Job Discussion Forums

[toughcookie]

VS never experienced the QU appraisal system; she never worked there...

the appraisal system was, at best, totally nonsensical when i was there (yes, i have since seen the light!) the system was needlessly complicated - or perhaps purposely complex... - and some of the points "awarded" (or not) counted in several categories of evaluation, thereby causing double jeopardy to the person evaluated. e.g. points awarded for PD (or lack thereof) also counted in the HOD appraisal section. if nothing's changed, as I suspect, it is still the most biased system i have had the displeasure to be subjected to.

tc

[stickleback]

[thursday12]

VS. Dear lady, ya bin dispensin real gud advice & people appreciate it but ya jest doan know everythin dat�s goin on. Ya really don�t. I wudn�t rely on the PMers if I waz U. Dey bin asked ta contact ya & do the spindoc stuff. Der is a spindoc coverup �bout certain issues no matta wad dey tell ya. Ya ain�t worked here like TC said, so ya cain�t get ta grips wid what it�s really like fer some. Dere are happy people around, so I gotta be fair & say dat.
Some R just innocents abroad & some are in wid da in crowd.

When I arrived 3 years ago, in 06, da place waz in confusion. Da housing situation in Zuhoor wazn�t real good as it was a new compound wid a lot �o teethin problems so people were none too happy wid dat. Dere�s bin a real improvements but it took time & now when things R getting worked out, we got da robberies & scratchin. The previous head, real respected from what I heard, had bin treated real bad & manipulated inta resignin. People said he waz real prostaff & basically a nice guy but da wrong nationality & not inta da fire to hire policy. The new guy waz known ta be into dis system, along wid punishment games which made people real paranoid & real nervous. He set up a system �o spyin & reportin which is still da name �o da game. It�s a real shame & jest not da best way ta run a place. I worked in a place like dat once before: almost everybody who cud, took off.

Den, coupla mos after we arrived, a big blockbuster scenario stunned newbies & oldies: �bout 20 teachers were bein sent on their very unmerry way. Slam, bam, thank ya mam & get lost. Da ones I met & worked wid were good people & good hardworking teachers. Some �o the teachers were let go fer dumb excuses � too old, wrong qualifications, etc. which were trumped up accordin ta some. Some were let go coz �o spite & revenge (not da best way ta treat yer staff). The whole scene caused a lotta consternation & misery. Most �o da newbies were real puzzled as ta what waz goin on. Da next year dis mean scenario waz repeated wid more casualties. One guy waz a real star academic whose brains & qualifications were seen as a threat. Last fall a new strategy � get the hit list people ta resign, den it looks better fer da head & his gang. Dis tricky trio bin messin people about since I got here. One member got shifted to another position & da oder bin reappointed. TC is real right �bout the appraisal. Confusin, biased & complicated. Ya notice when admin people never turn up at PD but get outstandin appraisals. Ya wonder why. Ya notice when these guys do nuttin fer the community and get outstandin. Ya wonder why. I bin happy & miserable here. Happy coz I work wid and live wid real nice people. Miserable coz ya always gotta watch yer back. Dis place cud be real fine if dey jest treated people da right way. If ya got someone whose makin a mess of supervisin, don�t reappoint da person. Dis is da excuse dey give ta get rid �o teachers but not da people at the top. Da salary is a real disappointment too. Not enuff to survive on if ya got obligations. If dey got rid �o the spyin & reporting & fixed da curriculum & treated people wid RESPECT, den dis wud be a real fine place ta work in. As usual dis time 'o year, lotta people goin. Four left last semester (including a runner) & now a dozen or more goin (some by special request, some just movin on.)
Movin on, movin, on, like an old .... jest movin on. Too bad some people didn wanta move on but dey had no choice.

[wilberforce]

There are some of these ousted teachers down at the Gulag. From what I've heard, their termination was not based on their actual teaching performance but on other personal issues. Definitely not a good way to deal with people. One of these teachers is incredible, he works really hard and is so darn helpful. Their loss, our gain. The personal needs to be kept separate from the professional. Sounds like somebody there is being vindictive.

[veiledsentiments]

I don't have to be or even have been at QU to be able to analyze the input from my contacts there and what I read on this board. No one, least of all me, has ever claimed that QU is nirvana or the best place in the Gulf to work. QU is pretty much typical of the job situation in the national universities of the Gulf countries... be it KU or UAEU or SQU. (although it pays better than KU or SQU)

Following the posts of those that have complained here, what jumps out is that the complaints are pretty much the same as one hears from X number of people at each of the places. I don't like the books... I don't like my housing... I don't like my schedule... So and so always gets what he wants and I never do... the management is watching me... the management isn't fair, X nationality always gets the plum assignments... blah blah blah... the same complaining that one hears in every faculty lounge and watering hole in the Gulf.

