Organizer

InstitutionalBest PracticeBooklet

"Towards Transformative Higher Education: The Role of Innovation in the

st21 Century Digital and Knowledge based Society"

th th10 - 11 of November, 2015 Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi-UAE

"Inspiring the Leaders of today”

Table of Contents

1. Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Design Thinking as the Defining ........................... 4Competences of the 21st Century

2. A Report on Internationalization of Higher Education Best Practices ......................... 16from Tehran University of Medical Sciences

3. A Consultative Approach to Developing an Education Strategy ................................. 24

4. Transnational Leadership and Internationalization of Higher Education ..................... 33

5. Exploring Dubai’s Higher Education Potential ............................................................. 40

6. Institutional Differentiation in Private Higher Education The University....................... 96 Of Nizwa, Oman: A Differentiated Private Higher Education Model

7. Concept, First Outcomes, and Ranking Strategies of the Russian........................... 105 Academic Excellence Project 5-100

8. Innovation in Accreditation: An Effective Framework Of Quality................................. 108 Assurance and Continuous Improvement for Mission Fulfillment

9. Developing an Empirical Model to Measure Effectiveness........................................ 121in a Higher Education Institute in UAE

10. Sustainable Organization – Building on Quality Assurance System.......................... 132With Innovations and Continual Improvements

11. Aligning Mbbs Program Learning Outcomes to Qfemirates 147– Our Experience Using A 7-Step Approach

12. A Learning Assessment Toolkit for Quality Assurance.............................................. 160

13. Enhancing Global Competitiveness of the Russian................................................. 169University: An Urfu Case

14. Leveraging Student Knowledge and Experience in the............................................ 173Classroom: Enhancing Contextualization in UAE

15. Integrating Simulation-Based Education In Undergraduate Medical.......................... 181Curriculum: A Curricular Innovation at Gulf Medical University

16. Empowering New Students with Structured First Year Experience........................... 190

17. How American Student Leadership Development can.............................................. 202Work in Mena Universities

18. An Innovative Method for Improving Professional Skills........................................... 216to Increase Graduate Employability

19. Transformative Open Practice: Adding Open Innovation and Co-Creation To........... 235Transformative Best Practices in Higher Education

20. Building Community And Learner Autonomy: An Instructor Training......................... 244Model for Online Learning

21. Implementation of Iso 9001:2008 at Al Khawarizmi.................................................. 255International College – UAE

22. Nothing is Impossible… Is The Pathway To Success................................................ 267

23. Interior Design Case Studies: Designing Entrepreneurial......................................... 273Environments in a University Setting

24. Utilizing New Approach to Teaching of Physics in Studio Format............................ 293

25. Successful Implementation of Electronic Rubrics at the Program Level................. 305

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Editors

ENTREPRENEURSHIP, INNOVATION AND DESIGN THINKING AS THE ST DEFINING COMPETENCES OF THE 21 CENTURY

Organizer

DR. DONALD NORRIS,

President

Strategic Initiatives Inc.

12209 Jonathons Glen Way

Herndon, VA 20170, USA

dmn@strategicinitiatives.com

703.447.7563 (Cell)

703.450.5255 (Office)

CASE STUDY

5

KEYWORDS: Innovation, entrepreneurship, design thinking, commercialization,

commercializable idea marketplace, alumni, innovation ecosystem, leadership

Abstract

Throughout the world, including the MENA stRegion, 21 century approaches are required

for successful innovation and entrepreneur-

ship. These involve openness, collaboration,

engagement and discovery, as well as stcommercialization. The 21 century best

practices we focus on reflect US university best

practices, notably from Virginia Tech. Its main

campus and corporate research center are

complemented by research centers,

collaborative research and development

ventures, and an extension service across the

Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia Tech is

transforming its entrepreneurship and

innovation ecosystem in ways that are highly

relevant to MENA. Entrepreneurship and

innovation are being incorporated in the formal

curricula in business, engineering, the

sciences, and professional studies.

Entrepreneurship and innovation are also

advancing through cross-discipl inary

applications. Further, students are running a

range of vibrant co-curricular entrepreneurship

activities, with institutional support. Virginia

Tech Investor Network (VTIN) is being

developed to attract participation from Tech’s

220,000 alumni, who will be engaging as

champions, funders, mentors and potentially

as entrepreneurs in residence. Many of these

incubating elements could eventually evolve

into what Strategic Initiatives calls a

”Commercializable Idea Marketplace” (CIM),

championing ideas, linking ideas to funding,

and providing, mentorship and commerciali-

zation. The paper concludes with the vision of

Strategic Initiatives about Entrepreneurial,

Innovative University in 2020.

This paper provides insights into the emerging

imperat ive to bui ld competences in

entrepreneurship, innovation, and design

thinking. We draw from the experiences of

universities across the globe and demonstrate

their application through a specific case study –

Virginia Tech. The paper concludes with the

vision of Strategic Initiatives for the nature of

Entrepreneurial, Innovation University in the

year 2020, based on the extrapolation of these

imperatives. The paper’s three sections are:

I. Background on Entrepreneurship,

Innovation and Design Thinking as Defining

Competences for the 21st Century

II. Virginia Tech Case Study: Reshaping the

Innovation Ecosystem

III. Future Scenario: The Entrepreneurial

University in 2020

We live in disruptive times whose impacts can

be delayed, but cannot be avoided. Enterprises

in all industries are changing their practices in

the face of globalization, digitization and post-

Recession realignments. In most higher

education institutions, we have used

technology to create so-called sustaining

innovations that do not reinvent processes

and actually result in higher costs. Moving into

the future, this is not financially viable.

To achieve excellence in the age of disruptive

change, leaders at all levels need to focus on

transformative, disruptive innovations that

create new experiences and outcomes,

enhance performance, reduce costs, and open

up new revenue streams (Norris, Brodnick,

Baer, et al, 2013). Leveraging entrepreneurial

innovation and design thinking are central to

achieving these ends (Norris and Brodnick,

2014).

The

20th century economist Joseph Schumpeter

(1942) popularized the term “creative

destruction” to describe the impact of

recurring cycles of disruptive change. Starting

20 years ago, Clayton Christensen (1995)

I. Background on Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Design Thinking

The Age of Disruption and Creativity:

interpreted creative destruction into the

concept of “disruptive innovation,” describing

its impacts on every market it touches. His work stheralded the arrival of the 21 century, which

many consider to be the “Age of Disruption” and

others call it the “Age of Creativity.” (Florida,

2002) In recent years, Christensen extended

his work to include higher education, as

reflected in The Innovative University:

Changing the DNA of Higher Education from

the Inside Out (2011). He stipulates a number of

ways in which universities can change their

value propositions and business models to

thrive in the face of competition.

These emerging, disruptive conditions were

exacerbated by the global financial crisis and

recession of the last decade. John Seely Brown

and John Hagel (2009) described “The Big

Shift” following the financial crisis of 2008 and

the Great Recession:

?Organizations are rewriting the rules of

business and competitiveness, in all

industries and enterprises,

?Economies are not creating enough

traditional jobs to create full employment

(a problem which is especially extreme in

MENA), and

?Due to unemployment and financial

necessity, recent high school and college

graduates are becoming “job makers”,

not job seekers. Do-it-yourself (DIY)

personal development is gaining in

appeal; Anya Kamenetz’s book DIYU:

Edupunks, edupreneurs and the coming

transformation of higher education

(2012) captured the spirit of these new

approaches.

Over the past few years,

entrepreneurship and innovation have spread

and developed into an international movement.

Incubators, innovation accelerators, and

mentorship development centers have

blossomed in metropolitan areas and places

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Assume

Greater Importance:

close to colleges and universities. Students

have gotten ahead of the faculty in most

universities in starting entrepreneurship clubs

and ventures, and are demanding such

activities as part of their developmental

experiences. Many countries are focusing on

entrepreneurship training and experiences in

K-12 education (Varis, 2014). Crowd sourced

funding for entrepreneurial and innovation

marketplaces has emerged as an important

democratizing force. The concept of

“Commercializable Idea Marketplaces” (CIM)

calls for development to identify and hone good

ideas and link them to champions, funders, and

mentors (Norris and Lewis, 2015). Design

thinking and creativity are seen as key parts of

the entrepreneurial character and many

leading-edge ventures are combining

graduates from the sciences, engineering, and

the liberal and performing arts in their efforts.

Susta inab i l i ty is a key e lement o f

entrepreneurship and innovation, globally, and

is the focus of many projects and ventures.

Pervasive, perpetual connectivity and

engagement, enabled by Information,

Communication, and Learning Technologies

(ICLT), are creating new pathways to

competence. Smartphones and similar devices

bring connectivity and ICLT to everyone.

Ambient ICLT enables the fusion of learning,

work and other endeavors – for everyone, every

place, every time, all the time, and on terms of

their choice. Tapio Varis (2014) has spoken

eloquently about the key role of media literacy

in fostering entrepreneurship. It builds capacity

for continuous human development and

enables the role of continuous mentor. ICLT and

media literacy make knowledge and learning

abundant, not scarce. These developments

take knowledge and learning out of the

exclusive domain of the high priests (teachers

and experts). They empower DIY learning,

development, and entrepreneurship. The result

is perpetual learning, all one’s life, and all the

time, applied to problems at hand.

Competences in the Age of Creativity:

6

Pervasive ICLT Enables Entrepreneurship

for Everyone:

thMoving Beyond 20 Century Pathways:

stNew Practices for the 21 Century:

Pervasive ICLT enables

entrepreneurship experiences for everyone

from K-12 through retirees. Entrepreneurship

plays an important role in economic growth,

i n n o v a t i o n , a n d c o m p e t i t i v e n e s s .

Entrepreneurs need a wide range of skills and

information, continuously refreshed, for selling

their products and or services and for

developing expertise, markets, and business.

Entrepreneurship encompasses a wide range

of attitudes, values, competences, and habits

that can be acquired and developed.

Entrepreneurs learn to evaluate, make

decisions, and pivot rapidly in the face of

evidence suggesting that they need to change

d i rect ion. Entrepreneurship enables

individuals to take charge of their own fortunes,

becoming job makers, not job seekers.

In ththe 20 century and earlier, a number of

learning pathways were key to success. A

liberal arts education developed the capacity

for critical thought, reasoning and humanism

that could be further cultivated with exposure to

professional training. Media literacy developed

the habits of the mind, body, and spirit to thrive

in a media-rich world. Engineering developed

subject matter skills, discipline, and problem-

solving capacity. Professional training in fields

such as medicine, allied health, law, and

architecture acculturated professionals to their

chosen fields. Technical training at lower levels

enabled workers to acquire certifiable skills for

specific jobs. Apprenticeships were particular

paths to guild-based jobs, trades, and

livelihoods. These pathways worked well for

much of the 20th century. However, they began

to falter in the face of mass higher education,

mismatches between employer needs and

graduate skills, and softening of the job

creating capacity of developed economies,

globally.

st In the 21

century, economies are unable to create

sufficient jobs to keep pace with population

growth. This is true even in industrialized and

emerging economies and especially so in

countries of rapid population growth like MENA,

for example. Traditional professional pathways

are coming under assault and reinvention (law,

journalism, pharmacy, engineering, and

design). A new ethos is required – turning

young people into “job/success makers” - not

job seekers. This requires developing the

habits of the mind, body and spirit, which are

needed to thrive in a media-centric, innovative

creative society. This new ethos will involve DIY

entrepreneurship and innovation experiences

at all levels – primary, secondary, and tertiary

education. Institutions and governments

should support these developments in a variety

of ways and adaptive universities should

respond to these new realities.

Varis (2014)

identifies the three sets of interconnecting

individual skills and competencies that people

acquire to thrive in the Age of Creativity:

Subject-based skill (know-what and

know-how),

Behavioral and social skills (self-

confidence, energy, perseverance,

passion, leadership, collaboration,

communication), and

Skills in thinking and creativity (critical

thinking, ability to make connections,

imagination, curiosity).

Lockwood (2010) says that design thinking is

generally referred to as applying a designer’s

sensibility and methods to problem solving, no

matter what the problem is. It is a methodology

for innovation and enablement and testing

solutions through prototyping. Thinking,

researching, “pivoting” in the face of new

evidence, trying new prototypes, and

discovering new solutions – this is the essence

of design thinking. Strategic Initiatives (Norris

and Brodnick, 2014) has been deploying

design thinking to support strategic innovation

in higher education. It was also to train teams

from institutions to deploy a combination of

innovation, entrepreneurship, and design

Design Thinking for Innovation:

7

thinking to realign their programs, processes,

experiences, and outcomes for 21st century

imperatives.

Virginia Tech is an institution that has made a

strategic commitment to fostering an

unexcelled environment of entrepreneurship

and innovation. It is in the process of executing

its strategy to strengthen its Innovation

Ecosystem. It is currently hiring a new Vice

President for Research and Innovation as a

demonstration of that commitment. This case

study has been prepared through insights

gained by associating with and observing this

process over the past three years. It is not an

official case study from the University.

Virginia Tech

is a Land Grant University serving over 31,000

students. Its main campus is in Blacksburg is

Southwest Virginia, where it is the center of

economic development for the New River

Valley/Roanoke Valley Region. Tech conducts

nearly $500 million worth research and

development activities. It is ranked 38th among rdUS universities (23 among public universities)

based on research expenditures.

The Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center

(VTRC) is located adjacent to the campus and

has been recognized as one of the top research

parks in the US. In addition, Tech has a major

presence in the National Capital Region (DC

Metro area) with graduate and academic

centers, Virginia Tech Research Center-

Arlington and a web of networks and

relationships. It is also participating in Tech

Center Research Park (TCRP), a 100-acre

mixed-use development adjacent to the

Jefferson National Lab in Newport News,

Virginia. The TCRP is a hybrid between today’s

generation of research parks and innovation

districts, creating an environment for

collaboration, shared research, and incubation

of high-tech industries. Finally, Virginia Tech’s

II. Virginia Tech Case Study:

Reshaping the Innovation

Ecosystem

Background on Virginia Tech:

Cooperative Extension Service has been

serving Virginia’s citizens and the agriculture

industry to deploy the latest in research and

practice across the Commonwealth. In all these

ways, Tech is dedicated to building prosperity

for the citizens of the Commonwealth by

moving ideas from the mind and the laboratory

to the marketplace.

Virginia Tech is well known for its academic

excellence in engineering, the sciences,

business, agriculture, architecture, and other

professional fields. It is also known as a top job

creator and is one of the top ten destinations for

corporate recruiters. Eighty-three percent of

the 2014 graduates either were employed or

were continuing their education by December

2014 (Sands, 2015). Importantly, it is also

renowned for the quality of it co-curricular

experiences and development of the individual.

Students participate in an impressive portfolio

of developmental experiences, ranging from

developing leadership through serving in the

Corps of Cadets (1,000 students) to

participating in service and community

engagement in the spirit of Tech’s motto “Ut

Prosim” (That I May Serve) to competing in a

wide array of design competitions. The

commitment to engaged service is more than a

slogan – it is the culture. This combination of

economic development and service is critical to

the nurturing of a culture of innovation and

entrepreneurship that can have a positive

impact on humanity through innovation,

commercialization and entrepreneurship. .

In 2012,

Virginia Tech initiated the Ecosystem Review

Committee to take an inventory of the

university’s resources and identify possible

gaps in the innovation process. This group

carefully reviewed Tech’s strengths and

weaknesses in the context of best practices at

other research universities and recognized

hotbeds of innovation. The Committee’s Report

(2012) recommended a range of specific

interventions, such as:

1. Refining the university’s intellectual

property policies and practices to provide

Why the Initiative Was Undertaken:

8

greater responsiveness, flexibility, and

clarity and

2. Providing for ownership of IP by

undergraduate students: Equally

important, the Committee’s efforts

engaged a broad cross-section of

stakeholders on campus and among

alumni and friends of the university. This

engagement highlighted the many

opportunities that could be seized if the

university were able to optimize its

Innovation Ecology.

Goals and Outcomes Intended to be

Achieved: The recommendations in this report

identified clear actions to be taken to improve

the Innovation Ecosystem. They also provided

fuel for several years of concerted effort by the

Vice President for Research, Dr. Robert

Walters. By eliminating barriers and

impediments, the innovative energies of the

university could be unleashed and fresh

investments made in promising opportunities

revealed by the process.

The Innovation Ecology Report came at a propitious time for the University. Dr. Charles Steger was completing a highly successful term of service as President, during which Virginia Tech had grown in research funding and attainment and had national recognition. Dr. Walters was retiring. Innovation was a key motive in the search process, through which Tech selected Dr. Timothy Sands as the new President (he assumed office in June 2014). The importance of innovation was further signaled in the new title, Vice President for Research and Innovation, the search for which is underway now (April 2015).

The concerted efforts by the Office of the Vice President for Research, supported by the Colleges, Institutes, Virginia Tech Foundation, and the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center has yielded the following plan of activities/outcomes:

?Foster a culture of collaboration across the colleges and institutes;

The Actual Implementation Strategy/ Results and Outcomes:

?Facilitate engagement and recognition of entrepreneurial faculty/researchers, students and alumni;

?Enhance engagement with industry through more flexible terms in sponsored research agreements and more “outward facing” relationships with industry;

?Revisit Virginia Tech’s Intellectual Property Policy to provide greater flexibility for student ownership of IP;

?Establish the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) in the Pamplin School of Business, which will coordinate VT’s innovators across colleges to include:

- Teach students/faculty to assess commercialization potential of their ideas (proof of concept programming

- Engage Colleges in university-wide implementation of NSF I-Corps curriculum to assist in vetting commercial potential through the business model canvas;-

- Cultivate student-run SEED fund for

investment in ideas with commercial

potential.

?Establish Nuspark as a permanent

component of the innovation ecosystem.

NuSpark is a start-up resource

connecting the New River and Roanoke

Valleys of Virginia with the goal of creating

10 new start-ups and generating $10

million in fund flow within two years.

Located in Blacksburg, NuSpark is a work

and collaboration space for innovators

with pre-launch and early stage start-ups.

?Create a programmatic and structural framework that links current VT assets to present a coherent university strategy for innovation that integrates entrepreneurial training, student and faculty startup support, enhanced engagement with industry technology commercialization and tech transfer. Key elements include:

- Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) provides entrepreneurial assets for students and faculty

9

- National Science Foundation (NSF) Mid-Atlant ic I -Corps Regional Node (also known as DC-I C o r p s ) p r o v i d e s t e c h commercialization training for faculty and students)

- Science, Technology and Law Program provides intellectual property competencies

- Institute for Creativity, Arts and Technology (iCAT) provides design thinking and industrial design

- VT KnowledgeWorks provides creative entrepreneurship and business incubations and potential location in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center (VTCRC)

?Provide additional support services, such as an Inventor’s Handbook and a Start-up Handbook;

?Stage an annual conference on Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Virginia Tech;

?Progressively establish a set of mechanisms to connect emerging ideas with funding:

- $15 million Valley Venture Fund established by the Virginia Tech Foundation in partnership with Carillion and Third Security; and

- VT Investment Network (VTIN) which identifies start-ups for seed and early s tage inves tmen ts be tween $250,000 and $1 million; for start-ups requiring larger investments up to $2 million, the group will syndicate with other angel investors and venture capitalists. VTIN seeks funding for promising start-ups where a founder, board member, or active investor is a V T g r a d u a t e , s t u d e n t , o r faculty/researcher.

?Create mentoring and engagement opportunities for alumni who wish to participate in innovative entrepreneurship activities and invest their time and/or investment resources in ventures.

?P r o v i d e l e a d e r s h i p t o m a k e entrepreneurship and innovation a regional effort, involving the Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council (RBTC) and a statewide effort linking all of VT’s entrepreneurial assets across the Commonwealth in a seamless web.

In addition, the Innovation Ecosystem at

Virginia Tech is enriched by a range of activities

on the co-curricular side, many of which rely on

student initiative and leadership as the guiding

force. In many ways, the students are ahead of

the faculty at large and the formal curriculum in

their appetite for entrepreneurship and

innovation:

?Innovate is a residential community for

student entrepreneurs, where students

immerse themselves in entrepreneurship

– including activities that range from

brainstorming to concept development to

design to securing funding. Innovate has

grown from an ad hoc apartment

residence above a downtown theater to a

reclaimed fraternity house and from a

renovated portion of Pritchard Hall to a

university residence hall.

?The Entrepreneur Club at Virginia Tech

brings together creative and action

oriented students to build world changing

ideas. They provide hack nights,

successful entrepreneurs as speakers,

and social nights with other student

entrepreneurs.

?Virginia Tech students participate in a wide

range of design and problem-solving

competitions, such as the 2015 Design

Competition hosted by Virginia Tech’s

Design, Research, and Education for

Additive Manufacturing (DREAMS) and

Mechatronics Labs and the Virginia Tech

Applied Research Corporation (VT-ARC).

While many of these are centered in the

College of Engineering, the design-based

work of the Institute for Creativity, Arts and

Technology is crafted to bring together

perspectives from engineering, the

sciences and the arts.

10

The overall vision is to develop a culture of

innovation at VT that:

?Enables and supports their students to

take the i r learn ing to c reat ive

opportunities that serve society and

improve our recovering economy;

?Support and train their faculty to be

entrepreneurial , enhancing their

opportunities to transition technologies to

society and commercialize the products

with their students and partnering entities;

?In tegra te en t repreneursh ip and

innovation into the lives of their students,

faculty and staff and their daily activities –

learning, research and outreach;

?Become recognized as the leading

university in Virginia and as a national

m o d e l f o r i n n o v a t i o n a n d

entrepreneurship.

The

following lessons have emerged from the

ongoing execution of the innovation strategy:

?Leadership is critical. Leadership is

necessary at the top and at all levels to

eliminate organizational barriers and

revise outdated policies and practices.

Leadership is also critical in mobilizing the

energies, resources, and political clout

necessary to facilitate collaborations,

cross-boundary sharing, and capacity

b u i l d i n g t h a t w i l l c r e a t e t h e

Entrepreneurial, Innovative University of

the future. VT’s new leadership at the

Presidential and VP for Research and

Innovation levels are poised to build on

the accomplishments of the past two

years and achieve lift-off.

?P e r s p e c t i v e s , p o l i c i e s , a n d

procedures must be changed to

el iminate impediments to the

innovat ion ecosystem . Pub l i c

univers i t ies must re invent their

perspectives, policies, and practices to

achieve the flexibility and responsiveness

Reflections on Lessons Learned.

needed to support innovation and

entrepreneurship. The Innovation

Ecosystem Report was instrumental in

accelerating that project at VT.

?Build on, extend, and nurture the

culture of entrepreneurship and

innovation. VT was already an

archipelago of entrepreneurial activities,

spread across the Blacksburg campus

a n d t h e C o m m o n w e a l t h . T h e

programmatic framework and structures

that have been built over the past several

years have created mechanisms for

extending the culture and winning new

adherents.

?Collaboration and sharing are

essential: Many of the ventures needed

to create robust entrepreneurial ventures

span organizational boundaries. The

Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council

spans geography; Nuspark is sponsored

by a boundary-spanning constellation of

partners - the Virginia Tech Foundation,

Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center,

VT KnowledgeWorks, DC I-Corps, iCAT,

Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Network,

and Roanoke Blacksburg Technology

Council; the VTIN is opening up

collaboration by inviting VT alumni into

act ive ro les of investment and

participation.

?Open the door to new participants –

alumni, friends of the university,

community problem solvers. In order

for entrepreneurship and innovation to

thrive in university-centric networks, there

must be an infusion of seasoned

pract i t ioners with experience in

commercia l izat ion, f inance, and

innovative applications. There must also

be an infusion of venture funds that can be

deployed intelligently through market-

driven mechanisms. VT has 220,000

alumni, many of whom have these

characteristics and the desire to be

engaged actively in meaningful way with

Tech. This could be a game changer.

11

?Off-campus, co-curricular and

student-led activities are critical. While

many curricula are including more

innovation, co-curricular events and

venues are indispensable for their

a d a p t a b i l i t y , f l e x i b i l i t y , a n d

responsiveness. Students at VT are able

t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n i n n o v a t i v e

entrepreneurship whatever their

academic discipline.

?Mobilize venture funders who can help

scout, champion, and mentor good

ideas, then let the market sort out

winners. Experience in other research

venues (2013) suggests that the greatest

flaw with current venture funding

practices – even in “successful” venture

organizations - is the lack of adequate

scouting and championing activities on

p r o m i s i n g i d e a s b y s e a s o n e d

professionals. These efforts improve the

success rate of promising ideas and

accelerate their progress in acquiring

funding. They also develop the capacity of

students, faculty, researchers, and others

who are develop ing potent ia l ly

commercializable ideas.

?University administration should

provide leadership, eliminate barriers,

provide strategic funding and capacity

development – and then get out of the

way. To thrive, entrepreneurial innovation

needs leadership, investment, capacity

building, el imination of barriers,

assistance in forging partnerships and

collaborations, and political support. It

also needs to be turned loose so that

innovations can occur at the appropriate

levels and fund allocation can be driven

by market force.

Over the next several years, it is highly likely

that Virginia Tech will learn from these

principles and become a national model for

innovation and entrepreneurship in service to

the Commonwealth of Virginia and globally.

III. Future Scenario: The

Entrepreneurial, Innovative

University in 2020

Connection, Openness, Innovation,

Research/Commercialization, Adaptability:

Extended Human and Knowledge

Development Networks:

Strategic Initiatives is engaging with many

universities across the globe that are crafting

strategies similar to Virginia Tech’s. This is

especially true of public Land Grant universities

in the US that have a commitment to economic

development, community and public service,

and producing leaders for industry,

government, and the military. Other institutions

across the globe also aspire for this goal. This

includes institutions in the MENA Region, which

desperately needs institutions and enterprises

tha t can deve lop and l ibera te the

entrepreneurial, innovative spirit of its people.

Strategic Initiatives has crafted the following

scenario to describe a possible 2020 future for

any of these institutions with the audacity to

pursue it, the insight and leadership to create it,

and the persistence to keep at it in the face of

institutional inertia and pushback.

To become the Entrepreneurial, Innovative

University of 2020, institutions must craft

strategies that place a greater emphasis on

c o n n e c t i o n , o p e n n e s s , i n n o v a t i o n ,

collaboration, research and commercialization,

adaptability and resilience. They must build the

organizational capacity needed to achieve new

levels of entrepreneurship and innovation,

drawing heavily on collaboration, partnerships

and sha r i ng t a l en t / know-how. The

Entrepreneurial, Innovative University must

open itself to flows of new participants,

physically and virtually.

By 2020, universities

will be one part of an ecosystem of distributed,

connected, and flexible human and knowledge

development networks. All will be actively

linked by social media tools available on

devices that everyone carries, wears, or

embeds. The campus-centric business model

12

and its financial sustainability are under assault

and will require reinvention to achieve

sustainability

The Entrepreneurial, Innovative

University will be part of a more complex reality

where campuses recognize learning from

many sources and students actively seek new

experiences beyond those offered on-campus.

It will be a reality where learners can select from

many concurrent choices and pathways,

creating their own personalized bundles of

experience, knowledge, competence, and

values. In addition, it will be a reality where

these bundles of experiences include practical

experience and the skills needed for career

success (subject-based skills, behavioral and

social skills, and critical thinking and creativity).

New Elements of the Entrepreneur’s Toolkit: By

2020, many learners may acquire both hands-

on training and application experience in

techniques, such as Lean Launch Pad, the

Business Model Canvas, Design Thinking, and

Principles of Pitch Competitions as part of their

academic and/or co-curricular experiences.

Moreover, they will be able to demonstrate

these accomplishments through rich personal

portfolios.

Students

selecting the Entrepreneurial, Innovative

University will look forward to be involved in

design competitions, problem-based learning,

undergraduate research, and co-curricular

leadership development from the start of their

university experience. This will include

students in the full range of disciplines. As they

develop, they will seek internships with

enterprises in the University Research Park,

cooperative education experiences, or study-

abroad experiences to broaden their

perspectives. Many will see themselves as job

makers, starting their own firms or setting up to

function as free-lancers. Many of the best

students will follow these free-range paths and

Many Choices, Pathways, and Compe-

tences:

Experiential Learning, Problem-Solving,

and Whole-Person Development:

will select the institutions best able to deliver on

these opportunities.

The Entrepreneurial,

Innovative University will need to right-size,

renovate, and reshape the physical campus. At

the micro-level, active learning needs new

venues; modern research demands flexible

space and disciplinary realignment; and all

activities require connectivity and cloud-based

technologies that perpetually refresh and

improve. Hands-on, thinking-doing spaces will

replace bolted down seats/lily-pad desktops

with movable, shapeable, collaborative

fixtures/furniture, ambient technology, and

limitless changeability. Many tiered lecture

spaces will be jack-hammered and reinvented.

Space is still the final frontier even for highly

developed universities.

At the macro-level, tomorrow’s

Entrepreneurial University will open up the

campus to a whole new range of participants of

all ages who want to engage in both virtual and

hands-on experiences - learning, research,

entrepreneurship, innovation and personal

development. K-12 students, visitors from

other campuses, and problem solvers of all

kinds will be welcome to the distributed, open

university. This could include legions of alumni

and friends of the university, returning to co-

create new experiences, ventures and

outcomes – and potentially new sources of

revenue. To many of these new seekers,

innovation, entrepreneurship, technology, and

design thinking are becoming core elements of

the new liberal arts for the 21st century.

The Entrepreneurial

University could have hundreds or even

thousands of distinguished alumni participating

as scouts, champions, mentors and venture

f unde rs i n Commerc i a l i zab le I dea

Marketplaces. These alumni and friends of the

university would bring investment dollars to

Right-Size, Renovate and Reshape the

Physical Campus:

Open the Campus Up and Send Students

Out:

Alumni and Friends of the University Are

New Change Makers:

13

campus, and even more important, their

expertise in commercializing new ideas and

breathing life into fledgling ventures and

developing companies. They would be

“entrepreneurs in residence” without pay,

investing in new ideas and sharing returns with

the university. However, their greatest

contribution would be in accelerating the

development of students and young

faculty/researchers. These efforts could

engage thousands of students, faculty,

researchers, and staff.

From

Strategic Initiatives’ work with CIM-like

endeavors, we showcase three critical success

factors (CSFs) that are essential:

?Leadership with vision and persistence,

?Engaging new types of people with

commercialization experience as scouts,

champions, mentors, and funders; and

?Providing access to adequate funding

pools and informed critique at all stages of

the process.

The Entrepreneurial, Innovative University of

2020 will validate and refine these CSFs.

Within the Entrepreneurial,

Innovative University, some disciplines will

thrive by doubling on their liberal arts traditions

and their commitment to whole person

development, combining academic, co-

curricular, and personal development. Co-

curricular development in leadership and

critical thinking will be especially valued.

However, even these institutions will need to

adapt to the connected human development

ecosystem, respond to the changing pace of

new knowledge in most fields of endeavor, and

incorporate new mechanisms for exposing

students to practical, problem-solving

experiences. Most Entrepreneurial, Innovative

Universities will have found ways to give liberal

and performing arts students experience in

design thinking and ventures, in which they

Critical Success Factor for CIMs:

Doubling on Whole Person Development –

with a Twist:

excel. Contemplative development and the

capacity for reflective practice are still highly

valued, but most highly in the context of a world

moving at warp speed.

The Entrepreneurial, Innovative University will

use its planning and strategy setting to foster

adaptability, resilience, and the capacity to

change business models and adopt best

p rac t i ces to ensu re sus ta inab i l i t y.

Entrepreneurial, Innovative Universities will

thrive if they can demonstrate the ability to

reinvent themselves for a distributed,

connected, open world of human development

and innovation – operating at the pace of

“Now!”

Brown JS, Hagel J and Davidson L (2009)

The Big Shift: Why it Matters. Deloitte

Center for the Edge.

Christensen JC (1995) “Disruptive

Technologies: Catching the Wave,” Harvard

Business Review.

Christensen CM and Eyring HJ (2011), The

Innovative University: Changing the DNA of

Higher Education from the Inside Out. San

Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Florida R (2002) The Rise of the Creative

Class. Basic Books.

Kamenetz A (2011) DIY U: Edupunks,

edupreneurs and the coming

transformation of higher education. New

York: Chelsea Green Publishing Company.

Lockwood T (2010) Design Thinking. New

York, NY: Allwood Press.

Norris DM, Brodnick R, Baer LB, et al.

(2013) Transforming in an Age of

Disruptive Change. Ann Arbor: Society for

College and University Planning.

Norris DM and Brodnick R (2014)

“Leveraging Innovation and Design

Thinking for Transformation in Disruptive

Times,” workshop at SCUP 49.

References

14

Norris DM and Lewis WB (2015)

Commercializing Ideas at Virginia Tech and

Beyond: Facilitating, Accelerating,

Transforming Innovation, Entrepreneurship,

and Commercialization, unpublished

presentation.

Pugliesi, Louis (2014) Unpublished Interview

on the Success Factors in Venture

Funding.

Sands, T (2015) “Graduation Rates of 2014

Graduates,” Virginia Tech Magazine,

Spring 2015.

Schumpeter JC (1942) Capitalism, Socialism,

and Democracy. London: Routledge. 139.

Varis T (May 27-28, 2014) Technology,

culture and learning in the age of

disruptions and creativity, First European

Media and Information Literacy Forum,

UNESCO, St. Petersburg.

Virginia Tech (2012), Report of the

Innovation Ecosystem Committee.

15

A REPORT ON INTERNATIONALIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION BEST PRACTICES FROM TEHRAN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL

SCIENCES

Organizer

ALI ARABKHERADMAND, MD,

Associate Professor

Vice-Chancellor for Global Strategies & International Affairs

Tehran University of Medical Sciences

ENAYAT A. SHABANI,

PhD

Assistant Professor

Director of International Affairs & Development

Tehran University of Medical Sciences

SHABNAM RANJBAR NIKKHOO

Research Assistant to Director of International Affairs & Development

Tehran University of Medical Sciences

CASE STUDY

Ali Arabkheradmand and Shabnam Ranjbar Nikkhoo are with Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (e-mail:

kheradmand@tums.ac.ir sh.nikkhoo@yahoo.com). Enayat A. Shabani is with Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

(Corresponding author; phone: 218 889 6696; fax 218 885 2654; en_shabani@yahoo.com).

17

KEYWORDS: Innovation, entrepreneurship, design thinking, commercialization,

commercializable idea marketplace, alumni, innovation ecosystem, leadership

Internationalization of higher education has been one the main concerns of Tehran University of

Medical Sciences in the recent years. In this regard, the Office of Vice-Chancellor for Global

Strategies and International Affairs officially commenced its work in 2011. It has broadened its

horizons day by day to a more internationalized and developed environment since then. This paper

reviews the practices this Office has followed. They are categorized into international student

admissions, international collaborations, quality assurance, research activities, marketing and

recruitment, and international student affairs. This paper reports that despite challenges and

shortcomings, the university expands and develops in various aspects. This development towards

internationalization works in a system built on needs-based research studies. These studies have

roots in the challenges that the higher education system faces in the Iranian context. What makes

this university outstanding in the country is presented in this paper.

A Report on Internationalization of Higher Education Best

Practices from Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Abstract

Background of TUMS

Tthe first modern center for medical training in

Iran was founded in 1851. It was a part of the

Institute for Higher Education (Dârol-Fonoon).

The School of Medicine was established as a

part of University of Tehran in 1934. After the

Islamic Revolution in 1979, all medical

departments, along with other departments

associated with medical sciences, were

dissociated from the Ministry of Higher

Education, and were put under the jurisdiction

of the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and

Medical Education. Since 1986, all medical and

other associated schools of University of

Tehran have carried on their activities

independently as Tehran University of Medical

Sciences (TUMS). TUMS is the oldest and the

most well-known medical center in Iran. TUMS

is one of the country’s top research universities,

which accepts applications from the most

deserving students. It has the largest schools of

Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Rehabilitation,

Allied Medical Sciences, Public Health, and

Nursing and Midwifery in Iran. It also has over

100 specialized research centers, such as

Science and Technology in Medicine,

Rheumatology, Digestive Diseases, Skin

Diseases and Leprosy, Trauma, Hematology

and Oncology, Cardiovascular Diseases,

Endocrinology and Metabolism, Reproductive

Health, Urology, Immunology, and Asthma and

Allergy.

TUMS has many teaching hospitals. Some of

them are Imam, Sina, Shariati, Vali-e Asr, Amir

Alam, Ziaeian and Baharloo are general and

referral hospitals. Tebi-Koodakan and Bahrami

are TUMS pediatric centers. Farabi Hospital is

a special center for ophthalmology. Razi

Hospital is devoted to dermatology. Roozbeh

Hospital is the center for psychiatry; Arash is a

special hospital for gynecology, obstetrics, and

infertility; and Meraj Institute is the referral point

for cancer diseases. TUMS has more than 40

libraries in its schools, research centers, and

hospitals. In addition, it has excellent sports

facilities for academics and students. These

factors, along with the abilities and drive of its

specialists, have made TUMS an important

center with a good reputation in the region and

Central Asia.

Tehran University of Medical Sciences is a

large university. One of the many advantages of

its size is that it can offer a wide range of

courses. Admission to TUMS is granted

regardless of age, race, color, religion, gender,

handicap, or nationality. TUMS admits by ?eld

of study and degree. When you apply, you must

indicate your interest in a school and degree.

Residency and fellowship programs are also

offred to international students. The academic

year at TUMS is based on a semester

schedule. The fall semester begins in

September and ends in January. The spring

semester begins in February and ends in June.

Tehran University of Medical Sciences is

accredited with premier status by the

Accreditation Service for International Colleges

(ASIC). ASIC is recognized by the United

Kingdom Department for Education and Skills

(DfES), the United Kingdom Department for

Universities, Innovation, and Skills (DUIS), the

United Kingdom Border and Immigration

Agency (Home O? ce), and the United

Kingdom O? ce for Standards in Education

(Ofsted). ASIC is a member of Council for

Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)

International Quality Group (CIQG).

International Campuses in Iran were

established as a solution to prevent domestic

students from continuing their studies in low

quality universities and higher education

institutions abroad. The degrees offered by

such universities and institutions are not

considered eligible and qualified for Iran’s

related ministries and offices. This also results

in students leaving the country and foreign

currency outflow in significant amount. Initially,

as the title suggests, international campuses

were expected to educate international

students. However, afterwards, it was resolved

that an international campus is essentially one

that recruits and registers international

students. Therefore, in the Ministry of Science,

Research, and Technology, the word

“international” was recently removed from the

names of those campuses that register only

domestic students.

TUMS International Campus

TUMS International Campus was founded in

2009 to fulfill purpose of recruiting both

domestic and international students. A

committee surveyed free zones in Iran, and it

was observed that a suitable location for

establishing an international campus is Kish

Island, located in south Iran. Moreover, TUMS

had an Office of International Relations there. It

was responsible for international affairs of the

university and was chiefly responsible to

pursue official confirmation of student degrees.

Most students needed their degrees to be

translated into different languages so that they

could be presented in other countries for

educational or vocational purposes. In addition,

the Office of International Relations dealt with

cer ta in in te rna t iona l con t rac ts and

correspondence. TUMS International Campus

was initializing the process to meet

international standards and recruit international

students. Some students who belonged to the

first group that was registered have graduated

by now.

Gearing up for internationalization, TUMS

Internat ional Campus and Off ice of

International Relations merged and the Office

of Vice-Chancellor for International Affairs and

Global Strategies was formed to initiate and

develop the process of internationalization in

TUMS in various aspects. Recognizing that

Internationalization at Home (IaH) was one of

the primary requirements for recruitment of

international students, the IaH was established

initially. Recruitment of international students

does not happen overnight. The Office has to

follow certain preliminary steps and hence it

has placed IaH as the first step.

The Office of Vice-Chancellor for International

Affairs and Global Strategies wanted to divide

its goals into stages. Hence, it formed different

sections and divisions that include Office of

International Relations, Accreditation and

Ranking, Office of Scholarships and

Educational Missions for Domestic applicants,

Office of Information Technology, Office of

Resource Development and Logistics, and last

but not the least, Office of International Affairs

and Development.

18

Internationalization at Home

The Office of International Affairs and

Development started its work of recruitment

and registration of international students.

International Campus had already done such

activities. However, in the new structure, a new

department had to be formed. Hence, the

Office of Admission was formed.

The first group of international students was

registered by the new method of admission

called Free Admission. In Free Admission,

applicants were not required to take an

entrance test for admission. Their admission

was granted based on their previous academic

performance. This first batch arrived at TUMS

in September 2011. Within six months after the

formation of office, 1700 applications were

received. This could be attributed to the

availability of online application process, which

replaced the conventional application

procedures. Due to the unexpected flow of

applications, the office temporarily restricted

the online application form facility for two

months. This would give time to scrutinize the

already received applications. Also, the

process of selecting and shortlisting the

applications needed to be re-defined. During

this period, the required processes were

defined and the related staff members were

trained. So far, more than 9700 applicants from

110 countries applied for TUMS programs.

However, not all of them could meet the

required standards and qualifications.

Moreover, currently, there are limited seats at

TUMS. Also, majority of the seats at TUMS are

taken by domestic students. One of the goals of

the Office of International Affairs and

Development is to increase the percentage of

international student capacity at TUMS. In

March 2015, the TUMS Chancellor announced

that recruiting domestic students will stop at

TUMS International Campus in a few years,

and will admit only international students.

Since the beginning of Admission Office

activities, the process and the required criteria

for admissions have developed to be more

accurate and appropriate to the needs of the

university. The process of admission starts with

an initial assessment. Among the 9700

applications, about 1300 applications were

forwarded to the second level of review as they

met primary standards of TUMS. The next

round of evaluation was done by the initial

admission committee called “Preliminary

Review Council”. This committee scrutinizes

the applications very meticulously and as

statistics indicate, only half of the applications

pass. The rest of applications are sent to the

related schools (or in some cases, research

centers) for their comments and decision.

Later, the schools announce their decisions,

and the final decision on acceptance or

rejection is made in the admission committee

meeting held later. Based on statistics, the final

admission committee rejects 15 percent of the

applications. So far, TUMS has students from

29 countries from four continents. Despite all

the challenges, it may be considered a

considerable achievement.

The International Marketing and Recruitment

Division at TUMS Office of International Affairs

and Development was another organizational

modification that proved somewhat effective.

The goal in marketing is enhancing the

reputation of the university and spreading

information about TUMS and the programs it

offers. Marketing through cyberspace, both

through the university websites and those that

are specifically made to advertise universities

and their programs is an everyday task this

division pursues. So far, TUMS programs

offered to international students have been

advertised through nearly 40 websites. The

office has participated in exhibitions and fairs

and it attempts to participate in more

international exhibitions. Also, by attending

scientific conferences and seminars, both as

participants and presenters, staff members

have gained invaluable experience in this

regard.

TUMS has considered the aspect of personnel

development seriously. It has conducted

several programs to enhance the abilities of the

19

current staff. Ithas also tried to improve the

procedure for selecting prospective staff

members to mee t t he un i ve rs i t y ’s

internationalization policies. For instance,

possessing certain skills, such as international

language proficiency, understanding cultural

differences, and having related job experience

are some of the select ion cr i ter ia.

Simultaneously, the Office of International

Affairs & Development has developed research

and study as its most important task. Studying

the best practices of successful institutions at

different levels is its routine task. This task is

localized in different divisions of the office. The

Office studies websites of other universities to

improve its own website. Teams from the Office

visit universities in different countries to benefit

from wider perspectives on internationalization

of higher education and the strategies they use

in this regard. They also communicate their

own experience so that others may benefit from

their unique experiences. The office provides

training to the staff through workshops and

visits to similar offices in other universities.

Considering administrative issues, facilitating

and simplifying issues were effective in

enhancing collaboration with different

organizations related to the issue. For example,

obtaining visas for international students and

guests, which is a complicated and time-

consuming process has changed to become a

less time-consuming.

In addition to the mentioned developments,

universities in Iran can now benefit from

EducationIRAN. It was realized that only one

university cannot accommodate a large

number of applicants, as it may not have

adequate infrastructure. TUMS Office of Vice-

Chancellor for Global Strategies and

International Affairs decided to create

opportunities for other universities in Iran to

develop their facilities on par with international

standards first and then admit international

students too. It is not obligatory that all

universities in the country should educate only

domestic students. Some universities can go

international and educate international

students. It is important that universities

achieve international standards. Office of

International Affairs and Development is now

trying to establish such opportunities.

EducationIRAN is the opportunity to develop

internationalization of universities in Iran.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Science, Research

and Technology, the Ministry of Health,

Treatment and Medical Education, the Ministry

of Foreign Affairs, and other related

organizations can assist universities to project

their presence in international arena and

present their potential. In several areas of

science, Iranian universities are comparable

qualitatively with universities worldwide. They

are able and willing to offer their knowledge for

the benefit of the world.

Internationalization of curriculum covers a

variety of internationalization activities. It is an

effective means to support internationalization

of higher education academically and culturally.

Therefore, it is a valuable step. It is being

followed up by observing international curricula

and needs analysis of graduates and

prospective employees. The attempt is to

design a curriculum that addresses the

capacities required by a future employer of

graduates. They are a collection of international

standards and the needs of students.

Localization here is a factor, which should not

be ignored. For example, international students

can be educated for some domestic issues.

Each Ministry concerned has its own confirmed

requirements. Hence, an implementation

committee and customized curriculum have

been formed in TUMS. The university tries to

coordinate its programs according to the

current needs, international standards, and

successful international models, to meet the

needs of international students.

At TUMS, we strive to make the university

international, a university that can educate

international students, through an international

Internationalization of

Curriculum

20

language in an international framework of

standards, with an internat ional ized

curriculum.

TUMS International College was established

due to the language needs of international

students. These students were earlier obliged

to learn Persian or improve their English

language skills before starting their courses at

TUMS. It is important for the university that

students learn the Persian language in certain

clinical majors that require interaction with

patients. This is because they need to

communicate with patients in the local

language of the patients. Learning the official

language of the country can be useful to

international students. For instance, when they

go back to their home country, they have

additional knowledge of the language,

literature, and culture of this country. It can be

useful for international students to know the

language of this country to meet the initial

language requirements for their daily life.

Therefore, international students need to learn

Farsi, but their language of instruction at TUMS

is English.

TUMS International College was established

under the official permission from Iran’s

Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical

Education. It had two essential goals. First, to

teach Persian language to international

students and the second was to teach English

to students who did not have proficiency in

English language. This would help them start

their academic studies. Another mission of the

college is to teach general courses referred to

as “Common Modules” to students of different

majors. For example, Research and Statistics

is a course that many students need to pass.

Some PhD students may need to take some

common modules offered by the college.

International students are divided into classes

according to their choice of schools or

departments.

TUMS International College

TUMS Ranking

It is fundamental for universities to study

international standards and trends regularly.

This will help them make better policies in the

future. One of the main sources for the

universities can be institutions with ranking and

accreditation. This is because these institutions

usually get updated on a regular basis. At

TUMS, we try to benefit from ranking

procedures. The process we followed

throughout the three previous years with all

details will need a lot of space to be explained in

detail. However, we assessed the current

position of TUMS based on certain indicators.

Using these indicators, TUMS developed a

series of standards and indicators similar to

international standards. The purpose is to

develop and achieve an international university.

In fact, ranking is practically a number. It can be

argued that a business-oriented index is

subject to change due to several factors. These

factors may not necessarily be related to

institutional quality and performance. Despite

these criticisms, what matters to us is not the

number. What matters is the path to reach that

number. The number represents how a

university can develop itself alongside

international indicators. Our goal is not just

quantitative development. Rather, it is

maintaining the current strength and

development to be a high quality international

university.

TUMS has taken stock of accreditation, which is

a qualitative means to ensure, maintain, and

enhance the quality of the university. According

to its indicators, the present situation is

specified and the Office attempts to eliminate

the weaknesses. Visiting universities in

different countries has been important to

TUMS. We also believe in the cooperation.

TUMS professors attend international

conferences with the support of the university

and are encouraged to expand such relations.

TUMS also supports students who want to

21

spend part of their studies abroad. The

advantages of such a support are numerous.

Students become famil iar wi th new

environment, mode of instruction, and culture.

Such exchanges benefit the students as well as

the university. Students return with new

perspectives and insights from a new culture

and context. This is very beneficial, if they want

to work or study at the same university or at any

other university worldwide.

International Marketing Division of the Office of

International Affairs and Development is also

working on standardization in the marketing

area. The division has planned to collaborate

with agents in different parts of the world for

international student recruitment, including

TUMS graduates and the people who deal with

international student recruitment and

admission. There are already 10 agents whose

performance is being assessed regularly. This

is to examine if continuation of the

communication between university and the

private office can be extended. The feedback

provided by the applicants and students is also

a crucial factor in the evaluation. The

International Marketing Division tries to

improve publications to introduce the

university, programs, student life at TUMS, and

other useful information to prospective

students. For instance, TUMS offers non-

degree programs in different majors today. It

provides good facilities to international

students, such as a high quality dormitory,

health insurance, sports insurance, bank

accounts, transport from the airport in Tehran,

recreational and cultural tours, and events.

Marketing Division needs to explain these

facilities so that prospective students of TUMS

are aware of the facilities and options they can

benefit from as TUMS students.

The office also uses social media to present its

facilities and courses. The effective role of

social media in communication among people

in the 21st should not be ignored by an

Marketing and

Internationalization

in ternat ional un ivers i ty. Appropr ia te

presentation of the university is a considerable

factor in the social media.

Also, the university needs to enhance its

websites by studying websites of successful

universities. TUMS websites are being

improved on a continuous basis. Dynamicity is

of paramount importance for us. As

corroborated by the statistics on webometrics

ranking of world universities, we have taken big

measures effective actions accordingly.

As part of its internationalization strategies,

particularly strategies under the category of

Internationalization at Home, TUMS Office of

Vice-Chancellor for Global Strategies and

International Affairs took decentralization of

structure as one of its missions. Hence, the

Office of Vice-Dean for International Affairs was

established in every TUMS school. The change

in the structure should be done top-down and

this process will automatically generate a

bottom-up effect to reach a bilinear flow.

However, the change should happen top-down

initially. In other words, the change must be

started in the upper level management

because policies and strategies are made at

these levels. The essential factor in campus

internationalization is that the process should

be initiated by changing the attitude towards

internationalization in managerial levels.

Deans of Schools choose Vice-Deans for

International Affairs. The Vice Chancellor will

assign these Vice-Deans for Global Strategies

and International Affairs. The Vice-Deans for

International Affairs will be concerned mainly

with internationalization of the school and

international affairs.

Today, we witness a great change in upper-

level managers. They have prioritized

internationalization as part of their daily

agenda. In the previous Commendation

Ceremony fo r Pro fessors Teach ing

International Students (2014), the Vice-

Structural Changes in the

Organizational Chart

22

Chancellor stated that the ceremony was to

celebrate the change of attitude. More than 300

out of the 1500 TUMS professors attended the

ceremony. This suggested that 20 percent of

the professors are involved in the instruction of

international students. This number is

increasing, though slowly but steadily. The

interest in being part of the international

environment, and teaching international

students is increasing. We hope that soon, not

being involved in internationalization of the

university would be considered an exception.

It is relatively a short time that the Office of Vice-

Chancellor for International Affairs and Global

Strategies started its activities. However, what

has been important all through was quality and

not quantity. This was especially true with

universities that admit many international

students every semester. As a top-ranking

medical university in the country and the best

research university for 12 consecutive years,

TUMS is the first choice of half a million

domestic students. Students appear for the

nation-wide entrance examination to

universities in the Experimental Sciences

TUMS: The Future

group. TUMS admits only high quality domestic

students. When it comes to international

students, the university tries to ensure that its

international students are at the same level as

the domestic students. The competition for

international students is no less difficult. Out of

9,500 applicants, only 251 were taken as

TUMS students. Most of the international

students are among the best students who can

receive financial support from the university for

their tuition, accommodation, and even life

expenses.

The vision of TUMS is to be an international

university. It does not aim to develop an

international campus besides a local university.

Rather, the aim of the Office of Vice-Chancellor

for International Affairs and Global Strategies is

turning TUMS into an international university

and helping the whole university in this

transition. The university is moving towards

internationalization and its vision is to develop

and enhance its quality in education, research,

and innovation. In its outlook, TUMS is an

international university focusing on educating

international citizens with international

standards.

23

A CONSULTATIVE APPROACH TO DEVELOPING AN EDUCATION STRATEGY

Organizer

LORRAINE GEARING

Coventry University

Coventry, UK

Telephone: +44 (0)7557 425370

Email: Lorraine.gearing@coventry.ac.uk

CASE STUDY

25

KEYWORDS: Education strategy, higher education, consultative, ownership, transformative

Abstract

The changing landscape of global higher

education requires institutions to be more

outward facing in preparing students to make

significant contributions to society, beyond a

subject-specific education, and become a

creative force in a rapidly evolving world.

However, university strategies are often

developed by a Pro-Vice-Chancellor or senior

management team. These strategies are then

announced to the staff with a set of directives.

To develop a shared vision of education and

achieve maximum impact for our students, the

university leadership decided to approach the

development of a new strategy with

consultative activities to engage as many

stakeholders as possible.

Activities included a dedicated blog; weekly

staff questionnaires with a single theme;

individual and team interviews with academic

and support staff; student forums; themed

lunchtime discussions; open drop-in sessions

and alumni events. Contributions were

recorded from 1690 participants, plus 3000

‘click-throughs’.

Findings and implications included an

appreciation and therefore acknowledgement

of the passion and dedication demonstrated by

the staff. Clear yet differing priorities emerged

between the staff and students and for some, a

perceived disconnect between course teams

and university management. These inputs

revealed areas for further development.

Enablers to support changes to our commonly

accepted practices will emerge as results are

acted upon.

Background

Coventry University had a strong reputation as

a vocational institution in the 1980s and 1990s.

That reputation developed as Coventry grew as

a widening participation institution in the early

2000s. The push for enterprise led

development until 2010 and this led to a feeling

of renewed confidence, Coventry is both a

teaching and research institution and has a

very strong place breaking the orthodoxy in the

sector. This confidence resulted in a lack of

willingness to accept the ordinary and a desire

for excellent teaching. It has taken a great deal

of effort by a very large number of people but

has resulted in a great pride in the quality of the

taught and student experience at Coventry

University and the opportunities made

available to students outside of the classroom

experience.

Recent innovative practices have been

acknowledged in the 2015 Guardian Award for

the Best Employability Initiative category, the

Best University Placement Service in the UK at

t h e 2 0 1 5 N a t i o n a l U n d e r g r a d u a t e

Employability Awards and the 2014 European

Association for International Education for

Innovation in Internationalisation.

The focus on the course portfolio, the emphasis

on the quality of teaching, the online learning

environment and general support and

opportunities available to all students, has been

outstanding. These have led the university to

the very strongest of positions as Coventry

University was named 'University of the Year for

Student Experience' in the Times and Sunday

Times Good University Guide 2015. The UK

National Student Survey published results

showed that for the fifth consecutive year, there

was rising student satisfaction, moving

Coventry University to the top for teaching.

26

Table 1

2014 NSS Results: Headlines

2013 NSS 2014 NSS

Overall, I am satisfied with the 90 91quality of the course.

The teaching on my course 91 93

Assessment and feedback 80 81

Academic support 87 89

Organisation and management 85 87

Learning resources 88 89

Personal development 88 90

I am satisfied with the Students' 81 81Union at my institution.

This increased satisfaction level places the university in a strong position to attract the highest

achieving students as shown in the comparison table below.

2014 NSS Results: Top Level Scores for Comparison

Coventry Top Quartile All HEIs University (UK) (UK)

Overall satisfaction 91 91 86

The teaching on my course 93 90 87

Assessment and feedback 81 77 72

Academic support 89 84 81

Organisation and management 87 84 79

Learning resources 89 87 86

Personal development 90 82 82

Students' Union 81 71 68

Looking ahead for the next six years, the new strategy will also need to reflect the changing student

demographics and expectations, responding with teaching innovation to retain its position among

UK Higher Education Institutions.

Table 2

Context

In updating the strategy, what has been

achieved over the past five years has been

taken into account; centred in the university

corporate plan and recognising the continuing

changes in the Higher Education landscape.

The university recognised that it can be as

much of a challenge to maintain its position as it

was to reach it and universities have to respond

to a very competitive environment. There are

increasing demands within the UK Higher

Education System and internationally.

‘At a time of significant change in higher

educat ion, students have increased

expectations of their university experience. I

want a system where students have real choice

and universities respond to what students

need.’ (Department for Business, Innovation &

Skills, 2011).

Changes to the UK higher education fee

structure, employer expectations, league

tables, students’ prior learning, educational

sustainability and an increased global

understanding are factors in identifying new

strategic priorities for Coventry University. A

review of European Higher Education

institutions was published in 2013 following an

investigation of educational approaches across

Europe. The result of their review identifies

good practices and looks ahead at key strategic

priorities. The authors note that,

'Quality higher education teaching is absolutely

crucial in enabling our higher education

institutions to produce the critically-thinking,

creative, adaptable graduates who will shape

our future. And yet, while it should be the centre

of gravity of higher education, the quality of

teaching in our universities and colleges is

often overlooked and undervalued. (Improving

the Quality of Teaching and Learning in

Europe's Higher Education Institutions, 2013).

Excellent teaching does not “just happen”, but

needs to be planned. It must be made

sustainable to produce graduates who are not

only knowledgeable within an academic

discipline, but who have the skills to contribute

to an environmentally and ethically responsible

society.

The senior university management decided to

develop the new education strategy with

contr ibut ions from a wide range of

stakeholders. A senior academic manager from

outside of the four faculties was appointed to

drive the development of the strategy and

maximise widespread adoption and ownership.

Early interviews with staff supported a view of a

perceived disconnect between individuals from

faculties and university senior management.

“Corporate strategy can be a barrier. There are

some challenges with staff communication”. A

number of staff members were cautious about

institutional strategies that have been

announced without consultation. For example,

“We have to be careful with policies that come

out as directives as these can impede rather

than enable” and “These cannot be imposed”.

All staff members who commented on the

decision to take a consultative approach were

broadly supportive and keen that their own

expertise and experience were acknowledged.

A set of baseline topics were selected to

stimulate discussion and make clear the

strategic direction of the university. The topics

were drawn from a range of sources, including

the UK Quality Assurance Agency, UK and

international Higher Education Institutions and

journals and those found in ‘Transformative

Learning’ (Mezirow 1991). Each topic was

labelled as a pillar of transformative learning,

the ‘what’ to be achieved and each was

selected to align with institutional priorities and

current strengths.

The decision to use a transformative learning

approach was to offer a lens that could help

explain learning and professional development

of individuals in the context of a cross-cultural

experience and to foster critical reflection

(Taylor 2012). Individual faculties and

Approach

27

subsidiaries had developed a variety of learner-

centred teaching approaches. A further

objective of the new strategy was to bring these

within a common framework, while allowing

flexibility within academic disciplines.

Figure 1

Nearly 100 alumni gave valuable survey

feedback. They said that the strategy will

enhance student experience for the current and

future students. In particular, they gave the

perspective of employment challenges faced

by recent graduates.

A first draft of the strategy was developed from

consultation activities, a comprehensive review

of HE policies, and internal and external data

sets. The draft strategy was given initial internal

approval and was then made available for a

period of two months to all students and staff for

their comments. Each topic for discussion

asked questions and provided room for

additional comments that could be completed

in a very short time. Methods used to raise

awareness included all staff emails, staff

newsletters, Moodle banners and target group

websites.

In addition, copies of the draft document were

sent to representative employers for

comments. These employers were invited to

respond via one-to-one telephone interviews.

The total recorded contributions for the second

consultation period are shown below.

Group Number

Individual student online feedback 123

Student representative-ledinterviews 629

Staff feedback 60

Individual employer interviews 9

University committee members 45

Total 866

Table 4

28

The first consultation took place between July

and November 2014 with the following

contributions.

Activity Number

Individual and team staff meetings 136

Student meetings 278

Open sessions 227

Online surveys 183

Total 824

A blog and a separate e-mail account were set

up and the details sent to all staff. However, the

engagement with these was minimal and they

were not continued.

Table 3

A further 3000 online ‘click-through’ of students

who accessed the draft strategy were

recorded. The responses were captured and

the interview notes were classified and

analysed using Nvivo.

The most significant result is that the content

and priorities of the new education strategy

were changed and updated following the

consultation process. The overall title changed

from ‘Teaching and Learning Strategy’ to

‘Education Strategy’ to reflect the wider scope

of activities that support the student experience

and the different roles within the course teams.

Details within the strategy document captured

the voice of all stakeholders and included

specific comments from individuals who

contributed.

Employment and employability skills are the

areas that generated the most discussion

among students. An explicit statement of

employability direction reassures students of

the importance the university gives it. Although

the graphic of the principal pillars show each

one as interwoven, they are read as though

they are listed in order of priority. Therefore,

employability was moved to the second place in

the list. The students’ comments relating to

employment include:

Employability is important right from the

beginning of the first module. This will be

exciting to know what is out there” and “Getting

a degree isn't enough.”

Employers, researchers and the government

support their views. A report published by the

CBI in January 2015 includes the benefits to

universities of closer collaboration. This can

also lead to new ideas for teaching and training,

and help to create a more relevant curriculum,

and contribute to increased employability of

students and researchers.’ (CBI Report, 2015).

The European Commission published a report

on the modernisation of higher education in

Europe. It includes the suggestion that

Results

universities have a responsibility to utilise a

variety of practices to increase the chances of a

graduate finding employment (European

Commission, 2014). Earlier studies, for

example Brooks and Everett (2009), Kember et

al (2010), Davies et al (2013) and Skatova &

Ferguson (2014), have explored student

motivation for Higher Education studies and

their expectations (showing close links to

higher fees) or reward at graduation. Further,

global economic factors have caused some

students to question the value of an

undergraduate degree as graduate wages

have fallen and career options have become

limited.

