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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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 Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 3:56 pm Post subject: |
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| I find their website (http://www.aum.edu.kw/) oddly sterile with obvious stock photos; it lacks a personal presence and comes across as a generic website template. Specifically, it's missing the names of the university president, deans, department heads/administrators, board of directors, professors---there's zilch. Quite unusual and rather suspect. |
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dia123
Joined: 04 Aug 2014
Posts: 17
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| Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 8:28 pm Post subject: AUM |
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Well, the website story can be resolved by adding more content to it. I hear the university is still building their staff and didn't have a stable personnel to be able to post them on their initial website. They seem to go through a high turnover and many teachers and administrators quit. I guess to put faces and names up there, people need to stay for years and not constantly leave. But I needed some reviews from people who work there right now. I know who is running the university and his name is mentioned in this forum. But i don't have an idea on the present working conditions. It might be better than years ago .
Anyone to share their opinion ? |
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EFL Educator
Joined: 17 Jul 2013
Posts: 988
Location: Cape Town
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| Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 12:11 pm Post subject: |
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This place has an extremely high turnover of teachers...stay clear of this place....the students are spoiled brats and rule the oyster...your job rets with them...and they will take you for a rollercoaster ride in class.....according to former EFL colleagues of mine who never will return there!  |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 1:10 pm Post subject: |
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| dia123 wrote: |
| Well, the website story can be resolved by adding more content to it. I hear the university is still building their staff and didn't have a stable personnel to be able to post them on their initial website. They seem to go through a high turnover and many teachers and administrators quit. I guess to put faces and names up there, people need to stay for years and not constantly leave. |
Which is exactly what their superficial, vanilla and partially plagiarized website conveys: a university that 1) is understaffed at every level of the organization, which points to poor employee retention; 2) lacks credibility by not naming a single person in a leadership role (e.g., the university president, deanship, and board of directors); and 3) lacks authenticity and transparency. All of this equals one very large, red flag.
While others may not find value in scrutinizing an employer's website, it offers me clues as to a university's culture/personality, code of ethics (rules and responsibilities), leadership's credentials, teachers' backgrounds, work environment, and so on, in preparation for interviews. Moreover, the writing style and absence of certain crucial information on the website usually provide me questions to ask during an interview. Anyway, I prefer to do my employer research from every angle and not just rely on one main source. |
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dia123
Joined: 04 Aug 2014
Posts: 17
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| Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 2:27 pm Post subject: AUM |
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Hey, in regards to leadership referrals and names, i found more info on Instagram than on their main website. I am not sure why this is happening, but The instagram link seems to provide more pictures and info on the university leadership programs, awards and events.
http://instagram.com/aum_official
I definitely agree that this university has had bad reviews, but for this reason i wanted to have new reviews, people who are working there RIGHT NOW. Not teachers who quit last year or two years ago. Am pretty sure that the institution has teachers still in service and working. They didn't quit and these can be our reference as whether the situation has changed or not. I have to say that the teachers who already left are a good source of information, but if there are many more who are working there, our judgment should also include them. Things change, people can find out where the mistake is and fix it. We look ahead and see if the active teachers are enjoying it or not.
Pleaaaaase ! Anyone working there NOW ? |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 2:27 pm Post subject: Re: AUM |
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| dia123 wrote: |
| Well, the website story can be resolved by adding more content to it. I hear the university is still building their staff and didn't have a stable personnel to be able to post them on their initial website. They seem to go through a high turnover and many teachers and administrators quit. I guess to put faces and names up there, people need to stay for years and not constantly leave. |
For a university to be around as long as it has... and it still can't update and correct a website is a HUGE... SCREAMing red flag. You don't need to have maintained an IT staff onsite to do this. There are plenty of companies who will maintain a website for a fee. So this place is obviously too tight-fisted and lazy to do that.
From day one they have had extreme difficulty keeping their staff and administration. Their website rather shows that little or nothing had changed.
VS |
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dia123
Joined: 04 Aug 2014
Posts: 17
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| Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 2:33 pm Post subject: AUM |
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Sure ! But we still don't have a tangible recent and updated review from any staff member. All what people have been doing is interpreting the situation according to what they think is true. In situations like this, i need teachers, administrators, and students who are working, and studying there to assess the change or no-change of the situation. Otherwise, each opinion is very related to the person's own interpretation and prejudice.
