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[globalnomad2]

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports today that Michigan State University (not to be confused with the Univ of Michigan) will open a new campus in Dubai. You need a password to read the entire article, but here's an excerpt:

Michigan State, which is in a state of "financial risk," according to Mr. Hudzik , was also attracted by the generous line of credit offered by Tecom Investments, a government entity that owns International Academic City. The new campus will be supported by its own revenue rather than drawing on the university's resources.

The problem is that Dubai may have missed the boat on appealing to top American universities. "Qatar certainly has the advantage of having been first and having attracted a lot of big names already," said Philip G. Altbach, director of the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College.

"Qatar is the gold standard until somebody does it better, which frankly would be difficult to do." And as more countries in the region clamor to open American campuses, the oversaturation may undermine all of their efforts. "There are a lot of bright people in the world, but you can't have a country full of Harvards and expect to have bright kids filling all the seats, especially in these smaller countries with fewer qualified people," Altbach said. "I'm not saying that schools like Michigan State won't be able to maintain the same standards as at home, but it is certainly a major concern."

[mishmumkin]

So I wonder how soon we're talking, and when they'll start recruiting faculty.

[helmsman]

This is good news, on the face of it, as it gives TEFLers here another option. The question is, will it be badly run with poor salary and benefits, a la George Mason, Wollongong, Abu Dhabi U, etc, or will it not compromise its credibility and treat its faculty as respected professionals?

Other points to consider are the way they are going to house their teachers in a Dubai that has already reached rent levels that are beyond what institutions can afford to pay if they want their staff to live comfortably.

Furthermore, are the salaries going to be enough to keep up with the steadily rising cost of living in Dubai and the UAE in general?

All we can do is hope that Michingan will do the right thing, but in any event it is still very early days.

[globalnomad2]

The Chronicle article quotes MSU as stating they might offer classes as soon as next Fall.

One hopes and expects Michigan State to make a much better attempt at doing it right. For one thing, MSU is not only much larger and better-known than George Mason as a national university, it is also ranked considerably higher--at least by US News & World Report and by reputation.

[veiledsentiments]

I think that a more important reason why MSU may do a better job is that they have always had a huge number of students from the Middle East and have one of the most influential Middle East studies departments in the US. One would hope that they are consulting with the right people about how to do this.

The key is how they plan to manage things... how 'hands on' they plan to be.

VS

[globalnomad2]

That's interesting and no doubt true, as Arabs tend to congregate around Detroit. That, and their reputation as a national university, currently ranked at around #71 in U.S. News--and probably that corresponds roughly to their true stature--demands that they make an effort to do it right. GMU,in contrast, has simply lent its name to a fourth-rate little compound that has 50 students after 3 years (and grandiose plans of a fantasy-island campus in the desert for 2008 to accommodate 5,000 - 10,000)!

On the other hand, MSU may well never attract enough true students because there simply may not be enough of them in this region.

[helmsman]

A wise strategy for them might be to go after all those well-heeled expat kids in Dubai -- ie the type that populate AUD and schools of that ilk and buy the new properties there. I agree that there may be too few "true" national students to fill the classes there, so going after a different profile might work for them.

OP: thanks for telling us about this; could be a nice option for some like me.

[globalnomad2]

Helmsman: My pleasure. And don't forget NYU is setting up in Abu Dhabi as well.