In addition to addressing current concerns, the

consul tat ion process re inforced the

introduction of new priorities, such as

Community Contribution and Responsibility.

The explicit addition of community contribution

and responsibility fits with the views and

comments made by students in particular. They

commented about guided opportunities to

make a difference to both the community and

the environment during their period of study.

New teaching approaches, such as those

described by Lucas and Sherman (2013), offer

students an opportunity to utilise practice-

based learning and make a wider societal

contribution. Their paper presented findings

based upon a project acting as consultants for a

local non-profit agency as part of their

programme of study. The feedback from

students and stakeholders was substantially

more positive than negative.

The strategy document states that together,

students, staff and university share the

responsibility for creating a vibrant culture of

learning and each receives the rewards of a

transformative learning experience. The

process of developing the new strategy as a

consultative exercise provided evidence of that

commitment from its initial stages.

Comments had a wide range of thoughts and

they communicated the proposed strategy well.

The passion for excellence in education came

29

through very clearly. It can be summed up by

what an academic member of staff stated, “I

have a responsibility to provide students with

the knowledge and tools to succeed in a

graduate role. If they cannot, I would feel as

though I had failed”.

The university now has the responsibility of

mainta in ing momentum through the

implementation plans. Implementation

includes a range of ambitious new initiatives

and cascading the strategic vision to each

faculty and subsidiary. The consultation

process provided some rich feedback and

evidence of a strong commitment to excellent

teaching and student support outside of

classroom activities. There was a strong sense

of academic staff, technical services and

professional services working together to

provide expertise to improve the student

learning experience. An analysis and summary

of the emergent themes was made available to

staff and students, with a selection of

anonymised comments.

The consultation was approached with a very

open view, welcoming all contributions from a

range of stakeholders. Therefore, it was

expected that comments would be wide-

ranging and some individual comments would

fall outside the scope of strategy development.

However, they often contributed to a range of

implementation activities that crossed into

complementary university objectives going

forward. Resulting initiatives include the

development of a new assessment strategy

(with an emphasis on feedback), in

investigation into a new student mentor role

and a university-wide review of teaching

spaces.

With such a full consultation, it was inevitable

that the new strategy would not include or

reflect some individual views or suggestions for

change. Therefore, it was important to

acknowledge all contributions and thank

participants following the launch of the strategy.

Reflection

Online comments were quite tightly monitored,

so that there was limited opportunity to go off

track. They were also broken down into weekly

topics and supporting small and frequent

communications to encourage participation.

Colleagues were able to complete their

comments in a very short timeframe and for a

topic of interest to them.

The weekly topics attracted, as expected, a

different percentage of responses among

teaching, research or professional services

staff. For example, only one response was

received for ‘research inspired teaching’ from

professional services staff, compared to 66% of

responses for ‘employability’.

The least engaged group of stakeholders were

research staff. However, outside of the

structured consultation activities, different

research groups provided collated e-mail

comments that were sent directly.

Some activities meant to engage participation

were more successful than others were. For

example, an invited alumni event for local

alumni had very few attendees although they

were keen to complete an online questionnaire.

Employers preferred a planned telephone

meeting to discuss issues in depth rather than

online forms or e-mail comments. A blog was

set up for staff to add comments or to share

good practices. However, only a few

technologists used the facility with the

overwhelming majority of both academic and

professional staff preferring survey links from

the staff intranet. Individual and team meetings

with staff were time-consuming but generated

comments that were more reflective. They also

demonstrated the university’s commitment to

the consultation process.

The opportunity to be consulted was widely

appreciated by students. Both individual and

group interviews supported the value of

engaging them in consultation activities. Their

comments can be summed up by what a

student said, “Thank you for your interest in the

students and giving them the voice to talk and

express”.

30

Drop-in sessions during the day in high traffic

areas were particularly successful for students.

The use of student ambassadors to gather

verbal feedback removed barriers for open

communication for some students. Students

were also engaged with the online survey

linked through their VLE system.

Early indicators reveal that the new strategy

has a strong sense of ownership. This is

because of the amount of consultation and the

fact that many staff will see their comments

embedded in the published strategy.

There is a South African saying “If you want to

walk fast walk alone, if you want to walk far walk

together.” The process of consultation has

been across a complete academic year.

However, the result is a richer document that

presents the strategic direction of education for

the next six years.

• Consultation was welcomed by all

stakeholders, particularly students

• The resulting strategy is more

comprehensive because it

incorporates different viewpoints

• An increased sense of ownership will

pave the way for implementation and

changes to current practice

• A variety of consultative methods was

necessary to engage different

stakeholders

• Major initiatives for the future were

clearly identified early in the

development process

• Space was provided for creativity and

innovative ideas

• New methods of engaging academic

research staff are needed for future

consultations

Summary of lessons learnt:

• The importance of the new strategy

and the decision to consult was

emphasised through the selection of

an independent and dedicated

member of staff (outside of faculty) to

lead the project

• If an opinion is asked for, it will be

given and therefore must be heard

Author’s note: The Coventry University Group

Education Strategy 2015 -2021 will be

published and will be available on the university

website (www.coventry.ac.uk ) from August

2015.

Brooks, R and Everett, G. (2009), ‘Post-

graduation reflections on the value of a

degree’ British Educational Research

Journal. Vol. 35, No. 3, 333–349

CBI Report (2015) The Best of Both Worlds,

London

Davies P., Mangan J., Hughes A., Slack K.,

(2013) ‘Labour market motivation and

undergraduates’ choice of degree subject’

British Educational Research Journal Vol.

39, No. 2, April 2013, 361–382

Department for Business, Innovation & Skills

(2011) ‘Making the higher education system

more efficient and diverse’, available from

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio

ns/student-charter-group-final-report

[November 2014]

European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice,

(2014) ‘Modernisation of Higher Education

in Europe: Access, Retention and

Employability 2014’. Eurydice Report.

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the

European Union

Kember D., Ho A., Hong C., (2010) ‘Initial

motivational orientation of students enrolling

in undergraduate degrees’ Studies in Higher

References

31

Education. Vol. 35, No. 3, May 2010,

263–276

Lucas C and Sherman N (2013) ‘Higher

Education and Non-Profit Community

Collaboration: Innovative Teaching and

Learning for Graduate Student Education

International Journal of Teaching and

Learning in Higher Education 239 -247

Mezirow, J. (1991) ‘Transformative dimensions

of adult learning’, San Francisco: Jossey-

Bass

QAA UK (2013) ‘Quality Code Part B’, available

from :http://www.qaa.ac.uk/assuring-

s tanda rds -and -qua l i t y / t he -qua l i t y -

code/quality-code-part-b

Report to the European Commission (2013),

‘Improving the Quality of Teaching and

Learning in Europe's Higher Education

Institutions’ [October 2014]

Skatova A, and Ferguson E (2014) ‘Why do

different people choose different university

degrees? Motivation and the choice of

degree’ Frontiers in Psychology, Vol. 5

Taylor, Edward W.; Cranton, Patricia (2012),

‘’The Handbook of Transformative Learning:

Theory, Research, and Practice’, Jossey-

Bass

32

TRANSNATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND INTERNATIONALIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Organizer

CASE STUDY

DR. BEENA GIRIDHARAN

Dean of Teaching and Learning,

Office of Teaching and Learning Curtin University Sarawak,

Miri, Malaysia.

Beena@curtin.edu.my

DR. PETER LING,

Project Officer,

Chancellery,

Swinburne University of Technology,

Melbourne, Australia;

pling@swin.edu.au

PROF. MARGARET MAZZOLINI,

Pro Vice Chancellor and Chair of Academic Senate,

Victoria University,

Melbourne,

Australia Margaret Mazzolini@vu.edu.au

34

Abstract

Internationalization of higher education has

gained prominence globally as more and more

higher education institutions are beginning to

set up branch campuses in higher education

hubs around the world. The experiences of

students and the staff involved depend on

organizational arrangements and in the way

educational leaders on+ home campuses and

branch campuses understand and play their

roles. This paper focuses on emphasizing the

importance of recognizing and developing staff

in leadership roles to help them collaborate in

TNE models, such as branch campuses in

de l iver ing qua l i ty h igher educat ion

experiences. ‘Learning without Borders’ is an

Australian Learning and Teaching Council

(ALTC) funded collaborative initiative that

brought together two Australian universities.

These universities have offshore campuses in

Malaysia to study leadership roles in the

conduct of transnational education (TNE) and

in the internationalization of the curriculum. In

this project, TNE is defined as an arrangement

for provision of higher education where

students acquire an award in one country

issued by a higher education institution based

in another country. The project focused

primarily on developing recognition, reward,

and support of leaders involving an

inves t iga t ion o f s ta f f exper iences ,

expectations, and preferences in TNE and in

the internationalization of curriculum.

Interviews were conducted with more than 60

academic staff in leadership roles (n= 60) at

home and branch campuses to understand

TNE expectations and perspectives, and their

understanding of internationalization of the

curriculum. In addition, surveys were

administered to 64 academic staff (n=64) to

i nves t i ga te TNE pe rspec t i ves and

internationalization of the curriculum.

Internationalization of higher education is a

complex concept and the term encompasses

references to various facets of higher

education teaching and learning and research.

The paper provides a discussion on the

perspectives of internationalization of higher

education, internationalization of the

curriculum at two Australian universities with

branch campuses in Malaysia. The discussion

demonstrates entrepreneurial approaches to

collaborative models in higher education

delivery.

Internationalization of higher education is a

complex concept and the term encompasses

references to various facets of higher education

teaching and learning and research. Knight

(2004) defines internationalization of higher

education as "the process of integrating an

international dimension into the teaching/

training, research, and service functions of a

university or college or technical institute"

(p.29). Healey (The Internationalization of

Higher Education: Myths and Realities, n.d)

refutes the more commonly accepted view that

higher education with increasingly large

numbers of international students around the

world is akin to globalisation. He attempts to

offer an alternate explanation and different

prediction for the global higher education

industry of 2020. He argues that universities

should have international bearings as scientific

developments are often built upon the work of

researchers from around the world, and that

universities have in fact continued to foster

ideas via academic conferences, and through

visiting faculty to ensure a shared knowledge

base. Others support the view that globalization

is the main driver of internationalization in

higher education and that internationalization

of higher education is an important policy and

strategy for most universities (International

Higher Education 2012).

However, internationalization of higher

education may be deemed synonymous with

student mobility and large cohorts of

Theoretical BaseInternationalization of

Higher Education

35

international students in various programmes

abroad in different host countries. Then,

universities may look completely to the East for

recruiting students in the future, as indicated by

Choudaha (2012) with reference to a McKinsey

Global Institute report. This report said that

more than twenty of the world’s top fifty cities

ranked by gross domestic product are

predicted to be located in Asia by 2025, which is

much higher than the eight cities present in

2007.

Similar responses can be seen in the way the

term internationalization of the curriculum has

been defined or tacitly understood. Leask

(2009) defines internationalization of the

curriculum as “the incorporation of an

international and intercultural dimension into

the preparation, delivery and outcomes of a

program of study” (p. 209).

The OECD conceives internationalization of

curriculum (Bremer & van der Wende, 1995, as

cited in Caruana & Hanstock, 2003) as

“curricula with an international orientation in

content aimed at preparing students for

performing (professionally/socially) in an

international and multicultural context and

designed for domestic students as well as

foreign students (p. 4). This is a preferred

definition by numerous Australian universities

as it epitomises internationalization in

professional, academic, and social realms of

learning for all students on campuses,

domestic and international.

Studies conducted in Malaysia (Sirat & Kaur,

2007) consider internationalization of higher

education as a combination of increased

Internationalization of

Curriculum

Internationalization in

MalaysiaInternationalization and

Higher Education in Malaysia

international activities at universities with more

students studying abroad, transnational

education with offshore centres established in

developing countries (by developed countries),

for profit providers providing education

programmes global ly, and increased

internat ional teaching and research

collaborations.

The Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia has

recently taken measures towards ‘tightening’

the use of the term ‘international’ in private

institutions of higher learning in Malaysia. Its

Deputy Minister stated that institutions using

the term ‘international’ to describe themselves

needed to adhere to the ‘international

standards’ expected of them in terms of faculty,

infrastructure and resources, aligned to the

plan of transforming Malaysia to regional centre

for excellence in education (‘Ministry tightens

use of the word ‘international’ in IPTS’, 21

September 2012, The Star).

The higher education stakeholders have

invariably interpreted the term ‘internationali-

zation of higher education’ in numerous modes.

Internationalization of curriculum and branch

campuses in Malaysia

In branch campuses, the term internationali-

zation of the curricula invoked numerous

responses with some defining it in terms of

standards in the curricula, international faculty

input, and procedurally with graduate

readiness to operate globally.

The Malaysian government’s aspiration to be

known as ‘the regional centre for educational

excellence’ aligned with its vision 2020 has

witnessed the setting up of several branch

campuses in Malaysia by overseas universities

(Giridharan, 2010). Both Curtin University and

Swinburne University of Technology from

Australia are among the universities that were

set up in Malaysia since 1999.

In a rapidly growing economy such as

Malaysia, the government has prioritised

developing a skilled workforce to compete in a

global market. It has focussed on higher

education especially transnational education

programmes with the intention of attracting

international students and increasing foreign

exchange (Akiba, 2008).

Feedback was taken from more than 60

academic staff at home and branch campuses

to understand TNE expectations and

perspectives, and internationalization of the

curriculum. TNE Strengths, TNE weaknesses,

and TNE opportunities and TNE threats, were

identified in a SWOT analysis summary from

the data gathered. Rotter’s Social Learning

theory and locus of control principles were

applied to draw inferences from the responses

provided by academic staff. Social learning

theory was primarily propounded by Rotter

(1966), in which he emphasized the role of

reinforcement, reward, or accomplishment as

important aspects of the acquisition and

performance of skills and knowledge.

The project involved identifying issues relating

to recognition and support for staff in TNE roles

and identifying the policies, procedures, and

professional development to assist academics

function in their roles better. Data gathered

from academics in the four campuses (two

home campuses and two branch campuses)

suggest that most of the academics in TNE

roles do not receive sufficient training,

instruction or mentoring on working in cross-

cultural contexts. Nevertheless, many

Australian-based staff members have

experience working outside Australia. They are

confident about their ability to work with staff

from other cultures. Indeed many respondents

to surveys and interviews reported very

positively on their experiences with TNE and

saw it as enriching. Some reported that their

experiences with TNE help their approaches to

teaching and to internationalization of

curriculum generally.

Research methodology

Findings and Discussion

Program coordinators and unit convenors

involved in transnational education (TNE)

represent a distributed group of leaders who

often take on TNE coordination roles that can

be challenging in cross-cultural settings. In their

roles, they are involved with colleagues from

offshore branch campuses or partner

institutions in the curriculum, delivery, and

assessment and moderation of programmes.

Both parties are concerned with achieving the

learning outcomes of the course while

negotiating cultural and social contexts of

learning in different campuses and countries.

Therefore, the issue of recognition and reward

for academics in TNE roles at home campuses

and branch campuses is integral to the

pedagogical and managerial success of the

courses offered.

The Unit Coordinator (UC) is seen as a pivotal

role in the university, according to the Curtin

University UC handbook. This handbook

outlines that UCs connect the students to their

learning, and to the aims and values of the

university. They are responsible for facilitating

best learning experiences for students,

rewarding experiences for the teaching team,

and compliance with relevant policies and

procedures to ensure a satisfying and equitable

experience for all (The Unit Coordinator

Handbook, 2012). The UCs work closely with

their teaching teams across campuses.

Training programs that prepare staff to work in

cross-cultural contexts are vital to improve the

overall experiences of the staff operating in

TNE.

The primary contribution of transnational higher

education was perceived to be the highest for

students. In TNE campuses, there are

increased opportunities for student mobility

through various programs that facilitate ease of

transfer for students who wish for study

experiences at any of the campus locations of

Transnational Education

(TNE) StrengthsIncreased Mobility

36

?Innovative curriculum design

?Cultural exchange among students and

staff. (For example, opportunity of giving

Borneo related studies in Sarawak)

?International education – exposure to

international and local education (e.g.,

Borneo related studies)

Some of the weaknesses of TNE were

identified in the SWOT analysis for learning and

teaching. According to one staff member, one of

the weaknesses was “making the curriculum

relevant to students of more than one

country…”. Another staff member reported that

“the different learning styles of students and

approaches” required more focus and

attention.

If teaching materials like slides are produced at

the main campus and staff at local campus

teach using them, then it can be boring for

students. One staff member commented that

ownership of material might be lacking. “Yes, a

very big weakness – in the sense, they don’t

know what is behind those slides.”

Issues with assessment and moderation were

identified as another challenge. “Key issue – we

all interpret the same guides differently.” said

one staff member.

“I would like to say that … the person who does

the moderation does not know the students, not

on branch campus.”

The concerns identified through the surveys

are summarized in the following points:

?Curriculum – making it relevant to

students of more than one country – due to

socio-cultural, polit ical, economic

differences

?Learning styles, approaches and high

school experiences mismatch with higher

education approaches

TNE Weaknesses in Learning

and Teaching

For Staff+-

37

their parent university, provided that the course

was offered at that location. Both Curtin

University and Swinburne University have in

place the Students’ Mobility programs

(Exchange and /or transfer programs).

In addition to exchange programs, TNE

campuses offer ‘study abroad’ programs,

where students from other universities can

spend a semester or complete a unit for

attaining an equivalent credit in their course.

Some studies conducted by researchers to

explore the long-term impact of study abroad on

a student’s personal, professional, and

academic life shows that study abroad

positively and indisputably prompt career

paths, world-views, and self-confidence of

students (Dwyer & Peters, n.d.)

The data analysis pointed to a number of gains

for learning and teaching in TNE contexts, such

as branch campuses. One staff member

reported that it has “increased opportunities for

various teaching and learning strategies” and

another member commented that the engaged

consultation process in the design of curriculum

was meaningful as it allowed “inclusion of

curriculum design aspects that were relevant …

for the whole community…”

In addition to increasing opportunities for

teaching and learning and developing an

inclusive curriculum, the staff acknowledged

TNE contexts attributed to achieving the

following:

?Diverse student backgrounds leading to

increased cultural engagement among

peers

?Enhanced international outlook for staff

and students (Real world globalization of

staff and students)

?Improved learning environments

?Introducing opportunities to deploy

various teaching and learning strategies

Learning and Teaching

Strengths in TNE

?Assessment and moderation challenges

and different interpretation of marking

guides

?Transit from high school in one country to

a university in another country is a

challenge for students. This is because

they are not prepared for the transitional

changes they have to make in adjusting to

the learning environment and curriculum.

?Students face isolation in transnational

education, especially among locals and

other internationals

?Language and communication, variation

in accent, body language, colloquial

expressions are different in different

countries

?Students are generally dissatisfied with

facilities

“I can tell you the experience. When I first

involved in TNE, there were a number of

complaints. It was because I came to teach in

the middle of semester. People at the main

campus were complaining. However, when I

visited them, we became friends and

everything is solved. The most important thing

is to have personal face-to-face meetings...”

This excerpt highlights the fact that cross-

cultural training and engagement is essential

for increasing understanding among people

and improving working relationships among

academic staff working at different campuses.

?The staff felt that TNE contexts increased

opportunities for cultural understanding in the

following aspects::

?Access to a global network

For students

TNE OpportunitiesCultural

Strategies

?Networking and cultural exchange for

interaction with local music, art, literature

and festivals

The staff felt that there were research prospects

for TNE staff working at branch campuses with

access to funding and grants. For staff at home

campuses, access to the branch campus

expanded the research scope. The gains are in

the following areas:

There is an opportunity for developing staff

relationships through joint papers

The staff perceived that TNE setups benefited

the economy through the following:

?Contributions to economy – currency

exchange, stimulated local and global

economy, job provision for the community

through TNE establishments

There are some concerns that need to be

addressed. They are:

?Creating and allowing opportunities for

colleagues, particularly the staff who work

at the Malaysian campuses and

?Understanding their capacity to develop

leadership – to take on leadership roles

and responsibilities

?Assisting them not only to develop the

university’s capacity but their own careers

?Challenging to build an academic culture

and a university structure that will allow

people to say, “If I go and work there, my

capacity to develop my leadership skills,

my understandings are going to be

significantly enhanced. Five years down

the track, I’m going to get an even better

job somewhere else.”

Research

Research and scholarship

Economic Gains

Challenges

38

Conclusion

References

The paper sums up the perceptions and

understanding of TNE and internationalization.

It underscores how collaborative approaches in

higher education delivery can be successfully

achieved by establishing well developed

programs and recognition systems for staff.

The entrepreneurial approaches taken by

home universities to expand operations

through branch campuses overseas leads to

cultural enrichment, economic gains, wider

engagement among diverse student and staff

populat ion, in addi t ion to research

opportunities and enhanced teaching and

learning experiences. There are benefits for

branch campus staff in terms of opportunities to

play a full professional role and consequently

opportunities for career development. This is

because the TNE model adopted allows branch

campus staff to have inputs into curriculum

content, design of learning and teaching

resources and activities, and elements of

assessment o f s tudent a t ta inment .

Collaborative input into teaching and learning

and decision making allows the design of

learning experiences to be more appropriate to

the students attending TNE campuses.

Students on TNE campuses may even have an

advantage when it comes to internationali-

zation of curriculum. They experience a

curriculum that meets the requirements of a

foreign institution as well as one that satisfies

local requirements.

Akiba, H. 2008. The Changing Face of

Transnational Education in Malaysia: A

Case Study of International Offshore

University Programs.

Caruana, V. & Hanstock, J. , 2003.

Internationalizing the Curriculum: From

Policy to Practice. In Education In a

Changing Environment 17th-18th

September 2003. Salford: University of

Salford.

Choudaha, R. (2012). How does Asia’s rise

influence international student mobility?,

University World News, Issue 00239,

Accessed 20 September 2012 at

http://www.universityworldnews.com/articl

e.php?story=20120118205039869

Dwyer & Peters, (n.d.). The Benefits of Study

Abroad

https://www.anotherworldispossible.clarku.ed

u/offices/studyabroad/pdfs/IES%20Study.

pd

Giridharan, B. (2010). “An Investigative study

of English Vocabulary Acquisition Patterns

in Adult L2 Tertiary Learners with

Chinese/Malay L1” doctoral thesis for the

degree of PhD, Curtin University of

Technology, WA.

http://espace.library.curtin.edu.au/R?func=dbi

n - j u m p - f u l l & l o c a l _ b a s e = g e n 0 1 -

era02&object_id=159516

Healey, N.(n.d). The internationalization of

higher education: myths and realities.

Accessed 19 September 2012 at

http://ihe.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/i

mport-content/gg2-nigel-healey-paper.pdf

Knight, J., 2004. Internationalization

Remodeled: Definition, Approaches, and

Rationales. Journal of Studies in

International Education, 8(1), pp.5-31.

Available at: http://jsi.sagepub.com/cgi/

d o i / 1 0 . 11 7 7 / 1 0 2 8 3 1 5 3 0 3 2 6 0 8 3 2

[Accessed October 30, 2010]

Leask, B., 2009. Using Formal and Informal

Curricula to Improve Interactions Between

Home and International Students. Journal

of Studies in International Education,

13(2) , pp.205-221. Avai lab le at :

http://jsi.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/10

28315308329786

Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies

for internal versus external control of

reinforcement. PsychologicalMonographs,

80, 1-28.

Sirat, M. & Kaur, S. (2007). Internationalization

of Higher Education: Realities and

Implications, Updates on global higher

education. No 14, 31 August 2007.

T h e U n i t C o o r d i n a t o r H a n d b o o k ,

(2012).http://otl.curtin.edu.au/local/downlo

ads/professional_development/TheUnitC

oordinatorHandbookApril 2012.pdf,

[Accessed 20 June 2013].

39

EXPLORING DUBAI’S HIGHER EDUCATION POTENTIAL

Organizer

CASE STUDY

BOBBI HARTSHORNE

Strategic Partnerships Manager

Student Accommodation Group

T:+971(0) 4 289 8033

F: +971 (0)4 289 8034

M:+971(0)562617677

www.gsa-gp.com

Abstract

Purpose:

Findings:

Implications:

Titled ‘Exploring Dubai’s Higher Education

Potential’, the purpose of this piece of research

was to understand:

• The strengths and weaknesses of the

current Higher Education (HE) provision

within the context of the Global HE

landscape

• The opportunities that are currently

available to Dubai to further develop the

HE landscape and remain competitive

Dubai has a strong foundation. However, a

number of significant provision gaps will

prevent the Emirate from remaining globally

competitive in the coming years. There also

remains considerable confusion and

misconception about what Dubai can offer to

students and incoming providers. This needs to

be addressed to prevent a stagnation of growth.

A series of recommendations are made to

address these two issues.

While Dubai has out-performed global and

regional growth in the recent past, there is no

opportunity to ‘sit back and relax’. A number of

regional and global competitors are emerging

that will challenge Dubai’s HE position and

success. Dubai has an opportunity to become

the leader and the innovator in this space.

However, this will require a number of

significant policy changes as well as a holistic

commitment to developing the sector.

41

Foreword

The Changing Nature of Higher

Education

For years, higher education participation was

dominated by the ‘West’ and:

• The privilege of a limited elite

• A standard 3 or 4 years of experience at

the same institution, in the same city

• An opportunity to study one or two

subjects with generally a theoretical and

academic approach or preparation for

joining ‘the professions’ (doctor, lawyer,

architect, etc)

• Accessed almost immediately after

finishing secondary (high) school

• Typically designed to enable graduates to

enter the ‘world of work’ at a certain level

However, over the past two decades,

participation has increased exponentially with

access at the heart of the agenda for many

countries. As participation numbers increased,

so the diploma disease set in (R. Dore, 1980).

In this, having a bachelor’s degree was no

longer considered adequate to differentiate

oneself in the employment market. In

response, there was an increasing diversity of

subjects. Studying abroad and extra-curricular

opportunities made available to them gave

students the opportunity to diversify

themselves in the war for graduate

employment.

Today, the landscape continues to change

more significantly and at a faster pace than

ever before. The image on page 3 shows the

uneven distribution of Higher Education, by

attributing country size to the presence of

universities ranked in the top 200 by the Times

Higher Education World University Rankings

2014-2015. However, with the changing nature

of the student population, we expect this

imbalance to shift.

42

Today, students are:

• Increasingly aware of the opportunities

a v a i l a b l e o v e r s e a s f o r s t u d y,

entrepreneurship, employment and

international development

• Increasingly seeking a hyper-individual

experience tailored specifically to their

own wants and career ambitions

• Increasingly connected to information and

learning for free

• Increasingly able to engage in low-cost

entrepreneurial activity in the digital space

• Increasingly seeking new learning

experiences, more suited to the behavior

of emerging markets

• Increasingly demanding a higher return on

investment

Moreover, there is an increasing discussion

around how well the old regime can serve not

only the changing nature of students but also

the changing nature of global economics,

global business and social, financial and

environmental sustainability.

Are we witnessing the start of a significant shift

in what higher education is as well as how and

where it is delivered? If so, which countries and

institutions will adapt fast enough to survive

and which universities will fade into

insignificance?

These factors pose a new threat to traditional

higher education destinations and present

interesting opportunities for emerging markets

to develop in such a way that can immediately

satisfy these demands and get ahead of the

curve. Dubai is in prime position to lead the shift

Bobbi Hartshorne

Executive Summary

Dubai In 2015

Student Enrolment

Dubai is renowned for having the biggest and

best of everything. Indeed to date, this has

been the model for developing the framework

for the city, focusing largely along the coastline

of the Emirate. However, Dubai now moves into

a more mature phase of development, filling in

the gaps with a series of more culturally aware,

subtle, and creative communities and projects,

such as Box Park, Opera District, Dubai Design

District (D3), The Beach and more. Dubai is

increasingly speckled with artistic restaurants,

quirky art galleries, entrepreneurial business

cafes, informal amateur music and drama

performances, boutique shops, organic

markets, social sports leagues and many of the

other features synonymous with Dubai.

Dubai faces many of the challenges currently

plaguing in the rest of the world, not least of

which is the skills-gap crisis among the

population as a whole, but most prevalent

within the Emirati population. The immediate

challenge for Dubai and the UAE as a whole is

to increase Emirati employment in the private

sector through a series of targeted education,

awareness, and motivation initiatives. One of

the major considerations for approving a new

education provider is how an institution can

contribute to the skills shortage and diversify

the knowledge and experience among the local

as well as expatriate population. Dr Ayoub

Kazim of the Dubai Education Cluster explains,

The emerging sophistication of Dubai will begin

to appeal to international universities

increasingly, who associate these features with

a ‘student-friendly’ environment. Promoting this

to institutions offering subject specialisms

required to support the vision of Dubai and the

UAE could prove a successful sector growth

Global higher education enrolments increased

by 5.3% per annum between 2002 and 2012

with the greatest growth coming from the

emerging regions.

During the same period, Dubai grew by 8.5%,

second only to Southwest Asia at 10.6% and far

ahead of the global average. Dubai’s

Knowledge and Human Development Authority

(KHDA) announced 13.7% in enrolment growth

from 2013 to 2014.

GSA research forecasts Dubai’s student

enrolments to reach between 146,702 (based

on sustaining the mid-term growth rate of 8.5%

per annum) and 245,512 (based on sustaining

the most recent annual growth of 13.7% in

2014) by 2025.

Dubai presents a fast-expanding market during

a time when growth in the ‘Big 4’ (USA, UK,

Australia, and Canada) is stagnating at around

2% growth and student attention is turning to

emerging destinations.

We are witnessing a period of unprecedented

change in the global higher education sector.

Major emerging economies are making huge

investments to increase both the quality and

quantity of higher education and scientific

research available within their own country’s

borders. Governments are seeking to empower

their rising middle-class through education and

are expecting to initiate provision to suit the

rapidly changing needs of the economy and the

population at large.

Dubai has a slightly different challenge due to

the heavy dominance of the expatriate

community (circa 90% of the population).

However, while the approach may be different,

the challenges are the same and the

government is striving to:

a) Diversify the economy,

b) Upskill and empower the Emirati population

and

c) Attract the necessary talent to support the

rapid rate of growth and change.

Higher Education Ambition In

Emerging Markets

43

According to the Statistics Centre, Abu Dhabi,

in the past few years, Emiratis have been

increasingly selecting private international

secondary schools over their own federal

schools. This pattern may develop within the

HE sector too.

The introduction of higher education providers

that can contribute to the mid to long term vision

and serve the needs of a highly diverse

population will be a significant long-term benefit

to Dubai.

Internationally mobile students increased to 4.5

million in 2012 and are expected to grow to 8

million by 2025. A number of country-specific

studies show that welcoming globally mobile

students bring considerable socio-economic

benefits. The USA currently raises USD $27

billion from its fee-paying system. Germany

raises EURO 272 million despite having a fee-

free regime in place. International students are

also considered to create jobs, increase social

and cultural diversity, and fulfill existing skills-

gaps. In summary, attracting international

students is generally perceived as highly

positive.

Best estimates indicate that 60,000 of Dubai’s

students, 22% are international (incoming for

the purpose of study and not previously

resident in UAE), which exceeds UK (20%),

Australia (20%) and USA (4%). This is primarily

due to the smaller market size in Dubai.

However, it testifies that students worldwide

are attracted to the Emirates for studies. Some

institutions in Dubai enroll students from over

95 different countries. Dubai also attracts a

large number of students from other parts of the

UAE. These students have limited choice of

higher education within their own Emirate.

In this regard, Dubai competes with the Big 4

and presents incoming institutions the

opportunity to target a new and/or changing

recruitment pool. By better understanding the

demographic makeup of the current and

potential international student body, Dubai can

promote institutions seeking to establish

Internationally Mobile Students

offshore campuses in order to diversify their

own student population.

Multiple indicators suggest a very promising

outlook for Dubai, with GDP ranked 5th in the

world. Dubai is ranked 22nd by the World

Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business Index’.

Moreover, the Emirate has experienced an

average of 12.5% GDP growth per annum for a

decade. In 2012, the UAE welcomed a

staggering 8,810 new businesses.

Incoming business to the UAE can expect to

benefit from its economic growth. Dubai can

use this recent historic success to establish

itself as the ‘go-to’ destination for institutions

seeking to establish a presence in the region.

Dubai’s higher education provision is currently

highly unbalanced toward both undergraduate

degrees and dominant subject areas,

especially business, which is studied by 44% of

all students in Dubai. This is primarily due to the

lower resource requirements to teach such

subjects and because demand within this

region for these subjects is quite high.

However, as this report shows, a lack of subject

diversity is increasingly considered to be

hindering the appeal and growth of Dubai’s

higher education sector. This in turn will

negatively impact its global competitive

advantage.

Dubai’s current higher education sector is not

ready to cope with a rapidly increasing student

enrolment growth. It is also not ready to cope

with increasing demand for subject diversity,

which responds to an increasingly diversified

economy. In order to remain globally

competitive, and to serve the incoming student

population, Dubai would benefit from attracting:

• High-quality providers offering degrees in

art, design, medicine, hospitality, social

sciences and pure/ natural sciences

Dubai: A Safe Haven For

Business in the Middle East

Dubai’s Higher Education

Offering

44

• Research intensive institutions that can

support the UAE’s ambition to become a

knowledge-based economy

• A known-brand American University

offering a true United States university

experience with transfer opportunities into

the USA

A study by Educational Testing Service

(TOEFL) found that the main drivers that

encourage students to move to one of the Big 4

study destinations are relaxed culture, safety,

cultural diversity, and top institutions. Dubai

performs exceptionally well in all of these. It is

the 10th most diverse culture, the 19th low-risk

city and an East meets West culture.

Additionally, many are surprised to learn that

there are 4 of UK’s top 40 (Guardian)

institutions operating in Dubai. In addition, the

London Business School operates here. It is

not ranked, as it is officially not a university, but

maintains an outstanding reputation.

Dubai offers all of the features that

internationally mobile students consider

important. The landscape of higher education is

changing and the emerging regions are

beginning to become a more normalized choice

for internationally mobile students. Hence,

Dubai has an opportunity to move ahead of this

curve and establish a position as the gateway

between the East and the West in every

respect.

GSA Research indicates that the GCC is the

third most popular destination for planned

offshore activities among Australian and UK

universities.

Primary motivations for offshore expansion

include brand expansion, new student base

and new research opportunities. Primary

concerns include cost and financing,

maintaining quality and legal/political

Features that Attract

International Students

Offshore Expansion

UK and Australia

frameworks. Despite these concerns, the

majority of institutions surveyed expressed an

intention to expand overseas, with the majority

seeking to offer courses through university

partnerships (30%). Others planned to develop

recruitment and marketing offices (21%),

foundation courses (21%) and 15% wished to

open a branch campus. Currently, over 20% of

UK universities and over 40% of Australian

universities are operating an international

branch campus.

In general, the USA remains more cautious

about offshore development. It is represented

by less than 3% of universities in the USA who

operate international branch campuses.

Discussions focus on how US universities

continue to attract international students with

less focus on how their education can be

adapted to a changing global and sectoral

landscape.

Discussions with representatives from

universities in the USA indicate concerns about

safety, security, freedom (individual and

academic) and the weather in Dubai. There is a

degree of ignorance about where the UAE is

located, the culture the UAE/Dubai offers and

how safe the UAE is in terms of terrorism

threats. In the light of the recent press attention

given to NYU Abu Dhabi, discussions often

progressed towards concerns around human

rights and labor standards.

If Dubai has to be successful in convincing

higher education providers about excellent

reputation to establish in the Emirate, these

concerns and perceptions need to be

addressed publicly on an international level.

“Dr. Ayoub Kazim, recently emphasized the

three components critical for success when

setting up an international branch campus

(IBC). They are comprehensive due diligence,

seamless operations, and sustainability. These

components were identified as crucial

elements in the IBC model.” Source: DIAC

2015

USA

Successful Branch Campuses

45

In recent discussions with Dubai’s existing

branch campuses, GSA Group Research has

been discussing with anecdotes the successes

and failures experienced during their

establishment in the Emirate. One of the major

themes was seamless operations, echoing Dr

Kazim’s sentiments. However, this was part of

a wider discussion around integration with and

support from the mother campuses. Those

institutions that struggled to get full support and

engagement from the mother campus were the

ones that were slower to grow and experienced

a number of delays in their operational

progress.

Sustainability is at the core of most business

discussions globally and across all sectors.

Higher Education is no exception. While there

is considerable growth in Dubai’s current and

forecasted student enrolment figures, new

IBCs will still need to establish their presence.

They must also build gather trust within the

market and early growth forecasts should be

conservative. The initial business plan should

i n c o r p o r a t e s o c i a l , f i n a n c i a l , a n d

environmental sustainability to ensure frugal

development and long-term, progressive

success.

By providing as much centralized support as

possible for new IBCs, Dubai will ensure their

faster initial growth and will create ‘good news’

stories to share with the rest of the international

education community.

Dubai receives mixed reviews from its existing

branch campuses. Overall, they are happy with

their own success in the Emirate and have

been successful in recruiting students from a

large number of countries. Some value the

UAE accreditation, while others feel the

workload required to acquire and then maintain

this is not aligned with the benefits it brings.

These universities believe that most

students choose to study in Dubai due to

Experiences of Current

International Branch Campuses

in Dubai

international/quality education available near

home, the easy visa system, safety, and

accessibility of Dubai and graduate prospects.

They feel that certain perceptions of the Middle

East region as well as lack of student

accommodation, public transport and a lack of

focus on the extra-curricular provision are

factors that turn away students from Dubai.

Existing and future IBCs can play an important

role in promoting Dubai as a study destination.

They need to ensure that they remain up-to-

date with key developments in the Emirate and

region. They also need to provide consistent

messaging for them to use. These steps will

ensure a unified image to prospective students

and institutions.

Out of the students surveyed, ninety-eight

percent students wish to progress to university

and expect to achieve 75% or higher in

upcoming exams. Most students expect to

study in Dubai and the other Emirates followed

by the US and the UK. Practical reasons such

as accessibility, accommodation, and family

influence are driving the school students of

Dubai’s to stay local. The universities in Dubai

that students are most keen to attend are

selected based on the subjects offered and

good quality education. Interestingly, for those

seeking to leave Dubai it is the lack of subject

choice and quality that drives them away. The

school students interviewed indicated nearly 60

subject areas. This demonstrates sophisticated

subject awareness within the market. There is

an overwhelming preference for degrees

accredited by the UK followed by the US. These

degrees are considered to offer better

prospects to students in the future.

Eighty-two percent of the parents believe their

child will progress to university. The UK and the

Perspectives from Prospective

Students, Parents, and

Teachers in Dubai

Prospective students

Parents of prospective students

46

USA are again the most sought after

accreditations. Seventy percent would prefer

to study in Dubai for their children, with quality,

proximity of family and cost being the main

drivers of study location choice. Costs and

limited subject choice deter parents from

encouraging their children to study in Dubai.

The drivers of university selection within Dubai

are curriculum (US/UK/Aus etc), accreditation,

subject choice, and reputation. The majority of

parents are quite satisfied with the university

options available in Dubai.

The majority of teachers state that 81-100% of

their students will progress to university with

75% of these most likely to remain in Dubai for

their studies. They go on to state that the variety

of curriculums (US/UK/Aus etc.) as the most

positive feature of Dubai’s higher education

sector and lack of subjects choice as the

biggest problem.

For Dubai to compete in an increasingly global

higher education landscape, it is vital that the

concerns and f rust rat ions of these

stakeholders are addressed. There needs to be

a focus on subject diversification, quality, and

increasing the number of UK/USA accredited

programmes.

Fifty-four percent of the respondents

considered Dubai with 46% considering

options in other Emirates and other countries.

For these students, the ‘Big 4’ – UK (24%), USA

(18%), Canada (13%), and Australia (12%)

were the most popular alternative study

destinations. Respondents chose Dubai due to

family influence (19%), quality (15%), and

subject choice (13%). Now that they are

studying in Dubai, respondents feel that the

cultural diversity (19%), lifestyle, and

experience (18%) are the best features of

student life in the Emirate. On the other hand,

climate (18%), public transport/commute

(15%), and interestingly ‘nothing’ (15%) were

Teachers and counselors of prospective

students

Opinions from Current

Students

the features students most disliked about

student life in Dubai.

As with the prospective students, the two main

drivers for university choice in Dubai were

quality (29%) and subjects offered (23%).

For those whom their current university was not

their first choice, 15% wanted a university in a

different country or emirate and 22% wanted to

attend a different university in Dubai. Outside of

Dubai, the most popular university preferences

were New York University and the University of

Leeds. Students preferred these universities

because of their location, lifestyle, and

reputation.

Seventy eight percent of respondents are

studying their first choice subject. For those

who are not, 33% stated the subject was not

available Overall, students seem satisfied with

their student experience in Dubai and chose

Dubai due to its own features. Dubai is not a

backup location when they reject or fail to enter

an alternative study destination. This is a

favorable position for Dubai to build on and

every effort should be made to promote the

student experience at the country, institution,

and subject levels.

• The Dubai Vision for the next 5-10 years

and the role of Higher Educations in

achieving that. Include a special note on

Expo 2020

• The role of Higher Education in the

Emiratization agenda

• Increased understanding of student body

% and demographic make-up of local,

international and expat student population

• Address all perceived barriers to entry

such as academic freedom, regional

instability, crowded market place etc

• Identify land/buildings/areas that would

benefit from an increased Higher

Education presence

Recommendations

Guidance Publications for Prospective

International Branch Campuses to Include

47

• Identify key recruitment markets such as

India, China, Nigeria, GCC etc. and

provide insight on targeting each of these

• Provide an outline of expected associated

costs with establishing a branch campus

in Dubai

• Create a research culture: establish a

research budget and set research targets,

allow IBCs the opportunity to bid in to

these

• ‘Study in Dubai’ campaign

- Targeted to both prospective students in

the UAE and overseas

- Strong social media presence to build

awareness

- Consistent and regular attendance at

international recruitment events to build

trust

- Col laborat ive approach among

universities to encourage economies of

scale and a united perspective

• Promoting local and region job prospects

and skills needs

- Aligning subjects areas on offer with

career prospects in the UAE and the

wider region

• Highlight international progression routes

between both UAE’s universities and

overseas universities for Masters

• Capitalize on the unique location of Dubai

by promoting its proximity to key

recruitment countries

• Social/cultural studies and medicine are

key to attracting students from the Asian

student export markets

• Niche subject areas to support developing

areas of the Emirate, such as Design

District

• Align with emerging needs of the country

• Maintain outstanding quality throughout

Guidance Campaign For Prospective

Students

Increase Subject Offering

Lead the Education Innovation

Becoming more student friendly

• Take advantage of the opportunity to lead

and/or participate in the changing face of

higher education globally

- Innovate and disturb the norm

- Attract alternative education solutions

that can serve the region better

• Increase flexibility to ‘build your own’

degree and collect credits from multiple

countries and universities

- Appeal to the hyper-individuals and

allow them to attend niche courses at

h igh ly specia l ized inst i tu t ions

worldwide

- Increase f lexibi l i ty within UAE

accreditation system and align it with

other major international accreditation

models

• Seek to discourage universities from

taking a highly commercial approach,

which can undermine quality and long-

term sustainability

• Formalized career guidance service to

support the successful progression of

Emiratis and international/expat students

alike

• Allow students to have part-time jobs

while studying – a huge benefit to students

and Dubai’s economy

• Allow students to stay and work in Dubai

for 1 year on their own Visa – encourage

employment of recent graduates.

Experience from the Netherlands shows

that this is the biggest barrier to increasing

international student enrolment

• Enable more competitive pricing – remove

unnecessary costs from the bills of

universities so that they can offer a more

competitive price compared to a) Big 4

and b) other emerging markets

• Encourage more bridging/ foundation/

part-time options so that more students

can access Higher Education more

easily

48

• Make it easier for students to open bank

accounts, find accommodation, get phone

contracts and pay utility bills

• Introduce student discount cards

• Introduce a substantially more regular bus

service at DIAC, Silicon Oasis and other

off-metro sites

• Develop facilities for sports, drama, music

and socializing for students

On the following page, we look at how both

Netherlands and Turkey have successfully

increased their international student enrolment

through a series of initiatives, policy revisions,

and campaigns.

In 2013, the Minister of Education, Culture

and Science of the Netherlands launched

the ‘Make it in the Netherlands’ program.

This was achieved through a coalition

approach involving the Ministry, the Chamber

of Commerce, un ivers i t ies , s tudent

organizations, industry, and employers.

The initiative included the following features:

• Free Dutch lessons (MOOC)

• A clear message that the Netherlands

welcomes international students

• A change in policy allowing international

students to remain in the Netherlands to

work as graduates

• A buddy system between existing and

incoming students

• Comparatively low tuition fees and an

abundance of scholarships

• A scholarships and funding information

service

• A student/graduate jobs information

service

Mimic Good Practice

Examples of Good Practice

Case Study:

The Netherlands

• Clearer information on education

progression routes

As a result, Study Portals International Student

Sat isfact ion Awards 2014 rated the

Netherlands a very high 8.7 out of 10. It is

estimated that the Netherlands now hosts

around 75,000 international students

compared to circa 26,000 (UNESCO, 2015), 10

years ago. Source: (iamexpat.nl, 2013)

Turkey has very ambitious international student

recruitment targets. In 2003, Turkey hosted

only 12,729 international students (UNESCO,

2015). In 2013, this figure rose to 54,387 and by

2023 Turkey wants to be hosting 200,000

international students. With 40.9% growth

between 2012 and 2013, Turkey must be doing

something right.

ICEF noted that in 2014, Turkey achieved

90,000 applications from 176 countries,

indicating the broad reach and penetration of

the country’s appeal. ICEF believes that Turkey

achieved this by:

• Increasing scholarships, specifically for

international students

• Liberalizing admissions processes

(especially for those coming from conflict

areas)

• Established education pacts with more

countries

• Formed the Balkan Univers i t ies

Association

• Increased the presence of Turkish

Universities listed in the Times Higher

Education Top 200

Turkey has increased its Higher Education

provision and diversified its student body.

However, the biggest challenge is to maintain

quality throughout this period of intense growth.

Source: (ICEF, 2015)

Case Study:

Turkey

49

Global Student Growth

In the years from 2000 to 2012, the number of

students enrolled in higher education increased

from 94 million to 196 million, at an average

annual growth rate of over 5.8%. Over the same

period, student enrolments within the United

Kingdom (UK) rose by an average annual

equivalent of just 2%. Figure 1 demonstrates

the consistent growth of total tertiary students

enrolled around the globe. According to the

most recent recorded enrolment numbers

released by UNESCO, there were 16 million

enrolments during 2012, with an annual growth

rate of 5.3%. The number of students enrolling

in higher education worldwide is forecast to

grow to 263 million by 2025, which would

represent 2.3% growth per annum over the next

13 years.

This substantial growth in global tertiary

enrolments will mainly be driven by emerging

markets. Figure 2 demonstrates the average

rate of growth experienced over the past ten

years by region. Typically, emerging markets

have shown stronger growth compared to the

more mature higher education markets of North

America and Western Europe, which continued

to grow at a steady rate of 2.2% per annum.

The global average rate of growth per annum

over the past ten years was 5.3%, while the

Arab region averaged 4.4%. It is believed that

the lower growth within this region, compared to

other emerging regions, was a result of political

instability. It is likely that a large proportion of

youth in the region have been caught in conflict,

while others may have enrolled in higher

education abroad.

The number of students enrolled in tertiary

education outside of their own country more

than doubled to nearly 4.5 million between

2000 and 2012. The OECD predicts that this

figure will double again in the next decade.

Contrary to other asset classes, there has been

no decline in the growth of global enrolments for

international students due to global financial

crisis (GFC).

The major countries of origin are China, India,

and South Korea, while the most favored

destinations are the United

States (US), United Kingdom (UK), Australia,

France and Germany (accounting for nearly

half of all foreign student enrolments), and

Japan.

Recently, universities have experienced an

exponential rise in the number of mobile

students, particularly in the growth of

international student numbers. The surge of

international students can mainly be attributed

to these drivers:

• Quality of education

• Language of instruction

Growing Trend of Mobile

Students

50

Global Higher Education Landscape

• Housing options

• Degree recognition

• Future employment opportunities

• Fees (Source: JLL, 2012)

GSA Group Research looked at long-term

enrollment growth in education from the three

key regions from where the majority of

international students in Dubai originate. The

aim was to observe the enrollment trends from

secondary school education to higher

education and determine where potential

excess demand exists.

The Sub-Sahara Africa region shows steadily

increasing enrollments over the past decade.

This is aligned to the regions general

population growth. It is interesting to observe

that there is slower growth in higher

educational enrollments, despite an increase in

upper secondary participation. This is likely

because students are not being able to access

higher education for financial reasons. Some

choose not to progress due to a limited supply

of institutions to provide higher education. A

proportion of the population chooses to enroll

outside of Africa.

The Arab region has been the least stable, with

fluctuating periods of growth and regression.

This is reflective of the regional instability and

Regional Student Growth

(MEIA)

conflict. However, HE has maintained steady

growth indicating the region’s commitment to

increasing HE provision as well as introducing

high enrolment targets.

The trend in Asia and Pacific region displays a

closing of the gap between lower secondary

school students and upper secondary school

students, while overall enrolments in higher

education have stagnated and regressed

slightly. This could be due to stagnating

population in China (because of the one child

policy) and a rising middle class with increased

financial position to access education in the

‘West’. The number of students graduating from

secondary school is staggering in this region, at

just over 73 million students, which represents

a huge market for IBCs. Compared to the

developing region, enrolments in the more

mature markets of North America and Western

Europe show an almost equal proportion of

students progressing through from lower

secondary to upper secondary school. The high

enrolment numbers in HE are likely to be

representative of the high number of incoming

international students.

International and country specific research

continues to demonstrate that attracting

international students brings significant

economic benefits to a country.

Economic Benefits of Higher

Education

51

52

The Institute of International Education (IIE)

reported that the average annual cost of tuition

fees and living costs in the top four English-

speaking host countries in 2014 were (USD):

• Australia - $42,093

• US - $36,564

• UK - $35,045

• Canada - $29,947

Comparably, in Dubai the annual cost of fees is

$28,000. (HSBC, 2014)

The Association of International Educators

(NAFSA) in the USA reported strong consumer

demand and partnerships with foreign

governments and foreign universities are

currently the main drivers of international

enrolment growth in the United States.

Overall, the net contribution (total contribution

from tuition, fees, and living expenses minus

US support) of international students to the US

economy was significant, growing to 72% since

the 2007/2008 academic year, from US$16

billion to US$27 billion.

For every 7 international students enrolled, 3

US jobs are created or supported. In the 2013-

2014 academic year, international students

created or supported a total of 340,000 jobs

nationwide.

International students are also helping to fill

skills shortages at a time when the US share of

the world’s science and engineering graduates

is declining. A previous World Education

Services (WES) report noted that international

students were a vital source of enrolments for

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and

Mathematics) fields. In 2013, more than one in

three international students was enrolled in a

STEM field within the US. Dubai is actively

seeking to become a knowledgeable economy

53

for future sustainability. However, it needs to

address the significant lack of research-

intensive learning in its provision of higher

education.

During 1997, in Germany, the German

Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) started to

subsidize Bachelor‘s and Master‘s programs

taught in English (now more than 1,000) and

abolished tuition fees, even for overseas

students. In 2002, the DAAD launched a

marketing campaign which led to an increase of

international students by 65% in only four

years. This has resulted in 91% of international

students being successful during their Master’s

program, slightly better than German students

with 89%.

The DAAD commissioned a study by

PROGNOS AG, which found that if 30% of

international students stay in Germany and pay

taxes. This offsets the cost of providing study

places without tuition fees for 100% of all

international students.

After graduation, the total deficit to Germany is

€27 million; however, returning students

generate €272 million into the economy. This

number is based on 300,000 international

students with a 17% retention rate. In fact,

roughly 50% of international students remain in

Germany for some years after completing their

studies, as immigration laws are now very

liberal for international students.

The story is much the same worldwide:

• In 2010, in Canada, international students

created over 86,000 jobs; and generated

more than CDN $455M

• The international education sector is

Australia’s third largest export

• International students contribute over 8

billion pounds to the UK each year

• 100,000 international students provided

with NZ $2 billion and supporting over

32,000 jobs

Governments worldwide are trying different

methods to retain international students after

graduation as they can add huge value to their

economies.

Governments worldwide are trying different

methods to retain international students after

graduation as they can add huge value to their

economies.

Strategies include:

• Lowering the entry threshold for the most

valuable immigrants

• Allowing international student graduates

to stay for a period of time in order to

search for a job

• Providing language learning and cultural

adaptation opportunities

• Providing tailored career guidance

services

A number of emerging markets have very

ambitious plans for their higher education

sectors.

• Total enrolments in China grew from 9.4m

to 31.3m in the last decade

• Spends $180bn per annum on higher

education with plans to double by 2020

(UK spends $37.4bn with limited plans for

growth in expenditure) Source: OECD,

World Bank 2015

• Target of attracting 500,000 international

students by 2020

• China is attempting to create/host as many

Tier 1/Ivy League universities as the US

within the next twenty years

• Currently hosts 5 universities in the

Times Higher Education Top Global 100

rankings Source: International HE Forum, UK, March 2015

• Total enrolments in India grew by 9.8m to

26.6m in last decade

• Stated its ambition to become a top five

global scientific power by 2020 Source: International HE Forum, UK, March 2015

Higher Education in Emerging

Markets

China

India

54

Africa

What does this mean for the established

higher education market?

Global Student Mobility

• 1 in 4 people will live in Africa by 2050

• Plans to increase university participation

from average of 8% to 50% by 2063

Source: African Higher Education Summit, March

2015

• The choice of institutions will increase

and universities will become more

competitive

• Competition could lower tuition fees,

making tertiary education more affordable

• There will be more opportunities for work

in emerging markets

• Institutions are likely to become quicker to

adapt learning models to suit the changing

world needs. The UK is already moving to

a 2-year bachelor degree model.

• Traditional universities that once took

months or years to make business critical

decisions, will now be required to make

those decisions and implement them

much faster to keep up with a) their global

emerging competition and b) the rate of

change.

A study of economic trends related to

international education reveals that since 2000

upper-middle-income economies – those with

a gross national income per capita between

US$4,126 and US$12,745 (Japan, S. Korea,

China, UAE, KSA etc.) – are driving growth in

outbound student mobility.

The total number of outbound international

s tudents f rom upper -midd le- income

economies jumped 161% between 2000 and

2012, compared to only 29% from high-income

OECD countries.

GFC – Despite the negative impact

of the 2008 financial crisis, the total

enrollment of international students

in the US increased by 42%

between 2008 and 2014.

Australia – Restrictive visa change

for international students. This

significantly reduced international

students coming into Australia, until

policy was reversed.

Arab Spring – Political conflict in

the Arab region shifted economic

investment into the UAE, which

was perceived as a safe haven.

This eventually filtered down into

regional student mobility, with less

students going to Lebanon and

S y r i a , w h i l e i n t e r n a t i o n a l

enrolments in the UAE increased.

UK – Restrictive visa change for

international students. This

reduced international students

coming into the UK

US –

which

corresponds to a 12% increase

against 2013, when the total was

US$24 billion.

A 2012 study by GSA Group Research and

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) revealed that the key

drivers of student mobility are:

• University reputation

• English-based curriculum

• Future employment opportunities

• Visa regulations

• Distance from home

International students

contributed almost US$27 billion to

the US economy in 2014,

Drivers of Global Student Mobility

2008

2010

2011

2012

2014

55

Given below are the findings of a research

report by TOEFL looking into what influences

student decision making:

Three primary reasons for studying abroad:

• Gain greater career success

• Get a better job after graduation

• Get a better education

Other reasons include:

• Living independently

• Challenging themselves

• Becoming well-rounded

• Experience new cultures

• Travel

Influencers to study abroad:

• Individuals themselves

• Parents (especially fathers in Asia)

Why students choose to study in:

• Relaxed culture

• Safe

• Cultural diversity

• Safe

• Relaxed culture

• Cultural diversity

• Top universities

• Cultural diversity

• Relaxed culture

• Top universities

• Relaxed culture

• Cultural diversity

GSA Group Research looked into which

subjects were being studied by international

students from key nations of high enrolment

Canada

Australia

UK

USA

Subjects in Demand by Mobile

Students

growth potential that Dubai could target (India,

Nigeria and China).

Business, Engineering and Health are the

popular choices of study for Nigerians and

Indians while the Chinese prefer social

sciences over health.

It is interesting to note that while Dubai provides

a range of business programmes to choose

from, there is currently limited provision for

engineering and a very limited provision for

medicine and social science. This will

significantly hinder Dubai's ability to attract

certain students from high growth markets.

The size of the internationally mobile student

markets originating in China and India, along

with a developing Nigeria, dwarfs the size of

Dubai's current higher education sector. This

represents considerable untapped growth

potential for Dubai.

Total global international students originating

from:

Nigeria - 52,066

India - 181,872

China - 712,157Source: UNESCO 2012/13

56

There are a total of 33 countries exporting and

71 countries importing universities using the

branch campus model.

Although the US exports the highest number of

branch campuses, as a proportion of the

number of HEIs in the USA, it is a very small

3%. This is compared to the UK and Australia at

28% and 43% respectively.

Global Branch Campuses

A branch campus is an entity that is owned,

at least in part, by a foreign education

provider; operated in the name of the foreign

education provider; engages in at least some

face-to-face teaching; and provides access to

an entire academic program that leads to a

credential awarded by the foreign education

provider.

Source: C-BERT’s, 2015

57

The overall wider-trend witnesses developed

nations exporting their established educational

institutions, with emerging markets importing

them.

The UAE has positioned itself well in 22 years to

expand its higher education model through

enticing branch campus growth, as a result of

its ease of doing business and strategic

location.

GSA Group Research conducted surveys with

19 UK and Australian universities.

The aim of this survey was to determine

universities' appetite for international expansion.

Current Interest in Offshore

Expansion

In particular, key points of interest within this

study were:

• Where are universities looking to expand?

• How are these universities seeking to

expand?

• What influences these decisions?

• How is Dubai perceived as a branch

campus destination?

The research was conducted as a series of

qualitative interviews, with a total sample size

of 19 respondents broken down by:

• 10 from Australia

• 9 from UK & Ireland

Approach

58

59

Universities were approached directly as well

as via email, phone and in person at

international conferences such as the

International Educational Forum (UK, March

2015) and NAFSA (USA, May 2015).

• Only 16% of the universities interviewed

were not interested in an international

expansion. This is reflective of major

higher educational conferences currently

focusing on internationalization, in the

light of a changing landscape.

• Asia is the preferred destination for

university expansion, with a combined

total of 61%.

• Analysis has shown that the interviewed

universities are adverse to high capital

investment overseas, thus reducing their

exposure to risk. 72% of university

respondents are interested in a capital

l igh t expans ion, e i ther through

partnership models or small recruitment

offices. 15% are interested in a full branch

campus model.

• This reflects well for Dubai, which has

shifted its approach in growing the local

higher education sector to seek out niche

and high qual i ty provision from

recognized brands.

14% of universities have directly disclosed that

they are attracted to increased profit when

Current Interest in Offshore

Expansion – Continued

seeking international expansion. Other drivers

include seeking a new student base and new

research opportunities which could bring both

additional revenue as well as broader benefits

to the university

19% claimed that they were interested in new

research opportunities, which is likely to be a

result of preferring to keep research and

intellectual property at their home campus.

However, anecdotal discussions indicate that

universities do see value in having an overseas

base for research, in which they can:

• Conduct regional research

• Collaborate with local institutions

• Offer their academics new research

challenges to retain talent

Few universities (3%) saw the opportunity to

capture a new teacher base as one of their main

motivations for expanding overseas.

It is interesting to note that only 3% of

universities consider academic freedom as one

of their main concerns. Anecdotally, recent

press coverage continues to present this as a

key challenge and deterrent.

From the 1980s, development has typically

been to focus on basic education. Significant

demographic, economic and policy shifts

now mean that the potential of higher

education to dive growth and innovation is

becoming increasingly recognized and many

Demand for Skills is Changing

60

emerging markets are making huge

investments into developing their own higher

education provision, with ambitious enrolment

targets.

New technology and the growing

sophistication of economies have

generated demand for new and different

skills. The shift away from agriculture towards

services, manufacturing, and more recently

digital and technological innovation requires

vast new skills and knowledge bases.

By 2030 the majority of people in Africa and

Asia will live in urban areas creating demand

for skills in planning and engineering. As a

consequence of urban centers, new demands

will arise (e.g. teaching, law, business, health,

and entrepreneurial skills etc).

Global patterns of disease burdens are

shifting towards non-communicable diseases,

requiring health workers with new sets of skills.

Youth bulge

• By 2020, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Ethiopia,

Pakistan, India, Mexico, Egypt, the

Philippines and Vietnam will host 25% of

the world's population aged 18-22

• By 2050, 1 in 4 people will live in Africa -

opportunity for a demographic dividend

• In 2012, 54% of the GCC population were

under the age of 25

Secondary school completion

• In sub-Saharan Africa, enrolment in

secondary education grew nine-fold from

4.3 million in 1970 to 39 million in 2009

Enrolment pressure

• By 2020, tertiary enrolments are expected

to increase by 70% in Nigeria, 100% in

Ethiopia and 35% in Bangladesh

• By the end of 2015, Africa needs to double

the number of HE teaching staff in order to

retain the current 1:20 teacher-student

ratio

61

• To achieve a target gross enrolment ratio

of 30% by 2020, India requires 500 new

universities and $100 billion investment

With changing skills needs, rising youth

populations and increasing HE demand in

developing countries, the need for significant

improvements in HE is becoming more

p ress ing . New HE p rov ide rs , new

technologies, and an acceptance of the need

for HE reform mean that there are real

opportunities to engage and to make these

improvements self-sustaining and fit for the

modern world. It is clear that now is the right

time to take a fresh approach to HE to support

emerging market development.