Am really interested in FACTS !! |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 3:12 pm Post subject: Re: AUM |
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| dia123 wrote: |
| i wanted to have new reviews, people who are working there RIGHT NOW. |
Sure... you're very likely to get new bad reviews. |
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SirAristede
Joined: 26 May 2014
Posts: 83
Location: Salmiya, Al 'Āşimah, Kuwait
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| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2014 1:34 am Post subject: Re: AUM |
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| dia123 wrote: |
Sure ! But we still don't have a tangible recent and updated review from any staff member. All what people have been doing is interpreting the situation according to what they think is true. In situations like this, i need teachers, administrators, and students who are working, and studying there to assess the change or no-change of the situation. Otherwise, each opinion is very related to the person's own interpretation and prejudice.
Am really interested in FACTS !! |
Your insistence for "FACTS" is somewhat telling. Have you accepted a position with this institution or are you in the interview process? Your urgency seems to indicate something more. You're not a gofer fishing for the views and opinions of current employees, I hope... |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2014 3:23 am Post subject: Re: AUM |
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| SirAristede wrote: |
| dia123 wrote: |
I need teachers, administrators, and students who are working, and studying there to assess the change or no-change of the situation.
Am really interested in FACTS !! |
Your urgency seems to indicate something more. You're not a gofer fishing for the views and opinions of current employees, I hope... |
Based on that ghost town of a website, there aren't any current employees at AUM.  |
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travelNick
Joined: 22 Feb 2009
Posts: 56
Location: Bogota, Colombia
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| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2014 5:56 am Post subject: |
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aumstory13.blogspot.com
Be afraid... |
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dia123
Joined: 04 Aug 2014
Posts: 17
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| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2014 6:57 am Post subject: Re: AUM |
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" Your insistence for "FACTS" is somewhat telling. Have you accepted a position with this institution or are you in the interview process? Your urgency seems to indicate something more. You're not a gofer fishing for the views and opinions of current employees, I hope...[/quote]
I haven't accepted nor applied yet to this institution. I am still in info gathering stage and wanted to hear people's feedback before diving in. Am not sure what you mean by "gofer" and "fishing for the views and opinions of current employees .." You comment sounds a bit strange and unnecessarily aggressive. Gathering information is what everyone should do before applying to any position especially when the institution has that many red flags. So if you are working now at AUM, I think you can help me with some feedback. If you are not working there, i guess you can pass and agress someone else on here. I really don't need you.
Cheers |
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dia123
Joined: 04 Aug 2014
Posts: 17
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| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2014 6:59 am Post subject: AUM |
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| By the way, my previous comment is intended for SirAristede. |
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SirAristede
Joined: 26 May 2014
Posts: 83
Location: Salmiya, Al 'Āşimah, Kuwait
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| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2014 1:37 pm Post subject: Re: AUM |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
| Based on that ghost town of a website, there aren't any current employees at AUM. |
Haha Good point, nomad soul!  It's hard to hear the tree fall in the forest if no one is around!
And dia123, my comment isn't strange at all if you've spent any time reading the forum here. If you haven't received any information about the place yet, it's unlikely that you will (at least not in a timely fashion). If you thought my comment was aggressive, you might want to reconsider the Middle East as a venue for future employment. Many employers have gofers who follow this forum and use a variety of means to gauge perception of their institutions. Also, why don't you just apply and see what happens. All of these questions and more can be answered by faculty members that you can speak with (if there are any).
Several members here who are veterans of the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) have given extremely sound advice. It's irrelevant if they haven't worked there. If the information already available on AUM is suspect or there is little information to begin with, those are red flags. I find on this forum that individuals who don't heed posters indications of red flags are simply looking for justification to accept a position irrespective of what has been said. If something seems strange or if there is little information, those are red alerts for me.
In the EFL/TESOL world, the advice and warnings of other individuals is of paramount importance when considering a position, but your research should come from many different angles (i.e. not just anonymous internet forums). Additionally, teachers do talk to other teachers and get the gist about a certain place. It would not be wise to disregard what other people have heard about an institution, especially since you are getting no response from anyone on the scene (assuming anyone on the scene at AUM even posts here).
Mark Twain once opined, "Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please." Believe me, one should keep this in mind when considering the Middle East. Truth and reality don't always intersect.
I certainly hope you're able to find the information you need. |
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dia123
Joined: 04 Aug 2014
Posts: 17
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| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2014 2:57 pm Post subject: Re: AUM |
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[quote=If the information already available on AUM is suspect or there is little information to begin with, those are red flags. I find on this forum that individuals who don't heed posters indications of red flags are simply looking for justification to accept a position irrespective of what has been said. If something seems strange or if there is little information, those are red alerts for me.[/quote]
I got the first part of your comment Sir, but feel confused over the second half. Are you telling me to be careful of AUM and the reviews that are sending red flags about it ? or are you encouraging me to apply ? |
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