clear.

And ECCLECTIC,
The current dean says everything has changed. That is why, he is now deconstructing everything so that he can reconstruct. We had the one week off last year, likewise, between the semesters, we had a few weeks off. Nevertheless, it is not the case anymore. We do not have semester breaks for the teaching staff or mid-break in late April which is this week. As for the 2 months paid holidays, we only hope that we will have it. As for the Islamic holidays, he started after the holidays that is why i cannot comment on them. But, one thing is sure, this week is OFFICIALLY holiday by the Ministry of Higher Education, yet, everybody is on campus right now. And Thursdays are official weekend, we have been forced to be on campus, if you, by chance, do not come, you will get a letter of warning and eventually you will end up with at Rabigh or Yutamah campuses which are 3 hours drive from the main campus. This has happened in fact. This is a policy to force you to resign or silence.

[freesoul]

Hey! alJeddawe,

You made me feel like I am "Big Brother Watching" . My question was meant to reveal the seriousness of the new dean in following " a native-only policy". I am just another teacher out there who has been here long enough to know many teachers in many places, this is how I know KAU ILE.
Best,
F

[aljeddawi]

I am sorry to misinterpret what you have written.
The ratio should be 1 out of ten, i believe. Big chunk of the staff is of Indian, Pakistan and Maghrebi origin. The rest should make 20 per cent which includes all other nationalities -US, Brit, NZ, CA, etc, I guess.

[indigorawa]

What is the function of a teacher on Thursdays, as it is a non-working day. Why would anyone want a bunch of people to waste their time and energy? Can you be on the campus, and say, be at the gym, or on a field, or in a canteen, or something like that?

If it is truly draconian, as you say, then who benefits?

I am looking into the situation there, as many other places too. Any tips for
landing a decent job?

Thanks

[Asda]

Personally, I believe it is purely to show who's in charge! Your employer owns you. You are his hoe (and I ain't talkin' about no gardening tool! )!! The fact that they can get you to come in for a 'half day' on a weekend just to shine your chair with your bottom shows just that.

That said, it is still quite common to work on Thursdays (tho mainly in industry as opposed to education). In fact, a 2-day weekend is considered a novelty!! Coming from the UK, it was something quite hard to get used to. Especially with family, we had to make sure we did something on Wednesday evenings to soften the blow a bit. Nowadays, working on Thursdays is under the guise of 'professional development', so you may have the odd speaker from outside coming in or the odd training session.

So, I'm kinda used to it...sort of. However, my next job HAS to give me a 2-day weekend!!

[Pikgitina]

It seems like this place is best avoided at the moment.

It'd be interesting to hear how the new dean's "deconstructing" and "reconstructing" pans out. Even though I like the sound of it in a post-mo kinda way, it also sounds like total sh*t!

[veiledsentiments]

[rigel]

Thanks, guys. Just when I got my hopes up for a next job being "good", I come here and read this thread. But honesty is the best policy, and I appreciate it, although I may be throwing away a month of waiting. The problem is I've gotten an offer to work for these guys at Abdulaziz. Now I'm having some serious second thoughts. Not because of this forum, mind you, but because somebody there called me, told me what my salary will be, and then started emailing me with questions about what I've been doing with my life since graduating from college. The reason? To determine what my salary will be. Well, they told me on the phone what my salary will be, and now they're trying to determine what my salary will be? Red Flag. Hell, I haven't even gotten to the contract negotiation phase yet. What is more, I still don't know if I'll be working a split shift or even when I'll be starting. I don't want to wait until August or September for a job I may hate later. And judging by this forum, hating the job is what I'd be in for. The camel's back looks mighty loaded.

Should I just save myself the wait and walk away now? By the sound of this forum, I believe I should.

Now....Where can an honest, hard-working guy get a decent job in this business?

[indigorawa]

Reading between the lines, then, it is safe to assume that KAU:

1. Pays on time
2. Provides exit and return visas for staff that wish to make short holiday runs
3. Obliges by the commitments made through their contracts
4. Has over 200 foreign staff (of which a small handful have complained)
5. Is in a transition period, so is bound to ruffle some feathers, and has clearly done so
6. receives a high number of applicants for a limited number of jobs, so maintains a highly discriminate attitude
7. provides assistance and support to employees and basically keeps them out of trouble
8. is creating an atmosphere that encourages staff to further their work and renew their contracts at the university
9. respects all staff
10. is not in need of cutting costs by reducing staff benefits or salaries

For the rest of the complaints that have been listed, I wonder to what degree the individual is to blame for the treatment they have received. Could it be a case of sour eggs, or are the complaints voiced by a few to be taken as exemplary of the entire system. I think this is an important point, and while I do value the input of all individuals, let's face it, sour grapes is sour grapes. If the situation was really as despotic and cruel as some posters have indicated, then why not present a professional critique of the system, and then, why isn't there more comment in support of such critique?

Living in a foreign country anywhere can have it's ups and downs. I've seen colleagues get dumped on in places and I've seen unfairness in many ways. That being said -- are the problems at KAU systematic, or the result of poor communications between individuals?

[rigel]

[rigel]