The Department for Business Innovation and

Skills, UK conducted a research paper on

'Working while studying’ in October 2013.

The research report:

The need for student to work is driven primarily

by financial need: to meet an immediate or

critical need; to cover a shortfall in other forms

Working While Studying

of student support; to top up income to provide a

better student experience; or to help towards

future goals. It also enables students to share

the responsibility for meeting the costs of their

study, provides them with a sense of financial

independence, and develops skills in managing

finances. Secondary motivations include taking

time out from study, meeting new people,

keeping busy and having new experiences.

Employability considerations are part of the mix

but for most students they are a secondary if not

tertiary reason for undertaking paid work.

Students believe that employers want more

than just academic qualifications and so work

experience, regardless of relevance to course

or career goals, shows them to be 'well rounded

individuals’ with a range of life and work

experiences and interests, with labor market

insights, able to cope in different situations and

able to interact with people from a variety of

backgrounds. Work is perceived to develop and

The main benefit of working, unpaid and paid, is

seen as improved longer-term employability

and improved opportunities for graduate

employment.

62

demonstrate a number of attributes and transferable skills that students feel employers will value:

Student work can also provide a number of

practical outputs: prepared CVs, experience of

an application and selection process,

opportunities to develop networks and

contacts, and employer references.

All work experience provides benefits, but

relevant work (to the program of study or

intended career direction) is preferred as this

can ease the transition between studying and

working after graduation.

In addition to benefitting the student

themselves, the economy of the host country is

also benefitted through both the additional

spending power of the students as well as

through the introduction of fresh skills and

talent to the labor market. Moreover, by

encouraging students to engage in work during

their studies, they may be more inclined to stay

to work in the host country upon graduation. As

we saw in the 'Economic benefits of higher

education’ section, Germany is able to repay its

annual international student deficit (EURO 27

Million) 10 times over through the contribution

graduates make to the economy (EURO 272

Million).

To predict or spot a new trend, Career

Planner looks for these basic drivers:

• The need to reduce cost

Future Job Trends and Forecasts

Drivers

Team-working Self confidence

Customer service Self discipline, self management

Numeracy/handling money Managing stress, coping under pressure,

resilience

Communication skills and presentation skills Independence

Interpersonal/personal skills, conflict handling Initiative,

and dealing with difficult people motivation

Organizational skills, time management Patience, tolerance and

and multi-tasking empathy

Decision making Assertiveness

Language skills Responsibility, reliability

Leadership Professionalism

TRANSFERABLE SKILLS ATTRIBUTES

• The need to do things faster

• The need to make things easier to use

• The need to improve safety and reliability

• The need to lessen the impact on the

environment

Career Planner foresees the following

current employment positions that will

likely become obsolete:

• Data Entry

• Programming

• Tech Support

• Customer Services

• Commercial pilots

• Legal work

• Technical writing

• Telemarketers

• Accountants

• Retail workers

• Real estate sales agents

Future industries that are likely to grow:

• 3D Printing

• Crypto Currencies and Alternative

Financial Systems

• Big Data

• Trillion-Sensor Future

• Commercial Drone Industry

• Atmospheric Water Harvesters

63

• Personal Rapid Transit Systems (PRTs)

• Micro Grid Conversion - Electricity

• Driverless Everything

• Bio-Factories

• Nano-Medics

• Micro-Colleges

• Healthcare & Senior Living

• Future Agriculture

• Alternative Energy

Changing Certification Methods:

According to Thomas Frey, who is the Senior

Futurist at the DaVinci Institute, and Google's

top rated Futurist Speaker, work in the future

will increasingly be organized by talent clouds -

networks of skilled professionals and para-

professionals like oDesk and eLance, which

coordinate work activities and match

specialized skills with interaction- based tasks.

Career readiness will shift from a static

benchmark to a continuous and dynamic need

over a lifetime, requiring self-directed learning

that is closely aligned to the needs of shifting

industries.

GSA predicts that this shift is likely to

significantly challenge the current higher

education model and emerging markets are

most poised to lead this shift due to their

innovative approach, fast-paced economies,

and lack of legacy.

Is the traditional higher education model

meeting the needs of a changing global

landscape, in which students are becoming

more mobile by transitioning through several

locations during their studies? Institutions are

becoming more flexible, moving towards a

module based system that fits into semesters

and in some cases, trimesters.

• is changing learning

methods, distances, and curriculum. Will

classrooms be in the cloud? Could this be

on the onset of full-access education for

all?

Considerations for the Future of

Higher Education

New technology

• The is high, and

when coupled with youth unemployment

and student debt, it has become a serious

issue. ROI is being scrutinized;

employability is at the heart of the issue.

• : Imagine learning general biology

and then going on to study molecular

biology and genetics. And then using your

'Open Access Button’ reading the most

important peer reviewed papers on these

subjects, all for free. However, creating

and delivering value in most global

markets is not normally free.

• There could be an evolution of

engineering courses into

, not just standalone engineers.

• Expect greater demand for community

colleges and as up-

skilling and re-skilling becomes vital to

success.

• : Sophisticated

learning analytic tools and adaptive

courseware have been an important factor

in creating personalized learning

pathways in hybrid, or blended,

classrooms and programs.

• In the future, teachers will transition from

topic experts to a role in which they act

more as .

• By 2020 or sooner, it will be all about

“ .”

• The Age of :We live in an era in which we are

approaching 100 million products in the

marketplace, and depending on how you

define a product, some would argue that

we have already far exceeded that

number. Our need for hyper-individualized

solutions is driven by several factors

including our time, our personality, and an

overwhelming need to feel special in a

world of over 6 billion other people wanting

many of the same things.

• It is perceived that by 2025, 20% of all

global jobs will be those that don’t exist

today.

cost of higher education

MOOCs

business

creators

vocational education

Personalization strategies

guides and coaches

just-in-time knowledge

Hyper-Individuality

64

UAE Student Growth

• Student numbers remain a little unclear

due to lack of up-to-date data and

semester fluctuation. However indications

point to around 118,000-¬125,000

students in 2014. Of which circa 45% are

studying in Dubai.

• According to the Ministry of Higher

Education and Scientific Research

(MOHESR), Dubai has a larger proportion

of enrollers attending private institutions

(73.7%) compared to the capital city of

Abu Dhabi (59.2%). Only Sharjah has a

larger percentage (from a student base of

above 10,000) of students attending

private institutions. This is likely to be a

result of the proportion of private and

prestigious institutions operating in

Sharjah.

Recent Growth

• According to the Dubai Knowledge and

Human Development Authority (KHDA),

Dubai experienced 9.4% growth in

student numbers between 2012 and

2013, then higher growth still from 2013 to

2014, at 13.7%. This is significantly above

the global average rate of enrolment

growth of 5.3%.

• Dubai has been viewed as a safe and

stable locality in a region that has

experienced political conflict over the past

decade. As a result, regional students

have sought education in Dubai for a

combination of its proximity to their home

nation, and affordability compared to other

Engl ish curr icu lum based study

destinations.

• In addition, many students who are based

in Asia view Dubai as a stepping stone to

progressing into a Western institution. For

example, it is common for Indian students

to complete a foundation course in their

home country, then enroll in an

undergraduate degree at a western

branch campus in Dubai. They then

expect to enter into a postgraduate

program in the mother country of the

international branch campus.

• GSA Group Research used historical

growth rates for Dubai enrolments to

forecast the size of the higher education

sector by 2025. Two rates were used, the

first is the latest annual growth of

enrolments recorded in Dubai (13.7%) and

can be considered high growth. This

results in an enrolment base by 2025 of

245,512 students. The second rate used is

the longer-term six year annual average of

8.5% and can is considered to be a modest

level of future growth. This results in a

predicted enrollment base of 146,702

students by 2025.

Dubai’s Higher Education Landscape

65

• Alpen Capi ta l ’s July 2014 Gul f

Co¬operation Council (GCC) Education

Industry report said the U.A.E. is the most

developed education market in the region.

Students from within the Middle East are

increasingly turning to Dubai instead of

the United Kingdom for quality education.

The UAE's GDP per capita ranks 5th in the

world and 3rd in the Middle East, after Qatar

and Kuwait. The GDP growth rate in 2013 stood

at 8.1%. The UAE boasts one of the fastest

Economic Factors Impacting

Dubai

growing tourist sectors in the world, attracting

record numbers of international jet-setters and

investors alike. UAE tourism already accounts

for 0.5% of worldwide tourism, and the tourist

industry in the Emirates is forecast to grow by

4.9% per annum for the next two years.

Dubai's economy is currently benefitting from

huge private capital inflows leading to the

acceleration of infrastructure related growth in

the first three quarters of 2014, indicating that

strong opportunities exist. It is anticipated that

Dubai has achieved 5.2% GDP growth at the

end of 2014, largely attributed to tourism,

transportation, trade, and strong recovery in the

real estate sector - in addition to the completion

66

of major projects and preparations to host the

World Expo 2020. MEED estimates these

developments will keep Dubai's growth above

5% per annum in the coming years.

Dubai's efforts to attract 20 million visitors per

year will continue to influence the future, with

the tourism sector's contribution to the

economy expected to triple to $82bn by 2020.

These form part of Dubai's vision for tourism for

2020. Fresh investments in new projects,

notably health, education, leisure, and culture

will account for over 50% of $4.6bn worth of

construction projects being tendered in Dubai.

(MEED, 2015)

According to the World Bank, the UAE has an

attractive Ease of Doing Business score. A high

ranking (a low numerical rank) means that the

regulatory environment is conducive to

business operation. The index averages the

country's percentile rankings on 10 topics

covered in the World Bank's Ease of Doing

Business Index. The UAE currently ranks

higher than Saudi Arabia as well as the average

of the Arab Nations, which is a sign of long-term

economic stability and bodes well for future

investment into Dubai.

1976 United Arab Emirates University – Oldest HE institution

Higher Colleges of Technology – early 1980s, across 14 campuses in the UAE

Islamic and Arab Studies College (IASC) – late 1980s, oldest private university

University of Wollongong Dubai (UOWD) – First outpost of a foreign education

provider. It is now the largest private provider of higher education in Dubai, with circa

3,000 students per year.

American University in Dubai – Opens

Zayed University – A federal institution opens up in Abu Dhabi and Dubai

International branch campus (IBC) closures – Some IBCs close due to weak

enrolments, and the Global Financial Crisis

50 HE Institutions – KHDA reported that there were 50 postsecondary institutions:

• 3 are federal public – Zayed, Dubai Men's College, and Dubai Women's College

• 47 private and international branch campus institutions

1980s

1993

1995

1998

1998

2010

Development of Dubai’s Higher

Education Sector • Historically, most of the students

attending Zayed and UAEU federal

institutions have been female. (78%)

• In the 10 years to 2010, 25 private

universities entered Dubai.

• 30 HE Institutions operate in Dubai's free

zones. (Largely DKV and DIAC)

• The number of students enrolled in DIAC

rose by 20% to just over 24,000 during

2014/15 academic year,

• According to The Global Growth of Private

Higher Education' Dubai had the fastest

rate of growth for private higher education.

Is Dubai overcrowded? In short, no.

• The Emirate provides limited choice of

subjects

• There is currently limited provision for

research

67

• No tier 1 institutions

• Significant growth in overall demand -

especially in diversifying skills / talent base

• Due to the highly diversified student body,

Dubai acts as a gateway to branch campus

universities recruiting students from the

Middle East, India and Africa (MEIA)

region.

• Dubai International Academic City (DIAC)

has the largest cluster of enrolled

students, amounting to 39%. This is

followed by the academic free zone Dubai

Knowledge Village (DKV), with 19%.

• The remaining higher educat ion

enrolments are dispersed throughout

Dubai, with smaller clusters around Bur

Dubai, Deira, Downtown and Business

Bay.

Dubai’s Student Demographics

• KHDA reported that approximately 71% of

university students are currently enrolled

in a Bachelors program.

• There is a very limited amount of students

currently pursuing a research driven

program, with only 1% of total students

enrolled in a Doctorate/ PHD. This is due

to the lack of research programmes

available in the UAE. An area Dubai is

currently attempting to increase.

• Dubai's proportion of foundation students

is sizeable, at 7% of total students.

Indicators from GSA research suggest this

demand is growing in the UAE and yet

supply is not.

• Approximately 44% of total students, are

enrolled in a business program, followed

by media and design, with 10%. This

disparity is reflected in the limited

provision of subjects in Dubai. An area the

Government is seeking to address.

Dubai has the world’s largest cluster of

international branch campuses, amounting to

46% of its higher education sector.

The majority of institutions are located at or

near Dubai International Academic City (DIAC).

Another large cluster of institutions are located

at or near Dubai Knowledge Village (DKV).

Launched in 2003, DKV is owned by TECOM

Dubai’s Universities

Investments which is a subsidiary of Dubai

Holding, and is one of TECOM's many business

parks. It was founded as part of a long-term

economic strategy to develop the region's

talent pool and become a knowledge-based

economy. This education hub was set up to

complement TECOM's other business parks,

including, Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media

City. DKV has attracted 12 international

universities from Australia, India, Pakistan,

Iran, Russia, Belgium, UK, Ireland, and

Canada. It is also home to approximately 150

training institutes and learning centers, HR

development centers, professional training

institutes, R&D organizations, and e-Learning

companies.

To account for the need to provide more

campus facilities due to the rapid expansion of

higher education in DKV, TECOM created

DIAC. Approximately one square mile, DIAC is

set-up as a free zone for higher education.

Currently home to 23 international universities,

DIAC caters to over 20,000 students.

These hubs act as an incubator for higher

educational institutions (HEI). However,

institutions are under no obligation to locate

their campuses at these two sites.

Currently, Dubai has a somewhat unbalanced

approach to higher education, with close to 160

business related programmes, but limited

programmes in the sciences, creative, cultural

and social sciences.

68

Degrees of fered by in ternat ional

universities in Dubai

Notable gaps include:

• A research-intensive focus

Missing Subjects:

• Art and design

• Many social sciences (Anthropology,

Development etc)

• Mathematics

• Veterinary Science

69

• Pure sciences (Biology, Chemistry and

Physics)

• Medicine and Dentistry

• Sports related

• Cultural (Museum, Religious, Theatre/

Drama etc)

• Languages

• Geography

• History

• Psychology

70

Inadequate provision for:

• Sustainability and Environment

• Hospitality

• Logistics

• Health related

• Education - teaching certificate

Dubai could benefit from:

• A known brand American university

• A tier 1 institution

• An international medical school

• A research intensive institution

• Increased and varied subject offering

Perspectives from Key Stakeholders

Perspectives from IBCS in Dubai

• Interviews were conducted with four

i n te rna t i ona l b ranch campuses

throughout April and May 2015. All four

institutions are located in DIAC and

DKV.

• Universities have students from over 20

and up to 95 countries but student

populations are dominated by Indian,

Pakistani, Jordanian and Emirati students

in general

• All universities are offering a mixture of

course types including Bachelors,

Masters and MBA and in some cases

language and foundation provision

• Main regions targeted for recruitment

include India, Pakistan, Levant, Eastern

Europe/Eurasia and East, West and North

Africa

• The biggest competition to International

branch campuses in Dubai is considered

to be UK/USA and Australia although

these all generally have higher living costs

and greater visa restrictions

Opinions on being UAE accredited or not:

• Mixture of positive and negative

responses

• One university cited that they are positive

but wouldn't go through the process again

as they feel it only serves 1-2% of their

student body even among Emiratis. Very

time-consuming annual process is

prohibitive and UAE accreditation lacks

global value

• Some are pleased they have it and believe

it supports recruitment and sends a good

message

• Either way, this is something international

branch campuses struggle with as they are

used to having a degree of control and self-

accrediting freedom at home

Most commonly cited reasons for students

choosing to study in Dubai include:

• International provision available nearer to

home

• Visa access

• Quality better than at home

• Safety

• Ease of access through DXB

• Career after graduating

Issues that deter students from coming to

Dubai for university studies:

• Fear and reputation of Middle East -

perceptions

• Lack of student accommodat ion

provision

• 'Dubai is a student unfriendly city’-

referring to public transportation, work

while studying, and other student

provisions, compared to more developed

education markets

71

• Location of DIAC feels remote and not in

heart of city - like an after thought

• Lack of focus on recreational activities

• Cookie Cutter approach - lacks

coherence or holistic student life appeal

Concerns (taken from GSA survey 2015)

• Crowded market – too many existing

international branch campuses.

• Political barriers and difficulty working in

the region

• Degree of success – some branch

campuses are flourishing, while others

failed.

• Do not like education/science park

concept, want a more culturally and

socially diverse location

• Ability to maintain quality of student body

• Cost of start-up

Perspectives from Universities

in Australia, UK and Ireland

Reality

• The range of subjects available is narrow,

as is research intensive study and

postgraduate provision. There are gaps to

be filled.

• Dubai is the most international city in the

Middle East region, which is reflective in

its high score of Ease of Doing Business

Index. (World Bank, 2015)

• The success of a branch campus is highly

dependent on the attention received from

its home campus.

• Institutions are under no obligation to

locate their campuses at DIAC or DKV.

• The traditional methods of measuring

student ability may not be suitable within

emerging markets.

• There are a number of investors keen to

invest in education.

72

Perspectives from High School Students

To understand better the upcoming market of

students-soon-to-enter higher education, GSA

Research conducted a survey with the current

high school students.

The aim of this survey was to understand better

the high school students' habits, attitudes, and

requirements with regards to higher education.

Key points of interest within this study

were:

• Where do students want to attend their

higher education career?

• What subjects would they like to study?

• What influences these decisions?

Approach

The survey was conducted through an online

portal and in class surveys, with a total sample

size of 73 respondents residing in Dubai. 70 of

these qualified for analysis.

• There were two large nationality groups of

respondents (Indian and Emirati), the

range of other expat nationalities

surveyed was mixed

• Respondents that participated in this

survey are attending 5 high schools in

Dubai, representing four curriculums

These are:

• UK

• UAE

• USA

• IB (International Baccalaureate)

• Almost half of the respondents are unsure

of what final grades to expect when

graduating high school. However, 47%

believe that they will achieve B’s and

above.

• Only 3% of respondents thought they

would achieve below A’s and B’s.

• From the surveyed respondents, it is

evident that most, if not all students expect

to progress onto higher education after

they complete high school.

• Approximately, 32% of respondents would

like to attend a university in Dubai,

followed by an additional 21% wanting to

study in another Emirate other than Dubai

or Abu Dhabi.

Perspectives from High School

Students

73

• The USA and the UK are the two main

international destinations desired by

respondents , a t 13% and 11%

respectively

• Almost all of the Emirati high school

respondents are seeking to remain within

the UAE for higher education.

• No other nationality was interested in

studying in Abu Dhabi, other than

Emiratis.

• The majority of Indian high school

respondents desire to study in Dubai, with

14% of Indians wanting to study away in

the USA and another 14% considering

returning to their home country for higher

education.

74

Perspectives from High School

Students • Emirati respondents mainly chose to

remain in Dubai for the ease of access to

universities and because it offers UAE

accredited programs, amounting to 27%

of total Emirati respondents each.

• Indian respondents are attracted to the

variety of subjects on offer in Dubai (22%

of total Indian respondents) and the

quality and reputation of institutions (also

at 22%).

• The majority of Emirati students wanting

to remain in Dubai are considering

attending Zayed University, at 60%.

• Quality and the subjects on offer were the

main reasons why respondents picked

their universities in Dubai. Financial

reasons amounted to only 15% of the total

respondents’ answers.

• 23% of Emirati students believed that the

subjects on offer were the main attraction

to an institution, compared to only 18% of

Indian respondents.

• 35% of Indian respondents were attracted

by the quality of the institution, while this

reason amounted to only 10% of Emirati

respondents.

75

Growing Interest from Emirati

Students in Private Education • Emirati families are increasingly attracted

to international schools because they offer

curriculums which are externally validated

and recognized.

• The percentage of Emirati pupils in private

education rose from 31.9% in the 2010/11

academic year to 34.7% in 2013/14,

according to figures from the Statistics

Centre Abu Dhabi.

• In Dubai, most pupils (63%) were in private

schools, up from 58.9% in 2010/11. The

number of pupils in government schools

rose by less than 1%, from 125,949 in

2010/11 to 126,216 in 2013/14. In that

time, 45 government schools closed,

leaving 254 in operation in the last

academic year, and the number of private

schools increased by three to 184.

• Emiratis were the second-largest national

group in the private-school system,

accounting for 12.7% of pupils, behind

Indians at 34.5%.

• With a growing trend of Emiratis choosing

to study in private international secondary

education, it is possible that Emirati

enrollments in private international branch

campuses could also increase.

• There are similar drivers to leaving

Dubai as there are to wanting to remain in

Dubai. Not having the desired subject of

choice available and a lack of quality are

the two main reasons why students are

seeking higher education outside of

Dubai.

• Emiratis appear to be mainly looking for a

particular subject and shall leave to

another locality if it is not on offer.

• Indian respondents are primarily

concerned with the lack of reputation at

institutions available in Dubai.

• 65% of respondents feel that they require

further information regarding what

universities have on offer in Dubai.

Perspectives from High School

Students

Perspectives from High School

Students • Respondents were asked why they

preferred a specific university. 64%

specified either the programmes being

offered or the institutions quality and

reputation.

• 28% were attracted to the environment

either the university or the location/ city

provided.

• Only 2% were concerned directly with

future educational opportunities.

• When respondents chose Canada and

UK universities, they were primarily

concerned with the quality and reputation.

76

• The students were attracted to USA for the

largest range of drivers, from quality of

teaching to lifestyle, atmosphere of the

campus, new experiences, cultural

diversity and more.

• Respondents who chose institutions in the

Emirates other than Dubai were seeking

particular subjects that are not on offer in

Dubai.

• Students who wish to remain in Dubai are

interested in the atmosphere and

environment the city provides.

• It is interesting to note that 14% of the

respondents wish to study one of the

sciences, subjects which are not currently

offered at most of Dubai's institutions.

• When all respondents were asked where

they would prefer thei r degree

accreditation to come from (other than the

UAE) regardless of which campus

location they studied at, the majority

preferred the UK.

• It is evident that the long-term trend of

students desiring an education primarily

from an English speaking nation is still in

demand. (JLL, 2012)

• Students believe that these nations

provide a highly desired level of reputation

and quality (59%). They also think that

gaining an accredited qualification from

these nations will help with future

employment opportunities (39%).

77

Perspectives from High School

Students

• When asked to indicate which universities

they were most seriously considering,

over 50 were stated. The majority of these

were located in the UAE and other

Emirates. Respondents wishing to attend

either the University of Sharjah, UAE

University or the American University of

Sharjah. These three institutions tend to

rank the highest of all UAE's institutions in

global ranking systems, demonstrating a

desire for high quality and reputable

education.

• The Higher Colleges of Technology

located in Dubai were popular with Emirati

respondents who wish to remain in Dubai,

while UAE University and New York

University were the main institutions being

considered in Abu Dhabi.

• When respondents selected universities

located in either the USA or UK, these

were varied across many different

cities. However, the University of

Leeds in the UK and the University of

California in the USA were most popular.

Once again indicating a desire for a

well-known, reputable, and quality

institution.

78

Perspectives from High School

Students

• When asked which subjects they would

like to study at University the high school

respondents stipulated over 50 different

subject areas, indicating a high level of

subject awareness and maturity within

this market.

• Unfortunately for many they will be unable

to remain in Dubai and close to their family

as the vast majority of these subjects are

not currently available to them in the

Emirate.

79

Perspectives from Parents of High School Students

GSA Group commissioned YouGov, an

independent research organization to conduct

face-to-face interviews with parents of high

school students in order to understand the

demands and desires of future university

students.

Background to this YouGov Survey:

Key points of interest within this study were:

• What is the profile of high school students

in the UAE?

• Where do students want to study for their

higher education career?

• What influences these decisions?

Approach

The survey was a series of quantitative face-to-

face interviews, with a total sample size of 423

respondents residing in Dubai. GSA Group

believed that it was important to survey a range

of parents of students attending different high

school curriculums within Dubai. The surveyed

range is reflective on the proportion of total high

school students enrolled in Dubai.

• 45% of parent respondents were male,

while 55% where female.

• 'Other nationalities' primarily consisted of

expat respondents from India, Pakistan,

and the Philippines.

• Of the parent respondents within this

survey 40% had students that were of 17

years or age, while 27% had students

aged 18-19 years. The remaining were 15-

16 years old.

• From the research, typically parents and

their children will reach a decision on the

students’ higher education future together

(57%). Only 3% of parents believed that

their child will do exactly as they were told,

while 4% believed they had no influence

whatsoever on their child's decision

making process.

80

Perspectives from Parents of

High School Students

• 82% of parents believed that their children

are most likely to attend university

• 'Emirati' and 'Other Arab expats’ are the

most likely to attend university, at 97% and

95% respectively

• 'Other nationalities’ and 'GCC expats’

have the lowest ratio of students wanting

to attend university, at 66% and 63%

respectively

• 11% of 'Russian & Eastern European

expats’ are expected not to attend any

form of higher education, the most of any

nationality group.

• From those respondents who are not

planning to attend university 17%

(majority) will work within the family

business.

• 'GCC expat’ students are more likely to

attend a vocational college when

compared to other nationalities (27%)

• Of the students who are not planning to

attend a university, 20% have stated that

tuition is unaffordable. A further 14%

believed that obtaining a degree was no

guarantee for future employment and did

not see value in the investment.

• 26% were not sure why they would not be

attending university, while 14% believed

that work experience was the path to

follow for their child’s success.

• An overwhelming 70% of total parent

respondents preferred their child to

remain in Dubai for the duration of his/her

studies.

Perspectives from Parents of

High School Students

• While a UK accredited degree is preferred,

only 7% of parents desire their children to

attend an institution in the UK, the same

amount of parents who want their children

to study in another Emirate, other than

Dubai or Abu Dhabi (2%).

• When given a second choice for a

destination of study, parents preferred to

send their children to an institution in

another Emirate (27%), maintaining the

belief that a key driver behind choosing a

location of study is living near family and

the cost of tuition fees.

• However, a large proportion of parents

were open to sending their children to

study in the US and UK, as a second

choice at 14% each.

81

• Overall, studying at a higher educational

institution within the UAE remains very

attractive for parents residing in Dubai,

with a combined 79% of parents desiring a

university within the UAE as their first

choice for students. When looking at their

second choice, a combined 41% still

desired for their children to remain in the

UAE.

• Of the parents who wish their child to

attend a university in Dubai, the most

popular choice (39%) was the American

University in Dubai (AUD). This was

followed by the Canadian University of

Dubai (CUD) at 9%.

• It is interesting to note that both of these

universities are not located in either of the

allocated free-zones for higher education -

Dubai International Academic City or

Knowledge Village.

• 'UAE nationals' and 'other Arab expats' are

the most interested in attending the

Perspectives from Parents of

High School Students

82

American University in Dubai (AUD) when

compared to other nationalities. Those

following the American curriculum in high

school seem to be the most interested in

AUD when compared to those following

other curriculums.

• Parents were asked why they decided on

these particular universities. The most

(34%) referred to the curriculum

(US/UK/Australian/Indian etc) offered,

followed by the university having the

desired accreditation (22%).

• Parents appeared to be unconcerned by

extra-curricular activities (2%), the

university providing accommodation (1%),

and the ease of accessibility between

university and location of residence (1%).

Parents seem to be aware that

there is limited provision of student

accommodation, public transportation and

extra-curricular activities within Dubai. As

such, 70% of parents who prefer their child

to remain in Dubai, are not a concerned by

this, but rather accept it.

• Overall, parents are quite satisfied with the

range of university choices available to

them within Dubai, with 75% of

respondents being in favor of the range.

Only 5% of parents are dissatisfied with the

university options available.

• 'Other nationalities' are the least satisfied

with the current offer of universities in

Dubai. Also, those following the Indian

curriculum at high school are the least

satisfied with the offer of universities in

Dubai when compared to those following

the UAE, American, and English

curriculums.

• The majority of parents (80%) feel

informed about the higher education

83

choices available to their children in

Dubai.

• 'Iranian' and 'Other nationalities' feel that

they are unsatisfactorily informed about

higher education choices available to their

children in Dubai. Specifically, students

following the Indian and other curriculums

at high school feel they are the least

informed about higher educational choices

in Dubai.

• Parents were given the choice of which

curriculum/nationality they preferred

their children to gain an accreditation

from. This is different from their preferred

location of study, as institutions can be

based in several locations and provide

a degree from a single accrediting

source. For example, the University of

Wollongong in Dubai provides an

Australian accredited degree from its

mother campus.

• 'Iranian expats' were the only group of

na t iona l i t i es tha t p re fe r red US

accreditation over the UK.

Perspectives from Parents of

High School Students

84

85

Perspectives from High School Teachers & Counsellors

GSA Group Research conducted a survey with

high school teachers and counselors in Dubai.

The aim of this survey was to determine:

• Where students would prefer to attend

higher education?

• In what subjects students have interest?

• Are there any differences in trends

between high school curriculums?

• Are there any deterrents to entering

higher education in Dubai?

• What do teachers/counselors view as

strengths and weaknesses in Dubai's

higher education market?

The survey was conducted with 17 teachers,

representing 15 schools and four curriculums

across Dubai (Pilipino, UK, USA and UAE).

Approximately, two-thirds of the surveyed

schools state that between 81-100% of

students progress on to university, while just

under a quarter of schools see a small

proportion (0-20%) of their students continue

through to higher education.

According to the surveyed teachers,

approximately 75% of students prefer to attend

university in Dubai, with a further 5% seeking

higher education in the rest of the UAE.

Remaining in close proximity to family was the

key reason why students preferred to remain in

Dubai.

When teachers were asked what Dubai is

lacking in the higher educator sector, the

overwhelming majority of respondents

stated the variety of subjects being offered.

Other concerns teachers had with the Dubai

higher education market were:

• The ability to transfer from branch to

mother campus is in reality prohibitive due

to the lower-grade acceptance at branch

campuses

• Honesty of institutions - they can offer very

misleading information

• Understanding around accreditation - the

value of UAE accreditation and restrictions

with transferring university or progressing

to postgraduate from non-UAE accredited

programmes

• Cost of tuition fees

• Access for students whose school

curriculum ends at year 10 (Pilipino) and

lack of foundation options

• Access to sports facilities and extra-

curricular activities

• There is an acknowledgement that many

students in Dubai are not aware of what

they are missing in campus facilities

86

compared to UK/US. This is similarly

reflected by the parents acceptance

of a lack of infrastructure, such as

accommodation and transport in the

previous section.

• A number of reasons are cited by schools

teacher 's for their students not

progressing to University. Cultural factors

including marriage prevent higher

education progression in 48% of cases.

Other ambitions/plans (32%) as well as

financial constraints (16%) were the two

other major preventative factors.

• Half of the total teacher respondents

believed that remaining near family was

the key driver behind students choosing to

stay in Dubai to study, followed by

affordability and the university's reputation

at 19% each.

Perspectives from High School

Teachers & Counsellors

87

• Teacher's had the most diverse view of

where students would prefer to go to

University. When compared to prospective

students themselves and parents of

prospective students' parents, teachers

stipulated that only 50% would prefer to

stay in the UAE. Although the previous

page indicates that actually 80% do stay in

the UAE, despite preferring not to.

• Teachers believe that their students

se lected the i r h igher educat ion

destination based on being close to their

family, seeking top universities and

attending a location that suited their

religious or cultural preferences. Many

teachers also felt cost was a driver for

selecting university location. Again this

differs from responses from other

research groups (prospective student,

parents and current students) who

stipulated quality and subject choice as

their key drivers.

88

Perspectives from High School

Teachers and Counselors • The key drivers behind students leaving

Dubai to study in higher education was

more diverse than the drivers for

remaining in Dubai. Approximately, 31%

believed the reasons were financial, likely

to be derived from the Indian and Pilipino

students, who are able to access more

affordable higher education in their home

country.

• Teachers provided a range of solutions on

how Dubai could improve its higher

education sector. Improving the campus

experience for students equated to a

combined 45% of respondents, divided

between improving accommodation

(18%), campus feel (18%) and campus

facilities (9%).

• While the variety of course options was the

key concern for teachers, only 28%

believed that this was the most important

solution to improving Dubai's higher

education sector.

89

Perspectives of University Students in Dubai

GSA Group Research conducted a survey with

current university students attending a higher

education institution in Dubai International

Academic City (DIAC) and Dubai Knowledge

Village (DKV). The aim of this survey was to

determine:

• Why students chose Dubai?

• Why students chose their current

university?

• Why students chose their current

program?

• Did students consider attending university

outside of Dubai?

• Which universities outside of Dubai

appealed to students and why?

The survey was conducted with 637

respondents, representing 17 universities

within Dubai.

Almost half of the respondents were Indian,

followed by Pakistani students at 16%.

This is fairly reflective of the student body in

Dubai.

It is not surprising to find that 77% of the

respondents living within Dubai, and a further

14% commute from Sharjah. What is surprising

is that over 8% of respondents commute from

Emirates located over 1.5 hours away, such as

Abu Dhabi.

Approximately, 40% of respondents were

expat students, having previously resided

within Dubai prior to enrolling, while a further

20% are also expat students that previously

resided in a different Emirate. 38% of

respondents are considered to be true

international students, having not previously

resided within Dubai.

90

Perspectives of University

Students in Dubai

• A large proportion of students are currently

studying for their Bachelors Degree, at

68%, while 26% of students are

undertaking their Masters. None of the

respondents are currently involved in any

PhD or Doctorate studies. Other types of

courses being offered mainly referred to

students studying for their Chartered

Accountancy exams.

• The result of this university survey

suggests that there are minimal different

91

subjects currently being studied. This

deficiency is aligned to earlier findings that

the subjects that are currently absent (and

in demand) in the Dubai higher

educational sector.

Of the total surveyed students almost half

attend the University of Wollongong Dubai

(48%) in DKV The majority of the remaining

respondents attending institutions located in

DIAC, for the exception of Middlesex University

Dubai in DKV at 8%.

Perspectives of University

Students in DubaiA significant majority of students attending

university in Dubai are studying their preferred

subjects, at 78%. Only 19% of students have

settled for a different course of study

• When observing the key drivers behind

why students are not studying the subject

of their first choice, the majority stated

that it was not available in Dubai, at 33%.

92

This highlights the limited range of

subjects on offer in Dubai.

• When observing the key drivers behind

why students are not studying the subject

of their first choice, the majority stated

that it was not available in Dubai, at 33%.

This highlights the limited range of

subjects on offer in Dubai.

• Only 10% of respondents stated that the

entry requirements of the Dubai institution

prevented them from not attending their

preferred choice.

• Parents and family played a role in

advising against a student’s preferred

choice of subject, amounting to 19% of

respondents.

• Student respondents were asked what

their key drivers were behind choosing

their current institution. The quality/

reputation and range of subjects offered

were the two main attractions.

• Accommodat ion, ex t ra-cur r icu lar

activities, and friends attending did not

significantly attract students towards a

particular university.

Perspectives of University

Students in Dubai

Perspectives of University

Students in Dubai

• Just over half of respondents (54%)

considered Dubai as their only higher

education destination, with 46% having

looked at another Emirate and/ or country

before deciding on Dubai.

• Typically, of those who considered

studying outside of Dubai, there are four

nations which were considered - UK, USA,

Canada and Australia, known as the ‘Big

4’. This is largely due to the attractiveness

of learning the English language, and

93

possible future employment opportunities

within those nations.

• Of the respondents who considered other

locations, the UK was the primary

alternative destination for higher learning,

representing 24% of respondents, while

the USA had 18% and Canada 13%

. • Behind these four key nations, India was

considered by 9% of the respondents, a

likely reflection of the high proportion of

Indian students in Dubai.

• Monetary reasons combined to a total of

20%, split by 10% each for 'value for

money’ and the institution being affordable.

• Having an institution located near home

amounted to a combined 18% of students

decision making.

• Only 2% stated that factors around

campus-life were an appealing aspect of

student life in Dubai. While 1% claimed

facilities were attractive leaving a large

amount of room for improvement.

• While just outside the top five elements of

attractiveness, 6% of student respondents

were attracted by Dubai's level of safety.

Perspectives of University

Students in Dubai

94

• The climate was the main frustration for

students attending higher education in

Dubai, with 18% of total respondents.

• The commute between their residence

and university was also a high concern for

students, at 15%.

• The cost of living in Dubai was the major

concern for only 8% of respondents.

• University-related issues combine to a

total of 19% of concerns.

• 15% of student respondents do not have

any concerns with student life in Dubai.

Glossary

‘Big 4’

Branch campus

DA AD

DIAC

DKV

Ease of Doing Business Index

GCC

GDP

The countries who traditionally import the most

number of international students: United

Kingdom, United States, Canada, & Australia.

A branch campus is an entity that is owned, at

least in part, by a foreign education provider:

operated in the name of that foreign education

provider: engages in at least some face-to-face

teaching: and provides access to an entire

academic program that leads to a credential

awarded by the foreign education provider.

German Academic Exchange Service is the

largest German support organization in the

field of international academic co-operation.

Dubai International Academic City (DIAC) is a

purpose-built education hub that hosts several

university campuses with over 20,000 students.

Dubai Knowledge Village (DKV) is an

educational hub which contains several large

branch campuses in Dubai, such as the

Wollongong University Dubai and Middlesex

University Dubai.

The World Bank's ease of doing business index

ranks economies from 1 to 189, with first place

being the best. A high ranking (a low numerical

rank) means that the regulatory environment is

conducive to business operation.

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a regional

intergovernmental political and economic

union consisting of all Arab states of the

Persian Gulf. Its member states are Bahrain,

Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the

United Arab Emirates.

GDP includes all of private and public

consump t i on , gove rnmen t ou t l ays ,

investments, and exports minus imports that

occur within a defined territory. Put simply, GDP

is a broad measurement of a nation's overall

economic activity.

Dubai's Knowledge and Human Development

Authority (KHDA) is responsible for the growth

and quality of private education in Dubai.

Students who decide to live away from home

during their university studies. Internationally,

mobile students travel abroad to university,

while domestically mobile students remain

within the home nation, but travel to another

locality to study.

Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific

Research (MOHESR) provides institutional

licensure and degree accreditation CAA for

private universities and their academic

programmes in the UAE.

A massive open online course (MOOC) aimed

at unlimited participation and open access via

the web.

The Association of International Educators is

an American (NAFSA) non-profit professional

organization for professionals in all areas of

international education including education

abroad advising and administrat ion,

international student advising, campus

internationalization, admissions, outreach,

overseas advising, and English as a Second

Language (ESL) administration.

Organization for Economic Co-operation and

Development (OECD) is an international

economic organization of 34 countries,

founded in 1961 to stimulate economic

progress and world trade.

Refers to the academic disciplines of Science,

Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

KHDA

Mobile Students

MOHESR

MOOC

NAFSA

OECD

STEM

95

INSTITUTIONAL DIFFERENTIATION IN PRIVATE HIGHER EDUCATIONTHE UNIVERSITY OF NIZWA, OMAN: A DIFFERENTIATED PRIVATE

HIGHER EDUCATION MODEL

Organizer

AHMED K. AL RAWAHI

Prof

ABDALLAH OMEZZINE

Prof

University of Nizwa, Oman

Contact:

Tel: +0968 25446211

Fax: +968 25446400

Email: Abdallah@unizwa.edu.om

CASE STUDY

97

Abstract

Long term strategic plans in many countries of

the world have always recognized the potential

role of human resources as a key factor for all

economic and social development schemes.

Considerable efforts and resources have been

deployed to increase and improve human skills

in all economic sectors and activities. The aim

has been to strengthen effective resources use

for sustainable development.

Higher education has been considered as a

pillar dimension in these efforts to assure

progress and sustainability of social and

economic development. Private higher

education providers have been awarded a key

role in the development of relevant, strong, and

compatible human resources. This provision

has arisen certainly from the increasing

demand for higher education from the people,

the industry and the public sector. It has also

arisen from the need for diversification of higher

education and the genuine objectives of

privatization. Many Higher Education

Institutions have emerged during the last 20

years under differentiated models. Although

many of these institutions share the same

values and the objective of providing quality

Higher Education, they do not share legal and

financial foundation principles.

Economic theory indicates that differentiation is

a core dimension in product quality and market

competition. Private Higher Education is not an

exception. The model is either oligopolistic or

monopolistic competition. Higher Education

providers are competing for enrollment and

fund raising and product differentiation is one of

the key dimensions of this competition. It may

come from different sources mainly

governance, core values, and legal and

financial foundation The University of Nizwa in

the Sultanate of Oman is a relevant illustration

of this differentiation theory.

The University of Nizwa was created in 2004 in

response to the directives of His Majesty Sultan

Qaboos Bin Said, who called for a more active

role of the private sector in contributing to

higher education in Oman. It has emerged

under the public private higher education

legislation as a non-profit institution with a

specific governance system. Differentiation is

sought purposely in its mission, vision,

objectives and management. The core

elements of differentiation are governance and

the establishment of an independent profit-

seeking Investment Fund (IF), which has the

capacity to own and manage companies that

provide services needed by the academic

institution. The academic institution operates at

cost and remains quality seeker.

This paper illustrates the special model of the

University of Nizwa in the Sultanate of Oman as

a vector of differentiated Higher Education in

the region. The paper discusses core

differentiated governance principle and the

operation of IF and their impact on quality of

education, transparency, and objectivity of

policies and management practices.

Higher education is the major driver of the

information-knowledge system, linking it with

economic development. Universities are the

key drivers of knowledge to develop a nation.

They play three main functions in society.

Firstly, they educate and train people with

high-level skills for the employment needs of

the public and private sectors.

Secondly, universities are the dominant

producers of new knowledge, and they

evaluate information and find new local and

global applications for existing knowledge.

Universities also set norms and standards,

determine the curriculum, languages and

knowledge, ethics and philosophy sustaining a

nation's knowledge-capital. Oman and the

other countries of the region need knowledge

Introduction

98

that equips people for a society in sustainable

social change.

Th i rd l y, h igher educa t ion p rov ides

opportunities for social mobility and at the same

time strengthens equity and social well-being.

Higher education worldwide has been

considered as a leading dimension in the efforts

to ensure progress and sustainability of social

and economic development. Private higher

education providers have been awarded a key

role in the development of strong and

companionable human resources. This role

has arisen certainly from the increasing

demand for higher education from the people,

the industry, and the public sector. It has also

arisen from the need of diversification of higher

education and the genuine objectives of

privatization. Many Higher Education

Institutions have emerged during the last 20

years under differentiated models. Although

many of these institutions share the same

values and the objective of providing quality

Higher Education, they do not share legal,

financial, management and foundation

principles.

In this context, there is a serious political drive

and determination in Oman to develop the

different sectors of the economy. Efforts have

focused on the development of human

resources as the driving force for sustainability

and rising standards of living and economic

progress. The Royal Decree 41/99 permitted

the establishment of private universities in the

country to contribute with the public universities

and colleges to the provide higher education.

Like other countries in the world, there has

been an increasing demand for higher

education. The number of high school

graduates has increased remarkably and the

number of higher education seekers has also

increased. The University of Nizwa emerged

under this legislation with specific differentiated

means to contribute to national sustainable

development. Differentiation is sought

purposely in its mission, vision, objectives legal

foundation, and management.

The Concept of Institutional

Differentiation in Higher

Education

Differentiation is defined as a process in which

new entities emerge in a system. Smesler

(1959) describes differentiation as a process,

whereby a social unit changes into two or more

units. With respect to higher education, this

definition applies to the system rather than to

institutions or to a set of programs in these

institutions.

The focus of this paper is not on the systems but

on how higher education institutions operating

in the same system can differentiate their core

principles to offer similar but not identical

products and services as stipulated in their

goals and objectives. Higher education

institutions in a system are in competition to

attract good students, qualified faculty and

potential cooperation with renowned

universities and research institutions.

Economic theory and market organization

principles indicate that competition is raised

through price and non-price actions undertaken

by companies. Maximum profits are the

ultimate objective of industries. Higher

education industry is not an exception.

However, competition while using price and

non-price actions, does not lead to economic

profit but to “prestige” and to promotion and

price action may include competitive education

fees and other financial incentives. Non-price

actions are more important as they convey the

bene f i t s o f se rv i ce d i f f e ren t i a t i on .

Differentiation in higher education may come

from different sources mainly governance, core

values, and legal and financial foundation.

Higher education systems have indeed

become more diversified in their process of

development and growth. They have varied

substantially in response to economic,

financial, institutional, and demographic

changes of higher education demanders. They

also varied in response to local and global job

markets. However, the major dimensions of

differentiation included governance, financial

and legal foundation and cores values.

D i f f e r e n t i a t i o n t h r o u g h p r o g r a m s ,

management style, principles, power,

organization’s legal and financial foundation

and so on. The end result of differentiation is a

state of competition that leads to higher

reputation, the development of higher

education, the quality of graduates and high

contribution to knowledge creation.

In general, competition in higher education is a

key driver of development. It has been

described to be 1) monopolistic (a large

number of relatively small/equal size HE

ins t i tu t ions w i th a h igh degree o f

differentiation); 2) oligopolistic (a small number

of HE institutions with some degree of

differentiation) or 3) any combination of both

(monopolistic or oligopolistic) with leadership

and a low degree of differentiation.

This paper illustrates the special case of the

University of Nizwa in the Sultanate of Oman as

a differentiated vector of Higher Education in

the region that provides indeed education for

sustainable development. The paper is

intended to promote this very young institution

and its experience to this specialized and

exper t aud ience for academic and

management purposes. It conveys the

elements of a particular mean of differentiation

and contribution to sustainable development.

a. The University of Nizwa Model:

Description

• The University: Inception and Guiding

Philosophy

The University of Nizwa was established by the

Ministerial Decision No. 1/2004 of the Ministry

of Higher Education, issuing the establishment

of the University of Nizwa in accordance with

the Royal Decree No. 41/99, issuing Private

Universities Ordinance and Ministerial

Case Study of the University

of Nizwa

Decision No. 36/99, issuing Regulations for

Private Universities Ordinance and their

amendments, as an international standard

university. It is a non-profit academic institution

that operates at cost and provides higher

education at the B.Sc., MS, and Ph.D. levels in

various disciplines for Omani and non-Omani

students as well as life-long training, research,

and consultancies to the society.

The guiding philosophy for the establishment of

this University is that it must truly contribute to

the sustainable development of the country.

This philosophy focuses on the preparation of

students to contribute meaningfully to the

economic, artistic and aesthetic growth of the

country. Graduates, irrespective of their

majors, will be capable lifelong learners with

skills in numeracy, communications, critical

thinking and problem solving. Graduates of the

University will possess an appreciation of their

culture, values on which it is founded and

shared values of humanity in general.

• Legal Foundation

The University of Nizwa is a non-profit

institution, which is governed by its faculty. It

promotes positive thinking and preserves the

nation’s cultural heritage and identity. Its

purpose is to educate students and equip them

with the knowledge and life skills needed to

enrich their lives and enable them to contribute

meaningfully to the progress of society.

• Mission

The University of Nizwa is a non-profit

institution, which is governed by its faculty. It

shall promote positive thinking and preserve

the nation’s Islamic and cultural heritage and

identity, faith in Allah and loyalty to the country

and His Majesty. Its purpose is to educate

students and equip them with the knowledge

and life skills needed to enrich their lives and

enable them to contribute meaningfully to the

progress of society. To achieve its mission, the

University shall develop dynamic integrative

programs which provide high quality academic

training and intellectual development.

99

• Roles of the University

i. High Quality Formal Education

The University plans to offer programs that will

qualify the students in areas which are

considered necessary for development. These

programs are designed to provide graduates

with skills that prepare them to be good

learners, creative, highly motivated and have

the confidence to take initiative.

ii. Further Training

The University of Nizwa will be a center for

scientific and technological advancement. It will

assume a leading role in providing a variety of

suitable training programs for the Omani youth.

The University will design training courses for

the Omani population with the view of

enhancing their skills and general knowledge.

Such programs can be conducted within the

main campus of the University or in designated

areas outside through the Life-Long Learning

Center. This will help to raise the general

educational level and improve efficiency at

work aiding in the development and prosperity

of Oman.

iii. R e s e a r c h a n d Te c h n i c a l

Consultancies

The rapid industrial and commercial growth in

the region necessitates the presence of high

quality research and development facilities.

Thus, demand for research and technical

consultancies in various fields will continue to

expand. The University will assume a leading

role in serving and interacting with various

segments of the society by providing the

needed capacities of problem solving and idea

development.

vi. Socio-Economic Interactions

The establishment of the University in Nizwa

will not only contribute to the development of

tertiary education in Oman but it will also

facilitate extension of economic, social and

cultural development across the country. The

highly trained graduates, research and

development programs, opportunity of

100

• Objectives

The University of Nizwa shall teach and train

students both undergraduates and graduates; it

will add to the body of knowledge and art

through research, scholarship and creative

activity and provide community service through

a variety of programs and activities that extend

and apply its teaching and scholarly missions in

aid of community needs and interests.

In addition, the University of Nizwa shall aim to

accomplish the following objectives:

• To develop generations of qualified

Omanis, aware of their nation’s Islamic

and cultural heritage and foster

adherence to them

• To preserve the identity of the Omani

society and safeguard its moral and

social values

• To establish, promote and maintain

excellence in undergraduate and

graduate programs and in scholarly and

creative activities of faculty and students

• To establish, improve and preserve the

academic environment within which

education and research occur

• To prepare qualified Omanis with

knowledge and technical skills required

by Omani society

• To establish, develop and execute

teaching, research, and scholarship

• To be a citizen of its nation and society by

integrating into the life of Omani society

and being part of it

• To play an effective role in development

of scientific, social and economic

aspects of Omani society as part of

global citizenship

• To establish close links with national, and

international Universities and institutions

in academic and research affairs

continuous learning and training and the

University’s capacity to focus on research

aspects of particular relevance to the region

such as, water-related fields and other viable

resources will certainly contribute positively to

the economy and the well-being of the

Sultanate. In addition, the historic and cultural

background of the location can add a

dimension of success to the establishment of

this University.

To achieve its mission and role, the University

has developed dynamic integrative system that

provides high quality academic training and

intellectual development. This system

recognizes the areas of teaching, research and

community development, and international

cooperation.

Teaching: The education of its students is the

first priority of the University. The University

strives to enhance literacy, numeracy,

communication skills, critical thinking, and

problem solving.

Research: The University is also a research

institution. The University recognizes that

research is central to its long-term viability and

success. Faculty advancement and status at

the University will reflect their success as

scholars and to their ability to link their teaching

and research programs. The University will

strive to provide the facilities and environment

to enable its faculty and students to achieve

success as scholars. The University is fostering

research through the establishment of

programs for research and graduate studies

and interdisciplinary research centers.

Community Development: The University will

interact with the local, national, and

international communities and will integrate its

educational and research programs with this

mission. Faculty will be expected to actively

engage in community extension services, and

the quality of their service will be an important

element in their promotion and advancement

International Cooperation: The University of

Nizwa has established relationship with

external entities. This is essential in order to

enhance the funding base for the University’s

research and other programs. To achieve this

mission, the post of Vice-president for

Graduate Studies and Research and External

Relations has been instituted.

4. E l e m e n t s / D i m e n s i o n s o f

Differentiation

• Key Elements of Differentiation

– Governance

– Investment Fund

– Administrative and Financial System

– Volunteer Work

– Student Aid Programs

– Governance: The Faculty governs the

University and is charged with

responsibilities and given the rights

essential for a vibrant academic

institution. The emphasis throughout the

entire University is on the students, their

abilities, and their welfare. Student

par t i c ipa t ion in the Un ivers i ty

Governance is a key element of a

successful management. The University

recognizes the value of governing

diversity and strives to utilize the

participation of students in the decision-

making process.

101

102

– The Investment Fund: Another unique

aspect of differentiation of the University

of Nizwa is the establishment of an

Investment Fund. It has the capacity to

own and manage companies that

provide services needed on campus and

elsewhere. The Investment Fund is

expected to enhance growth and

sustainability of the University. The

investment model provided by this

University insures reasonable profit to

investors from various needed services

by the campus, excluding educational

services. It also provides a differentiated

model institution for investment in higher

education. Thus, it is also the best

formula for sustainability and growth.

Joint Planning Committee

General Assembly, Seen Company

Board of Directors

General Director

Non-academic major activities

General Assembly, University of Nizwa

Board of Trustees

President of the University

DirectorUniversity of Nizwa Academic activities

University of Nizwa Investment Fund Non-

academic services

The legal entities of the University

– Administrative and Financial System:

The i ns t i t u t i ona l e l emen ts o f

d i f fe ren t ia t ion inc lude in tegra l

administrative and financial systems that

provide channels of communication and

in teract ion wi th the local and

internat ional communi t ies. The

organizational structure ensures

transparency and co-ordination so that

recommendations and decisions are

execu ted w i th ob jec t i v i t y and

transparency. The organizational and

the administrative structure of the

University have been designed

according to academic principles and

traditions. They provide a high degree of

transparency and institutionalization in a

manner that makes administrative

procedures simple, effective, and

provide a high degree of decentralization

for the daily functioning of the University.

The system also provides a high degree

of self assessment and allows for flexible

development.

– Volunteer Work: Socially, the University

of Nizwa provides an example for good

civic practices where individuals

volunteer their efforts, ideas and money

to contribute positively towards the

success of the society. The University

provides an example of positive co-

operation between the Government and

the society (shareholders, parents,

students) for smooth functioning of an

important educational establishment.

– Student Aid Programs: The University is

based on the principle of being part of the

solution rather than being part of the

problem. Thus, Student Assistance Fund

(SAF) is created to provide scholarships

to students who cannot otherwise have

access to higher education. It is

anticipated that SAF will provide to over

25% of enrolled students with partial or

complete annual scholarships. Such aim

will attract a sustainable student

community.

The model used for the University of Nizwa and

its Investment Fund was designed carefully to

meet two noble objectives simultaneously. The

first is to provide high quality education at

minimal cost possible, and the second is to

provide profits for investors without adding

additional cost to the students.

The assessment of the last 10 operational

years reveals that the differentiated model the

University of Nizwa has adopted conveyed the

Benefits of Differentiated

Model

benefits of separating the academic component

from the business for profit component. The

University gained good reputation for high

quality education, fees at cost basis for

students, collaboration with potential partners.

This model pays great attention to the local

conditions of students and the society in

general. It employs several means to achieve

the first objective. The principal way is cutting

costs by charging fees at cost basis. The cost

itself is observed carefully. As a consequence,

attention is paid to the minimization of

bureaucracy and careful planning of programs.

At the same time, investors are provided

reasonable returns on their investments from

normal services and activities needed by the

campus. Basically, profit that otherwise is

generated by other companies for providing

such services is directed toward investors

through the Investment Fund as a reward for

providing this needed service. It should be,

however, emphasized that the fund will not be

allowed to monopolize the said services, rather

their charges should be competitive and that

the Board of Trustees shall oversee such

matters.

This model presents a great strength to the

progress of the University and strong

contribution to sustainable development. It

gives local and international interactions and

certainly ensures an essential element for

growth, sustainability, and success.

Testimonies of assessors about the University’s

achievements are as follows:

“The progress made by the University of Nizwa

in just nine years is nothing short of

extraordinary. It is unequalled by anything I’ve

seen elsewhere in the United States or

overseas.” Dr. Jane McAuliffe, President

Emeritus of Bryn Mawr College. 20013

“The story of University of Nizwa is still

unfolding, but its future will require it to be

deliberative, sequential, and sustainable.”

103

“What the University of Nizwa is doing is

meaningful, highly collaborative, and resilient.

Their story is truly inspiring.” Professor Cliff

Conrad, University of Wisconsin-Madison

2013.

“There’s a strong balance between academic

governance and management processes. The

environment is highly collaborative and

consultative.” Review Team, University of

Wisconsin, 2013.

The University of Nizwa is an exceptionally

strong, creative, and forward-acting institution

of higher education. The developmental

progress made during the past 11 years is a

testament to the success that can be achieved

through having a clear focus on realistic vision

with an obligation to making decisions and

taking actions that are an expansion of that

vision.

Conclusion

The unique model that differentiates it from

other universities in Oman brings fervent hope

that this progress and thrust will be sustained. It

also brings hope that the University will become

more widely recognized for the innovative

model of institutional transformation that it has

created and executed.

104

CONCEPT, FIRST OUTCOMES, AND RANKING STRATEGIES OF THERUSSIAN ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE PROJECT 5-100

Organizer

DR. ALEXEI FALALEEV

Head of Expert Support,

Project 5-100,

Moscow,

Russian Federation,

Tel. +7 (925) 834-2450,

falaleev@5top100.ru

CASE STUDY

106

Russian Academic Excellence

Project 5-100

Russian Academic Excellence Project 5-100 is

the largest initiative in the history of this country

to support its leading universities in achieving

world class level. Its aim is to overcome their

focus on national high tech industries and

national students, to enter international

research teams and educational partnerships,

and generally, to move these universities into

the global educational and R&D markets.

This project has many target indicators: global

university rankings positions (top 100 of

institutional or subject rankings), the portions of

international faculty (at least 10%) and

international students (at least 15%),

increasing the ability of universities to earn

money outside federal funding, etc.

Project 5-100 concept is interesting as the

synergy of best practices, developed by many

countries for governmental support of top tier

universities, starting with Chinese 211 and 985

projects. The presentation of Project 5-100

case will outline the main features of this

concept: the balance between governmental

control and university autonomy, between the

support of overall university transformation and

focusing on a few breakthrough areas,

between international advising and national

decisions.

This case may be interesting for central

administrat ions of many universit ies

transforming to the world class level.

Presidents and councils of such universities

deal with very similar objectives: to set the

op t ima l s t ra teg ies and po l i c ies o f

internationalization for many academic units, to

assess their performance, and to distribute

funds basing on this assessment. We closely

monitor how the participating universities

achieve these objectives. We will report the

initial results of Project 5-100 universities, their

best cases, and strategies.

Started in 2013 and planned up to 2020, Project

5-100 is open for long term international

collaborations and those interested in them.

The presentation will outline the ways to launch

such collaborations, with focus on the MENA

region. We will present our recent cases of

developing successful collaborations with

universities of many countries.

ndBy October 24, the 2 tour of all-national

competition between universities will be

completed. Their number will be increased from

the current 15 to 20-25 by adding the other best

Russian universities. We are proposing the first

international presentation of the Project with its

new extended set of participants.

Organizer

InstitutionalBest PracticeBooklet

"Towards Transformative Higher Education: The Role of Innovation in the

st21 Century Digital and Knowledge based Society"

th th10 - 11 of November, 2015 Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi-UAE

"Inspiring the Leaders of today”

INNOVATION IN ACCREDITATION: AN EFFECTIVE FRAMEWORK OF QUALITY ASSURANCE AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT FOR

MISSION FULFILLMENT

Organizer

RONALD L. BAKER,

Ed. D., President,

Baker Collegiate Consulting,

Mill Creek, Washington

USA

Ron@BakerCollegiateConsulting.com

+1 425 327 3914

CASE STUDY

109

KEYWORDS: Accreditation, Standards, Framework, Mission, Fulfillment, Quality, Improvement,

Oversight, Analysis, Synthesis

Abstract

Background

Tensions between external interests for

evidence of educational quality and internal

interests in preserving the canons of academic

culture have reached palpable levels. Many

educators believe a swing to increased

accountability is a threat to academic values.

One U.S. regional higher education accrediting

agency implemented an innovative tripartite

q u a l i t y a s s u r a n c e f r a m e w o r k a n d

progressively incremental oversight process

that honors academic tenets while addressing

demands for relevant meaningful evidence of

student achievement and institutional

effectiveness. The foundation of this

framework is a deep expansive articulation of

institutional purpose. More than a mission

statement, it requires the identification of core

themes (essential elements) of the mission,

manifestation of mission fulfillment, and

development of assessable indicators of

mission achievement. Guided by those

parameters, the institution’s resources and

processes are analyzed to determine its

potential to fulfill its mission. Institutional

achievements are evaluated and synthesized

into a holistic evidence-driven mission-centric

judgment of institutional quality, effectiveness,

and sustainability. By focusing on the

institution’s own expectations through a

process of progressive analysis, introspection,

and synthesis, the importance of quality

assurance shifts from external compliance to

internal self-interest. Consequently, the

benefits from this tripartite quality assurance

framework are general izable across

international boundaries and institutional

characteristics.

Accreditation is the hallmark of educational

quality assurance. Grounded in the traditional

values of voluntary self-regulation and

collective responsibility for academic integrity,

American accreditation serves its dual

purposes of quality assurance and continuous

improvement through a rigorous process of

self-evaluation and critical peer review. Rather

than an audit, accreditation is a rigorous

process resulting in assurances an institution or

educational program meets recognized

standards of quality and effectiveness in

achieving its stated objectives. In the U.S.,

private non-governmental membership-based

organizations are responsible for accreditation.

(NWCCU 2015a: 1) Agencies recognized for

that purpose by the U.S. Department of

Education serve as gatekeepers for access to

federal funding programs. (Southern

Association of Colleges and Schools

Commission on Colleges 2015)

Institutional accreditation and programmatic

accreditation, also known as specialized

accreditation, are the two primary forms of

American accredi tat ion. Inst i tut ional

accreditation applies to the institution as a

whole while specialized accreditation applies

only to specific academic programs within an

institution. Institutional accrediting agencies

use mission-centric standards as the basis for

accreditation decisions. In rendering

determinations of compliance with those

s t a n d a r d s i n s t i t u t i o n a l a c c r e d i t o r s

evaluate—but do not specifically accredit or

certify—individual academic programs or

subject content areas within the institution.