Since the oft mentioned purge a few years back, there have been many posts and threads complaining about how it wasn't fair and good teachers got axed along with the dead wood. And of course, it is true... even good teachers can end up in a personality clash with management. Part of being a professional in any field is dealing with the personalities of one's bosses... and every manager in every college/university/school in the Gulf (or the world) will have his/her admirers and critics.

But, there is one main reason why I often respond to these posts. One thing that has repeatedly jumped out is the similarity of the prose of the critics... even when they try to hide behind faux accents and fictional job histories. Perhaps what made it jump out is because there are so few posters in this section of the board. I reported this and it has been confirmed that the majority of the posts of complaint here with different screen names are all coming from the same one or two people. So many sock puppets... and such an immature game...

Bottom line... QU is a mid-level employer when it comes to pay and conditions. Housing varies widely... traffic sucks... students are pretty nice... teachers are many different nationalities... management has its good days and bad days - and par for the course, are probably not always fair. I'd say that the average EFL teacher could manage a contract or two if one keeps one's head down and does one's job. One could certainly do much worse in the Gulf...

VS

[toughcookie]

point well taken, VS. FYI, I don't suffer from multiple personality disorder, even though I have been accused of being the same person as Thursday12... go ahead, report me to Dave!
some of us actually try to give useful and first-hand information. if that makes me a sock puppet, then so be it!
anyway, I'm now blessedly out of qatar, yipee!
TC

[veiledsentiments]

[chanchanhae]

[Opti]

I'd like to add another perspective to those quite condescending posts of VS above, in which she dismisses first-hand opinions about present-day conditions at various Gulf universities, including QU. I speak from current, first-hand, on-the-ground experience, not from hearsay or armchair analysis insulated by time and distance.

There are crucial differences in policies and practices, such as teacher appraisal, among these major universities, that are important for prospective applicants to know about beforehand. For example, some places truly do have an unofficial spy and reporting system in operation, while others are more open and honest about how they evaluate teachers. Some put undo emphasis on fickle student evaluations, and others do not.

It is insulting to posters who take the time to write about their personal experiences to overgeneralize and lump their complaints together as merely "typical" and to be expected wherever one works in the Gulf, or worse, to cynically imply that so many of these posters are chronic, duplicitous malcontents who have only their own axes to grind.

I hope that VS will practice more restraint in her ubiquitous pronouncements. I advise all Dave's readers to search thoroughly, read carefully and critically, post thoughtful enquiries, send PMs if necessary, and then draw your own conclusions.

[veiledsentiments]

What new perspective?

Yes, one should definitely always read carefully. That is how it was discovered that there are a couple posters with many screen names who have been posting the same whine for a few years. (for instance pretending that they are in the UAE or Kuwait while the posts are coming from Qatar) Thus far, there is no rule here against sock puppets, but there should be. It happens on other boards, but not as obvious and blatant as here.

Never once have I claimed that their system of appraisal is fair, nor have I said that management didn't have "spies." Welcome to the Gulf... educational appraisal systems are notoriously based on some vague ideas and seem to favor those that kowtow to management. As I recall, you are at SQU which has always had the most benevolent management in the Gulf, though historically not always fair in assignments.

What offends me is dishonesty of a couple of people who got axed... neither of us know them personally... who post a repetitive screed... and then their little puppets come on to nod in agreement. Every job in the Gulf is a matter of staying until one of the buckets is full... the one with the money or the one with the BS.

My only point is that one can do MUCH worse than QU, and it is an acceptable first contract for those with a new MA who need a foot in the door.

VS

[littleoldlady]

I am sorry to sound ignorant or OLD but is Thursday12 from the Caribbean? Apologies if I have offended.

[squirk]

[lollaerd]

[veiledsentiments]

Again... this was referring to a one-time occurrence that happened about 4 years ago... and it wasn't 20 teachers... more like 10 (from a department of something like 130 teachers). And that number includes those who chose not to renew. For a department that size, this isn't an unusual attrition rate. Most of my friends who left QU over the last couple years did so because they just got bored with Doha... which is certainly not the most exciting place to live in the Gulf.

The thing is that if you read these boards, getting 'not renewed' because you didn't get along with management is sadly common. And I agree lollaerd, that it was often our fellow compatriots that were the hardest to get along with... But, nationality isn't what makes good management. I was disappointed more often than not by my managements from one end of the Gulf to the other. Of my top managers, one was American, one was British, and the others were Omani. (and my bad ones also covered those three nationalities)

The reality is that job security sucks in the Gulf. Most of us manage to survive a contract or two per employer... three, if we are really laid-back. Then you move on to the next place with new and different problems.

VS

[ckhl]

I am sorry to sound ignorant or OLD but is Thursday12 from the Caribbean? Apologies if I have offended.

Tell me about it. Affectations anyone?