Job Discussion Forums

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

So in your little corner of the desert, they decided to declare a new thing called PYP that everyone else calls the Foundation year or program?

Is there anyone else anywhere else in the world that uses this term other than your institution? Nothing comes up on Google...

VS

Neil McBeath · Joined: 01 Dec 2005 Posts: 277 Location: Saudi Arabia

"Is there anywhere else in the world that uses this term other than your institution? Nothing comes up on Google...."

A VERY quick search discovered Preparatory Year Programs at

Pronce Sultan University - Riyadh

Kinf Faisal University - Al Hassa and DAmmam

Al Baha University - Al Baha

KFUPM - Dammam

So it isn't just LPC's "little corner of the desert," is it? It seems to be a term that has currency across KSA.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

But PYP still didn't come up with anything from google... so thank you for your list.

And Saudi needs its own acronym because?

VS

Neil McBeath · Joined: 01 Dec 2005 Posts: 277 Location: Saudi Arabia

No, you don't use the acronym. You do a Google search for Preparatory Year Programme.

And KSA has probably decided that PYP is a more accurate description than Foundation Level.

They might be right.

In Oman, Foundation Level will stay because that is the term used by the Oman Accreditation Council, but the downside of that is that the divide between "Foundation" courses and "real" university courses will also stay. As will the pay differential between people who have, say, a PhD and a body of published research but who teach "foundation" students, and those with the same qualifications and expertise who teach "real" students in the same insitution.

This ensures that EFL/ESP practitioners remain in a service role. Wider adoption of the Saudi term might be a way of moving out of that impasse.
It is, if you like, the same idea as replacing the term "scissors" - cheap, easily available, with "paper shears"- expensive, specialist tools.

7atetan · Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 7:03 am Post subject:

Never Ceased To Be Amazed · Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 11:31 am Post subject:

Never Ceased To Be Amazed · Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 11:51 am Post subject:

Correction. NOT PYP, but UPP (University Preparatory Program) of the King Faisal Foundation. My comments have not changed from a year ago, but apparently kepler and tomboy666 are both AWOL since then.

Longevity, my good friends,...longevity...

NCTBA

gibon · Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Posts: 40 Location: Warsaw

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

PYP is Preparatory Year Program, also known as Orientation Year. Not all universities in KSA have farmed this out to private contractors. Those that have done that seem to be having problems (q.v. Bell/Obeikan/KSU).

The need for these programmes is a clear illustration that secondary schools in kingdom are not delivering the "product". Schools were better in the 1970's when scot47 was teaching at secondary level. (Secondary School, Tabuk, 1970-1972)

johnslat · Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 2:51 pm Post subject:

Dear scot47,

"Schools were better in the 1970's when scot47 was teaching at secondary level. (Secondary School, Tabuk, 1970-1972)"

But then, you moved on. And it's all been downhill ever since.

Now we know whom to blame.

Regards,
John

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

I blame those who egregiously, with malice forethought and without provocation use the word "whom" to show that they are SMARTYPANTS ! Yah boo !

Stephen Jones · Joined: 21 Feb 2003 Posts: 4124

Acronym Finder doesn't have 'Preparatory Year Program' as one of the meanings. It does have 26 others though.

Possible Meanings Rank
Patanjali Yog Peeth ****
Photoactive Yellow Protein ****
Pitch Your Plan ***
Pittsburgh Young Professionals ***
Pottery at Your Place ***
primordial yolk platelets **
protein yolk precursor **
Pensacola Young Professionals **
Tc-99m-pyrophosphate **
Technetium-99m-pyrophosphate **
6-(2-pyridinium)phenanthridinium **
protein tyrosine phosphatase **
Post Your Picture **
Pertamina Youth Program **
Tc-99m pyrophosphate **
Pennywell Youth Project **
Pacemaker 2 Y Pipe **
Primary Year Programme **
PRIDE Youth Programs **
Pima YOUTH Partnership *
Piranhas YMCA Palm *
Professional Year Program *
Pennslvania Yellow Pages *
Peter Yamasaki Photography *
Phu Yen Province *
Prevention of Youth Problems *

johnslat · Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 6:14 pm Post subject:

Dear scot47,

"I blame those who egregiously, with malice forethought and without provocation use the word "whom" to show that they are SMARTYPANTS ! Yah boo !"

To WHOM are you referring?

Regards,
Smartypants John

Neil McBeath · Joined: 01 Dec 2005 Posts: 277 Location: Saudi Arabia

Vs,

This is called doing research. We teach this on the Foundation Course/PYP at SQU, and I actually edited quite an effective in-house book about this for my programme.

When you did your search on Google for PYP, you would have come across references to Primary Years Programs. At this point you have to stop, and THINK.

You have the last two words, so what could possibly collocate with those words that would be applicable to tertiary education in Saudi Arabia?

It is, as alter ego said on another thread, the difference between having the knowledge and being a know-all.

Incidently, Qassim University in KSA also has a PYP.