Conversely, specialized accrediting agencies

evaluate specific academic programs with

respect to discipline-centric standards without

regard to the nature of the institution in which

those programs reside.

Regional accreditation is one of the oldest and

most widely recognized forms of institutional

accreditation. It is accepted by the educational

community, the public, and employers as

assu rance t ha t an i ns t i t u t i on has

demonstrated: 1) a clearly defined and

appropriate purpose, 2) conditions under which

its purpose can reasonably be fulfilled, 3)

substantial accomplishment of its purpose, and

4) evidence of its capacity and ability to

continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

(NWCCU 2015a: 2)

Regionally accredited institutions represent a

broad continuum of characteristics, cultures,

philosophies, and purposes. To equitably apply

accreditation standards with respect to this

diversity, indicators of educational quality and

institutional effectiveness are neither

prescribed nor defined in absolute terms. To

maintain consistency with institutions’

characteristics and the purposes they seek to

accomplish, accreditation standards are

expressed in terms of overarching principles

that provide flexibility to institutions in the

manner in which they manifest those principles.

The burden falls to the institutions to

continuously examine their purposes and

achievements to build a compelling evidenced-

based argument that the results of their efforts

are consistent with the verbiage of their

intentions.

The Northwest Commission on Colleges and

Universities (NWCCU) is one of seven U.S.

regional accreditation agencies. (Western

Interstate Commission for Higher Education

2010) It was founded in 1917 as an

independent, non-prof i t membership

organization with the singular purpose of

accrediting colleges and universities in the

seven-state Northwest region and has been

recognized continuously since 1952 by the U.S.

Department of Education for that purpose.

(NWCCU 2015a: 3). NWCCU is governed by a

Board consisting of a minimum of fourteen (14)

Commissioners and a maximum of twenty-six

(26) Commiss ioners . A major i ty o f

Commissioners represent NWCCU-accredited

institutions. At least one-seventh (1/7th) of the

Agency

Board’s composition is comprised of public

members, none of whom have an affiliation with

NWCCU Accredited, Candidate, or Applicant

institutions. Commissioners are elected by the

membership for three-year terms, serve without

compensation, and may serve a maximum of

two terms. Membership in NWCCU consists of

NWCCU-accredited institutions. (NWCCU

2015b)

Accrediting agencies recognized by the U.S.

Department of Education are required to

‘maintain a systematic program of review that

demonstrates that its standards are adequate

to evaluate the quality of the education or

training provided by the institutions and

programs it accredits and relevant to the

educational or training needs of students’. (U.S.

Department of Education, 2010: 11) In fall 2005

NWCCU began discussions to determine

whether the current accreditation standards

should be revised. A Standards Review

Committee (SRC) was created with the charge

to lead the standards review project. In

November 2005 the SRC surveyed NWCCU-

member institutions to solicit feedback on the

relevance, usefulness, and effectiveness of the

1998 NWCCU accreditation standards in use at

that time. The results of that survey indicated

support for a thorough review of the standards.

At its January 2006 meeting the NWCCU Board

concurred and authorized a comprehensive

review and revision, as appropriate, of the

accreditation standards. In doing so it

encouraged the SRC to consider alternative

conceptual frameworks for the accreditation

standards and oversight process.

Given the diversity of NWCCU institutions, first

and foremost among the objectives of the

standards revision project was the preservation

of institutional mission as the kernel of regional

accreditation. To support that objective the SRC

focused on a revision to the accreditation

Context

Objectives

110

standards that would enable evidence-based

evaluations of mission fulfillment based on an

articulation of institutional mission in specific

terms, rather than as an expression of general

intentions in an abstract mission statement.

Consistent with granting institutions some

autonomy in defining their respective missions,

institutions must also be granted reasonable

latitude in how they demonstrate compliance

with the principles of quality and effectiveness

embedded within the standards.

A second objective of the standards review

project was the creation of a better alignment of

NWCCU interests with institutional interests.

This objective took the form of an accreditation

framework that would enable a holistic

panoramic evaluation of planning, actions,

assessment, and improvement that is more

relevant to institutional practice. A third

objective was the creation of an accreditation

f ramework that sh i f ts accred i ta t ion

determinations based on analysis of discrete

i n s t i t u t i o n a l f u n c t i o n s ( i n p u t s ) t o

determinations drawn from a synthesis of

institutional achievements (outcomes) in

fulfilling institutional mission. The last major

objective of the standards review project was

the development of a structure that would

increase opportunities for dialogue between

NWCCU and member institutions.

In spring 2006, four models of the standards

were developed. Those models formed a

continuum from the status quo to an innovative

conceptual model. In May 2006 a survey was

distributed to NWCCU-member institutions to

seek feedback on the four models. The results

of that survey favored the innovative

conceptual model. At its July 2006 meeting, the

NWCCU Board concurred and endorsed it for

further development. With the identification of

the accreditation model, attention turned to

potential changes to the oversight process to

strengthen the interrelationship between the

conceptual model of the accreditation

standards and the oversight process. Changes

Development

in leadership for the SRC and difficulties in

developing and translating oversight concepts

to practices caused the oversight component of

the standards review project to be more

complex and lengthy than anticipated. By fall

2008, however, those issues were resolved and

a new accreditation oversight process was

developed for consideration. At its January

2009 meeting, the NWCCU Board endorsed

the proposed oversight process and called for

the development of an accreditation framework

based on the conceptual model of the

accreditation standards and proposed

oversight process.

The architecture of the resulting accreditation

framework was developed in fall 2008. Given

the innovative nature of that framework, the

SRC sought feedback on the implications for

institutional practice in moving in this new

direction. To inform the refinement of the

accreditation framework, four institutions with

diverse missions and characterist ics

volunteered in fall 2008 to participate in a pilot

project to field test the proposed accreditation

framework in a compressed manner while the

specific elements of the standards and details

of the oversight process were being refined.

(Baker 2009) The proposed oversight cycle

called for four evaluations over a seven year

period with evaluations occurring in the first,

third, fifth, and seventh years of the cycle.

Institutions participating in the pilot project

agreed to conduct the four evaluations at six (6)

month intervals: spring 2009 (first year

evaluation); fall 2009 (third year evaluation);

spring 2010 (fifth year evaluation); fall 2010

(seventh year evaluation). (Baker 2009)

It took a total of six months to develop the

proposed accreditation standards. The first

draft was developed in April 2009 and the final

version was completed in October. There were

five drafts in total. Each draft was accompanied

by a round of review and feedback from an

expanding pool of reviewers. Figure 1

illustrates the progressively inclusive nature of

the review process.

111

In early April 2009, concurrent with the first year

of the pilot project, Draft 1.0 of the revised

accreditation standards was completed. In the

spirit of openness and transparency, a

progressively inclusive process of review was

initiated. Round One of that review solicited

feedback from key representatives of each of

the four pilot institutions, evaluators for the first

and third evaluations of the pilot institutions

under the proposed four-evaluation oversight

process, NWCCU Board members, and

selected volunteers. By late April, feedback

from the Round One review had been

processed. Draft 2.0 was completed and

forwarded for the next round of feedback.

Round Two reviewers included all Round One

reviews plus the chief executive officers and

accreditation liaison officers of each NWCCU-

accredited institution. Feedback from the

Round Two review was incorporated into Draft

3.0 which was forwarded in May for review and

feedback to all Round Two reviewers plus all

currently active NWCCU evaluators. Feedback

from the Round Three review led to the

development of Draft 4.0. Given the progress to

d a t e a n d f e e d b a c k f r o m N W C C U

constituencies, the next draft (Draft 5.0) was

expected to be the penultimate version of the

accreditation standards. Consequently, the

fourth round of review was restricted to the

Commissioners to identify any areas of concern

that might pose potential barriers to adoption of

the accreditation standards by the NWCCU

Board.

The NWCCU Board discussed Draft 4.0 at its

July 2009 meeting and agreed that Draft 5.0

would, indeed, be the penultimate version of

the proposed accreditation standards. Draft 5.0

was completed and distributed for Round Five

review in September 2009. Round Five was the

most inclusive round of review. It sought

feedback from all Round Three reviewers plus

all other interested internal and external

constituencies. Concurrent with the five rounds

of review, numerous information meetings were

held with institutions and higher education

authorities to explain the proposed standards

and attendant oversight process to the

broadest number of institutional constituencies.

In October 2009 the final version of the

proposed accreditation standards was

prepared for a vote of the membership.

A mail-in election to accept or reject the

proposed accreditation standards and

accreditation oversight cycle was conducted

from November 2, 2009, through December 4,

2009. Since only NWCCU-member institutions

112

Figure 1: Progressively Inclusive Process of Review in the Development of the Accreditation Standards

are allowed to vote on changes to the

accreditation standards (NWCCU 2015b), one

official ballot and an explanation of the ballot

propositions was mailed to the chief executive

officer of each of the 155 colleges and

universities accredited by NWCCU at the time

of the vote. A blind coding system was used to

ensure no more than one ballot was received

from each institution. A majority of votes cast

determines the outcome of any matter voted

upon by the NWCCU membership. (NWCCU

2015b)

The ballot consisted of two propositions. The

first ballot position was a vote to adopt or reject

the proposed accreditation standards. The

second ballot position was a vote to adopt or

reject the proposed accreditation oversight

process. Of the 155 ballots distributed, a total of

136 ballots (87.7%) were returned. (NWCCU

2010) With regard to the first ballot proposition,

131 (96.3%) votes were cast in favor of

adoption of the proposed accreditation

standards and 5 (3.7%) votes were cast in favor

of rejection. With regard to the second ballot

proposition, 120 (88.2%) votes were cast in

favor of adoption of the proposed oversight

process and 16 votes (11.87%) were cast in

favor of rejection.

The number of votes received exceeded the

10% threshold required for a quorum (NWCCU

2015b). At its January 11-13, 2010 meeting, the

NWCCU Board ratified the vote of the

membership. Inasmuch as the proposed

revision to the accreditation standards and the

proposed change to the accreditation oversight

process each received a majority of votes cast,

both ballot propositions were adopted. The

effective date of implementation of the revised

standards and oversight process was January

1, 2011. (Baker 2010: 3) However, as noted in

the Implementation section of this paper, given

the length of time required to prepare for

comprehensive evaluations under the previous

accreditation framework, accommodations

were made for certain institutions scheduled

under the previous standards and oversight

process for evaluations in 2010 and 2011.

The framework of the revised accreditation

standards (NWCCU 2015a: 22-36) forms a

tripartite structure that enables a determination

of education quality and institutional

effectiveness of colleges and universities within

the context of institutional mission and

characteristics. It is mission-centric and

outcomes-driven. The accreditation framework

consists of five tightly integrated standards

which blend analysis of institutional inputs with

synthesis of institutional outcomes to enable

holistic institutional self-reflection and peer-

Standards Framework

113

Figure 2: Architecture of the Tripartite Framework of the NWCCU Accreditation Standards

evaluation. Collectively, the framework of

accreditation standards provides the basis for

an examination of the institution’s mission,

interpretation, and translation of that mission

into practice, its potential to fulfill that mission,

and evaluation of the results of its efforts toward

fulfillment of that mission. An institution is

required to produce an extensive articulation of

its purpose, statement of its intentions in

pursuing that purpose, demonstration of its

capacity to realize those intentions, and

meaningful verifiable evidence of fulfillment of

its intentions. Figure 2 depicts the architecture

of the tripartite framework of accreditation

standards. (Baker 2009)

There is a simple nomenclature for the

accreditation standards. Each standard is

designated by a number and title (e.g.,

Standard Four – Effect iveness and

Improvement). A narrative overview, which is

not a criterion for evaluation, accompanies

each standard. Elements of the standard, some

with subsections to highlight key components,

are designated by the number of the standard

followed by the letter and title of the element

within that standard (e.g., Standard 4.A

Assessment). Each criterion for evaluation is

identified by the number of the standard,

followed by the letter of the standard element,

followed by the number of the criterion within

that standard element (e.g., Standard 4.A.1).

(NWCCU 2015a: 22)

Section A (Purpose and Potential) of the

tripartite framework of the accreditation

standards consists of two standards. Standard

One (Mission, Mission Fulfillment, and Core

Themes) requires an extensive articulation of

institutional context, purpose, and intentions

which result in a coherent and widely

understood statement of its mission. To foster a

deeper understanding of its mission, Standard

One requires a partition of an institution’s

mission into clearly delineated core themes. A

core theme is a ‘manifestation of a fundamental

aspect of institutional mission with overarching

objectives that guide planning for contributing

programs and services, development of

capacity, application of resources to

accomplish those objectives, and assessment

of achievements of those objectives.

Collectively, the core themes represent the

institution’s interpretation of its mission and

translation of that interpretation into practice’.

(Baker 2011) In addition to the development of

a deep and rich expression of institutional

purpose, an institution is required to state the

objectives to be achieved for each of its core

themes and identify meaningful assessable

indicators of achievement of those objectives.

These indicators are used as the basis for an

assessment of institutional effectiveness.

Concurrently, Standard One provides a

framework to guide institutional improvement in

meeting its own expectations in fulfilling its

mission. The importance of Standard One

cannot be overstated as it is the basis for all

subsequent standards.

Standard Two addresses institutional

resources and capacity which reside in

communities of function within the institution. A

community of function is an ‘aggregation of

expertise and resources, typically organized as

an operational unit, that contribute to the

essential infrastructure needed to operate and

sustain the institution and fulfill its mission’.

(Baker 2011) Communities of function include

such operational units as financial affairs,

student services, and information technology.

Standard Two evaluates communities of

function by examining an institution’s capacity,

resources, and infrastructure to determine its

potential to fulfill its mission and achieve the

objectives of its core themes. Findings from an

assessment of the institution’s human, fiscal,

physical, technical, and support capacity also

inform judgments on the institution’s viability

and sustainability which are determined in

Standard Five.

Section B (Planning and Achievements) of the

tripartite framework of the accreditation

standards addresses communities of interest.

A community of interest is a ‘purposeful

collaboration across function units to apply

institutional capacity and resources to achieve

clearly-defined objectives of its mission’.

114

(Baker 2011) It consists of two standards and

requires a synthesis of the outcomes of

collaborations across communities of function

in achieving the objectives of its core themes.

Standard Three (Planning and Implementation)

requires evidence of purposeful, ongoing,

strategic planning that provides direction, sets

priorities, and influences institutional practice.

For each core theme, Standard Three requires

institutional planning to demonstrate an

alignment of institutional effort and resources

with the achievement of core theme objectives.

Educational programs within the core themes

are required to identify program goals, intended

student learning outcomes, plans for

achievement of those goals and outcomes, and

indicators of achievement of those goals and

outcomes.

Standard Four emphasizes a synthesis of

institutional outcomes, rather than an analysis

of institutional inputs. It requires evidence of

regular and systematic assessment of

achievement of core theme objectives, goals of

educat ional programs, and learning

achievements of students. The indicators of

achievement identified in Standard One are

used to assessment the accomplishment of

core theme objectives. For educational

programs, institutions are required to

demonstrate that assessment of student

achievement of program and learning

outcomes is conducted in accordance with a

clearly articulated assessment plan, data are

collected with respect to the associated

indicators of achievement, those data are

analyzed, judgments of achievement are based

on the results of those analyses, and results are

used to effect improvement.

Section C (Institutional Success and Viability)

of the tripartite accreditation framework

consists of one standard. Standard Five

(Mission Fulfillment, Sustainability, and

Adaptation) forms the basis for an evaluation of

fulfillment of institutional mission based on the

articulation of mission, core themes, and

mission fulfillment in Standard One and

synthesis of achievements of core theme

objectives in Standard Four. Standard Five also

provides a foundation to assess the institution’s

effectiveness in monitoring its operational

environment to forecast and adapt to trends,

themes, and patterns with the potential to

impact its viability and sustainability for the

foreseeable future.

Standard One represents the alpha of the

accreditation framework and Standard Five

represents the omega. Standard One requires

an in-depth analysis of the institution’s mission

and interpretation of fulfillment of that mission.

By focusing on institutional purpose, the

revised accreditation standards place an

emphasis on the results of its collective efforts

to fulfill its mission. Analysis of institutional

resources and capacity is the basis of Standard

Two. Planning for the application of the

institution’s resources and capacity to fulfill its

mission and achieve the objectives of its core

themes is the basis of Standard Three.

Synthesis of the achievements of core theme

objectives, including program and student

learning outcomes, is the basis of Standard

Four. Finally, a synthesis of the results in

achieving core theme outcomes from Standard

4 is the basis of Standard Five in determining

fulfillment of institutional mission. Standard

Five also considers the findings on institutional

capacity and resources from Standard Two and

analysis of the institution’s ability to monitor its

environment to enable a judgment of the

institution’s sustainability, viability, and

adaptation.

Under the prior oversight process, institutions

were scheduled for two regular evaluations

over a ten-year per iod: A 2 .5-day

comprehensive evaluation at the end of the ten-

year cycle and a 1.5-day monitoring evaluation

at the five-year point in the ten-year cycle.

(NWCCU 2007: 174) For a comprehensive

evaluation an institution conducted a self-study,

prepared a report, and hosted a visit by a

committee of NWCCU representatives to

evaluate the institution for compliance with all

Oversight Cycle

115

NWCCU accreditation standards and related

policies. For the 1.5-day evaluation an

institution prepared a report to respond to

previous NWCCU recommendations, address

major changes effected since the last

evaluation, and summarize significant changes

contemplated for the foreseeable future. At its

discretion, the NWCCU Board could also

request ad hoc evaluations at any time during

the decennial oversight cycle.

Under the new accreditation framework, the

effort to address all standards is amortized over

seven years through a series of four

progressively inclusive evaluations. The

resulting comprehensive self-study is

constructed in a recursive dissertation-like

process that builds upon previous work and

feedback from peers and the NWCCU Board in

progressive stages of institutional self-

reflection and peer evaluation. (Baker 2009)

This process of ongoing institutional monitoring

and maintenance over time keeps the

institution engaged in monitoring its

compliance with the accreditation standards

throughout the oversight cycle, rather than

engaging it as a single event at the end of that

cycle.

An important consequence of this structure is

an increase in opportunities for dialogue

between NWCCU and its institutions. The

additional evaluations present more structured

occasions for formative feedback to institutions

regarding their performance in meeting their

own expectations as well as their compliance

with NWCCU accreditation standards. To

incorporate the perspectives of a broad range

of evaluators into the institutional feedback

loop, evaluators are limited to one evaluation of

the same institution in a seven-year period.

One of the major benefits of the increased

interaction and diversity of perspectives

embedded in the septennial oversight cycle is

the discovery and correction of potential

accreditation issues before they become

serious compliance issues. Figure 3 represents

the progressively comprehensive process of

self-study over the course of the seven-year

accreditation oversight cycle. (Baker 2009)

In the first and fifth years of the septennial cycle

institutions submit reports only. In the third and

seventh years, institutions submit reports and

host committees of evaluators. For the Year

One evaluation the institution submits a report

to addresses Standard One (Mission, Mission

Fulfillment, and Core Themes). The Year One

evaluation is conducted by a panel of peer-

evaluators. Findings from the Year One

evaluation are forwarded to NWCCU for action

and formative feedback. The Year One report

establishes the foundation for all subsequent

reports and evaluations.

116

Figure 3: Septennial Oversight Cycle and Integration with the Standards

For the Year Three evaluation the institution

updates its response to Standard One (based

on its own self-analysis and feedback from the

Year One evaluation) and addresses Standard

Two (Resources and Capacity). The institution

submits a Year Three report and hosts a visit by

a committee of peer evaluators to evaluate

Standard One and Standard Two. Findings

from the Year Three evaluation are forwarded

to NWCCU for action and formative feedback.

For the Year Five evaluation, the institution

updates its responses to Standards One and

Two (based on its own self-analysis and

feedback from the Year Three evaluation) and

addresses Standard Three (Planning and

Implementat ion) and Standard Four

(Effectiveness and Improvement). Like the

Year One report, the institution submits a Year

Five report and a panel of NWCCU peer-

evaluators conducts the Year Five evaluation.

Only Standards Three and Four are evaluated

by the panel. The institution’s updated

responses to Standards One and Two are

included in the Year Five report to provide

context for the panelists in evaluating

Standards Three and Four. Findings from the

Year Five evaluation are forwarded to NWCCU

for action and feedback.

The septennial oversight process culminates in

the Year Seven evaluation. For this evaluation

the institution updates its responses to

Standards One, Two, Three, and Four (based

on its own self-analysis and the feedback from

its Year Five evaluation) and addresses

Standard Five (Miss ion Ful f i l lment ,

Sustainability, and Adaptation). The institution

submits its Year Seven report and hosts a visit

from a committee of NWCCU peer evaluators.

Only Standards Three, Four, and Five are

evaluated by the committee. The institution’s

updated responses to Standards One and Two

are included in the Year Seven report to provide

context for the evaluators in evaluating

Standards Three, Four, and Five only (recall an

onsite evaluation of Standards One and Two

was conducted in the third year of the cycle).

Findings from the Year Seven evaluation are

forwarded to NWCCU for action and feedback.

The rolling septennial oversight process begins

anew one year after the Year Seven evaluation

when the institution prepares and submits an

updated Year One report. That report is based

on the institution’s continuously updated

response to Standard One throughout the

previous septennial cycle. Subsequent

evaluations are conducted every other year

following the normal seven-year schedule.

Thus, the first complete round of evaluations

under the septennial cycle sets the foundation

for a recursive process of monitoring and

maintenance designed to enhance continuous

improvement and assure quality and

effectiveness in a regular ongoing manner,

rather than an intermittent episodic manner.

Moreover, scheduling events at two-year

intervals is intended to reduce substantially, if

not eliminate, a need for ad hoc evaluations

which were commonly requested under the

former decennial oversight process.

The conversion from the decennial oversight

cycle to the septennial oversight cycle was

designed as an eight-year process. (NWCCU

2009: 7) The sequence and timing of events

during the transition were determined by the

length of time since the institution’s most recent

comprehensive evaluation under the decennial

cycle. The conversion algorithm used to

schedule evaluations during the transition

helped maintain the integrity of the

accreditation process by ensuring the time

between comprehensive evaluations was no

longer than ten years—the time recognized by

the U.S. Department of Education for NWCCU

at the time of the adoption of the revised

oversight process. For most institutions the first

cycle of events under the septennial cycle was

scheduled to be completed in fewer than seven

years.

Implementation

117

Given the lead time needed to prepare for evaluations, institutions scheduled for 2011

comprehensive evaluations under the decennial oversight process had the option of being

evaluated under the previous standards or the revised standards. It is worth noting that all

institutions scheduled for comprehensive evaluations in 2011 chose to be evaluated under the

revised standards. All other NWCCU-accredited institutions submitted Year One reports in 2011.

Beginning in 2012, all evaluations were based on the revised standards. (NWCCU 2009: 7)

Table 1 presents the conversion matrix for the transition of institutions from the decennial oversight

cycle to the septennial oversight cycle. (Baker 2009) The first column of the matrix represents the

year of the institution’s scheduled comprehensive evaluation under the ten-year cycle. The

corresponding row displays the oversight events for those institutions in transitioning to the new

seven-year cycle. The season for the event (i.e., spring or fall) remains the same under the new

seven-year accreditation cycle as the previous ten-year cycle. For example, the transition for an

institution scheduled for a comprehensive evaluation in fall 2013 under the decennial cycle would

submit a Year One report in fall 2011, submit a Year Three report and host a visit of peer-evaluators

in fall 2012, and submit a Year Seven report and host a visit of peer-evaluators in fall 2013.

Thereafter, it would be scheduled for the regular seven-year sequence beginning with the

submission of an updated Year One report in fall 2014.

Reflections

The revised NWCCU accreditation standards

and progressively comprehensive oversight

process represent an innovative approach to

q u a l i t y a s s u r a n c e a n d c o n t i n u o u s

improvement. It combines analysis of inputs

and synthesis of outcomes to enable holistic

evaluations of institutions in the context of their

respective missions, characteristics, and

expectations of themselves. They are

testimony to the success of the standards

118

2010

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Year

All Standards Report & Visit

Year One Report

2011

Year One Report

Year One Report

Year One Report

Year One Report

Year One Report

Year One Report

Year One Report

All Standards Report & Visit

Year ThreeReport & Visit

Year ThreeReport & Visit

Year ThreeReport & Visit

Year ThreeReport & Visit

Year ThreeReport & Visit

Year ThreeReport & Visit

Year One Report

Year SevenReport & Visit

Year FiveReport

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Year ThreeReport & Visit

Year One Report

Year SevenReport & Visit

Year FiveReport

Year FiveReport

Year FiveReport

Year ThreeReport & Visit

Year SevenReport & Visit

Year SevenReport & Visit

Year FiveReport

Year FiveReport

Year ThreeReport & Visit

Year One Report

Year One Report

Year SevenReport & Visit

Year FiveReport

Year ThreeReport & Visit

Year One Report

Year SevenReport & Visit

Year One Report

Year ThreeReport & Visit

Year SevenReport & Visit

Year FiveReport

revision project in meeting its objectives. Not

only do the revised standards protect the role of

institutional mission in NWCCU accreditation,

they reinforce the critical importance of that role

as evidenced by the significance of Standard

One serving as the anchor of the accreditation

framework.

The tripartite structure of the accreditation

framework also meshes well with the

institutional cycle of planning, action,

assessment of outcomes, and use of

assessment findings for improvement. It

supports synthesis of achievements of

essential mission elements (core themes),

each with clearly defined objectives, to enable

a more meaningful determination of fulfillment

of the mission as a whole. Finally, the cycle of

oversight significantly increases the frequency

of dialogue between institutions, evaluators,

and the NWCCU Board throughout the

oversight cycle by reducing the time between

such opportunities from five years to two years.

Perhaps more importantly however, the new

quality assurance framework better serves the

interests of member institutions as well as the

interests of NWCCU. For institutions, it

reignited interest in NWCCU accreditation

—not as an obligation, but as an opportunity for

cont inuous improvement in ful f i l l ing

institutional self-interest. For NWCCU, it was a

positive response to external calls for greater

accountability of educational quality and

institutional effectiveness by emphasizing

assessment-based evidence of achievements,

rather than idiosyncratic perceptions of

institutional assets. That synergy of mutually

beneficial outcomes, combined with an

aggressive campaign of active engagement

from concept to cloture with institutional

constituencies resulted in a seamless,

transparent, and straightforward implementa-

tion of the revised accreditation standards and

oversight process.

A number of lessons were learned and insights

were gained or reinforced during the NWCCU

standards review project. Some are related to

the substance of the change and others are

related to the process used to effect change.

Standards Revision Project – Substance

• Innovation in quality assurance is possible

when it preserves the principles of

accountability in creative ways that

purposeful ly guide inst i tut ional

improvement.

• Analysis of individual institutional

Lessons Learned

functional units (inputs) is a necessary,

but not sufficient, condition for

accreditation. Synthesis of the results of

the collaborations (outcomes) among

those units provides a more holistic and

meaningful judgment of educational

quality and institutional effectiveness.

• Integrating the oversight process with

the accreditation standards in a

coherent f ramework of qual i ty

assurance enhances the effectiveness

of both.

• Accreditation is more likely to become

embedded in institutional practice when

institutions engage with it regularly and

methodically over time, rather than in

infrequent periods of intense activity.

• Where common ground is found for the

requirements of accreditation and the

interests of institutions, accreditation

can be more than tolerated by

institutions. As evidenced by the

success of NWCCU project, it can be

embraced by them.

Standards Revision Project – Process

• Demons t ra t i ng the p r i nc ip les ,

relevance, and benefit of change

enhances the likelihood that it will be

accepted by those most affected by it.

• Translating the abstract theory of

change into practical concrete steps

e n c o u r a g e s a c c e p t a n c e a n d

implementation in practice.

• Strong leadership is essential for

significant change to occur. It must

establish and convey a clear and

compelling vision for the change,

demonstrate a profound understanding

of it, maintain a steadfast commitment to

it, and demonstrate a passion for it.

• Inclusion of affected constituencies in

the process of change enhances

ownership by those constituencies in the

119

outcome of the change process.

• In effecting change it is important to keep

the process moving to ensure the

conservation of momentum. Provide

sufficient time during the stages of

development for constituencies to

engage in thought and provide comment,

but not so much time as to lose the

momentum gained through the work to

date.

Baker, R.L. (2009) Overview of the revised

accreditation standards and new oversight

process. [Presentation] [Online] Retrieved

from: http://www.uaf.edu/files/rural/staff/

Ron-Baker-2009-Annual-Meeting-Basic-

Presentation.ppt [March 12, 2015]

Baker, R.L. (2010) Overview of the seven-

year accreditation cycle. [Online]

Retrieved from:

http://www.nwccu.org/Standards

Review/Pages/Overview of the Seven-

Year Accreditation Cycle.docx [March 12,

2015]

Baker, R.L. (2011) New traditions: NWCCU

standards and process. [Presentation],

[Online] Retrieved from:

http://www.byui.edu/IR/accreditation/RonBa

kerRevisedStandardsPresentation.pptx

[March 12, 2015]

NWCCU (2007) Accreditation handbook.

[Online] Retrieved from:

http://www.usu.edu/aaa/pdf/accreditation/Ac

creditation Handbook .pdf [April 3, 2015]

NWCCU (2009) Revised standards and

process. [Online] Handout distributed at

the Revised Standards and Process

Workshop, Seattle, Washington, February

6, 2009.

Retrieved from

http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/undergraduate-

academic-

References

affairs/Accreditation/upload/NWCCU-

Workshop-Handout-2-6-

09_excerptedforweb.pdf [March 19, 2015]

NWCCU (2010) Voting results. [Online]

Retrieved from:

http://www.nwccu.org/Standards

Review/Pages/Results.htm [March 12,

2015]

NWCCU (2011) History. [Online] Retrieved

from: http://www.nwccu.org/About/History/

NWCCU History.htm [March 22, 2015]

NWCCU (2015a) Accreditation handbook.

[Online] Retrieved from:

http://www.nwccu.org/Pubs Forms and

Updates/Publications/Accreditation

Handbook, 2015 Edition.pdf [April 3, 2015]

NWCCU (2015b) Bylaws. [Online] Retrieved

from: http://www.nwccu.org/About/By

Laws/NWCCU ByLaws.htm [March 22,

2015]

Southern Association of Colleges and

Schools, Commission on Colleges (2014)

Frequently asked questions. [Online]

Retrieved from:

http://www.sacscoc.org/FAQsanswers.asp#

q1 [April 20, 2015]

U.S. Department of Education (2010) 34

CFR Part 602 -- The Secretary’s

Recognition of Accrediting Agencies.

[Online] Retrieved from:

http://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hea

rulemaking/hea08/34cfr602.pdf [March 5,

2015]

Western Interstate Commission for Higher

Education (2010) What is regional

accreditation and why is it important?

[Online] Retrieved from:

http://www.wiche.edu/knowledge/14295

[Accessed April 3, 2015]

120

DEVELOPING AN EMPIRICAL MODEL TO MEASURE EFFECTIVENESS IN A HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTE IN UAE

Organizer

ELTAHIR MOHAMED NOUR,

Al Khawarizmi International College,

United Arab Emirates

taher@khawarizmi.com

Tel. 0507723610

CASE STUDY

KEYWORDS: Institutional Effectiveness, Core Indicators, Performance Measurement,

Institutional Assessment, Best Practice in Higher Education, Governance

Abstract

Institutional effectiveness in higher education

has become an increasingly relevant and vital

topic for scholars and researchers around the

globe. The basic question that stimulated this

research is, “Do students and other

stakeholders get what they need from an

academic institution?” In the relevant literature

of measuring and assessing effectiveness in

higher education, several models have been

developed to measure academic achievement,

students' success and progress in higher

education, but the key challenge that still exists

is, “How can institutions produce clear and

simple evidence-based results that can be used

to demonstrate accountability and continuous

improvement?”

The research aims at establishing and

developing an empirical and reliable system to

measure the effectiveness of emerging data

from various functional units at a higher

educational institution. The new proposed

model for institutional effectiveness supports

higher educational institutions in knowing how

students and community stakeholders perceive

delivery of the institution’s mission and

facilitates provision of outcome-based

assessment for internal decision-making and

continuous quality improvement. The initiative

provides future directions to further explore

relevance of effectiveness to governance and

benchmarking in institutions of higher

education.

Keywords: Institutional Effectiveness, Core

Indicators, Performance Measurement,

Institutional Assessment, Best Practice in

Higher Education, Governance

Founded in 1985, Al Khawarizmi International

College (KIC) is the first private institution in the

Background of the

Institution

UAE to be accredited by the Ministry of Higher

Education and Scientific Research. Since its

inception, KIC has provided its students with a

variety of opportunities that aim to further their

education and help open doors for successful

future employment.

KIC offers a variety of undergraduate academic

programs at its campuses in Abu Dhabi and Al

Ain to suit students from all walks of life; it offers

as well various timing options to ensure that all

students find suitable study timings. With such

flexibility in scheduling, the students are free to

remain employed while completing the

program of their choice, gaining both

professional and educational experience. At

KIC, the main focus is on teaching through

practical application.

The academic programs offered by KIC are all

accredited by the Commission for Academic

Accreditation (CAA) – the UAE Ministry of

Higher Education and Scientific Research. The

educational programs have been designed to

provide students with adequate theoretical and

conceptual knowledge in their fields of

specialization while equipping them with

relevant practical skills and competencies in

order for them to embark successfully on their

careers. The programs have been developed to

respond to the current and future needs of the

job market by equipping students with the skills

needed to flourish and excel. KIC maintains

affiliations and strong links with local industries

to ensure that graduates can seamlessly merge

into the workforce upon graduation.

The Continuing Education Center (CEC) at Al

Khawarizmi International College (KIC) is a

leading provider of training, short courses, and

professional development programs designed

for individuals and corporate groups in the

UAE. The CEC supports KIC University College

with providing students with lifelong learning

opportunities. The Continuing Education

122

Center at KIC offers a wide range of courses in

International Business, Graphics, Animation,

3D Animation, Video Editing, Visual effects, IT

Courses, ICDL Training, Travel and Tourism,

IATA, AMADEUS Courses, English Language

courses, IELTS, TOEFL and Emiratization.

KIC aspires to be a leading University College

of learning excellence by providing quality

applied learning, applied research, and

professional leadership to make significant

contribution in human capital development in

the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE and the region.

KIC is committed to providing the Emirate of

Abu Dhabi, UAE and the region with graduates

who are equipped with the theory, concepts,

applied research, and practical skills in

specializations that are mapped with the Abu

Dhabi 2030 strategic plan at the technician and

officer levels. The academic programs are

delivered at high standards following best

practices found in developed countries (Al

Khawarizmi, 2014).

The following constitute the core values of KIC:

• Innovation in quality assurance is poss

• Respect for the UAE social system, the

Islamic culture as well as other cultures

• Transparency, fairness, and equitable

opportunities for all

• Social responsibility

• Ethical code of conduct

• Teamwork and positive thinking

• Learning and innovation

• Progressive, proactive and applied

learning

Vision

Mission

Core Values

Context of the Initiative

The education effectiveness knowledge base

has started during the 1970s in the United

States and the United Kingdom (Reynolds,

1995). To quantify or measure effectiveness is

quite a laborious task; however it should be

seen as one way an education institution can

use to measure its performance. The

effectiveness of an institution is “The ability of

an institution to match its performance to

established purposes as stated in its mission”

(Alfred et al, 1999). It is also defined as “An

internal process of planning and evaluation that

is intended to ensure that the performance of a

college matches its purposes, a global process

that uses assessment strategies to

demonstrate accountability” (Midlands

Technical College, 1997). Institutions must

demonstrate increased efficiency and

effectiveness to survive (Spanbauer, 1996;

Affed & Carter, 2000).

The process of effectiveness requires a higher

educational institution to be able to measure its

outcomes against set of criteria or targets. In

achieving these outcomes, institutions could be

perceived to be effective by its community.

Spanbauer (1996) divides the stakeholders of

education into two groups; external (students,

employers, parents, legislators, board

members, and peer institutions) and internal

( ins t ructors , admin is t ra tors , serv ice

department staff). Higher Education must strive

to make improvements in order to meet the

ever-changing needs of its stakeholders

(Spanbauer, 1996). Employers view higher

education as its key supplier of a critical

resource, 'human capital' which is integrally tied

to business' overall success (Sumberg, 2000).

While the crucial rationale of any institutional

effectiveness system in higher education is to

provide transparent system for accountability,

the other apparent advantages are to provide

self-assessment tool for continuous quality

improvement. The application of continuous

quality improvement in education is less than a

decade (Jasinsky, 1999). Successful

123

implementation of continuous quality

improvement initiatives in business firms, such

as total quality management, which focuses on

the customer satisfaction, develops when a

crisis is present.

For education, the crisis of stimulus could be

decreasing enrollments, followed by budget

cuts and staff reductions (Wallace, 1999).

Implementing systematic quality improvement

practices in education is totally voluntary and

educational institutions have been slow to

adopt a continuous improvement philosophy

(Jasinsky, 1999). Higher Education is prone to

debate and discussion. Faculty and staff expect

their voices to be heard. Decisions are usually

not made by majority but rather by consensus.

The consensus process is valued and

esteemed, and is an important part of the

unique culture of higher education (Dew, 2000).

Transformational changes that encounter

Higher Education Institutions across the world

due to the challenges as explained above has

made institutions to raise the item of improving

quality as the first priority in their key agenda. A

significant feature of this has been the drive to

produce systematic evidence of effectiveness

and efficiency (Doyle, 2006; Guthrie &

Neumann, 2007; Hayford 2003).

The current initiative is conducted in the light of

the increasing call, and growing interest for

institutional effectiveness and performance

indicators in higher education from various

community constituents. Colleges and

universities are increasingly asked to

demonstrate their value and their effectiveness.

This pressure for effect iveness and

accountability comes from a variety of sources,

including national and state governments,

boards of trustees, accreditation agencies,

employers, as well as students and their

families. Community constituents experience

various challenges with adopted practices of

effectiveness and performance indicators.

These const i tuents use inst i tut ional

Nature and Extent of the

Initiative

effectiveness for different purposes at different

levels. Although calls for accountability are now

new to higher education, there seems to be an

increasing number of vested parties making

increasingly sophisticated and intrusive

attempts to monitor and influence the way

colleges and universities operate (Borden and

Banta, 1994).

At national government level, these

performance indicators are used to ensure

accountability for funds, inspect and review

assessment of learning programs, improve the

provision of quality education, assign

institutional status for license and accreditation,

and to facilitate international benchmarking and

comparison between the institutions (Fisher et

al, 2000). Accreditation agencies strive to help

institutions to achieve credibility through self-

studies and peer reviews. Institutions make use

of self-study to evaluate and assess whether or

not they are achieving goals and objectives as

stated in the mission of the institution.

Accreditation provides institutions with an

evaluation of educational quality, allows

external review through consultants or peer

institutions, and internal review through the

institutional stakeholders (Barker and Smith,

1998).

The higher education institutions use

performance indicators to conduct self-

assessment for improving performance,

facilitate assessment and evaluation for their

educational programs learning outcomes,

provide information for external quality

assurance agencies, and to provide

information to the national government for

accountability and reporting purpose (Row,

2004). In the UAE, the Commission of

Academic Accreditation standards addresses

the importance of Institutional Effectiveness

through the CAA Standards, 2011 with

particular reference to Standard-2 which

mandates all institutions to establish

Institutional Effectiveness unit with the

assigned responsibilities of carrying out

institutional planning, institutional research,

risk management and continuous quality

enhancement.

124

The referenced standard also directs all

institutions to submit to the CAA annual reports

on the activities and achievements of its quality

assurance/institutional effectiveness unit (CAA

Standards, 2011). It should be clearly noted

here that institutions who don’t comply with

these standards will neither be licensed nor its

programs will be accredited and hence will not

be able to operate in the UAE.

At the Universities level, there are notable

efforts exerted by Higher Education institutions

to develop internal quality assurance system.

This is in accordance with strategic change

taking place at Government higher level to

establish rigorous quality models. The

institution is expected to be engaged in

ongoing, integrated, and institutional research

planning and evaluation to incorporate system

review system. This system should involve

institutional mission, goals, and outcomes and

should yield into continuing improvement of

qual i ty. Dedicated qual i ty assurance

organizations and accrediting agencies play

key role to inspect and review every institution’s

performance at both university institutional and

programs levels.

Institutional and national quality models and

performance indicators are considered vital

components in raising the standards of higher

education, with organizations such as the World

Trade Organizat ion (WTO) assist ing

developing countries to introduce performance

indicators and quality assurance at institutional

and national levels (Marginson & van der

Wende, 2007). At the institutional level,

OECD/UNESCO has progressively sourced

quantitative performance indicators to provide

international comparisons of higher education

systems (OECD, 2007).

The key challenge for institutions is how they

maintain simple and clear evidence-based

information to demonstrate accountability.

While many institutions of higher education

maintain current information on the

performance of higher education, the fact

remains that in most instances, this information

is poorly understood by external audiences

(David E. Leveille, 2006).

At industry level, employers would like to be

assured quality graduates who are equipped

with the necessary technical, practical, and

business skills for employment. Faculty role in

effectiveness is the one of the main driving

forces of the system since it emphasizes

periodic review of academic programs in order

to meet the industry needs. The higher

education community accepts student

achievement of expected learning outcomes as

the key indicator of quality (AAC&U, 2004).

According to an E&Y study in 2014, only 29% of

the employers believe that graduates in the

region meet the job market requirements.

There is an obvious gap between programs

offered by higher education institutions and the

skills needed by employers, where there is a

narrow emphasis on specific academic

offerings, such as business or engineering

(CAA, annual report 2011-2012).

Students are seen as key stakeholders as they

have a substantial position in the entire process

of qual i ty assurance and improving

effectiveness of educational institutions. The

main rationale behind this institutional

effectiveness model is to ensure that students

are provided with the necessary sufficient

knowledge and skills to be qualified for

employment and to make significant

contribution to the human capital development

in a nation. However, it doesn’t focus solely on

economic value; educational, social, and

political values also influence the development

and use of performance models and indicators

(Reindl & Brower, 2001; Trowler, Fanghanel &

Wareham, 2005; Ward, 2007).

Based on the experience gained from the

Institutional Effectiveness (IE) efforts between

2010 and 2015, the College management and

members of the Institutional Effectiveness

Board have identified the following mission,

goals and objectives for the IE unit:

Goals and Objectives

125

Institutional Effectiveness

Mission

The Institutional Effectiveness unit at KIC is

committed to provide KIC stakeholders with

valuable and effective services in institutional

research, short-term and strategic planning,

effectiveness and promoting quality culture at

KIC.

The main functions of the IE system are to:

KIC:

• Align the College goals and objectives to

the institutional mission

• Meet the CAA standards, Centre of

Higher Education Data Statistics

(CHEDS) and Abu Dhabi Education

Council (ADEC) requirements

• Comply with the requirements of ISO

9001:2008 QMS

• Function as a feasible, systematic

process for evaluation, assessment, and

self-improvement.

• Draw wide participation from internal and

external stakeholders

• Prov ide re levant feedback fo r

governance decision making and

continuous improvement

The Institutional Effectiveness system is to

achieve the following goals:

• Establish and maintain Institutional

Research Unit in order to help the

management with short and strategic

planning

• Provide accurate, timely, and official

information to the college management

and the primary stake holders

• Act as a resource for institutional

research, assessment, and planning

• Conduct or coordinate appropriate and

required studies that contribute to a

better understanding of KIC students,

staff, programs, and the community

• Continually review and improve skills,

knowledge and processes, and use

technology to enhance the services

provided by the unit

In the first phase of this initiative, sufficient time

must be given to review the institution's primary

source documents; cataloging, annual reports,

mission statement, goals and objectives,

strategic plans, commission standards of the

UAE, and other accrediting agencies

requirements. This phase includes conducting

a critical literature review on effectiveness in

higher education with respect to revenant terms

such; as quality assurance in higher education,

accountability, core indicators, measuring

organizational performance in institutions of

higher education, self-evaluation in institutions

of higher education, and continuous quality

improvement in higher education. This is

accomplished by examining the role of

inst i tut ional research, planning, and

effectiveness on students' success and

institutional improvement in similar higher

educational institutions.

The second phase focuses on identifying the

functional dimensions of the institution to set

measures for critical outcomes that actively

contribute to the achievement of the current

institution mission. The reliability and validness

of these dimensions will be tested and evidence

will be recorded for certain pattern of

effectiveness (Cameron, 2007). This is

followed by a through revision and review of the

current core indicators, and the development of

the theoretical framework with supplementary

core indicators that directly contribute to the

achievement of the institution’s mission.

According to (Parmenter, 2007) a core indicator

is “a set of measures focusing on those aspects

of organizational performance that are the most

critical for the current and future success of the

organization”. Each core indicator will have a

technical description that includes; working

definition, description of appropriate data

The Implementation Strategy

126

sources, specific tools to collect the data, time

frame and performance standards.

The third phase is the data collection phase.

The initiative employs various ranges of

relevant direct and indirect of data collection

methods. The tools and instruments, which will

be used for data collection, will be a

combination of electronic and non-electronic

surveys, questionnaires, interviews, review

evaluation, and reports. Surveymonkey.com

s o f t w a r e h o u s e s t h e s u r v e y s a n d

questionnaires with password-protection that

allows the designer of the surveys to determine

appropriate levels of access to the accumulated

data. The data respondents are relatively

representative of the sample population. A

detailed plan comprising distribution of

responsibilities of core indicators and

timeframes is established for key staff members

and students' representatives in the college in

o rder to fac i l i ta te governance and

accountability.

Phase four focuses on summarizing and

analyzing the data. Statistical analysis is

applied, where relevant, to decide on the final

result of the effectiveness of each core

indicator. Satisfaction perception levels of the

institution key stakeholders are quantified and

measured. Certain sections from several forms

are processed in order to arrive at the final

result for each indicator and collectively to the

overall performance effectiveness.

In the fifth phase, institutional effectiveness

committee is constituted to discuss the

outcomes and the results of the effectiveness

report. Suggestions and recommendations of

the committee are recorded paying special

attention to the critical and defective indicators

to ensure that any identified critical or defective

core indicator will be carefully attended to,

relevant actions are effectively initiated and

implemented. A timely action plan is produced

containing the investigation of the defective

a r e a s , r o o t - c a u s e a n a l y s i s ,

corrective/preventative actions, and staff

members responsible for the actions, time-

frames, and action review. This adequately

meets the methodology “Plan-Do-Check-Act”

(PDCA) which constitutes the model of a

process-based Quality Management System

9001:2008 (International Standards, 9001).

To ensure continuous improvement of the

system itself, a group interview process are

conducted in order to enhance the awareness

of the institutional effectiveness process,

increase participation by key stakeholders, and

develop concrete improvement strategies that

are to be reviewed on an annual basis. The

Figure (1): KIC Institutional Effectiveness Model

127

description of the core indicators used to

assess the performance of the College is

depicted by the following diagram:

The KIC model revolves around 10 critical

areas with 34 core indicators that measure

critical outcomes of the institution’s mission.

The model has been developed basically over

the previous experience of the American

Association of Community Colleges (AACC -

1999). While there are 11 similar core

indicators, the KIC model has an extended

advantage of additional 23 customized

indicators designed to address relevant areas

in higher education with particular reference to

the CAA Standards 2011 for research, planning,

and effectiveness.

The KIC model uses a wide range of direct and

indirect data collection methods. Assessment of

student work such as final exams, projects,

internships, licensure/certification pass

rates……etc. are all examples of direct

methods of data collection. The model also has

indirect methods of data collection with

combination of tools used like electronic and

non-electronic surveys, questionnaires to

collect students and graduates feedback in

order to know satisfaction levels. Industry

experts and employers’ interviews and peer

review evaluations are also a part of these tools.

The system uses 16 carefully designed surveys

and questionnaires and produces 23

summaries including reports retrieved directly

from the College computerized system.

Students' surveys are made online to capture

students' evaluations on the College services,

and other instructional techniques.

As shown in figure (1), stakeholders are the

driving force in this model and they are divided

into internal and external groups. “The right

people in the right roles define the

organization’s capacity to perform” (Drucker,

2005). Stakeholders who benefit from the

College purpose statement (students,

community members, legislatures, etc.) are

referred to as external, while stakeholders who

deliver on the Mission (faculty, administrative

staff, etc.) are considered internal. The direct

involvement of these stakeholders with given

assignments to accomplish within the system

ensures that they are accountable and makes

the system more responsive and participative.

The above framework has also been found

capable of assessing different levels of the

institution; institutional level strategic goals,

departmental goals, and program outcomes by

mapping the results of the core indicators

against these goals. This results in a composite

picture of the institution’s effectiveness.

The institutional effectiveness trend over the

period of 2011-2014 can be depicted by figure

(2) as shown below:

Results of Implementation of

the Strategy

Figure (2): KIC Effectiveness Trend (2011-2014)

128

The following figures (3), (4), and (5)

demonstrate the level of achievement for the

academic years 2011-2012, 2012-2013, and

2013-2014 respectively:

Institutional Effectiveness for the Academic

Year 2013-2014

The final result of the annual report shows that

out of 34 core indicators, the College scored (5)

dark green (very effective) indicators, (18) light

green (effective) indicators, (6) amber

indicators (critical which need improvement)

and (5) red (Ineffective) indicators. The KIC

performance during the academic year 2013-

2014 can be graphically demonstrated by figure

(3) as follows:

Figure (3): Institutional Effectiveness for the

Academic Year 2013-2014

Institutional Effectiveness for the Academic

Year 2012-2013

The final result of the report shows that out of 34

core indicators, the College scored (11) dark

green (very effective) indicators, (13) light

green (effective) indicators, (6) amber

indicators (need improvement) and (4) red (not

effective) indicators. The KIC performance

during the academic year 2012-2013 can be

graphically demonstrated by figure (4) as

follows:

Institutional Effectiveness for the Academic

Year 2011-2012

The final result of the report shows that out of 34

core indicators, the College scored (8) dark

green (very effective) indicators, (12) light

green (effective) indicators, (5) amber

indicators (need improvement) and (9) red (not

effective) indicators. The KIC performance

during the academic year 2011-2012 can be

graphically demonstrated by figure (5) as

follows:

Figure (4): Institutional Effectiveness for the the

Academic Year 2010-2011

It is to be noted that all areas that are either

critical or not effective have been addressed

with appropriate root cause analysis and

timeline corrective actions (CARs) to rectify the

non-conformities and improve areas that need

further improvement.

Since the actual implementation of the

institutional effectiveness system at KIC, the

system has helped the College in achieving its

mission with a learning curve of the College

activities as shown in figures (2), (3), (4), and

(5). The following achievements were noted

from the College Annual Reports 2012, 2013,

and 2014:

• The system has helped the College to

identify key indicators of success and

better analyze the College strengths and

weaknesses. This has resulted in

revising the College mission statement

and developing a new strategic plan for

the period of 2014-2019.

Reflections on Lessons

Learnt

Figure (4): Institutional Effectiveness for the

Academic Year 2012-2013

129

• The research activities of the system

have enabled the College to explore

opportunities to offer new academic

programs that are unique and on

demand, locally and regionally. The

College now offers 16 accredited

programs (8 Associate degrees and 6

Bachelor degrees) of various disciplines

compared to only one program before

the implementation of the system.

• The curricula offerings of the current

academic programs have been carefully

reviewed and updated with relevant

topics as part of the program

assessment cycle, which resulted in

academic programs meeting the

requirements of regulatory authorities

and the industry needs.

• Additional core indicators have been

identified and the total number of core

indicators has increased from 23, 31, 32

and 34 in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014

respectively

• Percentage of effective indicators (very

effective and effective) has increased

from 59% in the academic year 2012 to

68% in the academic year 2014.

• It is evident that the percentage of non-

effective indicators has declined from

26% in the academic year 2012 to 15% in

the academic year 2014.

• Institutional Effectiveness culture has

been significantly promoted. The system

assigns responsibilities to the staff,

faculty, and students and holds them

accountable to these responsibilities.

Despite the above achievements, there are still

areas that need to be addressed and which may

constitute new directions for further research to

improve and enhance the system:

• Accommodating changes while working

with the College expansion plans from

one campus into two and from only one

program into 14 programs has made

data analysis more complicated and

requires more time and accuracy in

producing the results. Hence, there is a

crucial need to fully automate the system

• Analysis of the core indicators is not a

trivial task since most core indicators

involve more than one form or report to

arrive to actual performance result,

therefore statistical software, such as

SPSS may be used to generate some of

these statistical results

• As Institutional Research is considered

as a cornerstone of any educational

institution, apart from teaching and other

educa t i ona l se rv i ces , Facu l t y

i n t e l l e c t u a l a n d p r o f e s s i o n a l

development has not been adequately

addressed by the system. Staff

contribution to research activities such

as publications, conferences, workshop,

have been taken into consideration for

faculty overall evaluation but the results

recorded were not satisfactory

• Though several KIC’s performance

indicators are comparable to the ones

collected by associations of colleges in

the United States (AACC); the US

scores on these indicators have served

as benchmarks for KIC. Hence, there is

a vital need to have longitudinal

database for benchmarking across

national and international scores

• Financial aspects have not been

considered in the model. It may be useful

to include a component about financial

resources and study the impact of

financial factor on the basis of balance

scorecard

Al Khawarizmi International College, 2015

"KIC Institutional Effectiveness Model" –

www.kic.ae - UAE.

Cameron, Kim, 1978 Organizational

Effectiveness: its measurement and

predication in Higher Education, Doctoral

dissertation, Department of Administrative

Science, Yale University.

List of Reference

130

Georgoplous, Basil S., and Arnold S.

Tannenbaum, 1957 "The study of

organizational effectiveness", American

Sociological Review, 22:534-540.

International Standard 900, 2008 "Quality

Management systems requirements,"

fourth edition, ISO 9001:2008(E).

Midlands Technical College, 1997 "Managing

Your Institution’s Effectiveness: A User

Guide", Washington, D.C.: The Community

College Press.

Richard Alfred Christopher Shutts, and

Jeffrey Seybert, 2007 "Core Indicators of

Effectiveness for Community Colleges,"

Community College Press, Washington,

D.C.

Steers, Richard M., 1977 "Organizational

Effectiveness: A Behavioral View", Santa

monica, CA: Goodyear.

The commission for Academic Accreditation,

2011 "CAA Standards for Licensure",

section VI: Institutional Effectiveness,

www.caa.ae.

Yuchtman, Ephraim, and Stanley E.

Seachsore, 1967 "A System resource

approach to organizational effectiveness,"

American Sociological Review, 32:

891-903.

131

Organizer

CASE STUDY

SUSTAINABLE ORGANIZATION – BUILDING ON QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM WITH INNOVATIONS AND CONTINUAL

IMPROVEMENTS

DR. SHIRLEY MO-CHING YEUNG,

Quality Assurance Director,

Hang Seng Management College, Hong Kong.

shirleyyeung@hsmc.edu.hk

133

Abstract

This study focuses on triangulating the

worldwide UNESCO sustainability related

documents, the local good practices of HKQAA

CSR Index Report (ISO 26000) and social

responsibility (SR) related activities of the case

institution in Hong Kong to identify the key

elements for a sustainable organization.

Through conducting qualitative analysis using

software N’vivo of the seven sustainability

related documents of UNESCO, it is found that

“innovation” is related to “whole institution,

productive activities, integration of multi-

stakeholders, school curr iculum and

sustainability concepts” while “continual

improvement” is related to “understanding

inter-connection, change, security, and

sustainability”. After comparing the UNESCO

sustainability related guidelines (2004-2014),

HKQAA CSR good practices (2013) and the SR

activities of the case institution (2009-2014), it

is identified that a sustainable organization

shall consist of the following three elements in a

quality assurance system:

1) Management and staff responsibility

with commitment and actions, (e.g.

setting and implementing strategic

goals)

2) Programmes and learning environment

with innovations and engagement, and

(e.g. designing programmes and

campus in response to community and

environmental needs)

3) Global and local partners with

contextualization and linkage (e.g.

connecting UNESCO, UN Global

Compact PRME, HKQAA, HKICPA,

HKGBI, JCI/ OJC for sustainable

relationship)

Continual improvements in management and

teachers, students and programmes, learning

environment and the community are needed for

sustainable development of an organization.

However, there are several areas that need to

be considered in the quality journey of the case

institution. They are: 1) Knowledge co-creation,

2) risk management, 3) cultural diversity and

4) human security for better future. These

findings are of great value for responsible

management and for relevant curriculum for

g e n e r a t i n g e c o n o m i c , s o c i a l a n d

environmental impacts. It is recommended to

have quantitative data from institutions across

countries in similar nature to support the

findings of the above.

Keywords: Quality assurance system,

Cont inual improvement , Innovat ion,

Sustainability, social responsibility

Under an environment of globalization and

technology explosion, re-thinking and re-

visiting the core business of an organization

from the perspectives of quality, innovations,

continual improvements, and ecology can help

an organization become a sustainable one.

Yeung (2011b) mentioned that quality concepts

had spread across many industries and

countries. ISO 9000 is an international quality

management standard which applies to

manufacturing and service industries,

enhancing public confidence and system

quality. She quoted the ideas of Bornman

(2004) about defining “quality” as products

meeting demands for customer satisfaction.

However, he pointed out that no clear

indication was provided on customer in the

higher education institutions. Should customer

be identified as the institution, the student, the

future employer, or the society? It is time to

explore quality from a broader perspective to

identify the key stakeholders and their

expectations of quality for sustainable

development.

Kothari (2006) mentioned that quality included

fulfilling a set of inherent characteristics,

meeting stated or implied needs or

expectations, conforming to specifications,

and moving towards customer satisfaction.

Koslowski (2006) shared a similar rationale of

Kothari (2006) and highl ighted that

management was responsible for establishing

the purpose of an operation, determining

measurable objectives, and taking actions

necessary to accomplish those objectives with

Introduction

134

innovations and breakthroughs on top of quality

control. As a result, it is the responsibility of

management to integrate quality expectations

of key stakeholders into the core processes

with objectives, innovations, continual

improvements for customer satisfaction and

sustainability. Koslowski further said that:

• Quality is defined by customers;

• It can be changed;

• It is not just about inspection, testing,

rework, control; and

• It should emphasize the prevention of

defects.

According to Koslowski (2006), there are three

kinds of quality: product-based, function-

based, and value-based. The first two types of

quality are easy to understand as they can be

interpreted as products fulfilling customers'

requirements and functions of products

meeting customers' expectations respectively.

For value-based quality, the management

needs to identify the kinds of values that

customers treasure most and the methods of

delivering the best value to them. Educators

need to have a shared mission statement with

participation of key stakeholders that they have

identified; and link the mission statement with

the core processes. For example, the

curriculum, the teaching and learning activities,

the assessment methods, the partners of

academics and the industries for meeting

expectations of stakeholders for uniqueness,

for compliance, for recognition, and most

important of all, for accountability to students

for values creation. Hence, the focus of quality

has to be clearly defined, linked to the mission

statement with comprehensive evidence to

demonstrate quality for accountability and

sustainability recognized by international

parties.

In the 80s and 90s, there was a call for quality

and accountability in the higher education

sector. Presently, there is a call for corporate

From Quality to Corporate

Sustainability / Corporate Social

Responsibility (CSR)

sustainability and education for sustainable

development (ESD) in the 21st century.

Engelhard and Sullivan (2011) mentioned that

ecology focused on the relationships between

organisms and their environments with a strong

emphasis on the idea that individuals and

activity systems should be conceptualized from

a contextualized perspective. Applying this

concept into corporate sustainabil ity,

corporations need to consider the external

environments into their operations with quality

expectations of stakeholders within their quality

assurance system to identify the areas of

continual improvements, for example,

improving the inputs of materials and people,

processes of delivery, or outputs of products

and services.

Yeung (2011a) brought up that the phrases of

sus ta inab i l i t y and corpora te soc ia l

responsibi l i ty (CSR) had been used

interchangeably in the past few years.

Organizations of different nature are seeking to

report not only their financial performance but

also non-financial performance for gaining

trust. Demand for social reporting with

accountability and transparency has been on

the rise. Research in the past decade has

uncovered that management of organizations

needs to take care of the expectations of

stakeholders in a community for increasing

their market competitiveness in the 21st

century. In 2009, Wirtenberg uncovered seven

qualities for building a sustainable enterprise,

they were top management support, centrality

to business strategy, values, metrics,

stakeholder engagement, systems alignment,

and organizational integration. From the

findings of Wirtenberg, it was found that system

alignment and organizational integration were

the weakest dimensions of most enterprises.

Hence, it is worthwhile to explore how to

integrate the various aspects of sustainability

and social responsibility related activities of an

organization to fulfill customer expectations for

satisfaction, for value creation, and for

demonstrating commitment to its key

stakeholders that the organization is a

responsible one.

135

Elements affecting the system alignment and

organizational integration include structures,

processes, culture, and issues of environment.

Health and safety in the supply chain are also

the concerns of the public. In fact, a responsible

and sustainable organization needs to have a

system to integrate all the concerned issues of

products or services that are going to be

launched to the public to reduce unnecessary

risks. Wirtenberg (2009) mentioned that

wisdom came from knowledge of converting

data into information. He also mentioned that

metrics for measuring performance were

important for a sustainable organization. In

order to manage people’s behavior

successfully, internally and externally,

management needs to have a system and a

metric of measuring performance. Shani and

Docherty (2003) highlighted that designing a

sustainable learning organization needed to

have a well-rounded planning, making learning

more conscious with a better focused effort and

measurement for accountability. Under

globalization, it is time to learn how to build a

framework for a sustainable organization – a

plan with a sustainable strategy, with

meaningful contextual measurements and

issues related to its stakeholders, products,

and services. As Shani and Docherty (2003)

mentioned that people’s knowledge and skills

and the way they organized were probably an

organizations’ most viable means of

competition. That is to say learning how to plan,

how to integrate, how to align, how to act

responsible to the stakeholders are the key

lessons of sustainability. In this paper, the

authors are interested in identifying the

elements of a framework for a sustainable

higher educational institution in Hong Kong.

According to the definition of Brundtland

Commission (1992) of the United Nations,

“sustainable development is development that

meets the needs of the present without

compromising the ability of future generations

to meet their own needs.” The basic element of

Sustainable Development and

CSR Guidelines - ISO 26000

sustainability is the economic aspect to support

the business in short term. For business

survival and expansion, issues relating to the

customers, suppliers, organizations, and the

community must be considered in strategic

p lann ing , s t ra tegy imp lemen ta t i on ,

performance measurement, and process

review. Environmental considerations in the

core and supporting processes may also

definitely contribute to sustainable business.

Besides, the Corporate Social Responsibility

(CSR) guidelines of ISO 26000 highlight that a

socially responsible organization needs to be

aware of seven dimensions in their operations

of business. They are labor practices,

consumer issues, fair operating practices,

human rights, organizational governance,

community involvement and development, and

the environment. The priority of the seven

dimensions is subject to the strategic planning

of the management and the expectations of

their stakeholders. For example, the

management of a higher educational institution

may need to understand the expectations of

their learners when designing and launching

different kinds of programmes and services,

may need to identify not only their responsibility

but also that of their academic and industry

partners in the supply chain, may need to think

about the environmental issues affecting their

teaching and learning process, their learners

and their teaching/ non-teaching staff

members, and may need to consider ethical

issues in their decision-making process so as to

ba lance the economic , soc ia l and

environmental impacts of sustainability; and

the seven dimensions of CSR.

The ISO Working Group on Socia l

Responsibility (WG SR) has a high level of

consensus in considering the needs of

stakeholders in the guidelines of ISO 26000 for

the benefit of the community. According to

Cajazeira (2008), the major principles for ISO

26000 are accountability, transparency, ethical

behavior, consideration for the stakeholders,

legality, international standards, and human

rights. It is the responsibility of organizations to

consider the needs of the stakeholders in these

136

seven aspects when designing work processes

or executing business and non-business

related activities. In fact, ISO 26000 guidelines

convey a message that non-economic inputs

and soft side of outcomes are the trend of

Quality Management System (QMS).

Building quality into products and services for

continuous improvement has been mentioned

for scholars in Total Quality Management

(TQM) in the past. Today, people explore

integrating CSR and sustainability related

elements into organizational strategy for

sustainable business.

Deep (2007) mentioned that there was a

growing number proponents of the

‘stakeholder’ or ‘social responsibility’ model of

corporate governance holding that business

was accountable to a broader populace who

had a direct or indirect stake in the enterprise’s

activities. Although there is a lack of

comprehensive evidence that CSR and

sustainability lead to improving financial

performance, awareness to environmental and

social concerns from different stakeholders is

needed for the progress of organizations.

Idowu and Towler (2004 quoted in Yeung 2011)

brought up the importance of “care” of

organizations to the people and environment

that they operate in. They mentioned that

corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports

were required in addition to traditional financial

reports. They claimed organizations should

make positive contribution to the society. This is

the way to demonstrate that they do care

people and environment in their operating

environment. Hence, different kinds of social

reporting systems emerge under this idea.

Examples are Global Reporting Initiative (GRI),

Environment Social Governance (ESG) and

AA1000 (Accountability Principles Standard).

In the past ten years, a series of CSR-related

awards are founded in Hong Kong. “Caring

Company” and “Total Caring Award” of Hong

Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS) are

successful ones. The scheme started in 2002

Trend of Integrating CSR into Quality

Management (QM)

and in 2008, it added one more criteria - “Caring

to Environment” on top of “Caring to

Community” and “Caring to Employees” to

reflect the expectation of the society. More than

that, another started gaining public concern –

HKQAA CSR Index held by Hong Kong Quality

Assurance Agency (HKQAA). This is the first

structured and quantified CSR Index that is

backed up by ISO 26000 Guidelines of CSR to

measure organizations’ maturity level of social

responsibility practices in Hong Kong. From

understanding the seven dimensions of ISO

26000, the following characteristics of quality

management have been observed in a variety

of industries across the West and the East:

• Consideration of all stakeholders,

especially employees, consumers and

community in business practices;

• Recognition of organizations’ visions and

practices;

• Establishment of quality culture and

transparency; and

• Acceptance of benchmarking for continual

improvement.

Though quality management standards are

commonly used in manufacturing and servicing

industries, they are not being practiced strongly

in the higher educational sector. This paper is

going to focus mainly on exploring the relevant

evidence within a quality assurance

mechanism of a higher educational institution

for demonstrating quality – innovations and

continual improvement for sustainable

development.

Traditionally, the scope of higher educational

institutions includes teaching and learning;

program registration and student services; and

other related services, for example, internship

and exchange. Under globalization and

technological explosion, there is an increasing

number of higher educational institutions trying

Role of Higher Educational

Institution in Sustainability /

Corporate Social Responsibility

(CSR)

to innovate with proactive services, for

example, running mass on-line distance

learning programmes and services, offering

overseas internship and employment

opportunities, focusing on environmental

campus design, and engaging students in

hostel life. No matter what kinds of countries,

what kinds of culture, and what kinds of

programs and services, managements of

higher educational institutions need to realize

the growing importance of sustainability and

social responsibility; and the ways to respond

to the changing business environment and the

community that they are serving.

Fisher (2010) mentioned that corporate

sustainability / social responsibility global

initiative was much more than a fad. Corporate

sustainability is the 21st century leadership’s

competitive edge for the future. By operating in

better and more efficient manner, organizations

can increase sales, reduce operating costs,

and enhance their brand reputations and

market value. To cope with the trend of

globalization, corporate leaders may want to

consider applying a corporate sustainability /

social responsibility plan by addressing their

‘triple bottom line,’ which includes paying close

attention to their economic (financial factors),

environmental (risk/ requirement factors), and

social (human factors) issues. The use of the

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Index is the

generally the accepted framework for reporting

an organization’s economic, environmental,

and social performance. It is designed for use

by organizations of any size, sector, or location

in general and sector-specific content that has

been agreed upon by a wide range of

stakeholders worldwide.” (Fisher, 2010, p. 29)

From the study of Fisher (2010), it was clear

that corporate sustainability / social

responsibility was a hot issue for the survival of

organizations and their future generations of

employees. Fisher (2010) also emphasized

that inter-connected networks at global scale

were utmost important.

All in all, sustainability and CSR are needed to

be integrated into the strategic plan of a higher

educational institution – from understanding

137

the elements in sustainability (CSR), in quality,

in innovations and in continual improvements,

for example, analyzing the innovations in

programmes and services offered, to

establishing CSR-driven organizational culture

for sustainability. So, what are the good

practices for sustainability (CSR) in the higher

educational sector? What are the relevant

documents / guidelines used to accumulate

evidence for the good practices? This paper

targets to answer the following two questions:

1) What are the elements identified for

innovations and continual improvements from

the sustainability-related reports of UNESCO

(2004 to 2014) in the higher educational

sector? 2) What are the key elements for a

framework of sustainable organization?

Sharda et al. (2013) mentioned that analyzing

data could be used to understand customers/

clients and business operations to sustain

growth and profitability for enterprises. In fact,

data can be found in various forms and

fashions. Using timely data can help interpret

current phenomenon for decision making. They

further pointed out the following ways for data

mining for the benefits in business

sustainability (Sharda et al. 2013, p. 155-156):

1) Association – finding commonly co-

occurring grouping of things for market

analysis;

2) Predictions – identifying the future

occurrence of certain events based on

what has happened in the past;

3) Cluster Information – seeking the nature

of groups of things based on their known

characteristics; and

4) Sequential Relationship - discovering

time-ordered events.

Data can be verbal and non-verbal messages.

It represents the ideas of people. If data can be

co-ordinated, integrated, controlled in a

meaningful way, the behavior of people or an

organization can be understood, predicted, and

controlled. With the use of content analysis and

related qualitative software, for example,

Analysis Method

138

N’vivo, data can be analyzed and interpreted

meaningfully and comprehensively. Content

analysis can be regarded as a tool for

understanding people’s thinking and beliefs, to

uncover the methods of persuading people to

accept ideas, to differentiate practices among

certain groups of people and to see the trend of

certain practices. Textual messages are the

data that content analysis works with and from

which concepts for further analysis are derived.

Content analysis is a systematic and objective

analysis of selected text characteristics. It

involves counting the number of words and the

frequency of different types of words; finding

out the characteristics of themes, building

relationships among items, paragraphs, and

finally establishing meaningful concepts. It is

not simply a quantitative research method but

also a qualitative one since the purpose of the

writing is also understood through the analysis.

The advantages of content analysis are:

• No people are involved;

• No experiments are required; and

• Texts from the recent past can reflect

social phenomena.

However, content analysis also has limitations.

There may be issues relating to the availability

of texts and the interpretations may be

subjective. In order to guard against undue

subjectivity, researchers should follow the

advice of Babbie (2001):

• Trace the person or authority composing

the documents;

• Think about the reasons behind the

existence of the documents;

• Find out the ways of acquiring the

information contained in the documents;

• Investigate the magnitude of biases in the

documents;

• Identify the main concepts used by the

writer; and

• Internalize the concepts that the

documents have demonstrated.

In the present research, the key evidence of

innovations and continual improvements within

the quality assurance mechanism of the case

institution in Hong Kong will be identified. When

undertaking content analysis, the authors have

been aware of the sampling pattern and the

levels of units, that is, the key dimensions and

elements in reporting sustainability (CSR)

related activities in the curriculum, in teaching

and learning activities and in campus design of

the case institution in Hong Kong. The

documents were taken from the website of

UNESCO (sustainability related documents),

the local good practices of HKQAA CSR Index

Report (ISO 26000), and the sustainability

(CSR) activities of the case institution for

systematic analysis and for finding out the key

elements in the framework of sustainability.

When undertaking content analysis for the

present research, there were two research

questions:

1) What are the elements identified for

i n n o v a t i o n s a n d c o n t i n u a l

improvements from the sustainability-

related reports of UNESCO (2004 to

2014) in the higher educational sector?

2) What is the evidence for a framework of

sus ta inab le o rgan iza t ion a f te r

comparing the sustainability-related

reports of UNESCO, HKQAA CSR Index

report and social responsibility activities

of the case institution?

Research Question 1

After conducting content analysis of the seven

selected sustainable development related

documents of UNESCO in the past 10 years, it

is found that the following two documents

consisted of the highest percentages of

references related to “continual improvements”

and “innovations” with 424 and 194 in the first

document and 476 and 312 in the second

document respectively.

• 2004 Planetary Sustainability in Age of

Info Working Towards 2015; and

• Shaping Future for Tomorrow UNESCO

ESD 2012

Findings

139

Besides, the text search results of using N’vivo

on “innovations” and “continual improvements”

from the seven sustainability related

documents of UNESCO (2004-2014) show that

“innovation” is related to “whole institution,

productive activities, integration of multi-

stakeholders, school curr iculum and

sustainability concepts” while “continual

improvement” is related to “understanding

inter-connection, change, security, and

sustainability”.

Research Question 2

Based on the findings of Table 2 on comparing

UNESCO Sustainability-related Documents

(2004-2014), Good Practices of HKQAA CSR

Index (2013) and social responsibility activities

of the case institution (2009-2014), the key

elements for a sustainable institution are:

1) Community involvement with different

global and local stakeholders e.g.

UNESCO, UN Global Compact PRME,

HKQAA, HKICPA, HKGBI, JCI/ OJC to

build sustainable relationship, to

connect activities, to strengthen social

and ethical values, and to advance

people at whole institutional level to

match the strategic goal of:

“To develop and offer innovative

academic programmes which respond

to changing community needs” through

responsible management and staff with

commitment and actions, setting and

implementing strategic goals”

2) Student / Program improvements and

innovations with fair operations and

good pract ices to share CSR

experiences to match the strategic goals

of:

“To provide a holistic and challenging

educational experience for students;

“To develop strategic partnerships with

industries and businesses; and

“To cultivate students’ global perspective

through internationalization.

3) Environmental activities with scheme

certification to engage students, staff

and the whole institution to develop

awareness of green practices in the

learning environment to match the

strategic goal o:

“To afford a modern and stimulating

campus environment to facilitate and

support teaching and learning

activities”

However, there are several areas that need to

be considered for advancing the case

institution. They are 1) knowledge co-creation,

2) risk management, 3) cultural diversity, and

4) human security for better future. In fact, “Fish-

Bone Diagram” (Figure 1), a quality tool in six-

sigma, can help summarize the key findings to

build a framework of sustainable organization

through identifying the possible causes affecting

results with breaking them into smaller areas for

analysis and for improvement.

Figure 1: Ishikawa Diagram for a Sustainable Institution

A Sustainable Institution

• Identify global and local documents /

guidelines for reference

• Set relevant and meaningful

strategic goals

• Accumulate measurable evidence

related to sustainability/ CSR

• Influence stakeholders with impacts

of sustainability / CSR for quality

People – Management, Staff, and Students

Commitment Responsibility

Strategic Goals Measurable Actions

Innovative Programmes with Diversified Global/ Local Partners

Engaging Learning Environment

Environment Campus and Partnership

140

Conclusion

Based on the above quantitative analysis on

key words search and qualitative analysis on

the contents in UNESCO Sustainability-related

documents (2004-2014), good practices of

HKQAA CSR Index (2013) and social

responsibility activities of the case institution

(2009-2014) in Hong Kong, the understanding

of sustainable development in higher education

seems to be more evident. It has been explicit

that a sustainable higher educational institution

is recommended to follow Figure 1 to engage

internal and external people, including

management, staff, students, academic and

industry partners, at the program level, the

learning environmental level and the whole

institutional level to :

1) Establish a systematic and strategic

mindset of integrating sustainability and

corporate social responsibility into

quality assurance system for quality

enhancement;

2) Identify issues related to the community,

the students, the programmes, the

operations with innovations and

continual improvements; with a

responsive, caring and ethical mindset;

3) Manage people, programmes, and the

environment with good practices to

reduce waste and risks, but to enhance

relevancy and sustainability; and

4) Disclose sustainability and CSR related

activities to the public for transferring

knowledge for a better world with

harmony.

All in all, the management of a sustainable

educational institution shall link up all the

related dots from different perspectives for

sustainability, linking up the concepts of

sustainability and CSR from global standards,

local guidelines, and good practices with

strategic goals and evidence for quality. On top

of integrating sustainability into quality

assurance system, there is a need to embed

organizational social and environmental

performance for community into financial

reporting. It is recommended for higher

educational institutions to fully implement the of

definition of Brundtland Commission (1992) of

the United Nations, “sustainable development

is development that meets the needs of the

present without compromising the ability of

future generations to meet their own needs”

though re-thinking the purpose of education, re-

visiting existing curriculum, re-structuring a

greener learning environment and developing

students’ attributes with sustainable skills for

meeting future challenges.

Table 1.0: Frequency Count of UNESCO Sustainability-Related Documents (2004-2014)

Frequency Count and Quotation on Keywords

“Innovation” and “Continual Improvement”

Seven UNESCO Sustainability-Related Documents

(2004-2014)

Frequency Count and Quotation on Keywords

“Innovation” and “Continual Improvement”

Seven UNESCO Sustainability-Related Documents

(2004-2014)

Keyword Search “Continual Improvement”

2004 Planetary Sustainability in Age of Info Working

Towards 2015

(424 references / 0.24%)

2009 ESD for Mill Goals (5 references/ 0.14%)

2009 ESD National SD Strategy

(9 references/ 0.43%)

2009 ESD Policy

(4 references/ 0.15%)

Shaping Future for Tomorrow UNESCO ESD 2012

(194 references/ 0.25 %)

SD Goals 2013

(25 references/ 0.19 %) ESD Road Map 2014

(51 references / 0.2%)

Key Documents: 2004 Planetary Sustainability in

Age of Info Working Towards 2015

Shaping Future for Tomorrow UNESCO ESD 2012

Keyword Search “Innovation”

2004 Planetary Sustainability in Age of Info Working

Towards 2015

(476 references / 0.35%)

2009 ESD for Mill Goals

(1 reference/ 0.03%)

2009 ESD National SD Strategy

(4 references/ 0.18%)

2009 ESD Policy

(6 references/ 0.25%)

Shaping Future for Tomorrow UNESCO ESD 2012

(312 references/ 0.49 %)

SD Goals 2013

(35 references/ 0.33 %)

ESD Road Map 2014

(77 references / 0.67%)

Key Documents: 2004 Planetary Sustainability in

Age of Info Working Towards 2015

Shaping Future for Tomorrow UNESCO ESD 2012

141

Table 2: Comparison among UNESCO Sustainability-Related Documents (2004-2014), Good Practices of HKQAA CSR Index (2013) and Social Responsibility Activities of Case Institution (2009-2014) for a Sustainable Organization

Frequency Count and References on

Keywords “Innovation” and “Continual

Improvement”

Seven UNESCO Sustainability-related

Documents (2004-2014)

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023

/002305/230514e.pdf

http://www.unesco.org/education/justpu

blished_desd2009.pdf

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0017

/001791/179120e.pdf

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021

/002164/216472e.pdf

HKQAA CSR Index ISO 26000

Guidelines with

Good Practices of 26 Participants in

HKQAA CSR 2013 Report

http://hkqaatest.com/cmsimg/CSR%

20Index/HKQAA%20CSR%20Index%

202013%20v2.pdf

HKQAA CSR Index ISO 26000

Guidelines with

Good Practices of 26 Participants in

HKQAA CSR 2013 Report

http://hkqaatest.com/cmsimg/CSR%

20Index/HKQAA%20CSR%20Index%

202013%20v2.pdf

Continued...

Table 2: Continued...

Keyword Search “Continual

Improvement”

Sample References

Indicators oriented toward following

up on sustainability, context,

responses of understanding the

connections among things, and

relating ideas certainty and security

toward a better future, a

sustainable world and economic,

political and social transcendence

continue to occur, deepening the

concerns forces to take over, to

continue leading changes, with the

capacity the world vision, the

harmonious advancement of all

peoples on Earth mechanisms

perfected, but must always

continue helping seek the

international understanding political

and cultural inspiration will continue

to have an influence, the world is

increasingly inter-connected and

inter-dependent and that strong

public domain for information;

preservation and promotion of

cultural diversity society, and on

their close, continual relationships

with the rest of all technologies

oriented toward human connectivity

television, radio, press, Internet to

actions to be taken, having

additional signals that will facilitate

understanding

Keyword Search “Innovations”

safeguarding of human life will

remain the top priority at all social

and ethical attitudes, and

innovative responses aimed at

fostering sustainable development

cooperation frameworks. Whole-

institution support productive

activities, decent , job creation,

entrepreneurship, creativity and

innovation, and

Other significant UN initiatives and

reports recognizing the continued

Community Involvement

“Philanthropy was the

common approach towards

community development.

Some participating

organisations showed their

commitment to support

community development by

organizing donation and

fund-raising activities for

vulnerable groups.”

2009-2014

The 1st and the only one self-financed tertiary

institution awarded HKQAA CSR Award in HK

participated the CSR Award (using ISO 26000

for 7 dimensions of corporate governance/

human right issues/ staff issues/ consumer

issues/fair operations/ environmental issues/

community development) of HKQAA and

obtained a full score of “5” in 2013 and

System Level (External Party)

Strategic Goal of Case Institution –

To develop and offer innovative academic

programmes which respond to changing

community needs.

- Comments from ISO certification body on

reliance internal quality system management

audit

Program Level (External Party)

- Comments from ISO certification body on

well planned, implemented, reviewed from

different perspectives with different

stakeholders

- Promote the culture of adopting rubrics in

assessments

Student Level (External Party)

- Positive evaluation from students for the

overall performance of the College , teaching

performance, program quality

Industry Level (External party)

Program accredited from industry e.g. BBA

program recognition

2013-2014

- Launched elective of CSR to BBA-Supply

Chain Management Year 4 students

- Worked with overseas higher institutions on

delivering lectures involved with Green/

Sustainability/ CSR

2014

- The 1st self-financed tertiary institution in

UN PRME signatory institution list

- Become a signatory institution of UN Global

Impact PRME to implement the 6 Principles of

Responsible Management in Higher Education

(Purpose/ Value/ Method/ Research/

partnership/ Dialogue)

- Became a “Caring Organization” of HK

Council of Social Service

2014-2015

- “President’s Dialogues with Distinguished

Leaders”

Motivating and inspiring teenagers for

building positive thinking

http://www.hsmc.edu.hk/index.php/media1

/thang

142

Continued...

Keyword Search “Innovation”

Sample References

with relevant and coherent

policies designed by ministries,

coming together and

Organizations (NGOs),

associations, unions, and

foundations, also have an

important role

build capacities. Showcasing

Good Practice, Innovative and

effective initiatives, practices,

approaches

teaching and learning and

requires innovative, participatory

teaching and learning methods

social and ethical attitudes, and

innovative responses aimed at

fostering sustainable

development cooperation

frameworks. Whole-institution

support productive activities,

decent , job creation,

entrepreneurship, creativity and

innovation, and

Other significant UN initiatives

and reports recognizing the

continued

the ‘whole system’; - processes

which innovate curriculum as well

as teaching objective ‘the

integration of the concept in the

school curriculum and

autonomous thinking and

knowledge co-creation may

emerge. The increased realization

and egg situation – sometimes

sustainability initiatives start

because they are addressing

learning and multi-stakeholder

interactions found in the previous

chapters, but sensorimotor skills

through play, the creation of good

social skills by refers to

educational programmes normally

designed on a unit or project

and risk management must be

designed as inclusive elements in

their education and other subjects

by introducing SD concepts

through pictures and power of

sustainability, knowledge co-

creation and a reconfiguration of

university development

cooperation frameworks. Whole-

institution support productive

activities, decent , job creation,

entrepreneurship, creativity and

innovation, and

Consumer Issues

“more conscious of taking the

consideration of potential impacts of the

services and/or products to consumer

health, the society and the environment

throughout their life cycle into the

development of services and products.

Among the participating organisations, ISO

9001 certified quality management system

was commonly adopted in order to

establish mature customer service

management systems..”

Community Involvement

“philanthropy was the common approach

towards community development. Some

participating organisations showed their

commitment to support community

development by organizing donation and

fund-raising activities for vulnerable

groups.”

Fair Operating Practices

“participating organisations have developed

programmes in relation to corruption

prevention and property rights protection.

There were more practices to incorporate

social, ethical and environmental criteria

into the purchasing, contracting and

distributing policies..” focusing on self-

improvement, some of them also took the

lead to develop a platform among the

peers to share their CSR experiences and

engage their business partners to reinforce

the awareness of economic, health, safety

and equal opportunity. In view of the

sustainability of the industry and

community, supply chain and stakeholder

management plays a key role in driving

improvement. For example, some of them

held the first industry sustainable

development symposium in order to share

the idea of corporate social responsibility

and gather thoughts and

opinions from their industry sectors.”

Environmental Issues

“..aware of the environmental issues and

the environment became a common

element in organizations’ corporate policy

and strategies. Many of the participating

organisations are implementing

programmes to promote the environmental

caring culture to vendors, sub-contractors

and employees. Environmental awareness

programmes, as well as waste

minimization programmes, were

implemented in most of the participating

organizations.”

2007 – 2014

The only one self-financed tertiary

educational institution in HK obtained

ISO 9001: 2008 Quality Management

System (QMS) certificate with positive

comments on holistic system

performance, internal quality audit and

student-focused program design,

management and development for

satisfaction and continual

improvement.

Community Level (External Party)

2009-Present

Strategic Goal of Case Institution –

To provide a holistic and challenging

educational experience for students.

To develop strategic partnerships with

industries and businesses.

To cultivate students’ global

perspective through

internationalization.

Worked with Junior Chamber

International (JCI)/ Ocean Junior

Chamber (JCI) for developing system

thinking, quality management system

thinking, CSR mindset and

entrepreneurship spirit through various

local/ regional activities with industries

and students of secondary schools

and higher educational institutes.

Good practices of publishing a book of

entrepreneurship by undergraduate

students of different programmes have

been shared with UNESCO-APEID

and local library

2014

Strategic Goals of Case Institution –

To afford a modern and stimulating

campus environment to facilitate and

support teaching and learning

activities.

System Level (Internal Party)

-Evaluation on the quality of academic

programmes and student services

separately

- Graduation requirements (e.g.

community services hours and

language requirements on English and

Putonghua) to enhance student quality

- Maintain a certain number of staff

development seminars per year to

ensure teaching quality

143

Continued...

Table 2: Continued...

Other significant UN initiatives

and reports recognizing the

continued

the ‘whole system’; - processes

which innovate curriculum as well

as teaching objective ‘the

integration of the concept in the

school curriculum and

autonomous thinking and

knowledge co-creation may

emerge. The increased realization

and egg situation – sometimes

sustainability initiatives start

because they are addressing

learning and multi-stakeholder

interactions found in the previous

chapters, but sensorimotor skills

through play, the creation of good

social skills by refers to

educational programmes normally

designed on a unit or project and

risk management must be

designed as inclusive elements in

their education and other subjects

by introducing SD concepts

through pictures and power of

sustainability, knowledge co-

creation and a reconfiguration of

university

Communication Level (Internal Party)

- Email system was upgraded.

- Thunderbird and iPhone set-up was

available.

- Establishment of on-line registration

system was underway.

- Module selection and timetabling

system improved phase by phase for

the benefit of students

2014

The 1st self-financed tertiary institution

obtained Green Building Award from

HK Green Building Council

http://www.gba.org.hk/Announcementof

Awards.aspx

https://www.hkgbc.org.hk/ebook/HKGB

C_HKGBA2014/#76

https://www.hkgbc.org.hk/ebook/HKGB

C_HKGBA2014/#78

“.environmental responsive institution.

The College organizes regular

activities to propagate the

sustainability concept.”

“Extensive use of greenery was given

after throughout assessment to

improve the ecological value.”

“Environmental friendly resources are

widely implemented in the building

design.”

“Building materials were selected with

the intended use of regionally

manufactured materials, rapidly

renewable materials (Bamboo) and re-

useable materials.”

“Beam Plus” assessment scheme

includes six aspects of a project:

Site aspect, materials aspect, energy

use, water use, indoor environment

quality and innovations and additions

2015 - July

Organize Sustainability Week with

UNESCO, APEID as co-organizer for

the First Forum on Sustainable

Development in Higher Education with

participation from academics,

industries, teachers, and students .

The 3 components are:

- 1st Bamboo Symposium

- 1st Forum on Sustainability

Development in Higher Education

- 2nd International Conference on

Supply chain for Sustainability

144

Continued...

Table 2: Continued...

Table 2: Continued...

Lesson Learnt:

- Integrate global guidelines

into college-wide quality

assurance system

- Be flexible in interpreting the

meaning of “Innovation”

“whole institution, productive

activities, integration of

multi-stakeholders, school

curriculum and sustainability

concepts”

- Execute actions in different

perspectives of “Continual

I m p r o v e m e n t “ -

“ u n d e r s t a n d i n g i n t e r -

c o n n e c t i o n , c h a n g e ,

security, and sustainability”

Lesson Learnt:

- Implement international and local

standards

- Integrate CSR into organizational

policy for respecting the rights of

students, the community and

m a i n t a i n i n g g r e e n l e a r n i n g

env i ronment and fa i rness in

operations through engaging partners

for accountability, for transparency,

and for corporate sustainability

Lesson Learnt:

- On-going re-visit the needs of

direct and indirect stakeholders

holistically from a system point of

view for economic, social and

environmental impacts

- Exploring ways of:

1) Knowledge co-creation,

2) Risk management,

3) Cultural diversity, and

4) Human security for better

future.

145

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146

Organizer

CASE STUDY

ALIGNING MBBS PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES TO QFEMIRATES – OUR EXPERIENCE USING A 7-STEP APPROACH

MANDA VENKATRAMANA,

Dean, College of Medicine & Clinical Professor of Surgery, GMU

ISHTIYAQ AHMED SHAAFIE,

Phase I Coordinator & Professor & Head, Department of Biochemistry, GMU

JOYCE JOSE, Phase II Coordinator & Professor, Department of Pathology, GMU

PANKAJ LAMBA,

Phase III Coordinator & Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, GMC Hospital

GOMATHI.K.G,

Program Director, BBMS Program & Professor, Department of Biochemistry, GMU

RIZWANA B.SHAIK,

Associate Dean, Assessment & Evaluation, and Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, GMU

Presenting author: PROFESSOR MANDA VENKATRAMANA,

deangmc@gmu.ac.ae; mandavenkat@gmail.com

0507278379

148

Keywords: Gulf Medical University, MBBS program, Program Learning Outcomes QFEmirates,

Alignment matrix, Autonomy and Responsibility, Role in Context, Self-development, Pedagogical

strategies, Assessment strategies

A Background of the Institution

where the Case Study Took

Place

The Gulf Medical University is a private

university that came into existence on 1st July

2008 with the issue of a Decree by His

Excellency Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al

Nahyan, the Minister of Higher Education and

Scientific Research.

The Gulf Medical University has evolved from

the Gulf Medical College, which came into

existence by Decree No. 1, dated 28 January,

1998 issued by His Highness Sheikh Humaid

Bin Rashid Al-Nuaimi, Ruler of Ajman and

Member of the Supreme Council, U.A.E. It is

registered as a limited liability company with the

Ajman Municipality, Ajman and the Chamber of

Commerce of the Federal Government of UAE.

Gulf Medical College was the first private

medical college in the United Arab Emirates to

accept students of both genders and from

different nationalities into its medical and

physiotherapy programs. Both the programs

have received their Initial Accreditation from the

MOHESR and are listed in the directories of

WHO, EMRO and IMED under the auspices of

FAIMER.

The Gulf Medical University has 5 major

academic units: the College of Medicine (CoM),

College of Pharmacy (CoP), College of

Dentistry (CoD), College of Allied Health

Sciences (CoAHS) and the College of

Graduate Studies (CoGS).

GMU currently offers 8 degree programs run by

these 5 constituent colleges; College of

Medicine offers the Bachelor of Medicine and

Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and the Bachelor

of Biomedical Sciences (BBMS) programs,

College of Dentistry offers the DMD program,

College of Pharmacy offers the Pharm D

Objective

Material and Methods

Conclusion

College of Medicine has implemented the

organ-system based integrated curriculum

since 2008 and undertook the task of realigning

the existing Student Learning Outcomes of the

integrated MBBS program with the Qualifica-

tion Framework Emirates (QFEmirates) as a

requirement for Commission for Academic

Accreditation.

An ad hoc ‘Working Group’ was constituted

from among the senior faculty of the College

under the chairmanship of the Dean to

undertake this exercise using a 7-step

approach. It included deciding the level

descriptor appropriate to the program,

categorizing the existing 40 objectives into the

5 strands of QF Emirates (Knowledge, Skill and

Competence which includes Autonomy and

Responsibility, Role in Context and Self-

development), deriving a limited number of

‘summary statements,’ deriving the rephrased

‘Program Learning Outcomes’ from the

summary statements, preparing a matrix

aligning the Program Learning Outcomes

across the appropriate level descriptor with the

5 strands, listing the pedagogical strategies to

enable learners to achieve the stated outcomes

and lastly listing the assessment modalities to

demonstrate achievement of the stated

learning outcomes by the learners.

The working group was able to derive 7

measurable program learning outcomes for the

integrated MBBS program and align it to Level

7 (Bachelor degree) of the QFEmirates using a

7-step approach.

program, College of Allied Health Sciences

offers BPT program, and College of Graduate

Studies offers one Diploma (in Toxicology) and

3 Master programs in Clinical Pathology,

Toxicology and Public Health. The Center for

Continuous Education and Community

Outreach offers non-degree courses. In

addition, 3 programs have received initial

accreditation and are yet to be implemented.

These include the Associate Degree in

Preclinical Sciences (ADPCS) program,

Masters in Human Reproductive Biology and

Masters in Physical Therapy (MPT) programs.

The former 2 programs were planned and

developed by College of Medicine and the latter

by the College of Allied Health Sciences.

GMU currently has only one campus with its

attached GMC Group of Hospitals located in

Ajman, Sharjah, Fujairah, and the recently

launched Thumbay Hospital, Dubai being the

clinical training sites available for the MBBS,

Physiotherapy, Dental, Pharmacy, and

graduate students. Contractual agreements

help joint faculty committees to coordinate the

operation of the clinical training in the different

programs conducted at these sites.

The state of the art Center for Advanced

Simulation in Healthcare (CASH), Center for

Advanced Biomedical Research and

Innovation (CABRI) and the Testing Center

located within the university campus support

teaching / learning and assessment.

The MBBS program at College of Medicine,

GMU is a modular, organ system-based

integrated curriculum divided into three

phases. The program spans a total of 5 years

followed by internship of one year duration. The

curriculum comprises an appropriate sequence

and mix of courses, providing for continued

growth in clinical medicine and increasing

expectation of knowledge, skill and clinical

exposure. The program learning outcomes are

aligned to the UAE National Qualifications

Framework at Level 7.

PHASE I also called the Introductory Medical

Sciences constitutes the 1st Year MBBS.

The MBBS Program

149

Seven courses integrated on the basis of

themes constitute PHASE I, a prerequisite for

the organ system-based courses in PHASE II. A

qualifying examination is conducted at the end

of PHASE I.

PHASE II spans the 2nd and 3rd Year MBBS.

Ten courses are integrated on the basis of the

organ systems in PHASE II. A Problem Based

Learning (PBL) week is embedded within each

of the courses. Clinical teaching is introduced in

this phase as the Basic Clinical Skills course

which runs parallel to the organ-system

courses. Skills relevant to each system are

introduced in the respective courses and are

practiced in the safe environment of the

Simulation Laboratory together with real-life

doctor-patient encounters in hospital settings

as clinical block postings. A qualifying

examination is held at the end of Phase II.

Phase III spans the next two years of 4th and

5th Year MBBS. It has a Multisystem Course

dealing with themes and topics that cut across

multiple organ-systems and disciplines running

parallel to the clinical clerkship rotations in

Surgery and Medicine and their allied

disciplines, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and

G y n e c o l o g y, O p h t h a l m o l o g y, a n d

Otorhinolaryngology. The theoret ical

component of teaching in the clinical phase is

sequenced on the basis of organ systems. A

qualifying examination is held at the end of

PHASE III.

Internship starts upon successful completion

of 5 years of academic program and passing

the Phase III professional examination. The

one-year compulsory resident rotating

internship (CRRI) provides the graduates on-

the-job training under close supervision in the

major clinical subjects. It also serves to provide

opportunities to attain appropriate higher skill

levels as students have completed the didactic

requirements of the course and are now given

opportunities to further improve their skills and

master them before they enter independent

practice. The internship experience also gives

an insight into the practice of the chosen

profession and is in itself a strong motivating

factor for the learner to continue and pursue

The Context of the Case

Study; the Problem that

Prompted the Initiative and

the Reason the Initiative was

Undertaken with Possible

Examples

UAE has revamped higher education in the

country in many ways. The Commission for

Academic Accreditation (CAA) and the recently

established National Qualification Framework

(Qualification Framework Emirates or

QFEmirates) are setting criteria and standards

for bringing uniformity of learning outcomes in

education at all levels. These will serve as

guiding principles to address the country’s

health needs and embed education and

training in the health system.

The CAA has mandated all institutions /

universities in the country to undertake the

alignment exercises. It made it mandatory for

even the existing programs to relook at their

program outcomes and submit evidence of

alignment with QFEmirates on or before the

next CAA program accreditation review or not

later than December 2015, whichever is earlier.

It is worth mentioning that the College of

Medicine, GMU was one among the first in the

country to undertake the exercise of alignment

of the program learning outcomes to the

QFEmirates successfully. This was done during

development of its new programs as part of the

GMU Vision 2020 Strategic Plan. The

alignment exercise was done for the initially

accredited Masters in Human Reproductive

Biology Program with QFEmirates in 2012. It

was quoted as an example in the presentation

by the CAA on QFEmirates to orient the various

institutions / universities to the alignment

process.

College of Medicine has developed a variety of

programs at every level of the QF Emirates

ranging from Certificate courses at Level 4

through Associate Degree at Level 5, Higher

150

Diploma at Level 6, Bachelor’s at Level 7, PG

Diploma at Level 8 to Master’s degree at Level

9 in the last 5 years and has gained

considerable insights into the alignment

process. The difference between the current

and previous endeavors is that all previous

exercises on preparing the alignment matrix

were for new programs whereas the current

one is for a running program.

Towards this end, the College of Medicine,

GMU constituted a ‘QFEmirates Ad-hoc

Working Group’ to undertake the alignment

process. The Working Group deliberated on

the current program objectives of the

integrated MBBS curriculum as stated in the

Students Handbook for 3 days in June 2013. All

members attended all the meetings and

actively contributed to the proceedings.

Upon critical review of the current objectives of

the program, the general consensus among all

the Working Group members was as follows:

• Current statements are titled as

‘objectives’ and not as ‘outcomes’

• They are listed under the 3 strands

‘Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes’ and not

under the required 5 strands of

‘Knowledge, Skill, Autonomy and

Responsibility, Role in Context and Self-

Development’ as required by the

QFEmirates

• Currently, the number of objectives is 40

and another 6 separately for internship.

These are far too many

• Some of the statements were narrow.

These would be more appropriate as

objectives of a phase / course / clerkship

rotation

• There were repetitions in some areas.

These could be avoided through

combining selected statements

• It was possible to consolidate simple

statements into more comprehensive

ones to fit into the 5 strands of

QFEmirates

151

The Goals and Outcomes

Intended to be Achieved by the

Institutions

The Actual Implementation

Strategy

The overall goal was to realign the existing

Program Learning Objectives of the integrated

MBBS curriculum with Qualification Framework

Emirates (QF-Emirates) to fulf i l l the

requirements of the Commission for Academic

Accreditation, Ministry of Higher Education and

Scientific Research, UAE.

The objectives intended to be achieved were:

1. To rephrase the existing learning

outcome statements appropriately and

reframe to ‘fit’ into the 5 strands of

QFEmirates (Knowledge, Ski l l ,

Autonomy and Responsibility, Role in

Context and Self-Development)

2. To align the Learning Outcomes of the

MBBS program WITH the appropriate

Level of Qualification and ACROSS the

appropriate level descriptor with each

strand of QFEmirates Framework

3. To prepare a matrix matching the revised

Intended Program Learning Outcomes

with the QFEmirates Outcomes as per

template provided by CAA

4. To prepare a Pedagogical Strategies

Toolbox to demonstrate the range of

learning and teaching practices

provided in the current MBBS curriculum

to facilitate development of the

knowledge, skills and competencies

required by the learner

5. To prepare an Assessment Strategies

Toolbox containing the range of

assessment methods used in the current

MBBS program to demonstrate

achievement of the intended program

learning outcomes by the learners

A ‘QFEmirates Ad-hoc Working Group’ was

constituted under the chairmanship of the

Dean, College of Medicine and Program

Director of the MBBS program with the

objective of realignment of the existing

Program Learning Outcomes of the MBBS

integrated curriculum with Qualification

Framework Emirates. It constituted senior

faculty members and a medical education

expert. The credentials of the ‘Working Group’

are as follows:

The Chairman and all members:

• Have a long association with the College

• Were involved in the planning and

implementation of the integrated MBBS

curriculum with a strong sense of

ownership of the program

• Are currently occupying positions of

responsibility in the college / university as

HoD / Phase Coordinators / Associate

Deans / Dean

• Have obtained the Graduate Diploma in

Health Professions Education

• Have considerable experience in

developing new program/s and / or

courses for various new programs

• Are / were members of the Medical

Education Unit

• Attended the CAA sponsored QFEmirates

seminar

A workshop sponsored by the Medical

Education Unit was conducted in May 2013 at

GMU. Its purpose was to initiate the process of

realigning the program outcomes to the

QFEmirates for all the programs offered by the

university. All faculty members from the College

of Medicine enthusiastically participated and

contributed in the workshop. The Dean who is

also the Program Director presented a draft of

the realigned existing outcomes at the plenary

session. All the colleges were granted more

time to complete the exercise.

The CAA had conducted a series of seminars

on QFEmirates to orient the various institutions

/ universities to the alignment process. This is

because it is mandatory for even the existing

programs to relook at their program outcomes

Faculty Development

152

and submit evidence of alignment with

QFEmirates on or before the next CAA program

accreditation review.

One such CAA sponsored QF Emirates

seminar titled ‘Aligning Programs to the

QFEmirates – why, when, what and how’

conducted at Sharjah University in December

2012 was attended by about 25 GMU faculty

including Program Directors and Coordinators

with a large representation from College of

Medicine. All the ‘Working Group’ members

attended the seminar.

The following 7 steps were adopted by the

Working Group as a means to derive the

alignment matrix:

1. The first step was deciding the level

descriptor of the MBBS program which

matches with LEVEL 7 – BACHELORS

DEGREE of the QF Emirates

2. Categorizing the current objectives

numbering about 40 into the 5 strands of

QFEmirates of Knowledge, Skill,

Autonomy and Responsibility, Role in

Context and Self-Development after

reviewing the individual statements.

3. Deriving a limited number of ‘summary

statement/s’ capturing the essence of all

the statements in each strand of the

QFEmirates that is broad enough to be

defined as a ‘program outcome’ starting

with an appropriate action verb.

4. Listing all the ‘summary statements’

together and deriving the rephrased

‘Program Learning Outcomes’

5. Preparing a table of matrix aligning the

Program Learning Outcomes ACROSS

the appropriate level descriptor with the

5 strands (including each component of

the strand) of QF Emirates

6. Listing the pedagogical strategies

currently adopted in the MBBS program

so that the learner achieves the stated

outcomes and which are related to the

learning environment made available to

the learners and

7 Steps to Alignment

7. The final step was listing the assessment

modalities currently adopted in the

MBBS program to demonstrate

achievement of the stated outcomes by

the learners

It was observed that the objectives listed under

‘knowledge’ and ‘skills,’ by and large, matched

well with the ‘knowledge’ and ‘skill’ strands of

the QFEmirates descriptors at level 7. The

objectives listed under ‘Attitudes’ were carefully

studied and appropriately distributed across

the 5 strands with most of them fitting under

‘Autonomy and Responsibility or Role in

Context or Self-development’ which come

under Aspects of Competence.

After the alignment of MBBS PLO with

QFEmirates was completed, the college held a

series of curriculum committee meetings in

which each course committee undertook the

exercise of aligning the course learning

outcomes to the program learning outcomes

and assessing the quantum of contribution of

each course to achieving the PLO.

The entire process was documented as a

consolidated Report titled ‘Aligning MBBS

Program Learning Outcomes to QFEmirates -

Level 7.’ This was followed by presentation of

the alignment process undertaken by College

of Medicine to other constituent colleges of the

university (Colleges of Dentistry, Pharmacy

and Allied Health Sciences) to share the ‘best

practices’ which was organized by the Medical

Education Unit as a series of Faculty

Development Programs. The Dean and the

Phase Coordinators also made presentations

to each batch of students as they are important

stakeholders in achieving these outcomes.

• The final rephrased ‘Intended Program

Learning Outcomes’ for the integrated

MBBS program is illustrated in Table 1

• Following these seven steps, the Working

Group was able to accomplish the task

successfully and meet the objectives set

out for the activity

The Results and Outcome of the

Implementation Strategy

153

• The ‘Intended Program Learning

O u t c o m e s ’ i s m o r e c o n c i s e ,

comprehensive and meets the CAA

requirements

• It does not amount to a ‘substantive

change’

• As the alignment is being done for a

program currently under implementation,

the pedagogical and assessment

strategies toolbox (Table 3) provided is

actually what is being followed currently

• This was not merely a ‘paper exercise.’

The exercise to align the MBBS Program

Learning Outcomes to QFEmirates has

forced us to critically review our program

and make changes in the curricular design

(not amounting to substantive change),

incorporate innovative teaching / learning

methods, provide a conducive learning

environment for the learner and introduce

more reliable and valid assessment

strategies to demonstrate achievement of

the intended program learning outcomes

by the learners. This will serve as an

evidence of ‘supporting practice’ to

confirm alignment. Some examples of the

same include:

• Establishment of state-of-art Center for

Advanced Simulation in Healthcare

(CASH), Center for Advanced

Biomedical Research and Innovation

(CABRI) and Testing Center which

became operational since January

2014 to enable an ideal environment to

facilitate learning, research and

assessment for the learners and faculty

• Introduction of the International

Federation of Medicine (IFOM)

examination – Basic and Clinical

Sciences as part of Phase II and Phase

I I I Pro fess iona l Examinat ions

respectively conducted by the National

Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) to

test higher-level cognitive domains

• Introduction of Team-based Learning

(TBL) in the AY 2013-14 in Phase III

and AY 2014-15 in Phase I & II which is

an innovat ive pedagogy wi th

considerable potential to address

multiple learning outcomes and

professional competencies that are

critical for the practice of medicine

(AMEE Guide No. 65)

• All students undergo the Basic Life

Support Provider course accredited by

AHA and are certified as BLS Providers

on successful completion as a

requirement for starting clinical training

in the IV MBBS from the academic year

2014-15 towards achievement of the

outcome on ‘Patient Care’ under the

‘Role in Context’. All students undergo

this training by qualified instructors at

the state-of-art Center for Advanced

Simulation in Healthcare, Gulf Medical

University. ? I n a d d i t i o n ,

students also undergo certificate

courses in Basic Surgical Skills, Basic

Orthopedic Skills and Universal

Standard Precautions since the AY

2014-15 as a prerequisite to attend

clinical postings in the IV MBBS

• ‘Deliberate Practice’ sessions were

introduced in the AY 2014-15 to

address the ‘Communication and

Clinical Skills’ outcome and become

competent in the ‘must know’ skills

essential for ‘Patient care’

• Introduction of ‘Crisis Resource

Management’ and ‘Inter-professional

Team Training’ sessions for IV MBBS

students to imbibe the quality of

‘Leadership and Teamwork’ among the

students

•- Introduction of ‘Preparation to Practice’

lectures by Health Authorities which

deals with law, professionalism and

ethics

• ‘Heroes of Healthcare’ lecture series by

leading luminaries in the medical field

d e l i v e r l e c t u r e s t o i n s t i l l

‘Professionalism and Values’ in the

students

154

• Introduction of ‘Mini-projects’ in Phase I

to instill ‘Leadership and Teamwork’

qualities in the students and improve

presentation skills early on in their

medical school

• Introduction of Assessment using the

Objective Structured Long case

Examination Record (OSLER) to test

composite skills by the students in the

s e m e s t e r a n d p r o f e s s i o n a l

examinations in Phase III (AMEE

Guide No. 9)

• Introduction of Direct Observation of

Clinical Skills (DOCS) as a formative

assessment tool in Phase III

• Introduction of exclusive ‘student’s

section’ in the GMU Annual Scientific

meeting to provide a platform for

students to present their research work

done as part of curricular requirement

to meet the ‘Personal Development’

and ‘Research and Analytical Skills’

outcomes

• Revision of the clerkship manual since

AY 2014-15 to make it more explicit in

terms of number of clinical procedures

to be done to ensure learners perform

clinical skil ls competently and

document it

• These rephrased Program Learning

Outcomes find place in the MBBS

Students Handbook since the academic

year 2013-14.

• This exercise was followed by alignment

of the course learning outcomes

according to the QFEmirates template

• The ‘Working Group’ constituted for the

specific purpose was dissolved upon

accomplishment of the task.

155

TABLE 1: Intended MBBS Program Learning Outcomes

LO DomainUpon successful completion of the program, the graduate will be able to: QFEmirate Strand

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the

key concepts and principles of biomedical, clinical and

psychosocial sciences and their application in the

clinical context to promote health, and prevent and

treat diseases commonly encountered in the region

within the legal and regulatory framework

Communicate effectively with patients and their

families, peers, mentors and members of the public

through written, verbal and electronic means; perform

clinical skills competently

Use appropriate statistical tools and research

methods to practice evidence-based medicine,

maintain appropriate documentation and carry out

basic research studies

Arrive at decisions, take actions and perform

assigned duties paying due attention to cultural

diversity, patient confidentiality and ethical issues; be

worthy of trust and exhibit honesty, fairness,

compassion, respect and integrity in all interactions

Provide optimum patient care at the level of a basic

doctor through clerking, diagnosing and managing

patients, including performing common emergency

and l i fe-saving procedures, adher ing to

recommended guidelines and standard precautions

with an awareness of both one's own limitations and

the need to seek the help of an expert when required

in the interests of patient safety

Function as an effective leader and contribute to the

professional development of peers; be an effective

team member when dealing with peers and mentors in

the discharge of duties and during the process of

learning and appreciate the roles and contributions of

peers and other healthcare professionals of the

multidisciplinary team

Possess qualities of self-evaluation, reflection,

self-learning and time-management skills so that

life-long learning could be undertaken for personal

and professional development; develop critical

thinking and problem-solving abilities along with

sufficient personal strengths to cope with the physical

and psychological demands of a career in medicine

A Medical Knowledge

B1Communication and Clinical Skills

B2Research and Analytical Skills

C1Professionalism and Values

C2a Patient Care

C2bLeadership and Teamwork

C3Personal Development

Knowledge

Skill

Autonomy and Responsibility

Role in Context

Self-Development

156

TABLE 2: Matrix Aligning MBBS PLO to the QFEMIRATES for Bachelors Program @ Level 7

National Standards of Learning Outcomes for Bachelors Program (QFEmirates Level 7) A B1 B2 C1 C2a C2b C3

Learning Outcomes of the MBBS Program

I. KNOWLEDGE

Specialized factual and theoretical knowledge and an

understanding of the boundaries in a field of work or

discipline, encompassing a broad and coherent body of

knowledge and concepts, with substantive depth in the

underlying principles and theoretical concepts;

An understanding of allied knowledge and theories in

related fields of work or disciplines and in the case of

professional disciplines including related regulations,

standards, codes, conventions;

Understanding of critical approach to the creation and

compilation of a systematic and coherent body of

knowledge and concepts gained from a range of sources;

An comprehensive understanding of critical analysis,

research systems and methods and evaluative problem-

solving techniques;

Familiarity with sources of current and new research and

knowledge with integration of concepts from outside fields.

II. SKILL

Technical, creative and analytical skills appropriate to

solving specialized problems using evidentiary and

procedural based processes in predictable and new

contexts that include devising and sustaining arguments

associated with a field of work or discipline;

Evaluating, selecting and applying appropriate methods,

procedures or techniques in processes of investigation

towards identified solutions;

Evaluating and implementing appropriate research tools

and strategies associated with the field of work or

discipline;

Highly developed advanced communication and

information technology skills to present, explain and/or

critique complex and unpredictable matters.

ASPECTS OF COMPETENCE

III. AUTONOMY AND RESPONSIBILITY

Can take responsibility for developing innovative and

advanced approaches to evaluating and managing

complex and unpredictable work procedures and

processes, resources or learning;

Can manage technical, supervisory or design processes

in unpredictable, unfamiliar and varying contexts;

Can work creatively and/or effectively as an individual, in

team leadership, managing contexts, across technical or

professional activities;

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

üü ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

Continued...

157

National Standards of Learning Outcomes for Bachelors Program (QFEmirates Level 7)

A B1 B2 C1 C2a C2b C3

Learning Outcomes of the MBBS Program

Can express an internalized, personal view, and accept

responsibility to society at large and to socio-cultural

norms and relationships

IV. ROLE IN CONTEXT

Can function with full autonomy in technical and

supervisory contexts and adopt para-professional roles

with little guidance;

Can take responsibility for the setting and achievement of

group or individual outcomes and for the management and

supervision of the work of others or self in the case of a

specialization in field of work or discipline;

Can participate in peer relationships with qualified

practitioners and lead multiple, complex groups;

Can take responsibility for managing the professional

development and direct mentoring of individuals and

groups.

V. SELF-DEVELOPMENT

Can self-evaluate and take responsibility for contributing

to professional practice, and undertake regular

professional development and/or further learning;

Can manage learning tasks independently and

professionally, in complex and sometimes unfamiliar

learning contexts;

Can contribute to and observe ethical standards.

ü

üü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

TABLE 2: continued

158

TABLE 3: Pedagogical and Assessment Strategies Toolbox

MBBS PLO(QFEmirates Strand)

Pedagogical Strategies Assessment Strategies

Written assessments (MCQ, EMI,SAQ, MEQ),

Assignments, OSPE & OSCE, Viva-voce, TBL

assessment, Evaluation of students by the

Facilitator / Tutor, Student Self-Evaluation, Peer

Evaluation, CBL Record book, Practical Log

Book, Quiz

OSCE, OSLER, DOCS, RIME, Evaluation of

student seminars / Grand clinics / Assignments,

TBL assessment, Peer evaluation, Evaluation

of students by the Facilitator / Tutor, Supervisor

evaluation of interns

Evaluation of Assignments, Evaluation of

student seminars, TBL assessment, Evaluation

of students by the Facilitator / Tutor, Evaluation

of Research Projects & Mini-projects, Record

book evaluation

Direct Observation of Personal Attributes

(DOPA), Attendance, TBL assessment, Student

Self-Evaluation, Peer Evaluation, Evaluation of

students by the Facilitator / Tutor , Evaluation of

Assignments, Participation in health days /

camps / campaigns, Supervisor evaluation of

interns, Evaluation of research project, Portfolio

OSCE, OSLER, OSPE, DOCS, RIME,

Evaluation of students by the Facilitator / Tutor,

Student Self-Evaluation during clerkship and

internship, Evaluation of grand clinics, Log Book

evaluation, Supervisor evaluation of interns,

Certification as BLS / ALS Providers,

Certification in Basic Surgical Skills course /

Basic Orthopedics Skills course / Universal

Standard Precautions course

Evaluation of students by the Facilitator / Tutor,

Peer Evaluation & Student Self-Evaluation of

CBL / PBL, TBL assessment, Evaluation of

student Seminars, Evaluation of Research

Projects and Mini-project

Reflection, TBL assessment, Student Self-

Evaluation, Peer Evaluation, Evaluation of

students by the Facilitator / Tutor , Preceptor

reports, Participation in institutional, national

and international workshops, seminars,

symposia and conferences, Portfolio

Lectures, CBL, TBL, PBL, Expert

forums, Student and facul ty

Seminars, CAL, SDL, Grand clinics,

‘Preparation to Practice’ lectures by

Health Authorities, Laboratory

sessions

Role play, Early Patient Contact,

Clinical skill sessions, Seminars,

Videos, Interactive CDs, clinical

postings, CBL, PBL, TBL, Grand

clinics, Mini-projects, Debates

Mini-project, Research project, TBL,

CBL / PBL record books, Practical

record books, Clinical Skills log book

and Clinical log book, Laboratory

sessions

Role modeling, Early patient contact,

TBL, CBL, PBL, White coat

ceremony, ‘Heroes of Healthcare’

lecture series, ‘Preparation to

Pract ice’ lectures by Heal th

Authorities, clinical skill sessions,

clinical postings, internship postings

Cl in ical rotat ions, Internship

rotations, Grand clinics, CBL, PBL,

Clinical skill sessions, Clerkship

manual, Basic and Advanced Life

Support Courses, Basic Surgical

Skills course, Basic Orthopedics

Skills course, Universal Standard

Precautions course

CBL, PBL, TBL, Mini-project,

Research project, Seminar

Participation in health camps /

n a t i o n a l a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l

conferences (GMU Annual Scientific

meeting, EMSS), Research project,

TBL, CBL, PBL, Participation in

Extra-curricular activities (sports

activities, global day celebrations)

Medical Knowledge(Knowledge)

Communication and Clinical Skills(Skills)

Research and Analytical Skills(Skills)

Professionalism and Values (Autonomy and Responsibility)

Patient Care(Role in Context)

Leadership and Teamwork(Role in Context)

Personal Development(Self-Development)

Reflection on lesson learnt on the topic (the last page of the

case study shall include a list of bulleted best practices and/or

lessons learned).

References (in Harvard style)

• We consider this alignment exercise as a ‘Good Practice in Higher Education’ for other

educational institutions to follow

• A dedicated ‘Working Group’ with the right credentials will enable the task to be accomplished

• Faculty Development Programs to orient all the members of the faculty to be stakeholders in the

alignment process

• Orientation to the students who are equal stakeholders in achieving the program learning

outcomes

• Constantly look out in the literature for ‘best practices’ in medical education and implement

them to make the program more robust

Qualification Framework Emirates Handbook Version 1a. 2012

GMU MBBS Student Handbook, AY 2014-15

www.gmu.ac.ae

www.caa.ae

159

Organizer

CASE STUDY

A LEARNING ASSESSMENT TOOLKIT FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE

SCOTT BENSON,

Zayed University

Abu Dhabi, UAE

9712 5993887

Scott.benson@zu.ac.ae

DR. KEVIN SCHOEPP,

Zayed University

Abu Dhabi, UAE

9712 5993308

Kevin.schoepp@zu.ac.ae

161

Abstract

Introduction

Learning Outcomes Assessment Programs

require a systematic approach in the pursuit of

improved student learning. Over the course of

the annual assessment cycle, colleges and

departments are asked to prepare plans and

reports, collect and analyze assessment data,

and implement closing the loop interventions

when necessary. To accomplish these tasks,

assessment experts and faculty charged with

program assessment require a common set of

tools. While many university assessment

websites offer assessment toolboxes and

toolkits, these are often limited to providing

information about the Learning Outcomes

Assessment process, rather than providing

actual tools to accomplish the tasks.

Internationally recognized by the Middle States

Commission on Higher Education and the

National Institute for Learning Outcomes

Assessment for its best practices, Zayed

University’s Office of Educational Effectiveness

(OEE) has developed a series of templates,

exemplars, rubrics, and calendars to help

facilitate participation and ensure consistency

and quality in its Learning Outcomes

Assessment Program. These documents

comprise a Learning Outcomes Assessment

Toolkit, used by OEE consultants and college

and program assessment committee members

at critical points in the annual program

assessment cycle. This presentation will

introduce the OEE toolkit and illustrate its

effectiveness in assuring quality in Zayed

University’s Learning Outcomes Assessment

Program.

Key Words: Learning outcomes, assessment,

learning outcomes assessment, program

assessment, program assessment, student

learning, accreditation

Learning outcomes assessment conducted at

the program level provides the necessary high

level overview to determine whether or not

students, collectively are achieving the

essential learning outcomes of a program or

discipline. Though it is expected that faculty are

regularly altering and modifying their courses to

improve student learning, it is the macro-level

oversight offered by program learning

outcomes assessment that ensures students

are learning what they are expected to learn.

Over the past number of years and with the

assistance of accreditors, expectations have

come forth as to what constitutes learning

outcomes assessment and its associated

resources and processes. These resources

and processes, though context specific, share

similarities as they normally include an

assessment cycle along with a plan and report.

How these are actualized and manifested

within institutions is where differences can lead

to learning from one another and where best

practices emerge. Through the ongoing and

multi-year development of its Learning

Outcomes Assessment Toolkit, Zayed

University is able to demonstrate its

internationally recognized best practices in

assessment, which are used as the foundation

of its academic quality assurance processes.

Founded in 1998, Zayed University is a UAE

federal institution providing English medium,

baccalaureate, and master’s degree programs

to approximately 9,700 students on its two

campuses located in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Students are primarily Emirati undergraduates

who study in a gender segregated environment

in the College of Business (COB), the College

of Education (COE), the College of Arts and

Creative Enterprises (CACE), the College of

Technological Innovation (CTI), the College of

Communication and Media Sciences (CCMS),

and the College of Sustainability Sciences and

Humanities (CSSH).

Zayed University was established as an

outcomes-based institution, which put it in good

position to pursue international accreditation.

Because of this and as a way to quality

assurance in the institution, Zayed University

The Institution

162

has purposefully pursued a bevy of

international accreditations. The university is

accredited by the Middle States Commission

on Higher Education (MSCHE), and at the

disciplinary level, COB has been accredited by

the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools

of Business, COE by National Council for

Accreditation of Teacher Education, CTI by

ABET, while CCMS and CACE are expecting to

gain accreditation by their respective

accreditors, the National Association of

Schools of Art and Design and the Accrediting

Council on Education in Journalism and Mass

Communications. It is felt that these

accreditations separate the institution from its

regional peers and fully establish it as an

institution carrying the name of the UAE’s

founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al

Nahyan.

Through its Learning Outcomes Assessment

Toolkit and its assessment program, Zayed

University aims to achieve academic quality

assurance which meets the expectations of

itself, its stakeholders, and its accreditors.

MSCHE describes the four-step assessment

process as:

1. Developing clear and measurable learning

outcomes;

2. Providing learning opportunities where

students can achieve the learning

outcomes;

3. Assessing student achievement of the

learning outcomes;

4. Using the results of the assessments to

improve student learning (Middle States

Commission on Higher Education 2009,

p. 63).

Zayed University’s outcomes-based curriculum

and its tight linkages with international

accreditation has meant that it has always been

at the forefront of the assessment movement.

In its early years, it developed a set of university

and program learning outcomes that were often

assessed through an electronic portfolio.

Though more an artifact repository than a

portfolio, rubrics were used to assess the

The Context

students’ level of attainment against aligned

learning outcomes. With leadership transitions,

inadequate faculty understanding, and

technology changes, this approach, though still

a best practice today, began to evolve. As these

were still early years in the assessment

movement, this initial process was still very

much focused on conducting assessment,

rather than on using results. The influence of

accreditation bodies had had an impact, but

more on establishing the mechanisms of

assessment, rather than on using assessment

data to inform programmatic changes to

improve student learning. This, in turn, made

assessment seem like an accreditation

compliance issue when it should have been

seen as an integral part of the teaching and

learning process. There was limited institutional

understanding about the purpose of

assessment and there was no toolkit to serve as

a resource.

The next phase in the development of the

Zayed University’s assessment program,

though staying true to its learning outcomes,

began to mature as did the assessment

movement. As part of this maturity, seminal

publications such as Walvoord’s Assessment

Clear and Simple (2010), Suskie’s Assessing

Student Learning (2009), and Banta’s

Designing Effective Assessment (2009) were

released. These books firmly established the

how to of assessment, and given that

assessment of this sort had been underway for

a number of years, were able to share

examples from numerous institutions. The

basic structures and designs of learning

outcomes, assessment plans, assessment

reports, curriculum maps, and the meaning of

direct and indirect measures were all firmly

established, but the impact of assessment

remained mixed. For example, in their 2009

National Institute for Learning Outcomes

Assessment (NILOA) survey of Provost’s and

Chief Academic Officers, Kuh and Ikenberry

(2009) found that about 75% of institutions had

common learning outcomes, that accreditation

was the main driver of assessment, that

assessment data was only used somewhat to

evaluate programs, that it was operated on a

163

shoestring, and that faculty engagement

remained by far the top challenge faced by

leadership. Not surprisingly, the findings from

the NILOA survey would have also described

the state of assessment at Zayed University

then as well. Mirroring these developments,

Zayed University’s assessment program began

to implement the basic processes, guidelines,

and documentation, beginning the creation of

what could be considered its assessment

toolkit.

The current phase in the development of Zayed

University’s assessment program is one that is

re-positioning itself, much like the assessment

movement, to focus on using assessment data

to implement meaningful actions and to

improve student learning (see Figure 1).

Though always the raison d’etre of learning

outcomes assessment, moving to where

assessment is seen as an integral part of the

teaching and learning has been a challenge. As

Wayne Hall from the University of Cincinnati

has said “…assessment is pedagogy. It’s not

some nitpicky, onerous administrative add-on.

It’s what we do as we teach our courses, and it

really helps close that assessment loop”

(Association of American Colleges and

Universities 2010).

Within the assessment movement, there has

been a call for better use of assessment data

because data proliferates, processes and

procedures are well developed, but rarely is

student learning data used to improve higher

education. In describing findings from the

massive multi-year Wabash assessment study,

Blaich & Wise (2011) recognized that the

problem was not lack of data, but rather lack of

effective utilization of data already on hand.

They had found that only 25% of institutions

had effectually responded to the data. Though

implementing effective actions remains a

challenge, actually progressing to the point

where changes lead to improved student

learning is rarely in evidence. Banta (2011),

from 146 assessment exemplars was only able

to find 9 (6%) cases where an improvement in

student learning had been demonstrated after

changes had been implemented. On a positive

note, the 2013 NILOA survey of Provost’s and

Chief Academic Officers found that there had

been a number of changes over the previous 4

years (Kuh, Jankowski, Ikenberry, & Kinzie,

2014). Two of the major changes were that

institutional commitment to continuous

improvement and faculty interest in improving

student learning are now two of the top drivers

FIGURE 3: Assessment Cycle

Plan &Identify

Outcomes

CollectData

AnalyzeData

ShareResults

Identify &ImplementChanges

AssessImpact of Change

AssessmentCycle

Har

dest

Easy

Hard

Harder

164

of assessment, and there is more assessment

using a more diverse set of measures than

earlier reported. Nonetheless, accreditation

remained the key impetus behind assessment

and more faculty engagement was required. To

address these issues, a number of recent

publications have started to emphasize use of

assessment results to a degree that has never

before existed. Kuh et al. (2015) stress the

importance of beginning the assessment

process with use of results in mind. Ickes and

Flowers (2014) advise that answering

questions such as Who will address the

assessment findings? How will they be

addressed? from the start of the assessment

process is key. In sharing ways to facilitate use

of results, Banta & Palomba (2015) describe a

number of best practices within assessment

reports including a project ownership section

and a section to describe the faculty dialogue

that has occurred. This renewed emphasis on

effective use of assessment results has meant

that Zayed University has been making

additions and alterations to its assessment

toolkit.

One problem encountered in our assessment

program was a lack of consistency in the quality

of assessment data collection and reporting

presented in annual assessment plans and

reports. Plans and reports that did not meet

expectations were returned with feedback for

revision, resulting in additional time spent and

frustration for the committee members. Factors

contributing to this problem include, varying

levels of assessment expertise and familiarity

with our assessment program, changes in

assessment committee membership and lack

of continuity in knowledge transfer, and the

once-a year nature of plan and report

submissions.

The bigger problem facing our assessment

program was facilitating the transition from a

focus on collecting and presenting assessment

data, to an orientation, in both thinking and

practice, toward analyzing and using this data

to take evidence-based actions to improve

Problem

student learning; a process referred to as

‘closing the loop’. In practice, closing the loop

involves analyzing program-wide student

performance on a given learning outcome,

identifying a performance gap between target

and actual student performance, and

developing and implementing interventions to

c lose the per formance gap. These

interventions could be changes in the:

• Academic program, e.g. adding or

removing a course, revising course

sequencing or admission criteria;

• Curriculum, e.g., revising course content,

materials, assignments, assessments,

changing teaching techniques;

• Academic processes, e.g., adding training

or professional development, improving

technology, modifying frequency or

scheduling of course offerings;

• Assessment plans / processes, e.g.,

revising learning outcomes, data

co l lect ion or analys is methods,

information dissemination.

One of the reasons why making the transition

from collecting, analyzing and presenting data

to closing the loop is difficult is that identifying a

performance gap between desired and actual

performance is relatively easy, while

determining the appropriate intervention(s) to

address the performance problem is

challenging. Ewell (2009, p.16) notes that

assessment evidence can identify a learning

performance problem, but that this evidence

does not suggest how the problem can be fixed.

He continues by stressing the need for faculty

engagement and discussion to uncover the

causes behind the performance problem, in

order to formulate appropriate interventions.

Engaging faculty and eliciting insights into the

cause of performance problems can also be a

challenge. Faculty may view the enterprise of

program assessment with skepticism and

dread. Program assessment’s role in

accreditation may result in it being viewed as a

primarily bureaucratic exercise, but one with

implications for increased faculty accountability

and scrutiny. Faculty may also view the

165

opportunity cost of increased involvement with

assessment as a loss of time to devote to

teaching (Kuh et al. 2014).

A further reason why implementing this change

is difficult is that taking action involves risk. No

one wants to be responsible, or held

accountable, for implementing an action which

damages a program. As Blaich & Wise (2011,

p.13) point out,“it’s far less risky and

complicated to analyze data than it is to act.”

Rather than act, there is a tendency to

postpone action in favor of collecting additional

data.

The resolution to the problem is to provide

faculty with tools that facilitate effective

planning, collection, analysis and reporting of

assessment evidence which are oriented to the

goal of closing the loop, as well as additional

tools to facilitate the actual closing the loop

process in pursuit of improved student learning.

Addressing the problem required additional

tools as well as amendments to our existing

tools in order to successfully meet the

challenge and facilitate the desired change.

To address the inconsistency in quality of data

gathering and reporting in annual assessment

plans and reports, we provided assessment

plan and report templates and exemplars,

which helped to standardize and serve as 1models of expected products respectively . We

implemented a peer review process for

evaluation of first drafts of plans and reports,

and developed a rubric for their assessment

and provision of feedback. As we increased our

emphasis on closing the loop, we amended our

assessment plan templates and exemplars to

include ‘planning for use’ sections, which

include requirements for information regarding

how assessment results will be discussed and

how actions will be implemented. Similarly,

Implementation Strategy

assessment reports were amended with

sections to provide accounts for closing the

loop actions.

To enhance awareness of program

assessment events and deadlines, our

assessment handbook was amended to

include a practical, step-by-step assessment

calendar guide and checklist providing

assessment committee personnel with a

simple, comprehensive outline of the 2assessment cycle . Our professional

development calendar was aligned with the

annual assessment calendar in order to

provide timely instruction and guidance at

critical stages in the assessment cycle. With

these changes to documents in place, we

provided one-on-one and small group

consultations with units to ensure that changes,

and new expectations, such as our focus on

closing the loop, were understood. We have

implemented additional consultations, working

with units as they begin to write their

assessment plans and reports, to provide

clarity and guidance.

These changes, in documentation and

practice, with their increased orientation toward

closing the loop, established the foundation for

implementing a systematic process for using

assessment data to improve student learning.

To this end, we have adopted a model

developed by Fulcher, Good, Coleman & Smith

(2014) referred to as PLAIR, for program

learning assessment, intervention and re-

assessment. PLAIR provides a model for

evidencing student learning through its

‘assess, intervene, re-assess’ process, and

also focuses on determining and implementing

the appropriate intervention(s). While PLAIR

provides an appealing overall strategy for

addressing improvement in learning

performance, the method for determining the

cause of the learning performance problem and

identifying the appropriate intervention,

1 Templates and exemplars are available on the assessment website:

http://www.zu.ac.ae/main/en/_assessment_resource/Learning_Assessment/Assessment_Plans_Reports.aspx2 The Learning Outcomes Assessment Handbook can be found:

http://www.zu.ac.ae/main/en/_assessment_resource/Learning_Assessment/Assessment%20Processes.aspx

166

remained unclear. In response, we have

developed a PLAIR Consultation Tool (PCT)

which expands on the steps outlined in the

PLAIR process with questions that help guide

our collaboration with unit assessment teams 3through the PLAIR process . Starting with

questions designed to identify the rationale for

selecting a particular learning outcome, the

PCT then establishes consensus on the

wording and meaning of the selected program

learning outcome, before proceeding through a

comprehensive evidence-based review of

existing efforts, curricula, and assessments,

followed by a cause analysis, and selection of

appropriate interventions, which are plotted

over a three-year timeline within the PLAIR

model.

Though not equal in importance or priority, each

of the processes and resources are important

elements in an assessment program and in

helping our organization use assessment data

to improve student achievement.

The introduction of assessment plan and report

templates and exemplars has led to higher

quality initial submissions, reducing both time

and frustration in revision, and making the

process less burdensome. The recent

introduction of ‘planning for use and follow up’

sections should help ensure that faculty are

engaged in the discussion and analysis of

student assessment, and that closing the loop

actions are considered, implemented and

reviewed.

Increased emphasis on providing consultations

as assessment committee personnel,

particularly those new to the role, begin the

process of writing their plans and reports, has

helped provide clarity and reduce frustration.

These consultations provide the additional

benefit as opportunities for us to raise

opportunities for research, and to encourage

assessment committee personnel who have

Results and Outcomes

3 The PCT can be found:

http://www.zu.ac.ae/main/en/_assessment_resource/Learning_Assessment/assessment_resources.aspx

adopted best practices. As a result of these

consultations, we have recognized several of

these faculty members and have showcased

their achievements at our annual assessment

retreat, and other professional development

opportunities. At the department level, we

recognize a college which has exemplified

assessment best practices with our annual

Best Practices in Assessment Award.

Our assessment peer review panel’s use of a

rubric provides a common framework for

evaluating plan and report submissions, which

facilitates the peer review process. Having a

peer review has also enabled colleagues to see

how assessment is conducted in other units.

With the inclusion of a calendar and checklist to

our assessment handbook, assessment

committee personnel now have a simple, but

comprehensive, 2-page document to stay

aware of exactly what is required and when

throughout the assessment calendar. This type

of document was actually requested by a

faculty at our recent assessment retreat, and

we were pleased to reply that it was available in

the most recent update of our learning

outcomes assessment handbook.

We are currently piloting PLAIR with two

colleges and are in the initial stage of

implementation. Faculty with whom we are

working report that they are pleased to have

this opportunity to focus on closing the

assessment loop and improving student

performance under the guidance of the Office of

Educational Effectiveness. The use of the

PLAIR Consultation Tool has resulted in fruitful

discussions which have brought forth a variety

of suggestions for improving student

performance, including calls to better engage

students in the assessment process.

Establishing a toolkit of assessment resources

and processes plays a vital role in developing a

culture of assessment and learning. It provides

the framework from which faculty can work

Lessons Learnt

167

towards a quality assured academic program.

Though institutions will create their own

versions of these which best fit within their

particular context, the items that constitute the

toolkit have been tried and tested through use

and are the mechanisms noted in assessment

literature. During the 4-year period of

constructing the toolkit, a number of lessons

have been learnt:

• Creating a culture of assessment and

student learning is an ongoing process

which needs to focus on people.

• Let faculty lead the process as much as

possible.

• Provide opportunities for faculty to learn

from one another.

• Seek support from higher leadership

because they really set the institutional

tone.

• Make assessment planning include

planning to use assessment results-

without this it will be difficult having results

lead to meaningful actions.

• Start simple and get more sophisticated

as you begin to have successes.

• Establ ish structures, processes,

guidelines, and templates, but allow for

some flexibility between disciplines.

• Offer regular professional development

opportunities targeted to different levels.

• Follow the assessment literature and use

it to help you make programmatic

decisions.

• Work hard to keep the focus on

continuous improvement, not only on

accreditation compliance.

• Develop a shared understanding of best

practice award and recognize excellence.

• Have a core team of assessment experts

to serve as program leaders.

• Develop a shared understanding of how

results will be reported and displayed.

• Seek and promote external professional

d e v e l o p m e n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r

assessment leaders.

• Invite external assessment experts to your

c a m p u s t o o f f e r p r o f e s s i o n a l

development. • Focus on student learning

and move away from the mechanisms of

assessment as soon as possible.

• Be aware of the expectations from

different disciplinary accreditors.

• Technology is not the answer, but it can be

of assistance.

• C o n s u l t a t i o n s , c o n s u l t a t i o n s ,

consultations.

• Assess the assessment program and

share the results with stakeholders. Any

assessment program needs to be

demonstrating the use of data to drive

decisions to be seen as credible.

• Regularly ask faculty what is working and

what is not working – seek their inputs to

make improvements.

Association of American Colleges and

Universities 2010, Assessing learning

outcomes at the University of Cincinnati:

compar ing rubr ic assessments to

standardized tests. Available from:

< h t t p : / / w w w. a a c u . o r g / c a m p u s -

model/assessing- learning-outcomes-

university-cincinnati-comparing-rubric-

assessments>. [23 April 2015].

Banta, T 2011, ‘Demonstrating the impact of

changes based on assessment findings’, In A

bird’s eye view of assessment: selections

from editor’s notes, ed T Banta, Jossey-

Bass, San Francisco, pp.42-46.

Banta, TW, Jones, E & Black, K E 2009,

Designing effective assessment: principles

and profiles of good practice, Jossey- Bass,

San Francisco.

Banta, TW & Palomba, CA 2015, Assessment

essentials: planning, implementing, and

improving assessment in higher education.

Jossey- Bass, San Francisco.

Blaich, C & Wise, K 2011, ‘From gathering to

using assessment results: lessons from the

Wabash national study. Occasional Paper

References

No.8, University of Illinois and Indiana

University, National Institute for Learning

Outcomes Assessment, Urbana, IL.

Available from:< http://www.learning

outcome assessment.org/documents/

Wabash_001.pdf>. [23 April 2015].

Ewell, P 2009, ‘Assessment, accountability

and improvement: revisiting the tension’,

Occasional Paper No.1, University of Illinois

and Indiana University, National Institute

for Learning Outcomes Assessment,

Urbana, IL. Available from:< http://learning

outcomes assessment.org/documents/

PeterEwell_005.pdf>.[23 April 2015].

Fulcher, KH, Good, MR, Coleman, CM & Smith,

KL 2014, ‘A simple model for learning

improvement: weigh pig, feed pig, weigh

pig’, Occasional Paper No. 23, University of

Illinois and Indiana University, National

Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment,

Urbana, Il. Available from:< http://learning

outcomesassessment.org/documents/Occa

sional_Paper_23.pdf >. [23 April 2015].

Ickes, JL & Flowers, DR 2014, ‘An

improvement strategy for general education’

, Assessment Update, vol.26, no.5, pp.1-16.

Kuh, GD & Ikenberry, SO 2009, ‘More than you

think, less than we need: learning outcomes

assessment in American Higher Education’.

University of Illinois and Indiana University,

National Institute for Learning Outcomes

Assessment, Urbana, IL. Available from:<

http://www.learningoutcomeassessment.org

/documents/niloafullreportfinal2.pdf>. [23

April 2015].

Kuh, GD, Ikenberry, SO, Jankowski, NA, Cain,

TR, Ewell, P, Hutchings, P & Kinzie, J 2015,

Using evidence of student learning to

improve higher education, Jossey- Bass, San

Francisco.

Kuh, GD, Jankowski, N, Ikenberry, SO & Kinzie,

J 2014, ‘Knowing what students know and

can do: the current state of student learning

outcomes assessment in US colleges and

universities. University of Illinois and Indiana

University, National Institute for Learning

Outcomes Assessment, Urbana, IL.

Avai lable f rom:<http: / /www.learning

outcomesassessment.org/knowingwhatstud

entsknowandcando.html>. [ 23 April 2015 ].

Middle States Commission on Higher

Education 2009, Characterist ics of

excellence in higher education: requirements

of affiliation and standards for accreditation,

12th edn, MSCHE, Philadelphia, PA.

Suskie, L 2009, Assessing student learning: a

common sense guide. Jossey- Bass, San

Francisco.

Walvoord, BE 2010, Assessment clear and

simple: a practical guide for institutions,

departments, and general education, 2nd

edn, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.

168

Organizer

CASE STUDY

ENHANCING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS OF THE RUSSIAN UNIVERSITY: AN URFU CASE

PROF. VICTOR A. KOKSHAROV,

Rector,

PROF. MAXIM KHOMYAKOV,

Vice Rector,

Ural Federal University,

Russia.

maximkhomyakov332@gmail.com

170

Ural Federal University (UrFU)

Ural Federal University (UrFU) represents an

outstanding example of the Project 5-100

strategy implementation. UrFU constantly

works on building its global reputation and is

currently ranked among the world's top

universities

• Placed 7th among Russian universities

(Webometr ics Ranking of World

Universities)

• Top-10 best Russian universities (“Expert

RA” rating agency);

• Top-60 of the best universities of the

Emerging Europe and Central Asia (QS

Quacquarelli Symonds);

• 601+ (QS World University Rankings);

• 601-800 (Times Higher Education);

• Placed 13th in the ranking of national

universities by the Interfax Rating Agency;

• Placed 77th among BRICS countries

universities (QS World University

Rankings: BRICS);

• Placed 3rd as per the number of patents

among the companies in Russia (The

Research & innovation performance of the

G20 (Russia) — Thomson Reuters);

– Ural Federal University became the

first Russian University to be noticed by

Fitch Ratings Agency. This agency

included UrFU into the Long-Term

Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer

Default Ratings (“IDR”) at “BB+” level.

Besides, the university was assigned a

National Long-Term rating of 'AA (rus)'

and a Short-term foreign currency IDR

of 'B'.

– Ural Federal University made it to the

top three leading Russian universities

as per the number of the Russian

Science Foundation grantees.

• According to the results of the contest

conducted by the Pension Fund of Russia,

Ural Federal University was declared the

best employer.

• UrFU Endowment Fund entered the list of

three university leaders obtaining the

maximum financial support from Vladimir

Potanin Foundation

• Ural Federal University was one of the

winners of the Best Taxpayer 2013

contest.

• The Ural Federal University’s electronic

archives are ranked first in Russia and

was included in the top-400 of

Webometrics Open Archives’ Ranking of

World Universities.

• Specialized Educational Scientific Center

(SESC) of UrFU confirmed its status of the

best school of the Urals and was included

in the top 10 of the best Russian schools,

according to the results of the study of

Moscow Center fo r Cont inuous

Mathematical Education, conducted with

the assistance of the Federal Ministry of

Education and Science.

• Ural Federal University took several

positions in the top-5 of the “Quality of

admission to the state-funded places in

the RF public universities” ranking

prepared by the Higher School of

Economics with the assistance of the

Federal Ministry of Education and Science

of the Russian Federation.

• The UrFU Department of Journalism

made it to the top ten in the ranking of 100

Russian universities training Bachelors of

Mass Media. This ranking was prepared

by the Ministry of Communications and

Mass Media of the Russian Federation.

• Business School of UrFU was included

into the world rating of the best 1000

Business Schools, prepared by the

Eduniversal Agency, ranking 12th among

the best Russian business schools.

UrFU’s focus on international rankings is

supplemented with an attempt to transfer from

focusing upon teaching to the attention to

learning, recognition of the importance of social

171

sciences, arts, and humanities in the structure

of the university, attention to the social

functions of the large university in the region.

As internationalization is one of the key

ranking indicators, Ural Federal University

develops a new strategy of collaboration with

BRICS countries, including active collaboration

in the network educational and research

projects of BRICS countries – BRICS

University League and BRICS Network

University. Ural Federal University has recently

established an analytical BRICS studies centre

and launched some network educational

programmes with the universities of BRICS

nations. In result Ural Federal University

became one of the most important BRICS

policy think-tanks in Russian Federation.

With these geographic priorities in mind, UrFU

has created a certain amount of excellence

centers, international laboratories, and project

teams. These teams are the main recipients of

the resources, and their performance is closely

monitored and assessed by the university.

Speaking on the excellence centers, it is

expected that the funding will be used for

organizing collaborations that would lead to a

breakthrough in internationalization, research

performance, and academic reputation of the

university. The collaborations can be

implemented in the form of joint research

projects (with joint publications afterwards,

elaboration of which, by the way, is supported

by UrFU separately), joint research

programmes (such as post-doctora l

fellowships), professors and researchers

exchanges as well as elaboration of joint

master and PhD programmes. The resources

to be drawn and focused are, thus, mostly

human ones. In this way, Ural Federal

University tries to attract talents globally, and it

is this activity that is characteristic for any world-

class university. Collaboration does help

enhance academic reputation of the university

and, by the same token, positively influence its

positions in global academic rankings.

This journey has just begun. However, UrFU is

already number four in Russia in terms of

articles published, and importantly, these

articles are of rather good quality. UrFU BRICS

Centre has received federal recognition as one

of the main centers of educational and research

collaboration with these countries. The number

of international professors and students is

steadily growing. UrFU hopes that this is just a

start of a long road to academic excellence and

establishing a world-class university. We also

hope that we have successfully avoided the

main problems of over-concentration on

rankings. However, that remains to be seen.

Organizer

InstitutionalBest PracticeBooklet

"Towards Transformative Higher Education: The Role of Innovation in the

st21 Century Digital and Knowledge based Society"

th th10 - 11 of November, 2015 Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi-UAE

"Inspiring the Leaders of today”

LEVERAGING STUDENT KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE IN THE CLASSROOM: ENHANCING CONTEXTUALIZATION IN UAE

Organizer

DR. KAKUL AGHA,

Assistant Professor and Chair of Teaching Effectiveness,

Skyline University College,

Sharjah

United Arab Emirates

Tel. No. : +971 6 5441155 Ext. 2064 | Fax No. : +971 6 5441166

kakul.agha@skylineuniversity.ac.ae

CASE STUDY

174

Abstract

Background of the Institution

This case study presents the practice of

leveraging students’ prior knowledge and

experiences within classroom sharing and

discussion. This practice enables the

contextualization of student information and

knowledge within the classroom setting.

Contextualization involves utilizing prior

knowledge and day-to-day life and work

experiences to build a learning environment

within a classroom catalyst. This case study is

based on Master’s Students of Skyline

University College, UAE. Qualitative data was

collected using focus group technique and

discussion from teachers and students to

gather information to conceive this case study.

The findings informed the strategies used by

faculty members teaching on the Master’s

programs and the manner in which these

strategies are blended in a classroom setting.

Key words: Leveraging student knowledge; contextualization; UAE; higher education; teaching and learning.

This case study has been designed and

developed at Skyline University College (SUC).

SUC was established in 1990 in Sharjah, a city

that has been recognized as a hub for

education, culture, and heritage by UNESCO.

SUC was established under the patronage of

H.H. Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al

Qassimi, the member of the UAE Supreme

Council and the Ruler of Sharjah. H.H. Sheikh

Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi has

always supported SUC in its pursuit of providing

high quality education. SUC believes in

responding innovatively and effectively to train

human resources and fulfill educational needs

of industries like Aviation, Hospitality, Travel

and Tourism, Information Systems, Marketing,

Business Management and Finance sectors. It

is presently one of the leading private

universities in Northern Emirates.

The programs offered by SUC are fully

approved and accredited by the Ministry of

Higher Education and Scientific Research,

UAE. SUC offers Bachelor of Business

Administration (BBA), majors in Travel and

Tourism Management, Information Systems,

International Business, Marketing and Finance

and Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Program, with emphasis in Marketing, Finance,

Human Resource Management and Strategic

Management and Leadership.

Skyline University College conducts an

undergraduate program leading to the award of

Bachelor of Business Administration degree

with different majors to meet the needs of

dynamic national, regional, and global

business environments. A student studying

Bachelor Business Administration will be

exposed to all fields of business education that

includes General Education, Business, and

Management Education.

The MBA program is designed with an

academic and practical rigor to ensure that

students acquire key managerial knowledge,

attitude, and skills to meet the challenges of the

present business scenario in an appropriate

social and ethical manner. The program bridges

and integrates regional, cultural, and domestic

business practices within the global business

ethos, so as to carve future managers for local

and global businesses.

The campus of the SUC is spread over 40 acres

of land, which is located in the University City of

Sharjah. It is well equipped to cater to the needs

of students to prepare them as young

managerial workforce to meet the challenges of

the new century by acquiring knowledge, skills,

and values at SUC. To fulfill the needs of

industry, SUC has introduced a major in

Finance in its BBA program, emphasis in HRM

and emphasis in Strategic Management and

Leadership in its MBA program during

academic years 2011-12 and 2013-14

respectively. SUC also plans to introduce a

Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) in

its program portfolio in the coming years. SUC

has also started the weekend batches for its

BBA and MBA programs from September 2011.

The institution has carved a name for itself in

the local, regional, and international markets as

175

a quality business education provider at a

reasonable cost. In SUC’s endeavor to improve

the quality of programs, academic boards carry

out regular evaluation. IT services are

enhanced and integrated to support the

teaching in classrooms and research work

adequately to meet learning outcomes. To

deliver quality education, SUC has engaged full

t ime faculty members from different

nationalities who are terminal degree holders

and experienced in international exposure to

teach students from multi-cultural background.

SUC also provides additional learning

opportunities by way of well-equipped library,

computer labs, Entrepreneurship lab, and Case

Study Centre. SUC also enables students to

learn from various activities which give them

opportunities to apply their knowledge, skills,

and competencies in organizing and

conducting events. In addition, SUC has a well-

developed advising and feedback mechanism

that helps students and the University to

improve the performances continuously.

SUC has an active Corporate Relations Office

that engages industry to share their

experiences with students in the form of guest

lectures and industry visits. It also helps

students to be placed in internships and jobs. To

prepare students for the industry, SUC

organizes Professional Skills Development

Programs (PSDP) and thus helps in developing

soft and professional skills.

The institution has articulation agreements with

various Colleges/Universities in Canada, UK,

USA, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, India,

and Pakistan etc., which facilitates the transfer

of students for further studies. SUC also

maintains professional relationships with IATA-

UFTAA, Accreditation Council for Business

S c h o o l s a n d P r o g r a m s ( A C B S P ) ,

Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality

(CTH), Association of Chartered Certified

Accountant (ACCA) and the World Tourism

Organization (WTO).

SUC's social responsibility is to communicate

with society, people, environment, and

economy on a continual basis and in a way that

ensures subsequent development in the region.

It is SUC’s commitment to behave ethically and

contribute to economic development while

improving the quality of life of all Skyline staff,

faculty members, their families, the local

community, and society at large.

The faculty members and management take

responsibility for the impact of SUC’s activities

on students, employees, communities and

other stakeholders, as well as the environment.

Finally, at Skyline there is a focus on

sustainable development through strategically-

planned events and calendar that ensure

benefit for the economy, society, and

environment. SUC encourages the students to

become responsible citizens and better human

beings.

SUC offers MBA programs for students where

most of the students in a cohort are

professionals and have work experience

ranging from 3 to 25 years. These students

have immense and in-depth work experience

along with knowledge of intricacies related to

responsibilities and job requirements that they

have been performing at their workplaces.

When these students enter classroom to learn

about the frameworks and theories of

management in an academic setting, the main

problem is that they always refer to, read, and

understand from books that have content

written in a context to which some of the

students may not be able to relate. The theories

and frameworks can still be understood.

However, unfortunately, all the examples and

case studies refer to situations that may often

not match or relate to the business style of the

students. This may consecutively result in their

understanding of the nature of the problem or

solution in a completely different context or

manner as to the one that may be suggested by

the book or expected from the student. Hence,

the biggest challenge for students is to

contextualize each and every situation in their

own way.

Context the Best Practice Tends

to Address

176

Further, some of the students are not able to

gauge the magnitude of the problem or the

gravity of the situation and the value addition

that the solution might have provide for the

organization. The major reason for this situation

is that they are simply unaware of the context in

which these examples, problems, and solutions

are being discussed.

Therefore, the major issue discussed in the

case study is the problem faced by the students

in a classroom setting where they encounter

books and cases of foreign authors to which

they are practically not able to relate. Hence,

this work makes an effort to understand the

importance of contextualization within the

classroom setting.

“Contextualization” is the key focus this best

practice tends to address. Contextualizing

instruction in the classroom involves utilizing

the students' prior knowledge and everyday

experiences as a catalyst for understanding the

challenging management situations. Findings

suggest that initial contextualizing features,

such as sharing personal stories and opinions

were related to students thinking more

frequently about real world situations (Rivet and

Krajcik, 2008). According to the Merriam-

Webster Collegiate Dictionary (2001), the word

‘contextualize’ means to place (as in a word or

activity) in a context. A context is defined as the

interrelated conditions in which something

exists or occurs. Contextualizing then refers to

looking at something in the setting or situation in

which it is used or developed (Rivet and Krajcik,

2008).

The “Collaborative Partnership” model of

learning is also a very important framework to

be understood in this context. This model

enables students to move out of just playing the

role of a passive information seeker and take up

a rather larger and more interesting role in the

classroom. Passiveness is a perennial problem

observed in classrooms where engagement of

the student is minimal and the teacher usually

does the delivery of content and information in a

single direction. Secondly, with collaborative

partnership model, faculty members exchange

a large amount of information and knowledge in

the class. Thirdly, students showcase higher

levels of motivation in the class because their

knowledge is not inferior; rather they are in a

partnership in the classroom. Lastly, because

the students share their knowledge and

experience, their intellect and talent can be

measured and understood (Watson, et.al,

2008).

The major goal of the study is to understand the

importance and value of contextualization for

Master’s students in the university. Here, the

major objective is to investigate how faculty

members who are engaging students in the

classroom, effectively use strategies for

leveraging students’ prior knowledge and

information in the classroom setting so that the

lecturers can enable contextualization for

student learning.

Data collection for this case study was carried

out at SUC, Sharjah by faculty members

teaching at the Master’s level program. A focus

group was formed with faculty members as

participants and the aim was to gather the

opinions and viewpoints on the importance and

value of contextualization. Further, the

participants of the focus group shed light on the

strategies deployed by them in the classroom

to carry out contextualization. Discussion with

the students helped gauge the benefits that the

students could gain with a strategy of

contextualization.

It is essential to use innovation in education

institutions to enhance teaching and learning.

For this reason, the actual implementation of

this teaching and learning intervention can be

carried out in more than one ways. The data

collected through the focus group and class

visits enabled the researcher to investigate

how actual implementation was carried out in

the classroom setting.

In the classroom, one of the most interesting

ways in which contextualization was done

Goals and Outcomes intended

to be Achieved

Implementation Strategy

177

could be to ‘befit the concept to the student

experience’. This appears to be a new, yet an

important strategy as this enables not only

enhanced levels of understanding among the

students but also lets the student create an

understanding of how theory differs from

practice. This further supports the students’

understanding by letting the student know the

value of the framework or the concept learnt

through the classroom and simultaneously

contextualizing the learning to suit it to the local

setting.

This strategy works well with the example given

in the Figure 1.

Therefore, this strategy actually works for

courses where application is significantly

different from the theory given in the books.

Leveraging student knowledge and talent in the

classroom setting not only gives a positive tone

to the discussion in the classroom but the

student also understands that theoretical

frameworks are important and may differ from

region to region or country to country. Here,

creation of knowledge also occurs which could

be even documented by faculty members or

students themselves in the form of case

studies.

A successful and widely used strategy is the

‘development of mini caselets’ of certain

management issues and using them within the

classroom. Here, the most important role is

played by the faculty member, who based on

his/her experiences and reading, develops the

caselets for the students. These caselets are

then referred by the students in the classroom

setting. They attempt to analyze the content

and relate it to their own workplace to discover

similarities and differences in the work

situations. The advantage of this technique is

that the students feel comfortable reading,

understanding, and relating to the contents of

the caselets. Further, when they are asked to

evaluate the same in relation to their own

setting, they are able to understand the reality

of the situation. For this, it becomes imperative

that the students are able to comprehend the

concepts and frameworks taught or referred to

in the classroom or outside the classroom.

This strategy also works well when an

environment of discussion is created in the

classroom. This creates an intriguing and

provoking situation so that the student actually

thinks of the realities of their workplace to

ascertain the similarities and differences. You

may refer to the Figure 2 for an example.

This technique is positive as it enables the

student to read a situation and understand it.

However, on the other hand it also gives a lot of

Herein, for a Marketing course, the faculty

member might like to go beyond the application

of just the 4 Ps, looking at the business forms

and techniques adopted in the Middle East.

UAE primarily is a country where packaging and

branding are key to the success of a product.

The students would eventually understand that

the element of ‘packaging’ is key to the

existence and functioning of an organization. In

this situation, the student gauges how a

practical situation differs from theory and even

makes an attempt to create knowledge and

information which may be actually relevant to

the country or region.

FIGURE 1: Example of a Marketing Course

This strategy works for Management courses

in general or even specific courses like

Strategic Management or Human Resource

Management. A short case study or even a

caselet can provide local information to the

student. The student may then leverage his

own knowledge and understanding by reading

the caselet and understanding the concept in a

situation that happens around him. The student

is able to know the organization being

discussed – the size; the type of business the

organization doing; the type and number of

customers the discussed organization has; the

type of branding or image the organization has

among people and many other pertinent

factors that help ascertain solutions for a given

problem for any organization.

FIGURE 2: Example of Management Courses

178

work to the faculty member. Writing a mini case

or a big case requires enough and valid

knowledge and therefore may require a lot of

faculty member’s time. A good idea is to collect

information and keep building on the cases

gradually.

Another valid strategy used for Master’s

students at SUC is to let them compare and

contrast work situation of others and their own.

In this way, they get to know how concepts are

implemented in other work places, either new or

unknown to them or even for different cultures

and nationalities. You may refer to Figure 3.

The advantages of using this strategy are

manifold. This is because it helps the students

to enhance their knowhow of mechanisms and

applications in the other organization or even

countries with different cultures and working

styles. This information enhances the student’s

ability to compare and figure out the differences

and further enables the student to encapsulate

what is happening around him/her.

One of the significant mechanisms deployed by

faculty members is not only interesting but also

informative where the faculty member actually

does daily ‘homework’ of reading the national

and regional newspapers. Special emphasis is

on the business sections of these newspapers,

where news is published on the local

organizations, their financial and managerial

concerns, operational details along with

c o m p e t i t i v e m o v e s a n d m a r k e t i n g

perspectives. These news items are then

shared in the classroom setting along with the

content or framework to be taught to the

student. This is so that the members of the

cohort are able to relate to theory when they

read and understand examples of the

organizations in their own country through

current issues. This helps them realize that the

concepts and frameworks studied are not just

‘bookish’ or ‘theoretical’, rather the application

is relevant and worth relating to practical

situations. Additionally, the students gain

knowledge that foreign concepts are applicable

to their country, culture, and local style of

business activities. Further, in the classroom

setting, the students explore the new concepts

and difficulties related to the concepts. They

also find the relationships and additional

management techniques are related to a

framework which may be applicable in their

part of the world and which may not be

applicable in some other part of the world.

‘Discussion on Comparative Case studies’ is a

successful strategy adopted in the classroom

by some faculty members. They use

comparative knowledge within the region or

country so that students can learn from the

business leaders of the country. The students

could also read a comparative case study

designed and created by a faculty member or

even read two comparable cases at the same

time to compare and contrast the business

situation in two different contexts.

Another strategy used is to let the students

investigate existing theoretical, managerial

and business frameworks and concepts in their

own organization, so that they are quickly able

to connect with and relate to the given theory.

Here, the student is given an opportunity to find

existing work situations and / or examples at

workplaces that may represent a given

theoretical assumption or framework. Students

would then have to investigate the given

situation at their workplace or a given local

organization. They then collect the pertinent

data to gain in-depth information or insights

about the concept. In this manner, they would

be in a situation to know what was happening in

local institutions along with an understanding of

how concepts are applied in real situations.

Therefore, the practical learning might be

supportive enough to inform the students of the

variations between theory and real practice in

This strategy works best for a course like

‘International Business’ where the student gets

to know how business is being done in other

parts of the region or the world at large.

FIGURE 3: Example of International

Business Course

179

contemporary business organizations. You may

refer to Figure 4.

The results and outcomes of these strategies

are worthy of consideration as the benefits are

beyond real-time measurement. These

strategies are being continuously deployed in

the Master’s courses at SUC. They all appear to

be achieving the aim of contextualization in the

classroom setting. Data was collected through

brief discussions with the students on the

Master’s Programs to agree on the findings of

this case study.

The students feel confident and motivated

when they are asked for information on a given

topic. They get a sense of pride that their

knowledge is also important in a classroom and

that whatever they are sharing also adds value

in the learning process in a given course. This

then feeds into generating more confidence and

trust in the strategy as well as the learning

environment.

The students feel that they have contributed to

the learning in the class. Hence, they feel that

whatever experience they have gained is of

worth and important. This also enables the

students to think about their work more

Results and Outcomes

seriously. They can relate theoretical

frameworks and concepts in classroom

learning to instances at workplace.

The students are further able to relate to the

theory and frameworks given in the text book.

As a result, the students get more confident

with their learning, and their knowledge and

experience more than before.

There is sense of respect for fellow colleagues

in the classroom and the faculty member who is

engaging the student. The students now

understand that each student in the class

carries a relevant, meaningful, and rich work

experience even though coming from another

sector or level of management.

On the other hand, students also develop the

skills of comparing and contrasting work

situations and application of theory. They

understand that various factors play a role in

real-time operations in the business world.

The overall result is higher level of learning and

understanding among students. They also

learn to appreciate divergent work situations

and celebrate differences among working

styles and decision-making styles.

Each contextualized experience gives

students learnings for life. Hence reflection is a

process that is key to enhancing our overall

understanding about the process of

contextualization. The major reflections from

the practice that can be listed here include:

1. Encouraging each student to share

experiences individually to the classroom

as he/she carries good and/or rich work

experience which may be a great source

of discussion in the classroom setting.

2. Creating a mutual sharing and learning

experience in the class becomes an

important responsibility of the faculty

member.

3. Knowing the background of each student

in the class inclusive of their nationality,

work experience. It might include number

of years, positions held, roles played

Reflection on Lessons Learnt

This strategy works for a course like Human

Resource Management where the student

would go out to the workplace and find out how

recruitment or training is done in his/her

organization. He/she then understands the

patterns or techniques in which theory or a

conceptual framework might be adopted by

local organizations in the country. There may be

an impact of the culture, demand, and supply or

even the economic situation of the country. The

student would also be in a position to find out

how word-of-mouth or references work in a

given situation which may not have been

discussed in the classroom setting as a very

prominent method of recruitment.

FIGURE 4: Example of Human Resource

Management Course

responsibilities handled at workplace.

This becomes the ‘homework’ for the

faculty member.

4. Appreciating the differences of work

backgrounds and informing the cohort

about the pedagogy as well as the

teaching and learning style (collaborative-

partnership model of learning) to be used

in the classroom. This will motivate the

students to be prepared for sharing

information in the classroom.

5. Documenting the experiences of the

student in mini-case forms that could be

used for internal learning or even

published jointly by the faculty member or

student. This would directly support

contextualization without needing to

repeat examples and at the same time

gaining relevant and new workplace

information. Rather, it would help to collate

valuable data, which would provide

data/examples for future students.

Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 2001,

viewed July 15, 2015 http://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/contextualize

References

180

Rive t , A .E . , & Kra jc ik , J .S . 2008,

“Contextualizing instruction: Leveraging

students’ prior knowledge and experience to

foster understanding of middle school

science”, Journal of Research in Science

Teaching, vol. 45, pp.53-78.

Watson, R. T., Boudreau, M., York, P. T.,

Greiner, M. & Wynn, D. E., 2008, “Opening

the Classroom”, Journal of Information

Systems Education, vol. 19, no. 1,

pp 75-85.

Here I take a moment to thank each one

of my colleagues and students who supported

me in gathering pertinent information to

complete the case study. I also thank SUC

for all the support provided especially the

Dean, Prof. Dr. Amitabh Upadhya who is our

mentor.

A special mention needs to be made for Dr. Anil

Dubey, Dr. Calvin Lee, Dr. Gouhar Ahmed and

Dr. Nadir Kolachi who supported me

throughout this work. Last but not the least, I

express a more than special appreciation for

Dr. Marcelle Harran, who has walked with me

through the case study.

Acknowledgements

INTEGRATING SIMULATION-BASED EDUCATION IN UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL CURRICULUM: A CURRICULAR

INNOVATION AT GULF MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

Organizer

MANDA VENKATRAMANA,

Dean, College of Medicine; Director, Center for Advanced Simulation in Healthcare;

Clinical Professor of Surgery, Gulf Medical University

CASE STUDY

Presenting author: PROFESSOR MANDA VENKATRAMANA,

deangmc@gmu.ac.ae; mandavenkat@gmail.com

0507278379

ERUM KHAN,

Simulation Instructor, Center for Advanced Simulation in Healthcare, Gulf Medical University

182

Abstract

Background of the institution

where the case study took place

The rapidly changing paradigm of medical

education and patient safety standards has put

an increasing demand on medical schools to

yield highly competent health professionals.

The Center for Advanced Simulation in

Healthcare (CASH) at Gulf Medical University is

a state of the art simulated hospital with a

mission to ensure delivery of high quality

healthcare to the community by providing highly

competent and safe practitioners trained and

tested by advanced simulation techniques.

The Center facilitates the integration of

simulation-based education in the medical,

dental, pharmacy, physical therapy and post

graduate curriculum of the University,

especially in the early years of medical

education and complements the clinical

learning with real patients during the later years.

CASH ensures a safe and error-forgiving

learning environment where learners can

construct their own knowledge and skills at their

own pace.

Evaluation of the student’s perspective on

simulation-based clinical skills teaching /

learning during each integrated course of the

undergraduate curriculum reflects a score well

above the benchmark as compared to other

constructive teaching / learning methods.

The Gulf Medical University is a private

university that came into existence on 1st July

2008 with the issue of a Decree by His

Excellency Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al

Nahyan, the Minister of Higher Education and

Scientific Research.

The Gulf Medical University has evolved from

the Gulf Medical College, which came into

existence by Decree No. 1, dated 28 January,

1998 issued by His Highness Sheikh Humaid

Bin Rashid Al-Nuaimi, Ruler of Ajman and

Member of the Supreme Council, U.A.E. It is

registered as a limited liability company with the

Ajman Municipality, Ajman and the Chamber of

Commerce of the Federal Government of UAE.

Gulf Medical College was the first private

medical college in the United Arab Emirates to

accept students of both genders and from

different nationalities into its medical and

physiotherapy programs. Both the programs

have received their Initial Accreditation from the

MOHESR and are listed in the directories of

WHO, EMRO and IMED under the auspices of

FAIMER.

The Gulf Medical University has 5 major

academic units: the College of Medicine (CoM),

College of Pharmacy (CoP), College of

Dentistry (CoD), College of Allied Health

Sciences (CoAHS) and the College of

Graduate Studies (CoGS).

GMU currently offers 8 degree programs run by

these 5 constituent colleges; College of

Medicine offers the Bachelor of Medicine and

Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and the Bachelor

of Biomedical Sciences (BBMS) programs,

College of Dentistry offers the DMD program,

College of Pharmacy offers the Pharm D

program, College of Allied Health Sciences

offers BPT program, and College of Graduate

Studies offers one Diploma (in Toxicology) and

3 Master programs in Clinical Pathology,

Toxicology and Public Health. The Center for

Continuous Education and Community

Outreach offers non-degree courses. In

addition, 3 programs have received initial

accreditation and are yet to be implemented.

These include the Associate Degree in

Preclinical Sciences (ADPCS) program,

Masters in Human Reproductive Biology and

Masters in Physical Therapy (MPT) programs.

The former 2 programs were planned and

developed by College of Medicine and the latter

by the College of Allied Health Sciences.

Keywords: Gulf Medical University, MBBS program, Undergraduate, Simulation-based Medical

Education, Clinical skills, Integration

183

GMU currently has only one campus with its

attached GMC group of Hospitals located in

Ajman, Sharjah, Fujairah, and the recently

launched Thumbay Hospital, Dubai. These are

the clinical training sites available for the MBBS,

Physiotherapy, Dental, Pharmacy and graduate

students. Contractual agreements help joint

faculty committees to coordinate the operation

of the clinical training in the different programs

conducted at these sites.

The state-of-the-art Center for Advanced

Simulation in Healthcare (CASH), Center for

Advanced Biomedical Research and Innovation

(CABRI) and the Testing Center located within

the university campus support teaching /

learning and assessment.

CASH is situated within the Gulf Medical

University campus at Ajman. It is a state-of-art

facility and a recent value addition to

complement the pedagogy of our students. This

facility was dedicated to the nation by His

Highness Sheikh Humaid Bin Rashid Al Nuaimi

on January 13, 2014.

The mission of CASH is to create a safe,

controlled and non-threatening environment for

health professionals to teach, train and assess

the cognitive, psychomotor and affective skills

ensuring high quality patient care and safety

using various simulation technologies.

Simulation-based learning is considered one of

the best practices in current day medical

education.

Designed as a virtual hospital setting, CASH is a

multidisciplinary educational facility that

provides high-tech simulated set-up for clinical

and communication skills teaching / learning

and training for all health care professionals.

CASH offers Training Programs to doctors,

nurses, other health professionals and lay

public as well. The major beneficiary of this

facility has been GMU students as simulation-

based learning has been seamlessly integrated

into the curriculum of various programs. CASH

is recognized as an American Heart Association

accredited Life Support Training Site.

The Center for Advanced Simulation

in Healthcare (CASH)

The facility is equipped with a whole range of

manikins from low-fidelity part-task trainers to

high-fidelity full-body manikins which simulate

real-life situations providing an exciting

learning experience to the students. Feedback

and a de-briefing experience are an integral

part of simulation-based learning / teaching at

our facility.

The rapidly changing paradigm of medical

education and patient safety standards has put

an increasing demand on medical schools to

yield highly competent health professionals.

The focus of undergraduate curriculum globally

has shifted to outcomes, competencies and

milestones. Students demand opportunities for

safe learning to ensure safe practice.

Dr. Surraiya is an alumnus of GMU who

graduated in the year 2007. She is currently

pursuing residency in Interventional Radiology

at Hamburg University, Germany. She was

from the traditional curriculum which was very

didactic and teacher-centered. She said she

did not get enough exposure to clinical skills

like phlebotomy, IV access and cannulation

during her study period in GMU.

In the light of this global shift, feedback and

demand, GMU underwent a major curricular

change in 2008 from a traditional to an

integrated outcome-based organ-system

curriculum with constructivism as the

underpinned principle. The teaching learning

strategies shifted from traditional teacher-

centered to more innovative student-centered

pedagogical strategies encouraging reflection,

critical-thinking, problem-solving and lifelong

learning. Student feedback is one of the many

factors which drove the need to change.

The National Qualifications Framework

(QFEmirates) mandates aligning the program

learning outcomes with teaching / learning and

The context the case study

addresses; the problem that

prompted to undertake the

i n i t i a t i ve w i th poss ib l e

examples illustrated

184

assessment methods. The integrated MBBS curriculum outcomes necessitated horizontal and

vertical integration. It is here that the role of early patient contact and clinical skills was envisioned. A

need was felt where students can learn the theory of basic sciences and simultaneously apply the

newly acquired knowledge in a practical and hands-on session, enabling to better understand the

clinical context of basic sciences. The stakeholders thus adopted and applied global best practices

and recent advances in clinical skills research to design a context-based highly-evolved simulation-

based integrated curriculum.

The ultimate goal is to ensure high quality patient care and safety, and competency-building among

students who are the future healthcare providers. For example, the Program Learning Outcomes

for the MBBS program is as follows:

The goals and outcomes intended to be achieved by the institutions

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the key concepts and

principles of biomedical, clinical and psychosocial sciences and their

application in the clinical context to promote health, and prevent and

treat diseases commonly encountered in the region within the legal and

regulatory framework

Communicate effectively with patients and their families, peers,

mentors and members of the public through written, verbal and

electronic means; perform clinical skills competently

Use appropriate statistical tools and research methods to practice

evidence-based medicine, maintain appropriate documentation and

carry out basic research studies

Arrive at decisions, take actions and perform assigned duties paying

due attention to cultural diversity, patient confidentiality and ethical

issues; be worthy of trust and exhibit honesty, fairness, compassion,

respect and integrity in all interactions

Provide optimum patient care at the level of a basic doctor through

clerking, diagnosing and managing patients, including performing

common emergency and life-saving procedures, adhering to

recommended guidelines and standard precautions with an awareness

of both one's own limitations and the need to seek the help of an expert

when required in the interests of patient safety

Function as an effective leader and contribute to the professional

development of peers; be an effective team member when dealing with

peers and mentors in the discharge of duties and during the process of

learning and appreciate the roles and contributions of peers and other

healthcare professionals of the multidisciplinary team

Possess qualities of self-evaluation, reflection, self-learning and time-

management skills so that life-long learning could be undertaken for

personal and professional development; develop critical thinking and

problem-solving abilities along with sufficient personal strengths to

cope with the physical and psychological demands of a career in

medicine

LO DomainUpon successful completion of the program, the graduate will

be able to:

A

B1

B2

C1

C2a

C2b

C3

Medical Knowledge

Communication and

Clinical Skills

Research and

Analytical Skills

Professionalism

and Values

Patient Care

Leadership and

Teamwork

Personal

Development

TABLE 1: The MBBS Program Learning Outcomes

Simulation-Based Medical Education is one

such enabler to achieve this goal and outcomes.

Since necessity is the mother of invention, to

cope with this pressing need, a state-of-art fully

customized multimodality and multidisciplinary

Center for Advanced Simulation in Healthcare

(CASH) was established in Jan 2014. It is one of

the largest in the region with a floor space of

about 12,500 sq. ft., equipped with high-fidelity

simulators to part-task trainers, standardized

patients and a robust audiovisual set-up and

debriefing protocol.

The mission of CASH is to ensure delivery of

high quality healthcare to the community by

providing highly competent and safe

practitioners trained and tested by advanced

simulation techniques. The Center ensures a

The actual implementation

strategy

safe and error-forgiving learning environment,

where learners can construct their own

knowledge and skills at their own pace.

CASH is not an ordinary skills lab. It is a

micro-simulation world designed to simulate

the floor plan of a hospital, which hosts the

opportunities to learn various clinical skills and

competency development programs. CASH

has been able to integrate seamlessly the

simulation-based medical education (SBME) in

the medical, dental, pharmacy and allied

health curriculum of the University especially in

the early years of medical education. It

complements the clinical learning with real

patients during the later years in the larger

interest of patient safety and also uniformity of

learning experience by students. This has

resulted in improving not only the competency-

based teaching of clinical skills but the

assessment of these skills with better reliability

and validity.

TABLE 2: Seamless integration of SBME in the curricula of various programs

Year/

phaseOrgan-system/

course

Clinical

skills

Contact

hours

Teaching /

Learning

strategies

Assessment

tools (Formative

and Summative)

I MBBS

(Phase 1)

Language and

Communication

Skills

• Communication skills

• History Taking skills

Approx.

40 hrs.

Simulated patient

Encounter

followed by

Debriefing in small

groups, Role

plays (Student

and Standardized

Patient),Interactive

Lectures (Video based)

CBT (Real

patient

encounter

videos) OSCE

with Simulated

Patients

• Communication

skills: Interpersonal

and

• Inter-professional

• History Taking skills

• Examination skills

• Diagnostic skills

• Management skills

• Clinical Reasoning

and Problem Solving

Skills

Approx.

30 hrs/

course

Simulated and

Standardized

patient

Simulators

Integrated

OSPEIntegrated

OSCE (SP and

simulators)

Integumentary Blood & Immune CVSRS Alimentary Urinary

II MBBS

(Phase II

Year 1)

185

Continued...

Year/

phaseOrgan-system/

course

Clinical

skills

Contact

hours

Teaching /

Learning

strategies

Assessment

tools (Formative

and Summative)

IV MBBS

(Phase III

Year 1)

ER Clerkship

Posting

• Deliberate Practice

sessions

• Triage

• Inter-professional

Team Training

• Crisis-Resource

Management

• Basic Life Support

• Basic Surgical Skills

• Basic Orthopedic

Skills

• Universal Safety

Precautions

Approx.

30 hrs.

OSCE

V MBBS

(Phase III

Year 2)

Open Self-directed

Practice sessions

Open Simulated

patients, ManikinsSimulators

OSCEOSLER

• Medication History

• General and

systemic examination

• Phlebotomy skills

• Basic first aid and

emergency

management in

pharmacy practice

• Basic Life support

65 hours Simulated

patients, ManikinsSimulators

OSCEPhysical

Assessment

Course

Pharm D

(8th

Semester-

Fourth

Year)

DMD (10th

Semester-

Final Year)

Medical

Emergencies in

Dental Practice

• Medical history

• General and

systemic examination

• Phlebotomy skills

• Basic first aid

emergency

management in

dental practice

• Basic Life support

65 hours Simulated

patients, ManikinsSimulators

OSCE

TABLE 2: Continued...

• Interpersonal and

• Inter-professional

• History Taking skills

• Examination skills

• Diagnostic skills

• Management skills

• Clinical Reasoning

and Problem Solving

Skills

Integrated

OSPEIntegrated

OSCE (SP and

simulators)

Simulated and

Standardized

patientSimulators

EndocrineReproductive Nervous Musculoskeletal

III MBBS

(Phase II

Year 2)

Approx.

36 hrs. /

course

186

Continued...

187

The results and outcome of the

implementation strategy

The experience at CASH extends beyond

learning simple procedural skills to learning

communication skills, leadership skills, crisis-

resource management, inter-professional

team training, professionalism, ethics, and so

on and meeting many program learning

outcomes of various programs. As an example,

extent to which SBME fulfills the program

learning outcomes of the MBBS curriculum is as

follows:

Student feedback about the clinical skill

sessions has been exemplary with the ratings

for SBME on par if not better than other

pedagogical strategies like case-based

learning, seminars, computer aided-learning or

didactics. Evaluation of the student’s

perspective on simulation-based clinical skills

teaching / learning for example during each

integrated course of the undergraduate MBBS

curriculum (for the courses in 2nd and 3rd

MBBS in an Academic Year) reflects a score

well above the benchmark as compared to

other constructive teaching / learning methods.

TABLE 3: Extent to which SBME fulfills the MBBS Program Learning Outcomes and QFEmirates

MBBS PLO Extent QFEmirates Strand

A Medical Knowledge Partial Knowledge

B1 Communication and Clinical Skills FullSkills

B2 Research and Analytical Skills Partial

C1 Professionalism and Values Full Autonomy and Responsibility

C2a Patient Care FullRole in Context

C2b Leadership and Teamwork Full

C3 Personal Development Full Self-Development

BPT (1st

Semester-

First Year)

First Aid and

Life Support

• Basic first aid and

emergency

management

• Basic Life support

Simulated

patients, ManikinsSimulators

Continuous

assessment

15 hours

BBMS (1st

Semester-

First Year)

First Aid and

Life Support

• Basic first aid and

emergency

management

• Basic Life support

15 hours Simulated

patients, ManikinsSimulators

Continuous

assessment

Year/

phaseOrgan-system/

course

Clinical

skills

Contact

hours

Teaching /

Learning

strategies

Assessment

tools (Formative

and Summative)

TABLE 2: Continued...

188

CHART 2

The need necessitated a shift and the shift

resulted in better student satisfaction with their

learning encounters. GMU students cherish the

error-forgiving and safe, constructive and

collaborative learning environment of CASH.

Here, clinical skills can be learnt at their own

pace as an individual and as a team, guided by

timely feedback and remediation.

CASH remains a center where a novice can

prick a simulated IV arm ‘n’ number of times

until he/she is confident to move to the virtual IV

CHART 1

189

Trainer, and from there with multiple practice

occasions he/she is ready to translate this skill

on a real patient in the real setting as an expert.

There is no unhappy student like Dr. Surraiyya

at GMU anymore!

The process of integrating SBME in the

curriculum posed many challenges which

include;

1. Resistance to change: the changed

proactive educational strategy induced a

cultural shock among conservative

educators

2. Lack of trained clinical faculty

3. Lack of trained support staff like advanced

simulation instructors and simulation

technicians

4. Lack of industry support in MENA region in

contrast to the boom of SBME and

simulation industry in the west like Europe

and America for the past decade to sustain

the center financially

5. Lack of endorsement by local and

international regulators

6. Lack of research and development in the

field of simulation-based medical

education

Simulation-based medical education is

considered one of the ‘best-practices’ in medical

education. To overcome the challenges listed

above, we recommend the following:

• Seamlessly integrate SBME in the medical

curriculum

• Orient and reassure both trainers and

trainees that SBME is here to complement

hands-on training on real patient to

overcome any resistance to change. In fact

in the light of evidence, it prepares novices

well in advance before real patient

encounter

Reflection on lesson learnt on

the topic

Recommendations

• ‘Train the Trainers’ and Faculty

Development Programs are the key to

success to remove any apprehensions

about integrating SBME in the curriculum

and overcome the handicap of lack of

trained clinical faculty in the field of

simulation; the training should be targeted

at:

• Selective use and limitations of SBME

• Combining simulation modalities

• Creating constructive, integrated and

well-designed simulated-learning

experiences into formal curriculum

• Specialized training and continued

professional development of current staff

in the simulation center to cope with lack of

trained support staff so very essential for

smooth functioning of the center and

running of the programs

• Collaborating with the simulation industry

(manufactures, trainers and distributors)

to meet the educational and technology

demands of this region to ensure a

sustainable growth

• A continuous dialogue with the local

regulators at different levels to endorse

the simulation center for routine and

obligatory medical education, certification

and licensing

• Providing academic and administrative

support to the educators who intend to

explore the performance and validation

measures utilized in SMBE as an

instructional and assessment strategy

• Promoting curriculum driven research and

development, and encouraging faculty to

take up the challenge in driving the

simulation industry to meet the curricular

needs rather than vice versa

AMEE Guide no. 82

GMU MBBS Student Handbook, AY 2014-15

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC

3195067/

www.gmu.ac.ae

References

EMPOWERING NEW STUDENTS WITH STRUCTURED FIRST YEAR EXPERIENCE

Organizer

DR. JAMAL HAJSALEH,

DR. HAMAD KARKI,

DR. AHMED AL SHOAIBI,

DR. NADIA AL HASANI,

MR. HAGOP AYNEDJIAN, CAMP Coordinator;

haynedjian@pi.ac.ae,

Petroleum Institute, UAE

FYE Coordinator,

jhajsaleh@pi.ac.ae

Arts & Sciences Director;

hkarki@pi.ac.ae

Dean of Academic Affairs;

Dean of Student Life;

nalhasani@pi.ac.ae

CASE STUDY

191

Abstract

Transforming students from high school to

university life is taking a serious approach at the

Petroleum Institute through the First-Year

Experience (FYE). The level of influence of the

first year experience on the students in

achieving the success is very high. Hence, PI

has initiated a comprehensive and integrated

program which focuses not only on the

improvement of student academic skills but

also on the behavioral and leadership qualities

through the living/learning elements and

ultimately the independence and belonging to

the institute.

FYE program is composed of three

components: Success, Skills, and Social. The

components concentrate on different goals but

it verifies and builds on the vision of the institute.

The activities are scheduled in a way that

maximizes the interaction of students and

various departments and units of the institute

and thus almost everyone is involved in a way or

another in the experience. Students are given

passports like documents were they collect

stamps for extra-curricular activities that are

carefully designed for each component.

Passports are collected at the end for records

and assigned grades in two different courses

are assessed. Students who complete the FYE

get certificate of completion in a graduation

ceremony. The first FYE students have shown

great success rate. More than 90% of them

have achieved GPA that is higher than 2.0.

High school experiences with different curricula

and pedagogy in seven emirates do not prepare

the students sufficiently for college education. It

is of essential interest and duty on the

universities and post high school education

entities to properly take all actions and ways to

complete the task of securing successful

approaches to address this issue.

An increasing number of institutes around the

world and the US universities have realized

such a concern and have a number of

approaches to improve the transition. The

maturity of the students, the changing

education system, and the new technological

and social changes have been under

microscopic interest and research projects.

The various approaches have obviously been

focusing on the first year students and in many

prospective id deals with:

• Better academic preparation

• Psychosocial and behavioral support

• Larger experience of college life

• Effective and adequate information

dissemination

• New pedagogical approaches on student

center education

• Development of relevant skills

The freshman year in university lays the

foundation for achieving success in a student’s

future academic endeavors and ensures a

rewarding campus life. The effective

implementation of any approach would require

a great cooperation in almost every component

of the university and will also require sustained

financial support.

There are

many other factors they need to develop, such

as decision making, community engagement,

development courses and students support.

In spring 2013, the Petroleum Institute

implemented an aggressive new program,

namely, Freshman Year Experience (FYE). The

main aim of this new program is to help

students achieve success in their academic

journey. To provide students with support and

needed provision, FYE with a campus-wide

collaboration provided the resources and

support to make a smooth transition into the

new life of college.

While coming to college may seem

overwhelming at first, FYE has implemented a

variety of programs and resources to help

freshman adjust to college-level coursework

and to help discover the academic, social, and

personal balance that leads to graduation.

The key issues related to professional

development of college students include their

independence and maturity levels.

Freshman Year Experience FYE

192

How FYE helps freshmen can be seen from one

prospective as the catalyst to foster

connections with fellow students, faculty, and

support services that will sustain them

throughout their education. FYE also asks

students to think about what it means to be

responsible for themselves, to the PI and

ADNOC, and to their local, regional, and global

communities, so that they can become a

positive and contributing member of society.

The mission of FYE is to aid freshman students’

transition into college life, to expose them to the

broad range of educational opportunities

available to them, and to integrate freshmen into

the campus community in order to enrich their

college experience. As a whole, all of these will

help meet the developmental, intellectual,

cultural, and social needs of freshmen students

as they make the transition from high school to

the new rigors, requirements, and expectations

of coursework and life at the Petroleum Institute.

The following goals define and explain the

diversity of learning experiences that support

success in the first year. These goals are not

intended to be prescriptive to students, faculty,

or staff; rather, they are intended to provide a

guide for the kinds of knowledge, skills, and

dispositions students need to reach their goals.

• Goal One: To connect students to

resources that promote belonging,

wellness, and success in the first year.

• Goal Two: To inspire intellectual curiosity

in students and to introduce students to the

richness and objectivity of education at

Petroleum Institute.

• Goal Three: To develop skills essential to

academic success and lifelong learning

• Goal Four: To promote engaged living and

learning and to explore commitments to

campus, ADNOC, local, regional, and

global communities

To carry out the intended mission of the FYE

and achieve its goals, FYE activities are divided

into the three categories: Success, Skills, and

Social.

Goals of FYE

Success – To help make a smooth transition

into college life, academic advisors, student

counselors, student support services, and peer

mentors have a role in helping students

achieve success, both inside and outside the

classroom. Each new student is assigned an

Arts and Sciences faculty advisor whose job is

to monitor their advisee’s academic progress

and provide assistance and guidance when

needed. The library and Independent Learning

Center (ILC) provide help to students in the

form of extra resource material and tutoring by

faculty and students. Success in the classroom

comes along with success outside the

classroom. Students living in PI residences are

assigned a resident assistant (RA). RAs are

academically successful upper classmen who

share with the freshman students their

experiences of life and work at the PI and who

also monitor students outside the classroom in

addition to helping students integrate into the

larger PI community.

Skills – Throughout the first semester,

workshops targeting skills and behaviors

valuable to achieving academic success in

college will be offered. Also, special guest

speakers are invited to give talks on topics of

interest and importance to freshman students.

In addition, Women in Science and

Engineering (WiSE) has special offerings

during the year for its students. Students may

decide to attend these workshops and talks on

their own or may be directed to do so by their

advisor or instructor.

Social – To achieve greater academic success

and personal growth and to help make the

university experience more enjoyable, PI

students are encouraged to further integrate

into the PI community by taking part in some of

the many outside the classroom activities

taking place on campus. The PI has active

athletic, recreational, and resident life

programs.

Students can join one of the many PI athletic

teams or just play a game of football with their

friends during some time away from studies.

Sports and other competitions as well as trips

take place throughout the year. PI has an active

193

student council for male and female students

where students can take part in leadership

activities. Freshman students get to meet with

PI alumni who can talk about their experiences

while at the PI and in their professional lives.

Throughout the year, WiSE helps to organize

numerous social activities for PI female

students.

The three categories are not independent of

each other; rather they intersect each other in

the form of Freshman Engineering Success

Seminar (ENGR101), CAMP PI, and PI

Connect.

ENGR101 is a required course that introduces

students to the oil and gas industry in general

and to ADNOC and its group companies in

particular. Special emphasis is given to learning

how, when, and where chemical engineers,

mechanical engineers, electrical engineers,

petroleum engineers, and geoscientists work

within the petroleum industry. By the end of the

course, students will be able to confidently

select their major area of study at the PI. The

course includes a brief history of the oil and gas

industry and moves through how oil and gas are

discovered, produced, transported, refined,

and marketed. At the same time, students are

introduced to university life and to learning

methods and skills to be more productive in

their coursework and how to transport

knowledge learned in one class into another

class and also into the future on their way to

becoming independent, lifelong learners.

CAMP PI stands for Chemistry, Arts, Math, and

Physics, subjects which make up the large

majority of the first year of classes. Arts and

Sciences courses are designed to be

in fo rmat i ve , s t imu la t i ng , engag ing ,

challenging, and enjoyable. Study skills

learned in ENGR101 and Skills workshops will

prove invaluable in these courses and will be

needed to be successful in them. Classes

taken during the freshman year form the

foundation for later studies and as such are

some of the most important classes a university

student takes. Arts and Sciences faculties are

dedicated to providing their students with the

best possible learning environments. Each

CAMP subject area plays an active role in the

ILC, with a Writing Center for Communications,

and Learning Centers for Chemistry, Math, and

Physics.

PI Connect brings students together with

fellow students with the goal of students

working together to help each other succeed.

Freshman students are grouped into cohorts

according to the classes they are taking. A

cohort of approximately 20 students will be in

the same Math, Chemistry, Communication,

and ENGR101 classes. Those cohort students

living on campus will also be assigned to live in

the same area of the dormitories and be

assigned an RA to help them and look after

them. A living/learning community will be

formed. Students can help each other out in

many ways, like doing homework and studying

for an exam together. The RA can help students

to come up with solutions for any problems they

face, possibly contacting, or connecting the

student to other campus resources if needed.

Each cohort of students will be assigned their

own Arts and Sciences faculty advisor who will

monitor their advisee’s academic progress,

keep in contact with their cohort’s instructors,

and meet with their cohort’s RA. In general, the

advisor will be available to help his/her

advisees have a successful freshman year by

directing their advisees to various campus

resources that have been identified as being

helpful to their advisee’s success.

194

Tracking Students Participation:

FYE Passport

Each FYE student is handed a passport to

document all activities that he or she have

participated in. Once an event has been

announced to students via the FYE website or

the email, students sign up and get registered in

the activity list on first come first serve basis.

Upon attending the activity and completing the

task, a stamp referring to the activity categories

is given on the passport. The passports are

collected at the end of the semester for

verification and grade.

The ILC maintains records of student

attendance at all FYE events during the

semester and passports and keeps the

passports for auditing and future research

needs.

Data and Records

In 2014 fall semester, students placed in FYE

were 258. There were 46 workshops and

presentations scheduled for the students to

attend. Both Male and Female campuses

hosted same number of events of 23 each.

The workshops and presentations topics

included:

Time Management Organizing Your Writing

Effective Reading Public Speaking

Team Building Emotional Intelligence

Leadership Fire Safety

Time Management Communicating with Your Instructor

Study Skills Résumé Writing

Reference to Literature in Academic Writing Proofreading

Entrepreneurship Adjusting to University

How to Paraphrase to Avoid Plagiarism

195

Social events, community service activities were diverse and engaging the students in institute

events and community issues and interests. The activities at time were not the same for the

genders because of the nature of the service. Amongst the ones participated in are:

Activity 1

Ind iv idual Wr i t ing (Ref lect ion on

Experience)

In the individual writing components, students

are required to reflect (using a reflective writing

cycle) on their own experience as students in

relation to academic texts on communication

topics. Literacy skills are combined with self-

reflection. The instructions specifically require

students to reflect on their FYE experience. For

example, the ‘interpersonal communication’

texts and the ‘effective (active) listening’ texts

are related to interpersonal communication

experience specifically in FYE/ILC tutorial

discussions, or discussions with advisors or

counselors. Intrapersonal communication texts

and discussion would require students to

discuss how FYE social activities have

benefitted them in terms of developing their

inter/intrapersonal communication skills i.e.

improving their self-concept, perception, and

expectations.

Activity Activity

Freshman Tournament Inter Department Tournament (Football)

Discover UAE – Dubai Trip Inter Department Tournament (Basketball)

Inter Department Tournament Inter Department Tournament (Volleyball)

PI Breast Cancer Day Inter Department Tournament (Badminton)

Club Fair – Male Inter Department Tournament (Table Tennis)

Club Fair – Female Inter Department Tournament (Squash)

UAE FLAG DAY Iner Department Tournament (Tennis)

Diabetes Walk - Male Coaching a Faculty

Diabetes Walk – Female Training twice a week in the gym

Healthy Life Campaign – Male Community Service (Falcons Game)

Healthy Life Campaign – Female Survival Skills

Activity 2

(Poster Creation and Presentation)

FYE workshops tend to focus on the

development of academic competence. Small

groups of students are asked to identify one or

two workshops o r FYE leadersh ip

presentations they attended and to design a

poster to communicate how the skills learned

contr ibute towards developing their

competence.

Teams in COMM 151 classes are encouraged

to investigate FYE topics, such as time

management, effective teamwork, leadership

as their main research topics, which requires

them to exhibit a knowledge of contemporary

issues and develop their abilities of analyzing

and interpreting data.

Therefore, it is emphasized that they can

increase their chance of getting good marks

only if they take part in these activities. In

addition, COMM 151 instructors are likely to

196

take their passports into consideration when

they decide on their Personal Development

marks at the end of the course.

Numerous studies show that the personal

relationships built between a student and

his/her faculty is especially important for the

academic success of students. FYE makes

fostering this student/teacher interaction one of

its biggest goals, both inside and outside the

classroom. FYE uses CAMP PI and faculty

advising to bring about increased student/

faculty interaction. Good quality advising

requires all constituents to carry out their

different roles, from the advisor, to the student,

to the student counselor, and finally to the

student’s instructors. Given below are short

descriptions of the roles for each of these

persons. These are followed by detailed

descriptions of advising for the advisor, the

student, and the instructor. The final pages

include a week by week advising calendar.

• Enable students to create a sense of

direction, a sense of purpose and a sense

of fulfillment through providing adequate

guidance and counseling.

• Help and guide the PI youth to realize their

goals of optimum academic personal and

social development.

• Help students reach their educational

goals, depending on the nature of the

problem discussed during their meeting

with the counselor.

• Act as a reliable introspective source of

information who is devoted to solve the

students’ personal difficulties.

• Enable students to identify their academic,

psychological, or social problems that

may have a negative impact on their

Advising: Roles and

Responsibilities

The Counselors’ Role

academic performance and enable them

to critically evaluate these problems and

solve them.

• Provide sufficient guidance to students

who might need additional academic or

psychological support.

• Provide tailor-made workshops that

correspond with the issues raised or dealt

with during the course.

• Connect students with the other facilities

that might reinforce the counselor’s plan

(activities provided by the ILC, FYE,

campus and residency life).

Orientation for advisors: Acquaint

current/new advisors with their duties and

responsibilities and any possible changes in

policies or roles.

Advisor/advisee lunch meeting: Organized

by the FYE team, to enable students to have an

informal meeting with their advisors, followed

by a meeting with the FYE team to address the

queries of students.

Students at risk: Identified by the instructors,

advisees are contacted for individual or group

meetings. Design, discuss, implement, and

monitor their intervention plan.

Contact students at risk: Based on the

newly posted midterm grades (C- and below

grades). Call current/newly identified students

at risk for individual/group meetings to monitor

the progress of their intervention plan or to

design, discuss, and implement their

intervention plan.

The program is just beginning and still under

evolution to see the effect on the graduates but

we can look into some of the impacts on

students.

In 2014 fall semester, students placed in FYE

were 256 and the data of students’ participation

FYE Effect

197

and stamp collection is given in the following table:

The students were also presented with a

detailed survey and the following are among the

positive impacts of FYE:

•

of what is expected in university studies

than pre-FYE cohorts, and they feel that

they are challenged at an appropriate level.

• FYE students more strongly agree that

counseling is available and helpful.

• FYE cohort students are significantly more

likely to meet with an advisor for purposes

other than course registration than pre-

FYE cohorts. FYE cohort students are also

significantly more likely to use their own

initiative to meet with their advisor.

• FYE cohort students report making use of

additional resources more often than pre-

FYE students did.

• There is a significant decrease in the

percentage of FYE cohort students who

disagree or strongly disagree with the

statement that they have developed a good

knowledge of basic Chemistry concepts.

• The overall A&S experience is more

positive (93% in 2013 and 95% in 2014) for

FYE cohort students are much more aware

FYE students, up from 84% positive or

very positive before FYE; nearly double

the percentage of FYE students report a

“very posit ive experience” as

compared with pre-FYE cohorts.

• Substantial increase in survey response

rate (25% in Fall 2013, 65% in Fall 2014)

• In 2014, the trend of students finding

counseling more available and helpful

continued its positive movement, rising

from 77% to 85% agreeing or strongly

agreeing, with the percent strongly

agreeing nearly doubling (10% to 18%).

• The percent of students occasionally or

regularly using tutorial centers increased

from 35% in 2013 to 47% in 2014.

• In 2013, FYE students reported making

slightly less regular use of office hours

than previous cohorts had. This trend

reversed in 2014, with over ¾ of students

reporting occasionally or regularly using

office hours, with an increase of more than

10 percentage points from previous

cohorts in terms of regular use of office

hours.

Target 94 376 376 658 1410

Male 91 389 356 585 1330

% 97% 103% 95% 89% 94%

Target 162 648 648 1134 2430

Female 162 728 814 1115 2672

% 100% 112% 126% 98% 110%

Target 256 1024 1024 1792 3840

All 253 1117 1170 1700 4002

% 98.8% 109% 114% 95% 104%

Students

Participating Stamps Stamps Stamps Stamps

Skills Social Success Total

198

Discussion on Impact

I. Student Satisfaction

Overall, the data indicates a strong level of

student satisfaction with the PI FYE program.

This satisfaction is manifested in enhanced

engagement across a number of targeted

areas. Students also perceive that they have

developed in the areas of learner training and

academics, though the impact is not as strong

as in the area of engagement. Finally, across

much of the data, there are indications of

impacts on developing students’ sense of

belonging.

The larger, long-term goals of PI FYE program

necessarily focus on student retention and

performance in degree courses. The more

immediate goals, however, are to provide a

program which not only engages students, but

one which gives them a quality and enjoyable

first year experience.

Therefore, assessing student levels of

satisfaction was seen as a useful early

indication of the success of the program. The

student workshops presented by faculty and

staff from across campus, not necessarily

involved directly with development of the PI

FYE, were evaluated each week. The feedback

was consistently positive. In answer to the

question

“Overall, how would you evaluate this

workshop?’, an average of 86% of students

described the workshops as excellent, 12.5 %

as good and 1.5 % as fair. When asked if they

would recommend the workshop to their

friends, an average of 97% said that they would.

The results were interesting as, while they were

key to the success of the program, it was felt that

it would take time for students to adjust the

concept of attending workshops in their free

time. To receive such positive results was not

only a validation of making it a central plank of

the PI FYE, but an indication that the FYE

students were satisfied with this aspect of the

program.

Student satisfaction with the program in general

was also evidenced in the comprehensive

survey that was given to the first FYE cohort.

Compared with the responses received in years

prior to the introduction of PI FYE, the results

are again encouraging. Students were asked to

describe their freshman year. Ninety-three

percent (93%) of students who participated in PI

FYE described their overall experience as

positive, up from 84% in previous years, with

twice as many PI FYE students reporting a “very

positive experience” as compared with previous

cohorts.

Likewise, the reflective writing that formed part

of the students’ end of semester portfolio

suggested that the program had been well

received. One student admitted that he hated

the library when he arrived but “after FYE, I am

enjoying my time there.” Another reported that

PI FYE “helped me study day-by-day and not

just on the day of the exam.” Many spoke of the

direct influence the workshops had had,

highlighting personal growth, improvement in

time management and “good interaction with

faculty and staff” as ways in which they had

benefitted directly from the program. While not

all feedback was universally popular, over 75%

of the comments were positive, with one

student concluding that “The FYE is perfect for

new students like us.”

Student satisfaction was clearly of significant

importance, but perhaps of even greater

importance was the extent to which PI FYE was

able to engage students. Attendance at

workshops, visits to advisors and counselors,

participation in social activities and completion

of the passport (recommended but not

compulsory) were all monitored and compared,

where possible, to previous semesters.

One area where there was a significant

increase in student activity was in the number of

students utilizing the ILC. The average number

of monthly visitors in the first four months of the

II. Engagement

199

2013-14 academic year was 7288, nearly

double the number of visitors, 3702, during the

same period of the 2012-13 academic year.

This jump in users coincided with the launch of

PI FYE and while it is important to recognize

that the figures are PI-wide, the impact of the

FYE program is clear.

Similarly, attendance at workshops saw a

dramatic increase compared with the previous

semesters. In spring 2013, the average

attendance at the ILC-based workshops was

10.2 students per workshop, compared to 19.3

during the semester that PI FYE was

introduced. Indeed, several workshops had to

be repeated due to student demand. This

further demonstrates the effect the PI FYE had

on motivating first year students.

The student passport system described earlier

was initially met with some resistance by the

students, but it quickly became something of

which they were proud. By the end of the

semester, 70% of students had participated in

the recommended 4 workshops, with 84%

attending 3. Seventy eight percent (78%) of

students had visited their advisor or counselor

at least three times, with 90% meeting twice. In

the end of semester survey, 60% of students

reported that they had “met with [their] advisor

2-3 times per semester, on [their] own initiative.”

This is a dramatic increase when compared

with the 25% of non-FYE freshmen cohort

students who had responded positively to this

prompt.

The statistics regarding levels of engagement

are confirmed by student self-reporting on the

Freshman Survey.

Compared with previous cohorts, PI FYE

students report being more aware of what is

expected in university studies, more strongly

agree that counseling is available and helpful

and indicate that they are more likely to make

use of additional resources more frequently.

This evidence of increased use of the learning

resources and greater interaction with advisors,

counselors and faculty, often self-initiated,

suggests that the model is working, at least in

achieving the short-term goals of learner

independence, motivation, and greater

engagement in the PI community. While early in

the evaluation process, it also appears to be

having an impact on key aspects of

development linked to academic persistence.

As indicated above, comparison of survey

results with previous cohorts indicates that PI

FYE participants are more aware of what is

expected in university studies. Sixty one

percent (61%) of respondents from previous

cohorts had indicated that the workload in

university was “much greater than expected,” a

perception that dropped to 43% for PI FYE

participants. Being more aware of the

expectations is an important first step to being

successful in university studies.

A second step is to develop the academic skills

necessary for success at the university level.

Ninety one percent (91%) of PI FYE cohort

respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the

statement that their study skills had developed

compared with 82% of previous cohort

respondents. Whi le developing t ime

management skills is heavily emphasized

across PI FYE components, the percent of

respondents indicating that PI FYE had helped

them improve in this area decreased slightly

from previous years. That being the case,

reflective essays provide ample evidence that

students’ use of time management strategies

did develop over the course of their first

semester. However, one area continues to be a

cause for concern – the average amount of time

spent studying outside of class. Ninety percent

(90%) of PI FYE respondents indicated that

they spend less than 15 hours per week

studying outside of class, far below the

recommended levels for engineering study.

Acquisition of knowledge in subject areas and

overall achievement levels of defined Student

Learning Outcomes will be part of the

evaluation of the program that will occur in

coming years. That being the case, it is

encouraging to see that the percentage of PI

FYE respondents agreeing or strongly

agreeing that they have developed a good

knowledge of basic Chemistry concepts

increased significantly over previous cohorts

III. Development

200

(99% versus 82%). There was no significant

change in the percent of students self-reporting

an increase in Calculus knowledge and the

ability to apply that knowledge, or in the level of

development in the areas of presenting and

writing. Grade distribution data in the core

courses taken by PI FYE students during their

second (spring) semester at the Petroleum

Institute indicate a reduction in

DFW rates in the introductory Chemistry

course, and increased percentages of students

earning higher grades in their other courses

when compared to the three-year average from

previous spring semesters. The expectation is

that the enhancements in academic skills will

eventually translate into further improved

academic performance and achievement of

intended Student Learning Outcomes.

Analysis of data related to these areas has just

begun. The final measure of development will

be in terms of persistence and achievement in

future courses.

It has long been recognized that establishing

positive relationships is a key factor in student

persistence and retention, and this was a

driving force behind establishing the living-

learning community at PI. The results

discussed above indicate that the PI FYE has

led to enhanced levels of interactions with

advisors and peers. The program has also led

to solid levels of participation in social events,

with 91% of students participating in at least

one social event during the semester, and 64%

participating in three or more social events per

semester. Seventy percent (70%) also

participated in a documented community

service project. Anecdotal stories about how

students help and support fellow cohort

students abound. In analyzing the end of

semester student ref lect ions, social

relationships emerged as a theme, though

students had not been asked to specifically

address the issue.

Students noted the valuable impact on the

development of their personality, and

IV. Relationships

highlighted how FYE provided important

opportunities to socialize with peers and make

new friends. In the words of Ali, the PI FYE

“gives students a chance to socialize among

each other, as well as benefit from each other’s

company during studying sessions.” Fahad

expands on this idea, writing that the “FYE

program was one of the best experiences I ever

had, because it was mixture academic work

and non-academic work, such as volunteering

and helping the society. I believe FYE helped

me a lot to be successful in my courses and in

my social life. I could make new friends and

build new relationships with instructors.”

The PI FYE program was introduced and

appears to be both successful and popular. PI

FYE students report being more aware of what

is expected in university studies, feel they are

challenged at an appropriate level, and are

significantly more likely to use their own

initiative to meet with their advisor.

The findings also show that the vast majority

feel that their courses have helped them

develop their skills and that they self-report an

increase in knowledge and the ability to apply

that knowledge. Students also report an overall

positive experience (93% for PI FYE, up from

84%), with twice as many PI FYE students

reporting a “very positive experience” as

compared with previous cohorts. As the

program develops, we will continue to monitor

the impact on students in terms of engagement,

development and a sense of belonging. We will

also commence more detailed evaluation of the

program – examining student persistence and

performance in their degree courses and

eventually their careers. This will be the true

test of the overall impact of PI’s Freshman Year

Experience. We hope to receive more

comments such as that from Abdullah: “It was

one of the best experiences I have had, not just

in university but also in my whole life because it

was a mixture between encouraging students

to study and manage time, volunteer and help

the society and playing and having fun.”

Conclusions

Acknowledgment

References

We would like to thank the Governing Board of

the Petroleum Institute and the Office of the

President for supporting this initiative.

[1] UAE Yearbook. United Arab Emirates

Yearbook 2008, I. Al Abed, P. Vine, P.

Hellyer & P. Vine, (Eds.), London: Trident

Press Ltd, 2008.

[2] Cook, J. H. & Lewis, C. A., Student and

academic affairs collaboration: The Divine

comity, Washington, DC: National

Association of Student Personnel

Administrators, 2007.

[3] Kuh, G .D., Douglas, K. B., Lund, J. P., &

Ramin-Gyurnek, J., Student learning

outside the classroom: Transcending

artificial boundaries, San Francisco:

Jossey-Bass, 1994.

[4] Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, J., Schuh, J. H., & Whitt,

E. J., Student Success in College, San

Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005.

[5] Laufgraben, J. L., & Shapiro, N. S.,

Sustaining and improving learning

communities, San Francisco: Jossey-

Bass, 2004.

[6] Pascarella, E., & Terenzini, P., How college

affects students: Vol. 2. A third decade of

research, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,

2005.

[7] Smith, B. L., MacGregor, J., Matthews, R.

S., & Gabelnick, F., Learning communities:

Reforming undergraduate education, San

Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004.

[8] Garrett, M. D., & Zabriskie, M. S., “The

influence of living-learning program

pa r t i c i pa t i on on s t uden t - f acu l t y

interaction”, Journal of College and

University Student Housing, Vol 33, No 1,

2004, pp. 38- 44.

[9] Shapiro, N. S., & Levine, J. H., “Introducing

learning communities to your campus”,

About Campus, Vol 5, No 5, 1999, pp.

2-10.

[10] Stassen, M. L. A., “Student Outcomes:

The impact of varying living learning

community models”, Research in Higher

Education, Vol 44, No 5, 2003, pp. 581-

613.

[11] Shushok, F., & Sriram, R., “Exploring the

Effect of a Residential Academic Affairs-

Student Affairs Partnership: The First Year

of an Engineering and Computer Science

Living-Learning Center”, Journal of

College and University Student Housing,

Vol 36, No 2, 2010, pp. 68-81.

[12] Brower, A. M., & Kurotsuchi Inkelas, K.,

Living-Learning Programs: one High-

Impact Educational Practice We Now

Know a Lot About”, Liberal Education , Vol

96, No 2, 2010, pp. 36-43.

[13] Hardie, B., "Managing, Monitoring and

Evaluation", Strategic Management in

Schools and Colleges, D. Middlewood &

J. Lumby (eds.), London: Sage

Publications, 1998, pp. 163 – 176.

Brian Bielenberg Head, Center for Excellence

in Teaching and Learning, The Petroleum

Institute, bbielenberg@pi.ac.ae

David Moore Director, Student Support

Jeff Seela Professor of Chemistry, FYE

Coordinator, The Petroleum Institute,

jseela@pi.ac.ae

Muna Balfaqeeh Assistant Professor of

Communications, The Petroleum Institute,

mbalfaqeeh@pi.ac.ae

Author Information

201

HOW AMERICAN STUDENT LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT CAN WORK IN MENA UNIVERSITIES

Organizer

CASE STUDY

MILTON DUNCAN RINEHART, PH.D.,

Director, Leadership Development Institute

Assistant Professor of Management

Al Akhawayn University

Ifrane, Morocco

212 (0) 662818798

d.rinehart@aui.ma

203

Introduction

Background of Al Akhawayn

University

Can leadership be taught? Many now think so.

Indeed, there are a lot of us who know from

experience that it can be taught and also

believe that it is important for our future to help

our students to become good leaders. Some

see a crisis in leadership underlying the many

social, economic, and political problems. There

are many universities in the US and Canada

that work to prepare students to meet the global

and domestic needs for leaders. But why are

there few such programs in other parts of the

world? This paper describes the case of the

Leadership Development Institute at Al

Akhawayn University in Morocco and how it

tries to develop leaders for Morocco’s and the

world’s future. Hopefully this case study will

help foster more student leadership

development programs in other MENA

countries. We describe how we have adapted

the research and best practices from North

America to the cultural realities of Morocco and

the needs of our students with the intent to

illustrate how this might be done elsewhere.

As a fairly young university that is now just

twenty years old, Al Akhawayn University in

Ifrane (AUI) tries to balance between Moroccan

culture and western, primarily North American

higher education. Al Akhawayn Univesrity is a

small public university about one hour South of

Fez, in the Middle Atlas Mountains, that follows

the American liberal arts system. AUI currently

enrolls just over two thousand undergraduate

students at its main campus. Most of AUI’s

students are Moroccan.

AUI employs over one hundred faculty, about

half of whom are non-Moroccan from countries

such as the US, Canada, Pakistan, and

Australia. AUI’s senior administrators are

Moroccan who earned their doctorates in North

America. AUI’s deans are western educated

Moroccans as well, though occasionally an

American dean is selected.

Besides following the American system, there

are important differences between AUI and

other public Moroccan universities. One

difference is that AUI students’ families pay

tuition. Consequently, many students come

from fairly well-to-do families though some do

not. Additionally, the language of instruction is

English. Until recently, this gave AUI a unique

position in the Moroccan Higher Education

marketplace. A fourth distinguishing feature is

that AUI has been pursuing international

accreditation. The university is seeking

accreditation through the North Eastern

Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)

in the US and several of AUI’s academic units

have received international accreditation in

their respective fields.

The Leadership Development Institute (LDI)

was started when a student approached me

after class one day and asked, “Since we are an

American style university, why don’t we have an

American style leadership program?” I had

been talking about the Presidents Leadership

Class (PLC) at the University of Colorado,

where I taught for many years. The PLC was a

well-established, highly selective four-year

curricular program that students completed in

addition to their degree requirements. The PLC

attracted very high potential students and

supported them with small scholarships. Like

many American student leadership programs,

the PLC developed a wide range of leadership

skills through speakers, highly experiential

methods including service learning, mentoring,

and student centered teaching (e.g. very little

lecturing).

The student who asked the question, Kawtar

Chriyaa and I developed a plan to start a

program at AUI (see Rinehart and Chriyaa,

2009 for a more complete description).Through

discussions with Kawtar, we generated a list of

topics that students who were club presidents,

elected to student government (SGA), or

involved in student projects would benefit from

Background of the Leadership

Development Institute (LDI)

204

to be more effective in these roles. But being

concerned that our list would not have the “buy

in” needed to start a program, Kawtar agreed to

arrange several focus groups. In the spring of

2008, we held several focus groups with student

leaders of clubs and student government to

identify the most important developmental

needs of AUI students to improve their

leadership. At the focus groups, Kawtar

introduced the idea of a leadership program and

I facilitated the discussion. The focus groups

confirmed our list and also gave us some

clarifications and additions.

These focus groups identified a number of skills

they needed to be more effective, such as

getting members to follow-through on their

tasks, giving advanced notice of meetings and

events, keeping meetings on track and on time,

managing conflict and not taking it personally,

respecting plans and priorities, and not

procrastinating. Between Kawtar’s experience,

my observations with students, and inputs from

the focus groups, we had a long list of things that

students needed to be more effective leaders.

We could not possibly “cover” them all in a

program that would be more focused on

learning by doing rather than lecture and

memorization. Some topics were really the

same but in different words. Some could be

combined or included under a broader topic

(e.g. students not doing their assigned tasks

included under ethics and integrity). And some

topics were clearly more important than others

(we had one focus group prioritize the items on

our list). From all of this, we distilled the

following list of main topics for the workshops of

our pilot:

1. Being a leader not a boss – what is

leadership, leadership styles, difference

f r o m m a n a g e m e n t , c r e d i b i l i t y,

followership, leaders developing leaders.

2. Planning a meeting – organizing many

projects, setting and using agenda.

3. Running a meeting with good participation

– leaders listen, communication, gaining

consensus and agreement.

4. Creating buy-in for follow-through,

delegating, accountability, developing

future leaders.

5. Conflict and crisis – avoidance,

constructive confrontation.

In the fall of 2008, we pilot tested a series of

experiential workshops aimed at developing

those critical skills. Initially, I was going to do six

workshops in the pilot but had to reduce the

number to four due to the normal faculty load of

teaching, research and service.

On a parallel track, Kawtar who was an

excellent student (i.e. on the President’s list

due to high GPA) and very involved in the

Student Government Association (SGA) met

with the Vice Presidents of Student Affairs and

Academic Affairs to get their feedback on our

initiative and build their buy-in. She described

to them the work we were doing through focus

groups and connected our initiative to the

university’s mission and strategic goals and to

AUI’s early effort at getting accredited, which

included a goal of student empowerment. This

worked well. Not only did Kawtar have access

to senior administrators through her work in

SGA but she also had their respect as a serious

and capable student.

While Kawtar was getting buy-in from the Vice

Presidents, I met with my dean several times to

keep him updated on this campus-wide

initiative and to get his advice on specific

issues. This allowed him to be well informed

when our initiative came up in conversations

with the VPs. I had learned this strategy of

keeping my boss ahead of his boss years

earlier in the US and it worked well at AUI.

Gathering the feedback from the pilot program,

advice of AUI administrators and inputs of

s tudents, we prepared a proposal .

Strategically, we chose to do the pilot before

the proposal since it is easier to say “yes” to

something that already exists. We had both

observed that proposals in the abstract were

often not supported. So, in the spring of 2009,

we submi t ted the proposal to AUI

administration for official approval, which we

205

received, and fiscal support (see below for more

discussion). We then recruited our first cohort of

students in June. In the fall of 2009, we officially

launched the Leadership Development Institute

as a two-semester, co-curricular, skill building

student leadership program. We were the first

such program in Morocco and one of only two in

the MENA region that we could find at that time

(the American University at Cairo had a

program that started several years earlier).

Initially, we sought a curricular program, similar

to but scaled down from the PLC: a series of for-

credit classes combined with non-curricular

workshops and service projects through which

to apply class content and practice workshop

skills. AUI administration made it clear that this

would not work since many families are

reluctant to pay for any more credit hours than a

student needs to graduate. AUI charges tuition

but competes with other Moroccan public

universities where the education is free. So, the

cost at AUI is much higher than the competition.

The LDI could not charge fees. Consequently,

we scrapped the curricular part of our program

and went forward with the remaining workshop-

based program. We offered the students a

certificate of completion and a co-curricular

transcript kept as part of the university record as

incentives since we did not get approval for

small scholarships.

Our intent from the start was to use the research

and experience in student leadership

development from the US, where universities

had been doing this for twenty years or more,

and adapt those models to the Moroccan

cultural context and the needs of our students.

We wanted to find a balance between Moroccan

culture and American student leadership

development. How should we do this? It has

been a learning experience.

The idea of learning leadership rather than

acquiring position to gain power to compel

obedience is fairly new in Morocco. Yet what

leadership is and what we expect from our

Why LDI?

leaders has been changing, and with research,

clarifying (see Rinehart, 2011 for a discussion

of literature supporting this). Leadership is no

longer position in a hierarchy or a function of the

power one gains and uses. Anyone can lead

from any place in an organization and those in

leadership positions may not be leaders.

Traditional views of leadership in Morocco, and

much of the world, see leadership as just this;

position and the power that goes with it. The

CEO of a corporation, owner of a company, or

director of an association or non-profit is a

leader by definition - they are in positions of

leadership. And they are often expected to use

their power and authority to command and

control their organization. In a study of the

values of Moroccan managers, Ali and Wahabi

(1995) conclude that their primary values are

egocentric – aggressive, selfish, restless,

impulsive and generally not inclined to live

within the constraints of society’s norms – and

existential.

Recent research suggests that people in many

places in the world, including Morocco and

MENA countries, want more from people in

leadership positions. Dorfman, Hanges and

Brodbeck (2004) found a set of universally

endorsed characteristics that people want in

their leaders. GLOBE data for MENA countries

(Egypt, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, Morocco; Turkey

and Israel are also included in this region)

identifies gaps between what people want in

their leaders and what they get (Kabasakal, et

al., 2012).

So, how do we prepare our students to be the

kind of leaders that our societies and our

globalizing world want and need? How can we

adapt what we know about student leadership

development, mostly from the US, to prepare

students in Morocco, or any country, to become

those leaders? It would be foolish to ignore the

experience, research and models that are

available, just as it would be unwise to copy and

paste them to another society without

adaptation to the cultural context and specific

needs of those students.

206

Goals and intended outcomes of

the LDI

The LDI seeks to adapt American student

leadership research and models to the

Moroccan cultural context to prepare students

for the leadership responsibilities they will likely

achieve. We seek to develop them into the kinds

of leaders that Morocco and the world want and

need. Our mission statement says:

LDI is a co-curricular student leadership

development program supporting the

existing courses with leadership skill-

building workshops, speaker-discussion

events and student involvement in service

to campus and community.

By adapting best practices from successful

student leadership development programs

to Moroccan culture, the LDI will develop,

implement and disseminate effective

leadership development in Morocco,

MENA and other developing countries.

(Rinehart, 2010)

Our initial and primary focus is developing

leadership in our students through skill-building

workshops, service projects to practice skills,

speakers, and mentoring. The LDI is also

largely run by students. Additionally, we work to

promote effective leadership through

conferences, the Leader of the Year Award

(LOTY), disseminating research, and fostering

the development of other student leadership

programs.

The LDI program has the following objectives:

• Seek to transform the students from being

narrowly self-focused to broader

community and humanity focused, where

the needs of others and of those who suffer

most are central in action and life purpose

• Seek to motivate and inspire students,

through modeling behavior as well as

words, to use their privilege to the

advantage of those who have little

privilege

• Seek to build the skills and values and

confidence that are needed for students to

make positive change in their community,

country and world

• Seek to consistently exemplify the highest

integrity and ethical standards in the

development and administration of the

program, thus serve as a role model in

developing students into leaders.

(Rinehart, 2011)

The long range vision for the LDI includes the

following:

• Building the LDI into a multi-year program

with scholarships available to selected

students

• Promoting high quality leadership through

high ethics and integrity

• Collecting, generating and disseminating

high quality research and best practices of

leadership in the MENA region

• Helping to establish student leadership

programs at other Moroccan universities

and at other universities in the MENA

region

• Establishing an endowed chair of

leadership at AUI

• Establishing an inter-disciplinary minor in

leadership at AUI

• The LOTY to be a highly credible, well

respected, nationwide award that

promotes exceptional leadership by

identifying the best leaders in Morocco’s

many local associations

As Kawtar and I met to decide how to start an

American style leadership program at AUI, I

pushed to set up and run a pilot program first

before asking permission to start this new

program (see Rinehart and Chriyaa, 2009 for a

more detailed description). Kawtar, who was

academically excellent and was well known to

the University administration through her

involvement in student government and other

responsibilities, informally presented the idea

to the President and Vice Presidents and kept

Actual implementation strategy:

Our story

207

them informed of our progress in order to build

support. She also organized the focus groups of

student government representatives and club

presidents where we generated lists of skills

they needed to help them be more effective in

their leadership roles. We prioritized and

condensed those lists, presenting our design

again to the focus group. From that we

developed the pilot workshops. From the

feedback and experience gained through the

pilot, we finalized the design of LDI’s one-year

program and presented it to the administration

for approval and support. The Vice Presidents

of Student Affairs and Academic Affairs

supported the proposal but did not approve

everything we asked. They did not approve

scholarship money for our students or allocate a

budget to the LDI, preferring instead to divide

various costs among them. Kawtar saw this as

their keeping financial control.

However, they did commit some resources to

the LDI. Later, at the request of my dean (I did

not ask him to do this) they approved additional

pay for me to serve as director of the LDI and

another campus program. This was in addition

to my duties and compensation as a full time

faculty. The LDI was also informally assigned a

portion of an administrative support staff though

this was never formalized in that employee’s job

duties or performance management plan.

Consequently, I was reluctant to call on him too

much since I felt his unrecognized,

uncompensated add on duties to be exploitive

and not demonstrating the values that the LDI

should have.

We began our first official year (AY 2009-2010)

with 15 students at various stages in their

academic program and representing all three of

AUI’s schools. During this first year, we

established an advisory board with student

representation, an initial five-year plan, and we

started the Leader of the Year Award (LOTY).

The LOTY is a large service learning project

through which the LDIers are expected to apply

the skills from the workshops. Students create

and implement a project plan, raise funds for the

award given to the winners, recruit and select

the winners, gain press coverage of the event

and for the winners, and organize the award

event. The LOTY also gains recognition for

people in associations who are helping those

less fortunate in their communities. And the

LOTY aims to raise recognition of what good

leadership is, eventually improving the quality

of leadership in Morocco.

Our second year began with 22 students.

During this year, we modified our workshops,

speakers, and LOTY slightly based on

feedback from the first year and our own

observations. For example, we added a

workshop on fundraising and started work on

the LOTY project earlier in the middle of the fall

semester. We also became a “cost center” to

allow us to track and use funds raised for the

LOTY award. And we gained a “cash wallet”

(i.e. campus debit card) with a small amount in

the account for discretionary expenses. During

this second year, we started a mentoring

program where students who had completed

the first year served as mentors to the current

cohort of LDIers.

Our third year began with 26 students and we

were largely maintaining the program as it was

due to lack of staff and limitations on my time

and on the time of the LDIers. At the end of the

third year, we selected our first intern from the

AIESEC program (see http://aiesec.org/ for

more information) that had recently been

established at AUI. At the end of the third year, I

left AUI to return to the US, hoping that the new

AIESEC intern could keep the program going

until another faculty would take it over.

The fourth year was a transition. Hugo, the

AIESEC intern did indeed keep the LDI going

with 13 of the students that we had selected the

previous spring. At the end of the fall semester,

another faculty member, Avis Rupert, agreed to

direct the LDI and with Hugo’s help they

recruited 6 more students to start in the spring.

They also started our first leadership

conference and initiated service projects that

the students did in small teams. Avis selected

our second AIESEC intern Milena to help with

the LDI for the upcoming fifth year.

I returned to AUI and resumed my directorship

of the LDI when Avis had completed her

208

commitment in LDI’s fifth year. Milena and I

continued the program with four students who

remained but could not do the LOTY and the

conference and the student service projects

with so little student help. We put the LOTY on

hold for that year.

Our sixth year began with eighteen students

and our new AIESEC intern, Luana. The LDI still

had no budget from which to plan, manage and

grow. But we did update our five-year plan,

resume and expand the LOTY and continue the

conference. We also gave our advisory board

(i.e. VPSA, VPAA, student representatives,

interns and director) several initiatives to help

generate funds on which to operate and expand

the LDI. We did gain greater commitment of

un ive rs i t y resources th rough more

administrative support in the form of a

percentage of time (five percent) of two very

capable administrative support staff, a second

AIESEC intern (Tzu Yi), and a part-time student

employee. Consequently, we expanded in

several areas. We expanded our work with

campus and community by providing more

leadership related sessions. Our outreach to

Moroccan universities was renewed. We also

intensified our fund raising efforts seeking

sponsorship for our conference and the LOTY.

And the LOTY was expanded from the Ifrane

province (e.g. county, parish) to include

associations in the Meknes prefecture (e.g.

state/province). This expansion is toward the

vision of the LOTY being a nationwide

competition and award, consistent with our

mission by raising focus on quality leadership

throughout Morocco.

After my return to AUI in 2013, the new VPAA

who was my previous dean, had been

encouraging me to do more with the LDI, to

make it more visible and better known, provide

more leadership development on campus and

in the community. My response was to try, but to

point out that the LDI cannot do much more

without more staff. Students in the program are

limited by the demands of their classes and are

often already very active in campus life when

they join the LDI. And many are learning

integrity – how to follow-through on their

commitments, to keep their word. My time was

also limited by my teaching, and other service

duties.

Upon my return, I had decided to pursue more

aggressively our original vision of the LDI by

finding ways around the staffing and funding

limitations that had constrained our efforts so

far. We have gained staffing through AIESEC

interns who have strong backgrounds in

student leadership development, which we

cannot find in the local labor market, and

through acquiring portions of time from more

AUI staff and a student employee. The AIESEC

interns have been excellent so far but are

limited to a one-year internship by AIESEC.

Thus, each new intern takes several months to

grasp the LDI, adjust to Moroccan culture and

become fully effective. I felt that we needed

sources of funding that we could manage

ourselves and upon which we could expand the

LDI to achieve its mission.

As described above, we had to adapt our

approach in designing and implementing the

LDI to the administrative styles of AUI’s

Moroccan executives. As seems common in

the MENA region (Ali and Wahabi, 1995;

Abdalla and Al-Homoud, 2001; Dorfman and

House, 2004 among others) traditional

Moroccan managers tend to be authoritarian

though paternalistic, reserving control and

authority over much of the operations of their

organizations for themselves. This traditional

management style stems from the culture, of

course, primarily the cultural dimension of

power distance. The GLOBE study (Carl,

Gupta and Javidian, 2004) found that Morocco

was the highest country in power distance of

the sixty-two societies studied. However, even

though the VPs retained control over the LDI by

controlling the funds and staffing available to it,

they did not micro-manage. They gave me a

great deal of freedom in the day-to-day

operations of the LDI and in strategic decisions

of how to use the limited resources.

One might say that they kept their grip on the

throat of the LDI. But it is not so Machiavellian.

The administrative culture at AUI and in

Morocco tends to be based on unwritten rules

209

and procedures, centralization and poor

delegation of authority, low accountability, and

limited planning. This is illustrated in the “as is”

line on Figure 1 especially in uncertainty

avoidance, power distance, future orientation

and performance orientation (see House and

Javidian, 2004 or other works from the GLOBE

study for discussion of these cultural and

leadership dimensions). Indeed, according to

the accounts I hear from many of my students

working in Moroccan companies, the AUI

administrators are in some ways quite

progressive compared to their contemporaries.

In addition to adapting to the administrative

culture, an important part of how our strategy

was implemented is how we adapted student

leadership development from the US to be

effective in Morocco with Moroccan students

(see Rinehart and Chriyaa, 2009 for more

discussion on this). In establishing the LDI we

followed as best as we could, the best practices

from several studies of exemplary leadership

programs in the US (Zimmerman-Oster and

Burkhardt, 2001; Council on Academic

Standards, 2003; Repaski et al., 2005; Dugan

and Komvies, 2007). We also used a

combination of leadership theories including

transformational (Burns, 1978; Bass and Avolio,

1994), servant (Greenleaf, 1990), and social

FIGURE 1: Differences between societal practice (as is) and societal values (should be) for

Morocco mean scores from Project GLOBE data in Kabasakal, et al., (2012)

change (Austin and Austin, 1996) leadership

theories that are common foundations of

leadership programs in the US. In deciding

what kind of leaders we wanted to develop

through the LDI we used the theories noted

above in addition to relational leadership

(Kouses and Pozner, 2002) along with trait and

implicit leadership research (Hogan, Curphy

and Hogan, 1994; House, et al., 2004)

including the globally culturally endorsed

leadership characteristics from Project GLOBE

(see Rinehart, 2011 for a more detailed

discussion of this literature). We adapted these

approaches through identifying the needs of

our students via the focus groups mentioned

above and working with them in clubs and

service learning projects in class. Figure 2

presents our model for integrating western

student leadership development into Moroccan

culture and higher education.

We have observed that our students are initially

enthusiastic to take on commitments but often

fail to complete them due to inability to

f o r m u l a t e a n d i m p l e m e n t a p l a n ,

procrastination, over-confidence bias, poor

time management, poor interpersonal and

organizational communication, and poor

meeting management skills. This often puts

them in situations where they break

210

commitments they make and thus may not take

those commitments very seriously. For our LDI

students, this undermines their leadership by

undermining their credibility and integrity

(Kouzes and Posner, 2002; Jensen, 2009).

Their values, words and actions are not

consistent and so they are not trusted and

willingly followed. In the LDI year, we work with

them to keep their word, to follow-through on

commitments they make and not abandon prior

commitments as subsequent ones arise. Our

first workshop is on ethics and integrity and we

stress this throughout the program.

Subsequent workshops aim at giving them

immediately useful skills in time management,

p l ann ing , i n te rpe rsona l and g roup

communication, running effective meetings,

and conflict management. (Appendix 1

provides our weekly meeting program for fall

and spring semesters of 2014-2015 as an

example.)

The main service learning component of the

LDI is the Leader of the Year award (LOTY).

The students do all of the activities to attract

strong applications, select the best ones that

meet our criteria, raise money for the prize to

the winning association, organize the event

and obtain press coverage for the finalists and

winner. They are responsible for its success

and in the process they get to see some good

leadership happening in associations in their

country. During the fall, our workshops are

timed to be immediately applied to LOTY

activities. For example in the planning

workshop, students are divided into teams

responsible for various parts of the LOTY and

they develop a plan and Gantt chart for their

work. In subsequent LOTY work sessions, we

From the US

•

Transformational, Servant, Social justice,

Relational, Trait and ILT

• Best practices: Kellogg, NCLP, PLC, CAS,

Repaski et al, Eich

Leadership approaches:

From Morocco

•

Parents reluctant to pay for additional

classes

• Students' needs determined through focus

groups and observations

• GLOBE data: HPD, UA, Future and

Performance orientations; culturally

endorsed leadership

• MGT/Leadership Research on Morocco

and MENA: traditional, paternalistic,

authoritarian

AUI position in Morocco higher education:

LDI student development:

LDI program administration:

•

follow-through, Interpersonal and

public communication, Time

management, Conflict management,

Planning, Running meetings

• Service learning for skill practice

• Speakers

• Mentoring

• No fees, academic credit, classes,

grades, scholarships

• Funding needs met by VPs: no

budget allocated to and managed by

LDI

• Staffing needs met by interns and

small % of FTE

• Director duties added to regular

faculty duties

Skill building workshops: Integrity/

Intended outcomes

• Global leadership skills

• Morocco social and economic

development

Assessed through

• Pre/post surveys: GLOBE beta,

Community Involvement

• Alumni survey

FIGURE 2: Model of Leadership Development Institute at Al Akhawayn University.

211

work with them to implement their plan. And

though the ethics and integrity workshop occurs

first, throughout the LOTY we work with them to

keep their commitments, to do what they said

they would do in prior sessions. When

scheduling conflicts arise for students that

occur during our standing meetings we remind

them of their prior commitment (to the LDI) and

in some cases (as with professors scheduling

exams and make-up classes during our

meeting time) help them resolve the scheduling

conflict.

For the LOTY to truly be service learning, there

needs to be reflective practice. We incorporate

this through informal mentoring, primarily with

our interns, during scheduled LOTY work

sessions and when students come to the

interns’ office. We have also worked to use LDI

alumni who are still at AUI finishing their studies

to be mentors with limited success, though we

are working on ways to accomplish this. Our

informal mentoring often entails students

coming to the interns or me wanting to be told

what to do and us helping them consider their

options but not giving them orders as they are

accustomed to receive from authorities. It may

take students several months to get used to this

but most find it empowering and confidence

boosting and thereby follow through on their

committed tasks better.

Since the official start of the LDI, we have been

working to assess the impact of the program on

our students through pre-program and post-

program assessments, satisfaction surveys,

and self studies of the program. Our pre/post

assessments measure students’ community

involvement (Liden, et al., 2008), leadership

identity development (Komvies, et al., 2005;

Komvies, et al., 2006), cultural and leadership

styles (GLOBE Foundation, 2006). This past

year we have added the Arizona Student

Leadership Competencies Inventory (Arizona

Board of Regents, 2011; which is no longer

available online as of summer, 2015).

Our pre/post measures of community

involvement and cultural leadership styles have

Results of implementation

yielded no significant results. We aggregated

this data for the all students in the program

each year rather than comparing individual pre-

test and post-test results. This has been

corrected for our most recent cohort but that

data has not yet been analyzed. Data for the

leadership identity development scale and the

more recent Arizona assessment have not

been fully analyzed yet.

We have also assessed their satisfaction and

feedback on workshops and speakers at end of

each semester. Our satisfaction surveys have

given us valuable feedback that we have used

to make adjustments in the program such as

finding different workshop presenters and

speakers who engaged students better,

eliminating some topics and including others.

And we have performed modest self studies

using the criteria proposed by Zimmerman-

Oster and Burkhardt (2001) and Eich (2008).

Our self studies have helped us see ways to

strengthen the program. Further, since spring

of this year, we are using the Council for the

Advancement of Standards in Higher

Education (CAS, 2012) protocol to assess our

overall program. This self study was completed

in August, 2015. It has helped us identify the

need to formalize our program in several areas

including:

• Es tab l ish ing , imp lement ing and

assessing learning outcomes for students

• Collecting into one source the various

university policies and procedures that

affect our program

• Establishing our own policies and

procedures where the University’s are

non-existent or inadequate (e.g.

treatment of persons with disabilities;

security of private and confidential

information)

• Being more intentional and structured in

orienting our new employees (i.e. interns)

to our program and the university

Our most valuable assessment to date has

come from our alumni. Now that the LDI has

approximately 90 alumni, we have recently

surveyed them to assess the usefulness and

212

impact of our program on their lives and

careers. Twenty-three responded to our survey.

Of those over half are working and over a

quarter are pursuing their studies. When we

asked alumni to rate how useful the skills

learned in the LDI were in their professional

lives, 65% (15/23) rated taking initiative and

integrity as extremely useful, and just over half

(12/23) rated conflict management, social

responsibility and building members and

membership as extremely useful. Similarly,

when we asked alumni to rate how useful the

skills learned in the LDI were in their personal

lives, almost 70% (16/23) rated taking initiative

as extremely useful, 61% (14/23) rated integrity

as extremely useful, and over half (12/23) rated

managing difficult conversations and creative

thinking and problem solving as extremely

useful. Over half strongly agree that the

program changed their understanding of

leadership and the program has an added value

in their professional lives (13/23 and 12/23

respectively). When we asked our alumni what

problems they encountered in the program,

team member fo l low th rough, t ime

management and being over committed were

the top answers (10/23, 9/23, 7/23

respectively). Qualitatively many alumni told us

that fundraising for the LOTY was the hardest

part of the program and several noted that the

program can be made better by becoming

better known and recognized.

• Adapting research, models and best

p rac t ices in s tudent leadersh ip

development from the US requires

adjustments to the institutional constraints

that are heavily influenced by host country

culture. In our case, we had to scrap the

curricular part of our initial design, we are

not able to charge fees for the LDI, and we

have had to work around limited budgetary

and staffing resources with which to

achieve our mission and five-year plan.

• Adapting research, models and best

p rac t ices in s tudent leadersh ip

development from the US requires

adjustments to the context in which

Lessons learned

leadership is understood and practiced in

the host country. In our case students

i n i t i a l l y unde rs tand l eade rsh ip

traditionally as a function of position and

power. But we need to prepare them to be

leaders for Morocco’s future not its past.

• Having targets toward which to develop

student leadership, such as that provided

in the Project GLOBE research helps us to

prioritize the skills and development

needs of our leadership students.

• Many best practices from the US work well

in developing leadership in Morocco

including focusing on skills needed to be

more effect ive leaders, learning

leadership through service projects, and

mentoring. Moroccan students like their

American counterparts feel they learn

more through experiential, learner-

focused methods rather than lecture

method.

• Theories of leadership that serve as

common foundat ions of student

leadersh ip in the US such as

transformational leadership and servant

leadership work well within the cultural

context of Morocco. Social change

l e a d e r s h i p , h o w e v e r, r e q u i r e s

empowering students on a longer term

than we think we have been able to do well

in our one-year program. We feel that we

can do better at this.

• Student leadership programs in Morocco

and perhaps other MENA countries need

to focus on the specific development

needs of the students which are heavily

influenced by their society’s culture. In our

case, this was initially done through focus

groups and working with students in clubs

and projects. Subsequently, we used

feedback from students to adjust the

program to any changing needs.

• Recognizing where students currently are

and helping them develop to where they

will need to be is fundamental to education

and student development in our view. The

focus groups, student feedback, and

working closely with students shows us

213

where they are and helps them identify

what they need to improve. Research such

as that provided through Project GLOBE

helps define where students need to be.

Our job then is to employ culturally-

adjusted best practices to help them get

there.

Abdalla, I. Al Homoud, M., 2001. Exploring the

Implicit Leadership Theory in the Arab Gulf

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Ali, A., Wahabi, R., 1995. Managerial Value

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Key words:

MENA, Leadership, Culture, GLOBE project,

Morocco, Student leadership development, Al

Akhawayn University,

Fall Program, 2014

Sunday, August 31 – 8:00am till 6:00 pm

LDI Orientation and kick-off retreat –

REQUIRED – Duncan Rinehart and Luana

Moraes

Sunday, September 7 – 6:00-8:00

Workshop – Ethics in Leadership -

REQUIRED – Duncan Rinehart

Sunday, September 14 – 6:00-8:00

Workshop – Listening and Effective

Interpersonal Communication – (Jason

Heffner)

Sunday, September 21 – 6:00-8:00

Workshop – Effective Leadership through

Planning – REQUIRED - Duncan Rinehart

Begin LOTY

Sunday, September 28 – 6:00-8:00

LOTY Work session – REQUIRED

Appendix 1

215

Sunday, October 5 – Holiday, Eid Al Adha

Sunday, October 12 – 6:00-8:00

LOTY Work session - REQUIRED

Sunday, October 19 – 6:00-8:00

Workshop – Leading effective meetings –

Duncan Rinehart

Sunday, October 26 – 6:00-8:00

Achievements and Challenges – LOTY and

Project group progress reports

Sunday, November 2 – 6:00-8:00

Workshop – Conflict Management for

Leaders – Duncan Rinehart - REQUIRED

Sunday, November 9 – 6:00-8:00

LOTY Work session - REQUIRED

Sunday, November 16 – 6:00-8:00

Speaker-discussion – President Ouaouicha -

or – LOTY work session - REQUIRED

Sunday, November 23 – 7:00-8:30

Workshop – Emotional Intelligence of

Leadership – or – stress management for

high achievers http://www.ihhp.com/

testsite.htm http://www.ihhp.com/quiz.php

Sunday, November 30 – 6:00-8:00

LOTY Work session - REQUIRED

Sunday, December 7

End of Semester Celebration, evaluation,

awards – REQUIRED

Spring Schedule, 2015

Sunday, January 25, 6:00-8:00

Motivating yourself and others, responsibility

and initiative

Sunday, February 1, 6:00-8:00

LOTY work session – required

Tuesday, February 10, 8:00-10:00

LOTY work session – required

Tuesday, February 17, 8:00-10:00

LOTY Work session – required

Tuesday, February 24, 8:00-10:00

Tenth workshop – Effective Public

Communication – Rinehart

Tuesday, March 3, 8:00-10:00

LOTY work session – required Roger

Williams University collaboration

Tuesday, March 10,

Spring Break

Tuesday, March 17, 8:00-10:00

LOTY work session – required

Tuesday, March 24, 8:00-10:00

LOTY work session – required

Tuesday, March 31, 8:00-10:00

LOTY work session - required

Tuesday, April 7, 8:00-10:00

LOTY work session - required

Tuesday, April 14, 8:00-10:00

LOTY work session - required

Tuesday, April 21, 8:00-10:00

LOTY workshop – selecting the winner

Thursday, April 23

LOTY ceremony

Tuesday, April 28, 8:00-10:00

LOTY debrief and conference work session,

Projects conclusion.

Tuesday, May 5 – 7:00 – 8:30 VIP ROOM

End of Year Celebration, certificates,

evaluation, awards (required)

AN INNOVATIVE METHOD FOR IMPROVING PROFESSIONAL SKILLS TO INCREASE GRADUATE EMPLOYABILITY

Organizer

CASE STUDY

ASHLEY ATER KRANOV,

Vice-President

Global Professional Skills Assessment, LLC Baltimore, USA

1 443 8696546

kranova@live.com

MAURICE DANAHER,

Associate Professor, College of Technological Innovation

Zayed University

Abu Dhabi, UAE

9712 5993813

Maurice.danaher@zu.ac.ae

KEVIN SCHOEPP,

Director

Educational Effectiveness

Zayed University

Abu Dhabi, UAE

9712 5993308

Kevin.schoepp@zu.ac.ae

217

Abstract

Introduction

The Engineer ing Professional Ski l ls

Assessment (EPSA) is the only direct method

and measurement tool in the literature to teach

and simultaneously measure the ABET

(Accreditation Board for Engineering and

Technology) non-technical skills for both course

and program level assessments. The American

Society for Engineering Education award-

winning EPSA is a discussion-based

performance task designed to elicit students’

knowledge and application of professional

skills, from the understanding of professional

and ethical responsibility to the impacts of

technical solutions on global, economic, and

societal contexts.

A partnership with Zayed University in the

United Arab Emirates (UAE) was formed in

2014 to adapt the EPSA to computing and the

UAE context. The two-year project, funded by

the Zayed University Research Incentive Fund,

has developed a series of current and relevant

scenarios to engage students and faculty in

computing related issues specific to the UAE

and the Gulf Region. The final deliverable of the

project will be the Computing Professional

Skills Assessment, or CPSA, which will be

made freely available to the computing and IT

communities worldwide. This paper describes

the first year of the project, the development of

one scenario, the first complete iteration of the

CPS Rubric, and preliminary results.

Keywords:

Professional skills, learning outcomes, ABET,

accreditation, learning outcomes assessment,

student learning, teaching, assessment, rubrics

This paper focuses on the partnership with

Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates

(UAE) to adapt the Engineering Professional

Skills Assessment (EPSA) to the field of

computing, as well as to the UAE context. EPSA

was developed in 2006 at Washington State

University’s College of Engineering in the US in

efforts to address the persistent issue of

teaching and assessing the non-technical skills

required by ABET (formerly known as the

Accreditation Board for Engineering and

Technology Education), the global leader in

technical education accreditation.

EPSA is the first and only direct method and

measurement tool in the literature that can be

used to teach and simultaneously measure the

ABET professional skills for use at both course

and program levels (Ater Kranov, Hauser,

Olsen, and Girardeau, 2008). (See Table 1 for a

l ist of the related ABET Computing

Accreditation Commission’s Criterion 3 student

outcomes). The US National Science

Foundation funded a rigorous validity study of

the method and tool, which is in its fifth and

final year (Ater Kranov, Zhang, Beyerlein,

McCormack, Pedrow, and Schmeckpeper,

2011). A crucial aspect of the study’s

dissemination effort is its adaptation to the

context of those using it.

A two-year project, funded by the Zayed

University Research Incentive Fund, is in the

process of developing a series of current and

relevant scenarios to engage students and

faculty in computing related issues specific to

the UAE and the Gulf Region and adapt the

EPSA Rubric into a Computing Professional

Skills (CPSA) Rubric. In addition, a study

implementing the method in an on-line setting

with gender-segregated groups of students will

be conducted. The final deliverable of the

project will be the Computing Professional

Skills Assessment, or CPSA, which will be

made freely available to the computing and IT

communities worldwide. This paper describes

the initial stages of the project, the

development of one scenario and two

dimensions of the CPS Rubric.

Proficiency in professional skills, ranging from

the ability to engage in lifelong learning to

functioning successfully on a multi-disciplinary

team, is critical for success in today’s

knowledge economy. Employers around the

The Context and Problem

218

world value these skills in graduates more than

disciplinary knowledge, Association for

American Colleges and Universities (2013).The

Arab Knowledge Report (2014) has shown that

students in the region and in the UAE in

particular are weak in these skills. Zayed

University focuses on these and has described

six general education learning outcomes,

referred to as ZULOs, which the students

should achieve.

As part of the ongoing transformation in higher

education from a teaching- centric perspective

to a student and learning-centric perspective,

student learning outcomes and their

assessment have become the key vocabulary

when discussing issues of pedagogy,

accountability, and employability. This learning

outcomes focus is also underway in the Gulf

Region as stakeholders continue to advance the

priority of student learning and employability.

Regional governments have recognized the

strategic role that a highly skilled and educated

workforce could play (see the UAE’s Vision

2021 - http://www.vision2021.ae/en - or Qatar’s

National Vision 2030 - http://www.gsdp.gov.qa

/portal/page/portal/gsdp_en/qatar_national_visi

on) as costs for education have far outstripped

inflation, and as consumers (primarily students

and their families) have become more educated

and demanding, there have been increased

calls for evidence that what is being promised is

being delivered. Regionally, the core mission of

higher education is not conducting research or

providing service to the community; it remains

educating the next generation. Specifically, this

means educating students to be productive

members of society with the requisite skills for

gainful employment. However, numerous

reports point to a notable misalignment between

the knowledge, ski l ls, and att i tudes

demonstrated by university graduates and the

competencies demanded by employers.

UNESCO’s report entitled Skills Gaps

Throughout the World (2012) warned that

present skills gaps constrain companies’ ability

to grow, innovate, deliver products and services

on time, meet quality standards and meet

environmental and social requirements in

countries where they operate. The report also

identified the lack of available talent and trained

resources in the Middle East as the greatest

threat for sustainable development of the

region. Employability skills most lacking were

classified into four categories: technical,

cultural, interpersonal, and intrapersonal.

Market research conducted by the British

Council (2013) surveyed human resource

managers of 367 large employers in nine

countries including the UAE. The top four skills

desired for new hires were: 1) the ability to

understand different cultural contexts and

viewpoints, 2) demonstrating respect for others

and 3) knowledge of a foreign language. They

noted that only one third of companies overtly

screen for these skills in the recruitment

process. In addition, 71% of the UAE managers

felt that UAE universities could do a better job

at ensuring strong intercultural skills in their

graduates.

Of 100 employers surveyed for Perspectives

on GCC Youth Employment (2014), only 29%

percent thought that the public educational

systems adequately prepare graduates for the

workplace. Yet, in striking contrast, 68% of UAE

youth surveyed thought that the educational

system prepared them well for entry-level

positions. The set of recommendations from

this report are daunting, urging governments to

“reform national skills and education models…

and rethink how education is provided to

deliver the ultimate objective of work-ready

young adults.”

In a recent Association of American Colleges

and Universities’ (2013)survey, 93% of US

employers indicated that an ability to think

critically, solve problems, and communicate

clearly, are more important than a student’s

major. Correspondingly, within UAE employers

said they value these learning outcomes more

than specific disciplinary skills (Arab Thought

Foundation, 2013). Unfortunately, these are

learning outcomes in which students in the

region and the UAE in particular, are especially

weak (United Nations Development Program,

2012). The challenge surrounding these

learning outcomes is that employers prioritize

219

them, students are weak in them, and they are

often considered difficult to assess (Shuman,

Besterfield-Sacre, and McGourty, 2005). This

misalignment is what makes the assessment of

foundation skills so vital. Because effective

assessment is an integral component of the

learning process, the adaption of the EPSA to

the CPSA can lead to a better understanding of

our students’ attainments of important

employability skills, provide an innovative

learning opportunity for students, and improve

student achievement of targeted learning

outcomes.

Zayed University is a UAE federal institution

with campuses in Abu Dhabi and Dubai that

primarily serves Emirati Nationals through a

gender-segregated environment. With a

student population of approximately 9,500,

nearly all of whom are undergraduate students,

the university strives to deliver programs

matching international standards and to be

recognized globally for its achievements.

Related to these ambitions, the university was

established as an outcomes-based institution

with a focus on quality. This quality commitment

has been manifested through attainment of a

number of international accreditations. In 2008,

the university first became accredited by the

Middle States Commission on Higher

Education, and since that time has achieved

accreditation through AACSB - Association to

Advance Collegiate Schools of Business,

NCATE/CAEP- Nat iona l Counc i l fo r

Accreditation of Teacher Education, and ABET

(formerly known as the Accreditation Board for

Engineering and Technology).

The project presented here is being conducted

within the College of Technological Innovation

(CTI). CTI focuses on Information Technology

education and, according to its mission

statement, seeks to produce graduates

recognized by business, government, and

educational institutions in the United Arab

Emirates, the Gulf Region, and the rest of the

world, as having a sound, modern, and

comprehensive education in Information

The Institution

Technology. It also seeks to develop a strong

applied research capacity in emerging

technologies directed towards meeting the IT

needs of the Gulf region. The College offers a

bachelor degree in Information Technology and

joint degrees with other colleges. The joint

bachelor programs are: Information Systems

and Technology Management, Technology and

Educat ion, and Mul t imedia Design.

Additionally Masters Programs are offered in

two specializations. There are approximately

500 students enrolled in the bachelor of IT

degree and approximately 300 students in the

joint degrees. The college is continually striving

for improvement in all aspects of its programs.

In 2012 the college was accredited by ABET

who is recognized as the world leader in

promoting and improving the quality of

technical education. ABET accreditation in

information technology provides assurance

that the college’s program meets the quality

standards established by the IT profession.

Since their inception, the ABET professional

skills have been controversial and authors

(Shuman, Besterfield-Sacre, and McGourty,

2005) have even questioned if they could be

assessed. Through CTI’s involvement with

ABET, they became aware of the award-

winning EPSA Rubric - the discussion-based

performance task designed to elicit students’

knowledge and application of professional

skills, from the understanding of professional

and ethical responsibility to the impacts of

technical solutions on global, economic, and

societal contexts. Like other institutions, CTI

was investigating ways to effectively assess

the ABET professional skills learning

outcomes, and the EPSA appeared to be a

plausible solution.

In an earlier phase of this project, the EPSA

itself was utilized as the associated

engineering outcomes could be aligned with

the outcomes of the college. However, this was

not an ideal solution because EPSA did not

match the professional skills associated with

ABET’s Computing Accreditation Commission

Development

220

(CAC), the accrediting branch through which

CTI was associated. Hence, the decision was

made to create the CPSA along the same lines

and following similar protocols as the EPSA.

This was the second phase of the project.

Currently, the third phase is underway where

the CPS rubric is being edited. In total, this

phase has meant further development of

scenarios appropriate to computing and

additional adaptation of the CPS rubric.

In terms of scenario development, the goal was

to have short (around 600 words), real-world

scenarios which were authentic, ill-structured,

and complex, similar to issues often faced by

computing professionals in the work

environment. Solutions were not expected to be

overly technical in nature since the learning

outcomes under scrutiny did not warrant such

responses. Following guidance from Ater

Kranov et al. (2008), the level of difficulty was

targeted to this unique set of students. In this

situation, this led to an emphasis on the

readability of the scenarios given that students 1were non-native speakers of English . Credible

news sources and academic articles were

utilized as sources, and a criteria sheet was

used to both create the scenarios and to review

for adequacy (see Appendix A). Prompts to

guide the discussions were also drafted to

accompany the scenario, and in this phase

of the project, were well aligned with the

CAC professional skills. The scenario -

Information Privacy - and prompts are available

in Appendix B.

Whereas an earlier iteration of the CPS rubric

only included the five CAC outcomes – (b), (d),

(e), (h), and (i), (Ater Kranov, Danaher, and

Schoepp, 2014), this iteration comprises six

and includes the outcomes most appropriate

for this environment. Specifically, (f)

communication and (g) local and global impact

were added. These were deemed of particular

importance because of the second language

environment and that global awareness is one

of the university’s general education learning

outcomes. Outcome (i) was removed because

it proved difficult to assess through this

methodology. Table 1 presents the outcomes

assessed by the rubric and the criterion within

each of the CPSA sub-sections.

1 The Flesch-Kincaid Readability Formula http://www.readabilityformulas.com/flesch-grade-level-readability-

formula.phpwas utilized to ensure the appropriate level of English.

TABLE 1: Outcomes assessed and criteria

ABET CAC Criterion 3 - Student Outcomes

(b) An ability to analyze a problem, and identify and

define the computing requirements appropriate

to its solution

(d) An ability to function effectively on teams to

accomplish a common goal

(e) An understanding of professional, ethical, legal,

security and social issues and responsibilities

(f) An ability to communicate effectively with a

range of audiences

(g) An ability to analyze the local and global impact

of computing on individuals, organizations, and

society

(h) Recognition of the need for and an ability to

engage in continuing professional development

Specific Criterion Considered in the CPSA

• Problem analysis / Solution

identification• Stakeholder perspective

• Task orientation• Discussion and consensus

• Ethical considerations

• Grammar, punctuation, spelling• Vocabulary

• Impact/context

• Scrutinize information• Identify knowledge status

221

Implementation

Assessment

There are three distinct stages in the

implementation of the CPSA, and the initial two

stages serve both as preparation for the

assessment and also as excellent learning

activities. The first stage is an instructor

facilitated, face-to-face, small group discussion

lasting one class period using one of the

scenarios and prompts. This is used as a

scaffolding exercise to make the students

comfortable with the task and to become aware

of the expectations for the next two stages.

The second stage is conducted in a similar

manner except that it is converted to an online,

asynchronous, small group discussion, with

very limited instructor involvement. Only in

situations where there is poor participation or

interaction, will the instructor enter into one of

the discussions. The discussions are to be

student-led and students are to generate

responses and solutions. This discussion uses

another one of the scenarios, lasts for about 10

days, and demands regular postings and

reading from students. At the completion of this

round, postings are anonymized and used as a

teaching resource demonstrating high and low

quality responses.

The final stage mirrors the second but for the

fact that students are assessed as individuals

for course grading purposes and as groups for

program assessment purposes. Grading for

course purposes ensures meaningful

participation, and assessing in groups provides

program-level coverage which utilizes the CPS

rubric effectively.

According to Holmes and Oakleaf (2013),

norming is crucial to the efficacy of a rubric and

without such a process, deployment of a rubric

may be a waste of time, or severely limit its

effectiveness. Because of this, use of the CPS

rubric to assess student work involves a small

team of assessors that participate in a norming

process and continually work towards rater

consensus. A faculty rating session is started

with a review of the rubric and a discussion of

any issues that may have emerged previously.

Raters then begin the process of assessing

groups against specific criteria, and when

complete, sharing ratings and providing

examples to support their assertions directly

from the text. This leads to a shared

understanding and builds consensus. Scores

from each of the raters are recorded, and the

consensus process is conducted to determine

a single rating for each group along the specific

criteria.

Results for this paper are threefold. The first

describes the efficacy of the CPS rubric, the

second encompasses student performance on

the activity, and the third their perceptions of

the activity as a method to improve learning.

Regarding the quality of the CPS rubric, its

development has been anchored in the

previous EPS rubric; therefore, it has some

level of trustworthiness. Nevertheless, issues

surrounding its usability must be addressed

and even though it is used with an extensive

calibration and alignment protocol that brings

raters to consensus or near consensus,

investigating the inter-rater reliability is

important. Stemler (2004) posits that such

levels of agreement between raters should be

70% or greater, so this was the target for both

the complete instrument and the individual

outcomes represented. Inter-rater reliability

was calculated through the simplest of

methods - a simple count of cases receiving the

same ratings and dividing by the total number

of cases. Table 2 demonstrates that the overall

level of agreement was 75%, while the

outcomes ranged from a low of 61% for

(d) teamwork to a high of 83% for (f)

communication, (g) local and global impact,

and (h) professional development. These

results indicate that more development work is

required for outcomes (d) teamwork and (e)

ethics given that were both below the 70%

threshold.

Results and Outcomes

222

Though inter-rater reliability is an important

consideration in the use of a shared rubric, the

consensus method of implementation

employed with the CPS rubric means that any

differences are effectively controlled for. The

approach taken is one where raters identify in

the text examples of why they afforded certain

scores, and also refer to specific sections or

examples in the comments section of the rubric.

Mirroring the process described by the

University of Hawaii Manoa’s Assessment

Office (2013), rater consensus is then

developed by having raters explain their

evaluations by giving examples directly from the

texts. Through this dialogue and debate a final

consensus score is then established. It is

through this process that student performance

is represented in Table 3. The target level of

attainment was ³ 3 on the 6-point rubric, so

from this it is clear that overall the target was

met 50% of the time (18/36). Disaggregated

according to specific learning outcomes, (f)

communication was the outcome where the

student groups performed best reaching the

target 83% of the time. Outcomes (d) teamwork

and (e) ethics were the other two areas where

students performed well with 67% (4/6) groups

achieving the target. Outcomes where

students functioned inadequately (£ 33%

achieving the target) were (b) problem-

solution, (g) local and global impact, and (h)

professional development. These results

reveal that it is these outcomes that should be

targeted for program improvement.

TABLE 2: Inter-rater agreement

223

At the completion of the discussion board

activities, an anonymous online questionnaire

was distributed to the students. The purpose of

the questionnaire was to get the students’

perceptions on the educational value of the

activity. The questionnaire included nine closed

response Likert scale items and three open-

ended items. Eight of the nine closed response

items were taken from the Australian Course

Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) (n.d.) a

nationally used survey that focuses on quality of

tertiary courses. The word “course” in the CEQ

items was changed to “activity” in our survey.

While the development of the Computing

Professional Skills Assessment and explicitly

the CPS Rubric were the main motivation for

this project, the efficacy of an online discussion

board to deliver this assessment and its utility

as a valuable learning activity was also of major

interest. The closed response items gave

students the opportunity to evaluate the degree

to which the activity helped them achieve the

ABET professional skills and related

constructs. Rated on a scale from Strongly

Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5) through

table 4, student responses have been ranked

from highest to lowest according to the mean.

Students clearly indicated that the activity

helped them analyze and solve problems, as

well as enhance their written communication

skills. The additional column labeled

Dichotomous % measures the percentage of

students who selected either Agree or Strongly

Agree for each item. From these analyses,

there is a high level of agreement with almost

all items except for the teamwork and time

management items. Both of these constructs

emerge via the open-ended items as well.

The three open-ended response items

included in the questionnaire were:

• What I liked about the activity;

• What I did not like about the activity;

• Changes in the activity I would like to see.

The activity helped to develop my ability to

analyze problems.

The activity helped to develop my

problem-solving skills.

The activity helped to improve my skills in

written communication.

The activity helped me to develop my

understanding of ethical, legal and social

issues.

The activity helped me to develop the ability to

analyze the impact of computing on the world.

The activity helped me to recognize the limits

of my knowledge and the need to continue to

learn more.

As a result of the activity, I feel more confident

about tackling unfamiliar problems.

The activity helped me develop my ability to

work as a team member.

The activity helped me to develop the ability to

manage my time and plan my own work.

TABLE 4: Analysis of student responses

Questions Mean Standard Deviation Dichotomous %

4.21 0.68 93

4.11 0.63 86

4.03 0.78 79

3.97 0.50 86

3.93 0.59 79

3.79 0.68 72

3.75 0.75 71

3.55 1.02 55

3.55 1.12 66

*N ranged from 28-29

224

They were included to provide us with

additional insights into students’ perspectives

and to help us improve the activity. In response

to the first question, issues surrounding working

in groups to investigate and solve problems in

depth came to the fore. Students made 2comments like ‘we learned to solve problems,

my group was going deep into problems, it

helped us as a team to engage one another and

understand different points of view’. Though

students indicated weak agreement through

the closed response teamwork item that the

activity developed their ability to work as a team

member, this indicates that they appreciated

the work of their groups. A strength of

asynchronous communication was also noted

through a comment like ‘I like the whole idea of

the discussion board because it gave us the

time to think before we talk which resulted in

great discussions’. Responding to the second

question, the themes that emerged were

related to the length of the task, the timing in the

semester, and the grades that were received.

Comments such as ‘I think 10 days is a lot for

such an activity, it would have been better to do

the activity at the beginning of the semester not

at the end because we have a lot to do’, and

‘grading’ or ‘I was very disappointed with my

grade on the first activity because I worked very

hard on it’ were representative of these themes.

As was noted above, time management was an

issue for students. In terms of changes they

would like to see, the major suggestion had to

do with implementing notifications for when

there were new discussion posts – ‘receive

notifications from Blackboard if someone

posts’. The next suggestions were to offer

formative feedback and to shorten the activity

and avoid the semester’s end, which were

captured through comments like ‘the first

discussion board should give the students’

feedback without grading’, and ‘to make the

activity shorter and adjust the timing’. Overall,

the responses from students were quite

positive, more positive than we had

expected. The number of comments like ‘I think

everything was good and helpful, I liked this

activity’, and that they wanted to change

‘actually nothing’, surprised us and has

re-affirmed to us the efficaciousness of this

activity for both learning and assessment

purposes.

Students excelled in the group interaction

aspects of the teamwork, which they exhibited

by acknowledging, clarifying and building upon

other team member’s ideas and encouraging

participation of all discussion participants.

Students were not consistently able to

demonstrate the ability or desire to critique

information presented in the scenario or team

member’s contributions to the discussion. They

tended to wander off topic and did not refer

back to the discussion prompts to stay on task.

Students also frequently agreed early on in the

discussion with a dominant opinion,

converging rather than actually striving to

achieve consensus.

Overall, students were able to identify primary

problems raised in the scenario. However they

struggled to identify non-obvious relevant

stakeholders and their perspectives, as well as

struggled to propose possible solutions from a

computing perspective.

• The ABET professional skills learning

outcomes can be effectively assessed

through a discussion board.

• T h o u g h t h i s w a s s u s p e c t e d ,

asynchronous discussion boards are

ideally suited for second language

learners because they are provided with

the additional time to reflect on and

compose meaningful responses.

• Scaffolding of the activity from face-to-

face, to practiced online, to full online

implementation is required, especially

where students have not had extensive

opportunities to engage in online

discussions.

• The act of having raters share grades and

provide examples or evidence to support

Lessons Learnt

2 Student comments have been edited for grammar and spelling to enhance readability.

225

their grade is essential to develop a

consensus and shared understanding of

the rubric.

• To ensure adequate participation, the

discussion board needs to be discussed in

class and students reminded of the

expectations because it occurs outside of

scheduled class time.

• The degree to which the discussion should

be guided by specific questions rather than

issues to consider remains unknown and

will be investigated in another round of

CPSA implementation.

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Official (and Unofficial) Rules for Norming

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overview.pdf>, [Accessed: 20 August 2014].

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MCGOURTY, J (2005) ‘The ABET

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The scenario has some kind of unresolved problem, tension, a

disagreement, or competing perspectives on how to address the

problem. The problem will be relevant for five to ten years.

Scenario involves more than one discipline within and beyond

engineering. The issue/problem in the scenario should be able to be

tackled by an interdisciplinary group at any level in the program.

The complex and multifaceted scenario has multiple stakeholders

including public, private, global, groups, and individual constituents.

The diversity of stakeholders is representative of a problem with

ethical, societal/cultural, economic, environmental, and, global

concerns. Any solution requires all critical stakeholders to be on board

with the solution(s).

The scenario includes some technical data for students to “hang onto”

as they tackle the problem. The problem has a core component of

technicality, benefiting from engineers on the solution team.

Scenario draws in the reader and engages the student group in deep

discussions because the problem is complex and multifaceted

without an obvious, quick fix solution.

The scenario has multiple references (3-4) from varied sources such

as refereed journal articles, solid news sources, and publications from

professional societies. The selection of references is objective and

balanced.

The scenario can be read and understood by all engineering

undergraduates in 5-7 minutes as a common starting point for a 30-40

minute group discussion. There should be no pictures or tables. Lists

are acceptable. The written text must be no more than 1.5 pages,

12-point font, and 1.5 spacing.

APPENDIX A: Scenario Development and Assessment Form

ReviewerCriterion DescriptionComments

Y/N

Interdisciplinary

scope

Relevant

problem

Non-technical

complexity

Technical

complexity

Elicits

engagement

References

Packaging for

classroom use

227

APPENDIX B: Information Privacy Scenario

Prompts

Imagine that you are on a team working together on the problem/s raised in the scenario. Consider the

following guiding questions as you are working.

1. What are the primary and secondary problems?

2. What are possible approaches to address the problems?

3. Who are the major stakeholders and what are their perspectives?

4. What are some of the major ethical issues?

5. What are the local and global impacts of computing on individuals, organizations, and society?

6. What, if any, additional information would you need to effectively address the problem/s?

Information Privacy

When you visit a website, that website can automatically collect some information from your visit, such

as the name of your provider, the location, the site you came from and the software you are using. In

order to view the contents of the site or to become a member, the website may then ask for further

personal information during your visit such as your name, email address and phone number. The

website then has valuable information about you which can be used in different ways, or sold. This is

one way that names get onto Spam mailing lists. Other sites such as your employer or bank may hold

electronic personal information about you, which raises concerns about the security and privacy of

electronic information. Some examples of the threats to online user privacy are the National Security

Agency in America accessing Internet communications globally, and Amazon sharing customer

information. Some people are asking if websites should be allowed to gather information about users,

or if you give a site personal information, should that site be able to use your information and in what

ways.

On the UAE government website it says that the site will not collect information about the user, and any

information will be used for the purpose it was entered on the site. In the UAE there is no specific

electronic data protection law, although the privacy and security of information is mentioned in some

laws within the UAE. Employers must follow laws about how they store and share the information they

have about employees, but the security of information stored electronically is difficult to guarantee.

Some companies collect personal data without user’s knowledge or consent and then either share it or

don’t keep it safe. Websites can plant a cookie on your system, which can be encrypted and can

remain for a long time, collecting information about you. Software called spyware can be planted on

your system to collect information about you, and your surfing behavior online, tracking the websites

you look at which is useful for advertisers. One sign that you may have spyware is an unusual amount

of pop-up ads.

In a process called data mining, companies get trends and more information from the data they have

collected. For example, Google admitted to taking information from student emails to learn how to

better target advertisements at students. An investigation by a newspaper in 2010 found that

Facebook was sharing personal information about tens of millions of users with advertisers. Even if the

user had their privacy settings at the maximum, using an application like Farmville collected user

information, which Facebook then used. In another example, Apple was collecting and storing

information on iPhones and iPads about the location of users, but as this was criticized the CEO Steve

Jobs in 2011 made an apology. In 2007, Google added the Street View to Google Maps whereby users

can see views of streets from webcams. This resulted in many privacy complaints and Google has paid

fines and faced audits because users are worried about their privacy. In order to lessen the problem,

Google introduced new features so users can choose to flag images for removal, and can blur faces

and license plates. However, many countries are not happy, and Google had to pay France $142,000

Continued...

228

in March 2011 in a fine. Another major issue with privacy is social networking, where people may be

tagged in photos or information about them might be revealed.

If private information about a person becomes public, it can have considerable consequences, such as

medical information effecting insurance coverage or employment, financial information leading to fraud

or identity theft. The right to privacy of information varies around the world, and the security of

information held by databases and websites is difficult to guarantee. Just recently, an SSL bug called

Heartbleed was discovered, which allows attackers to listen to communication, steal data and

impersonate services and users. The attack leaves no traces and the user is unaware that data has

been stolen.

References

Alalwan, N., Alzahrani, A. & Sarrab, M., 2013. Cybercrime Investigation Challenges for Gulf

Cooperation Council Governments: A Survey.

Alkaabi, A., Mohay, G., McCullagh, A. & Chantler, A., 2010. Dealing with the problem of cybercrime.

Abu Dhabi , s.n.

Anon., 2014. Google Admits to Data-Mining Student Emails. [Online]

Available at: http://epic.org/2014/03/google-admits-to-data-mining-s.html

Anon., 2014. Government.ae. [Online]

Available at: http://www.government.ae/en/web/guest/privacy-policy

Marsan, C., 2012. The Worst Internet Privacy Scandals of all time. [Online]

Available at: http://features.techworld.com/personal-tech/3333293/the-worst-internet-privacy-

scandals-of-all-time/

Miller, J., 2013. Facebook to compensate users for sharing details on ads. [Online]

Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-23848323?utm_medium=referral&

utm_source=pulsenews

Mustafa, A., 2012. Cyber-crime law to fight internet abuse and protect privacy in the UAE. [Online]

Available at: http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/cyber-crime-law-to-fight-internet-abuse-

and-protect-privacy-in-the-uae

Mustafa, A., 2013. Hackers be warned: UAE takes guard against cyber attacks. The National, 23

May.

Norton, 2010. Norton Cybercrime Report, s.l.: Norton.

Steel, E. & Fowler, G., 2010. Facebook in Privacy Breach. [Online]

Available at: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1000142405270230477280457555

8484075236968?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB

10001424052702304772804575558484075236968.html

APPENDIX B: Continued...

229

APPENDIX C: Computing Professional Skills (CPS) Rubric

Rater’s Name: __________________ Date: ________ Student Work: ___________________

Note: The computing professional skills that comprise this rubric are taken directly from the ABET

Computing Criterion 3, Student Outcomes. Each dimension of the CPS Rubric comprises one ABET student

outcome, a CPS definition of the outcome, and the outcome’s performance indicators. Thus, “ABET skill 3b”

can also be read as “ABET criterion 3 student outcome b” with two performance indicators: stakeholder

perspective, problem identification, and solution ID.

Scoring Protocol:

1. Skim the scenario students used for the discussion.

2. Quickly read the discussion, marking passages where a given skill is exhibited. A given passage may

exhibit more than one skill simultaneously.

3. During a second read, highlight passages that provide strong evidence (either positive or negative)

related to the skills.

4. Read the skill definition. Assign scores for each of the performance indicators.

5. In the comment boxes, provide line numbers and a short phrase, such as: 3f = lines 109-112: trade off

of wall height/plant safety vs costs; lines 828-836: risk analysis. Be sure to refer back to the skill

definition.

6. Update your initial scores should the data provide evidence for a score change.

7. Ultimately assign one score for the skill. Use whole numbers; no increments.

General Decision Rules

1. Assess what is transcribed. Don’t “read between the lines” (e.g., don’t make assumptions about what

the group should know given what is transcribed.).

2. When conflicted on assigning a score, reference adjacent score description boxes to determine

whether a higher or lower score within the description box is more accurate.

3. Weigh all performance indicators within a category equally in assigning the overall score.

4. Assign the higher score associated with a box only when evidence for all performance criteria is

present.

5. Read the skill definition after scoring to check the score for accuracy.

6. When averaging scores for the performance indicators, round down. For example, 2.6 would be a 2

not a 3. The rationale is to report the level they attained, not the level that they almost attained.

Scoring Tips

1. Supply line numbers and/or student numbers for reference in the comment box.

2. Strive to complete transcript review and scoring within a 45-60 minutes.

230

ABET CAC Skill 3b: An ability to analyze a problem, and identify and define the computing

requirements appropriate to its solution.

Rater Score for Skill________

Definition: Students clearly frame the problem(s) raised in the scenario with reasonable accuracy and

identify approaches that could address the problem(s) from a computing perspective. Students recognize

relevant stakeholders and their perspectives.

Pro

ble

m A

nal

ysis

So

luti

on

ID

Sta

keh

old

er

Per

spec

tive

0 - Missing 1 - Emerging 2 - Developing 3 - Practicing 4 - Maturing 5 - Mastering

Students do

not identify

the

problem(s) in

the scenario.

Students begin to frame

the problem(s).

Approaches identified to

address the problem(s)

may be general and/or

naive.

Students are generally

successful in distinguishing

primary and secondary

problems with reasonable

accuracy and with

justification. There is

evidence that they have

begun to formulate credible

approaches to address the

problem(s) from a

computing perspective.

Students

convincingly and

accurately frame the

problem(s) and parse

sub-problems,

providing

justification. They

suggest detailed and

viable approaches to

resolve the

problem(s) from a

computing

perspective.

Students do

not identify

stakeholders.

Students identify few

and/or most obvious

stakeholders, perhaps

stating their positions in

a limited way and/or

misrepresenting their

positions.

Students explain the

perspectives of major

relevant stakeholders and

convey these with

reasonable accuracy.

Students thoughtfully

consider

perspectives of

diverse relevant

stakeholders and

articulate these with

clarity, accuracy, and

empathy.

Comments

231

ABET CAC Skill 3d: An ability to function effectively on teams to accomplish a common goal

Rater Score for Skill________

Definition: Students understand the team’s task and stay on task. Students work together to address the

problems raised in the scenario by acknowledging, building on, critiquing and clarifying each other’s ideas to

come to consensus. Students encourage participation of all team members.

Task

Ori

enta

tio

n

Dis

cuss

ion

an

d

Co

nse

nsu

s

0 - Missing 1 - Emerging 2 - Developing 3 - Practicing 4 - Maturing 5 - Mastering

Students do

not stay on

task.

Students may attempt to

stay on task, but without

much success.

Students recognize when

they get off track of the

task and work to get back

on task.

Students

demonstrate a clear

understanding of the

team’s task and work

to address it fully.

Students do

not

acknowledge

or encourage

participation

of others.

Students pose individual

opinions without linking

to what others say.

Some students may

dominate (inadvertently

or on purpose), or

become argumentative.

There may be some

tentative, but ineffective,

attempts at reaching

consensus.

Students thoughtfully

acknowledge, build on,

critique and clarify others

ideas with some success.

Students attempt to reach

consensus, but may find it

challenging to consider

multiple perspectives.

Students defer quickly to

a dominant opinion,

converging rather than

attempting to reach

consensus.

Students clearly

encourage

participation from all

group members,

generate ideas

together and actively

help each other

clarify ideas.

Students actively

work together to

reach consensus that

has incorporated

multiple

perspectives.

Comments

Scoring Rules specific to group communication

1. Consider level of individual engagement (as measured by length and depth of utterances) in weighting

score.

232

ABET CAC Skill 3e: An understanding of professional, ethical, legal, security and social issues

and responsibilities

Rater Score for Skill________

Definition: Students use an ethical lens to consider professional, legal, security and social issues and

responsibilities. (e.g. health and safety, fair use of funds, risk, tradeoffs, etc. and doing “what is right” for all

involved).

Eth

ical

Co

nsi

der

atio

ns

0 - Missing 1 - Emerging 2 - Developing 3 - Practicing 4 - Maturing 5 - Mastering

Students do

not identify

ethical

considerations.

Students give passing

attention to related

ethical considerations.

They may identify only

obvious health and

safety, fair use of funds,

risk, or trade off issues,

etc.

Students are sensitive to

relevant ethical

considerations and discuss

them in context of the

problem(s). Students may

identify ethical dilemmas

and discuss possible

tradeoffs.

Students clearly

articulate relevant

ethical

considerations in the

context of the

problem(s). Students

may discuss ways to

mediate dilemmas or

suggest tradeoffs.

Comments

ABET CAC Skill 3f: An ability to communicate effectively

Rater Score for Skill________

Definition: Students write clearly in a grammatically accurate manner with their punctuation and spelling to

a professional standard. Students also demonstrate the sophisticated vocabulary expected of a computing

professional.

Gra

mm

ar, P

unct

uatio

n,

and

Spel

ling

0 - Missing 1 - Emerging 2 - Developing 3 - Practicing 4 - Maturing 5 - Mastering

Students are

unable to write

in an accurate

manner.

Students’ errors in

grammar, punctuation,

and spelling at times

impedes the

effectiveness of

communication.

Students have few errors

in grammar, punctuation,

and spelling, so effective

communication is seldom

impeded.

Students write clearly

and have no

discernable

grammar,

punctuation, or

spelling errors.

Comments

Voca

bula

ry

Students do

not

demonstrate a

professional

vocabulary.

Students rarely

demonstrate a

professional vocabulary.

At times students

demonstrate a professional

vocabulary, but not in a

consistent manner.

Students consistently

demonstrate the

sophisticated

vocabulary expected

of a computing

professional.

233

ABET CAC Skill 3g: An ability to analyze the local and global impact of computing on

individuals, organizations, and society

Rater Score for Skill________

Definition: Students analyze the local and global impact of computing on individuals, organizations, and

society.

Imp

act/

Co

nte

xt

0 - Missing 1 - Emerging 2 - Developing 3 - Practicing 4 - Maturing 5 - Mastering

Students do

not consider

either the local

or global

impacts of

computing on

individuals,

organizations

and society.

Students give cursory

consideration to the

impact of computing on

individuals,

organizations, and

society. Their analysis of

local and/or global

impacts may be

superficial.

Students consider the

impact of computing on

individuals, organizations,

and society and begin to

recognize the associated

complexities and

interdependencies. They

analyze both local and

global impacts.

Students clearly

consider the

complexities and

interdependencies of

the impacts of

computing on

individuals,

organizations, and

society. They

judiciously analyze

these impacts

according to both

local and global

considerations.

Comments

234

ABET CAC Skill 3h: Recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in continuing

professional development

Definition: Students refer to and examine the information and sources. Students differentiate between

what they know and do not know and demonstrate an awareness of the need to seek additional

information.

Scr

uti

niz

e In

form

atio

nId

enti

fy K

no

wle

dg

e S

tatu

s

0 - Missing 1 - Emerging 2 - Developing 3 - Practicing 4 - Maturing 5 - Mastering

Students do

not refer to or

scrutinize

information

presented.

Students refer to the

information presented in

the scenario (e.g. “it

says”). Students may

distinguish fact from

opinion. Students may

question the validity of

one or more sources.

Students examine

information presented in

the scenario. Students may

recognize that the sources

may have potential biases.

Students may recognize

what is implied or implicit.

Students examine

not only information,

but also information

sources. Examples

include, but are not

limited to: discussing

potential and

probable biases of

the information

sources,

distinguishing fact

from opinion in order

to determine levels of

information validity,

analyzing implied

information.

Students do

not differentiate

between what

they do and do

not know.

Students do

not

demonstrate an

awareness of

the need to

seek additional

information.

Students begin to

identify the boundaries

of their knowledge of

the information

presented. Students

may inject their own life

experiences, possibly

without questioning the

validity in relationship to

other sources.

Students begin to

demonstrate an

awareness of the need

to seek additional

information.

Students identify the

parameters of their

knowledge of the

information presented.

Students may connect

personal experiences or

information read/heard

elsewhere, while

recognizing the limits of

their contributions.

Students identify specific

knowledge gaps and

demonstrate an

awareness of the need to

seek additional

information.

Students identify the

specific limits of their

knowledge of the

information

presented and how

those limitations

affect their analysis.

Students may check

assumptions related

to personal

experiences or

information

read/heard

elsewhere.

Students actively

seek relevant

additional information

and bring forth a

variety of reliable

sources to be

consulted.

Comments

TRANSFORMATIVE OPEN PRACTICE: ADDING OPEN INNOVATION AND CO-CREATION TO TRANSFORMATIVE BEST PRACTICES IN

HIGHER EDUCATION

Organizer

DR. PAUL LEFRERE,

Honorary Associate, Open University, UK

paul.lefrere@open.ac.uk

Principal, Strategic Initiatives Inc, USA

paullef@strategicinitiatives.com

+44.7725.694965

CASE STUDY

236

Abstract

This paper includes four mini case studies from

MENA these are used to explore the need for

shareable ways to capture, document and

extend practices in operational use in HE and

related sectors. This is relevant to extending

transformative best practices into what we call

Transformative Open Practice, TOP. TOP

combines three approaches to bringing about

changes in HE: (1) Transformative Best

Practices (TBP); (2) Open Innovation (OI),

used to augment and update strategic plans

and operational rules (e.g., by external

sourcing of novel-to-you solutions to problems

or external perspectives on possible/necessary

changes in goals, costs, processes, work flows

and frameworks); and (3) Open Co-Creation

(OCC), e.g. involving internal staff in

discussions of what changes are needed and

how they could be brought about.

A TOP repertoire (using mixes of approaches 1,

2, and 3) can be useful to leaders who need to

reduce barriers to any radical changes needed

as well as any slight refinements to institutional

audiences, goals and methods. This can help in

capacity-building, via the incorporation of

externally-sourced ideas and approaches

(Open Practices) to widen the sources of key

information and feedback, helping to increase

the awareness of leaders (and their followers:

deputies and line managers) of significant

divergences between what they try to do; what

their stakeholders want them to do; and what it

is feasible for them to do. Feasibility depends in

part on how they approach their tasks. The TBP

aspect of TOP can ensure that all involved in

leadership and followership are aware of the

details of what is currently being done, as well

as any superior alternatives to their current

ways of using their resources to achieve goals

(including the goal of achieving faster, cheaper

and more effective forms of TBP, which are

consistent with the visions and goals of HE

leaders).

Introduction

In June 2015, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin

Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime

Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, tweeted

that the “Future of Arab World depends on great

developmental and economic revival, led by

GCC, achieved in cooperation with our brothers

and friends” and “Regional Challenges demand

a clear Arab economic vision, big economic

projects and effective utilization of human and

natural resources”. The grand revival for the

Arab World envisaged by HH Sheikh

Mohammed and other members of UAE’s

leadership may be more feasible in countries

like UAE, Qatar and KSA. This is because these

countr ies have invested strongly in

infrastructure and practices for the coming

Knowledge Age, making it feasible for every

student or employee or citizen to share their

knowledge and play a part in building national

capacity. This is so that the Arab World can

once again take a leadership role globally in

matters of Knowledge, Innovation, and

Entrepreneurship. On the path to that revival, a

key capability for leaders and citizens to foster

and master is information-gathering. At the

level of followers, this means being able to

gather and share accurate and timely data and

information. At the level of leaders, this means

having the potential to track what is going on

and to take corrective action when necessary

and/or delegate and empower citizens as

appropriate. To realize (deliver on) that

potential, people who track that data need to be

able to interpret it immediately (as in analytics

based on live Open Data on key performance

indicators, relevant to personal, local, regional,

organizational and national needs and

achievements, and useful to decision-makers).

Proxies for success that are relevant to the

grand revival can be tracked at multiple levels

(nat ional, organizat ional, community,

leaders/followers and individuals). This

Keywords: Change, Cooperation, Knowledge Management, Open Innovation, Open Educational Resources, Open Source, Sustainability, Transformation

237

tracking can be done in ways that maintain the

privacy of individual citizens, which is a core

requirement of a high-trust society. Meeting

those various requirements requires either

skills in gathering and interpreting performance

data, or access to turnkey systems that can do

the analysis for you. In principle, (assuming a

national scale of IT investments), this makes it

easier for leaders and their stakeholders to get

fast feedback on their success in contributing to

the grand revival. In practice, the level of use of

such systems, and the reliability of the tracked

data, will depend on whether its users feel safe

in using it. Hence, the emphasis on best

practices for trust and privacy, and on

Transformative Open Practice, TOP. The

system design and operational rules should

reflect what is needed for the grand revival, and

this should be an explicit feature of programs

for leadership development and followership.

For sustainability, there should be a good

match between the content and goals of such

programs, and the aspirations and capabilities

of a country’s youth, who need to engage with

such programs as part of preparing to become

the next generation of leaders and followers.

Institution: MBRPLD

Context of the best practice:

This case study (best practice in setting a grand

vision, then adjusting wider direction, tactics,

and strategy to deliver on the vision) is relevant

to Higher Education and Leadership Training in

the whole Gulf region and the wider Arab World.

Following the guidance of HH Sheikh

Mohammed, the assumed sub-goal is to review

the use of best practices in contributing

significantly and measurably to the grand

revival, making selective use of best-practice

experience of turning ‘What Needs Doing’ into

‘Documented Results’.

CASE 1:

Preparing For The ‘grand Revival’ Of

The Arab World

The goals and outcomes intended to be

achieved by the institutions:

The vision of the sponsor and leader (HH

Sheikh Mohammed) is clear. His multiple public

statements, taken as a whole, give strong and

consistent guidance on the overall purpose, the

indicative implementation directions, and the

timeframe. Those are societally-important

goals, going far beyond the goals relevant to

best practice in HE leadership from a TOP point

of view. The TOP goals of interest here concern

how to learn from the experience of taking

paths to success that ‘stretch’ best practices

beyond their original contexts of use, into new

contexts of use that align with each other. For

example, the best practices in reducing student

drop-out have changed hugely since it became

routine for students to submit assignments

electronically, and pre-2015 guidelines seem

dated, see e.g. Duranczyk, Higbee, Lundell,

2004. From a HELF perspective, achieving

improvements to this process (extending best

practices then reflecting on what was learned,

to improve subsequent practice) is arguably of

major significance for leadership courses and

practice. It complements the operational

aspects of the truly high-level goals associated

with the grand vision. It is part of monitoring

progress to the overriding vision, by selecting

and combining appropriate best practices, then

tracking how those best practices map to the

reality for HE leaders and managers (tracking

day-by-day progress and alignment with

national and regional goals). Then, these are

compared with prior best practices to see which

parts of best practices worked and which did

not.

The actual implementation strategy, its results,

and outcome:

To il lustrate how this reflection and

improvement can be achieved, we make

inferences on the use of best practices by the

UAE’s Maktoum Foundation. The Foundation

makes high and professionally-managed

investments in developing its future leaders, via

the widely-admired Mohammed Bin Rashid

Program for Leadership Development

(MBRPLD). This is a long-term personalized

training scheme covering various stages and

needs (Young Leaders, Promising Leaders,

Government Leaders, and the Director General

Majlis category). From multi-year informal

discussions of UAE-HE innovation projects

with local executives and managers, also with

global experts involved in those projects, and

through attendance at relevant HE events in

the UAE (e.g., presentations by MIT leaders;

Festival of Thinkers), it is clear that the

Foundation and the wider leadership of local

HE institutions bring in foreign experts who

make extensive use of a wide range of best

practices. These practices are used to foster

the encouragement in students of world-class

a p p r o a c h e s t o i n n o v a t i o n a n d

entrepreneurship. At the same time, it is clear

that the foreign experts involved in those

projects have not put much effort into sharing

their practices for reviewing and refining their

use of best practices. For example, they did not

share how to modify best practices to take

account of local constraints. Also, we have

found very few published articles from the Arab

World on best practices to improve best

practices. This is an important gap, significant

for improving capacity-building in the region.

Another key outcome is the growing

acceptance that best practices need to be

modified to take account of changes in the

external environment. To illustrate, many parts

of HE, including the Arab World, are

experiencing reduced budgets. Hence, they

lack the absorptive capacity to emulate best

practices that were widely affordable only in the

past decades. Attention needs to be given to

know how to use innovations, such as Open

Source and Open Knowledge to cut costs,

overcome lack of trainers, and scale up faster.

Other points: the UAE’s HE implementation

strategy seems to be evolving in the direction of

the grand vision, judging by UAE press

releases and updates to official web sites, plus

conversations in the UAE and with the advice of

external experts in the region. Our impression

is that the details of goals are changing to

include some updating of existing leadership-

development schemes (e.g. prospectively to

codify the application of appropriate leadership

best practices, plus new and IT-rich ways to

facilitate the early identification of any barriers

to success and how to overcome those barriers

- reliable information and feedback are parts of

that). Also, attention is being given to

enhancing the ability to use smart IT (e.g.

decision support) to build and deploy high-level

leadership skills in young leaders (including

negotiation and influencing skills, when the

‘position-power’ of a leader is insufficient for

them to get the results they need). As outlined

above, real-time data and analytics aspects are

becoming important tactically and strategically.

The new leaders should be aware of this

aspect.

Reflection on lessons learnt on the topic:

The danger with leadership programs in

general is that they concentrate on satisfying

the leaders (meeting ‘top-down needs’), to the

exclusion of the information needs of the

followers (‘bottom-up needs’). These risks

introduce ambiguity and uncertainty into the

implementation side of a ruler’s decree. They

put the burden of clarification on to the leaders

(which can be a problem for young leaders, at

the start of their leadership training). Delegation

to IT systems is becoming increasingly

worthwhile, and the UAE is an Early Adopter of

such innovations so that experience will surely

diffuse fast into its leadership programs. TOP is

compatible with this aspect. To fully comply with

current thinking on the value of Openness in

building wider followership, those responsible

for major leadership training programs (e.g.,

MBRPLD) should consider commissioning a

draft Action Plan for exploiting the latest and

highest-impact best practices as identified in

HELF papers. They also need to identify other

best practices entering the region, such as

Action Analytics [as sponsored by the Gates

Foundation and others] and TOP. This will fill

any gaps in bottom-up actions, by increasing

the transparency of implementation actions

along dimensions that increase their impact on

followers and commitment by citizens. As part

238

The goals and outcomes intended to be

achieved by the institutions:

The AOU needed further transformation of the

innovative teaching, testing and accreditation

methods pioneered by the UK OU to create

highly-consistent yet operationally-feasible

processes and workflows. These had to meet

the local (MENA) needs for accreditation of

courses as well as the quality assurance (QA)

needs of the international accreditor, so that

AOU graduates would find their degrees

recognized and accepted internationally.

The actual implementation strategy, its results,

and outcome:

From what has been published on this

particular transformation, it seems that the AOU

leaders identified and adopted a low-risk

‘expedient’ path to their desired outcomes. It is

to engage the UK OU as expert consultants,

who worked closely with AOU leaders to

transform the original OU-supplied processes

(and associated capacity development) into

processes and training that met the actual

needs of the AOU.

Reflection on lessons learnt on the topic:

The AOU transformation project is an example

of localization to meet both local and global

needs. As such, it would be useful to discuss

how its findings were made public, to share the

insights of those on the project. This kind of

sharing does not yet appear to have happened.

So, it is currently not possible to tell if the AOU

or UK OU invited suggested solutions from the

community at large, as happens when Open

Innovation is made part of a project. Finally, we

have not found any published work by the OU

team that made clear which of its internal best

practices could be used in AOU without

modification, and which modifications at the

AOU were adopted by the OU (in the manner of

‘Reverse Innovation’).

239

of such explorations, an Action Plan could look

at ways to evaluate and incorporate innovations

conceived elsewhere in the Arab World. Qatar’s

WISE shows a conference-based model of

exhibiting the outcome of selected innovations,

but says less or even nothing about what best

practices were established, and which of those

were transformative. A stronger example in

TOP terms, closer to the Grand Revival vision,

is new thinking on systematizing Arab World

philanthropy, as in the Philanthropy University,

which was set up recently. It is to be managed

by the University of California at Berkeley,

sponsored by Amr Al-Dabbagh, a prominent

Saudi businessman, who donated money to

support a new online educational program to

teach non-profit executives to use philanthropy

to support more social change in the KSA. As

yet, the processes and workflows to be used in

that program are not public, but it could well

benefit from the focused use of data-rich

practices, such as in TOP.

Institution: Arab Open University, AOU.

Context of the best practice:

Demographic changes in MENA gave rise to

huge increases in demand for access to higher

education. Conventional lecture-based

methods of teaching could not readily be scaled

up to meet that demand. Hence, candidate

alternatives to those teaching methods,

capable of handling much larger enrolments,

included a radically-different mass-access

approach called Open and Distance Learning.

This was invented and pioneered by the UK

Open University; in the UK, the methods of

teaching, assessing and accrediting required

re-thinking (transforming) every aspect of the

supporting processes (e.g. to ensure that tests

were taken by the same people whose names

would appear on the certificates that were

awarded).

CASE 2:

Transformative Higher Education – QA

In Open Learning

CASE 3:

Combining Best Practices And Open

Innovation

Institution: UAE’s Hamdan Bin Mohammed e-

University, HBMeU.

Context of the best practice:

The need for capacity development at the e-

learning leadership level across MENA,

spreading out to embrace and celebrate high-

quality work at other levels of management and

professional practice

The goals and outcomes intended to be

achieved by the institutions:

HBMeU is using a systematic influencing

strategy, with best practices in e-learning as its

initial focus, but not limited to that. The desired

outcomes in each field focus on progress

towards the best in the sense of excellence, for

example by recognizing individual outstanding

achievement in leadership and contribution to

their field.

The actual implementation strategy, its results,

and outcome:

HBMeU is progressing to global visibility and

admiration, through its tactics and strategy for

bringing in change and cross-fertilization via

Open Innovation from selected groups

worldwide (reminiscent of Qatar’s annual WISE

conference), and encouraging a can-do

culture.

Reflection on lessons learnt on the topic:

The strong points are already listed, and show

the value of combining best practices and open

innovation. The weak point in the HBMeU

strategy is the HBMeU journals, which are not

yet as influential as they could be. Their

dissemination is patchy and fails to reach key

counterpart groups, such as Europe’s EC-TEL

and eLIG, which could provide a collaboration

channel for MENA’s eLearning leaders.

CASE 4:

Towards Transformative Best Practices

Institution: UAE’s Higher Colleges of

Technology, HCT.

Context of the best practice:

A life-cycle model, starting with co-creating a

Strategic Plan for HCT’s leaders that would be

transformative across all colleges, and

subsequently identifying ways to refresh that

plan periodically and its implementation,

assisted by use of various forms of Open

Innovation.

The goals and outcomes intended to be

achieved by the institutions:

Co-creating an HE strategic plan that is

responsive to changes in employer needs and

career options at national level, and embodies

best practices relevant to updating the teaching

practices and focus of HCT colleges, so that the

evolving needs of students and employers can

be recognized and met faster, more effectively

and at lower cost.

The actual implementation strategy, its results,

and outcome: HCT leaders were quick to adopt

the co-creative aspects of the best practices we

proposed for making improvements to their

teaching and learning system and for

evaluating those improvements (e.g. to identify

key performance indicators for the quality and

scope of student learning, then to gather

relevant data). HCT managers were less keen

on the immediate adoption of KPIs. This is

because some of the contract teaching staff

were suspicious of any changes to their ways of

working or modernizing the content and goals

of the courses they taught, and change

management there needed to be on a larger

scale than first seemed the case. (Norris and

Lefrere, 2011)

240

241

Reflection on lesson learnt on the topic:

Strong and self-confident teachers (followers)

were ready to change all aspects of

what/why/how they taught, and could use

ex is t ing best prac t ices for change

management, with no modification. But

teachers in other colleges needed more time to

come around to accepting change, or the

leaders in those colleges needed more

compliant teaching staff, or there needed to be

adjustments of the best practices to set

temporarily-lower goals. These problems are

commonplace in multi-site colleges with

variations in local conditions and in the quality

of staffing. In the West, Higher Education

leaders can make use of best practices that

allow other options to be explored. In the case

of Arab World institutions, an economical option

could be to introduce short courses that help

students to explore self-directed learning as a

viable alternative to formal courses.

This paper outlines elements of a proposed

transformative strategy, TOP. This strategy is

for HE leaders to consider, in the event that their

stakeholders have a need for, and interest in,

faster and more effective and affordable ways

to mobilize and add to the insights, skills and

knowledge bases to be found in today’s higher

education institutions, whether in MENA or the

West. The inspirations for that strategy are

innovations in collaboration and knowledge

sharing whose visibility and adoption spread

partly in a viral manner (e.g., MIT’s Open

Knowledge Init iat ive, OKI) and also

community-driven collaborations towards a

joint goal (e.g., Open Source). Leaders whose

approach is consistent with viral spread of

ideas (e.g., find that their tweets are followed by

huge audiences) can achieve high take-up of

their vision, crossing national boundaries. In

the case of MENA, this could make feasible a

GCC-led transformation project embodying

mass-participation ways to enhance and apply

best practices (e.g., based on TOP and OCC

Conclusion

approaches), supported by GCC diaspora and

institutions, other MENA universities, global

agenc ies (e .g . , USAID) and w ider

communities. Here, a key asset for MENA is the

professional network ASREN (Arab States’

Research and Education Network), which has

links with leaders in the diaspora of Arab

researchers worldwide, as well as their

counterparts in the RENs in USA and Europe. If

the human resources of ASREN were

integrated with the GCC’s high-speed e-

Infrastructure, it would provide a pan-Arab

dedicated high-speed e-Infrastructure. This

would allow young researchers and educators

from across the region to seamlessly access

computing resources, facilities and repositories

available in the USA and other industrialized

countries (e.g., as in the work of the JISC in the

UK). This would also help them use proven

ways to innovate and create wealth and jobs,

for example by tracking and exploiting scientific

and technical breakthroughs.

In conclusion, regarding TOP’s proposed

addition of Open Innovation to Transformative

Best Practices, HE leaders can use the Open

Innovation aspects of TOP to put many minds

to work on finding ways to play a significant part

in achieving a big vision or to take major trends

into account. They can also find cheaper and

more efficient ways to achieve current goals, or

to identify better goals. Leaders can also gain

from TOP if multiple challenges need to be

considered in parallel, e.g., if familiar best

practices are no longer sufficient to deal with

fast or recent changes in the external

environment, or if there are problems in major

areas. The areas could be staff morale; rising

costs of teaching; falling enrolments; quality

assurance; lack of ways to anticipate and

prepare for new needs of learners and

employers. In addition, TOP is compatible with,

and facilitates, collaborations by multiple

stakeholders to update and spread admired

ideas. It can be used to identify and spread

good practices, in ways that are compatible

with the work of leading sponsors of evidence-

based innovations. Leaders who are interested

in adopting TOP to speed up organizational

change should ask such sponsors for access to

their best practices.

Duranczyk, IM, Higbee, JL, Lundell, DB (2004)

Best Practices for Access and Retention in

Higher Education (Editors), Center for

Research on Developmental Education and

References

Urban Literacy, General College, University of

Minnesota.

N o r r i s D M a n d L e f r e r e P ( 2 0 11 ) .

Transformation through expeditionary change

using online learning and competence building

technologies, Research in Learning

Technology, 19(1).

242

Organizer

InstitutionalBest PracticeBooklet

"Towards Transformative Higher Education: The Role of Innovation in the

st21 Century Digital and Knowledge based Society"

th th10 - 11 of November, 2015 Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi-UAE

"Inspiring the Leaders of today”

BUILDING COMMUNITY AND LEARNER AUTONOMY: AN INSTRUCTOR TRAINING MODEL FOR ONLINE LEARNING

Organizer

CASE STUDY

DR. MAUREEN ANDRADE

Associate Vice-President of Academic Affairs,

Utah Valley University,

USA

Maureen.Andrade@uvu.edu

245

Abstract

Although online learning is becoming a

mainstream method of delivery in higher

education, faculty members may be reluctant to

adopt it and students may be hesitant to enroll in

online courses. Both parties may fear change,

may lack the needed technological expertise,

be convinced that traditional methods are more

effective, or simply prefer face-to-face

instruction. However, most instructors and

students can expect at least some involvement

in this pedagogical approach in the future.

In the United States, the percentage of online

enrollment as a percentage of the total

enrollment in higher education grew from

9.6% in 2002 to 33.5% in 2012 (Allen &

Seaman 2014). This is a 16.1% growth rate,

representing an increase of 1.6 million learners

to 7.1 million learners taking at least one online

course (Allen & Seaman 2014). Institutions are

expanding online learning in order to be

competitive, increase access, address

enrollment growth, and manage space

constraints (Andrade in press-b).

This growth reflects the demand for higher

education and recognition of the opportunities

afforded by online learning. The latter are

significant to provide access to higher

education in terms of admission, flexible

scheduling, and cost when scalability can be

realized. Indeed, distance learning provides the

means to meet demand, and address global

movements to democratize tertiary level

education (Corver 2010; Higher Education

Funding Council for England 2009; Trow 2005).

This case study draws from effective training

practices to encourage higher education

instructors to gain confidence and skill in

adopting effective online teaching practices to

and create successful student learning

experiences. The study examines the issues

surrounding instructor training, presents the

goals and outcomes for the approach,

explicates the implementation strategy, reviews

the outcomes, and reflects on lessons learned.

Key Words: Online instruction; online teacher

training; self-regulated learning; theory of

transactional distance; online English

language learning

Educators are committed to developing and

delivering quality learning experiences.

Measures are in place across all levels of

education and methods of delivery to ensure

that this occurs. These processes include

various forms of program review, curriculum

review, course and instructor evaluations, and

student learning outcomes assessment.

Quality measures entail feedback from

learners, colleagues, and experts in the field in

a variety of formats such as observations,

standardized exams, ePortfolios, surveys, and

focus groups.

Online learning is no exception. Many distance

education programs implement tools to

evaluate course design, learner experiences,

learner completion and success, and

interaction patterns among students and

instructors. Learning management systems

have the capability to provide analytics which

indicate assignment statistics, amount of time

students spend on course activities, page

views, and other learner actions (Mattingly,

Rice, & Berge 2012; Slade & Prinsloo 2013).

A key component of quality in online courses is

instructor skill in facilitating learning. The

interaction among learners and between the

instructor and learner determines to a large

extent the quality and outcomes of online

learning, and ultimately the learner’s ability to

improve critical thinking, problem-solving, and

communication skills. These are essential to

creativity and innovation, and foundational to

building the global knowledge economy and

finding solutions to worldwide challenges. The

need for such skills is a primary impetus for

widening participation in higher education, and

extending access through distance learning

(Andrade, in press-a). Indeed, 95% of all

employers surveyed indicate that they give

The Problem

hiring preference to candidates possessing

skills enabling them to innovate in the

workplace (Association of American Colleges

and Universities [AAC&U] 2013).

Concerns about no face-to-face contact with

students, a focus on grading rather than

instruction, lack of expertise with technology or

online teaching strategies, decreased student

achievement and department reputation,

increased workload, and a lower quality of

interactions are common reasons for instructor

reluctance to fully embrace online learning

(Pundak & Dvir 2014; Shulte 2010). However,

many of these issues can be addressed through

appropriate instructor training. One study found

that instructor feedback to students was

minimal in cases in which no prior training was

involved (Andrade 2014). When dialogue in the

form of assignment response was extensive,

learners demonstrated the ability to take more

responsibility for their learning, stay on task,

produce quality written work, and engage in

meaningful interaction with the instructor.

Due to the increasing demand for distance

learning, institutions are well-served to offer

instructor training in order to build skill levels,

confidence, and awareness of the possibilities

for online teaching and interaction. This training

also supports improved student learning.

The training model next discussed draws from a

private institution with an open admission policy

for its online courses and programs, and the

goal of extending educational access on a

large-scale to a global audience. The model

serves as a basis for training English language

instructors. Because academic English

language skills are a prerequisite for learner

success in the online programs provided by this

institution, and in many other educational

contexts, coursework in this area is required

prior to or concurrent with other courses.

The approach is based on the theories of

transactional distance—structure, dialogue,

Context and Goals

246

and autonomy (Moore 2013), self-regulated

learning— forethought, performance, self-

re f l ec t i on (Z immerman 2002) , and

collaborative control—peer and instructor

collaboration to control factors that affect

learning (White 2003). Because the English

language courses are based on these theories,

instructors must be familiar with them and the

rationale for using them. They must understand

their part in helping to effectively build on the

theories to enable learner success. The

theories provide a framework for training and

guiding instructors to achieve quality online

teaching and learning.

The desired outcome of the training is to

provide instructors with: 1) an understanding of

the mission of the institution and its English

language program; 2) familiarity with the

theoretical background for the course design

and the instructor’s role in supporting these

theoretical concepts; 3) examination of

expected content or skill-based objectives for

the course (e.g., English language acquisition),

4) the ability to convert face-to-face teaching

approaches to an online context and to

implement new strategies specific to creating

an online community of learning; 5) the role of

instructor response in achieving learning

outcomes; and 6) practicalities for online

course management at various stages of the

course – pre-course, throughout the course,

and at the end of the course.

The primary outcome of the training is to enable

instructors to facilitate the development of

academic English language skills. Instructors

also become familiar with how to support

students in acquiring learning strategies and

additional skills such as communication,

collaboration, critical thinking, responsibility,

and autonomy. The focus on the latter supports

student success and preparation for workforce

demands (American Association of Colleges

and Universities 2013). The instructor training

approach models the course structure and

activities that students will experience in their

online coursework in terms of instructional

components and opportunities for interaction

247

and community-building. The training method

can be easily adapted to other teaching

contexts.

All new online teachers are required to

complete the training components concurrent

with the first online course they are assigned to

teach. Teachers are given a stipend for their

participation in the training modules in addition

to the compensation they receive for teaching.

Some modules need to be completed in

advance of the course start date to assist

instructors with practical issues in terms of

accessing the course, becoming familiar

with the learning management system and

course technologies, setting up grade

weightings, understanding possible modes of

communication, contacting their students, and

knowing where to get support. Another

component required before the instructors

begin teaching their own courses is the module

that provides an overview of the institution, its

mission, and the purpose, structure, and

policies of the English language program. This

is needed in particular for remote instructors;

those already teaching at the institution can

skim through this information briefly.

Other training modules are designed to be

completed concurrent with the actual teaching

experience with due dates that reflect what the

instructor may be experiencing in terms of

teaching and interacting with students. The

training entails asking instructors to set goals for

each module and to report on these goals later

in the course; thus, the concurrent nature of the

training supports instructors in implementing

and reflecting on strategies while they are

teaching. Examples of course activities framed

within the theoretical foundations of the course

follow.

Implementation

Structure, Dialogue, and Autonomy –

Mitigating Transactional Distance

The activities in the teacher training course

model are those found in the English language

courses that instructors are teaching. These

activities support the theoretical framework of

the online student courses. For example, both

the student course and the teacher training

course require participants to post discussion

board responses to specific topics based on

readings or information provided though

videos, PowerPoint presentations, or other

means, and to respond to the posts of their

classmates.

The training provides teachers with guidelines

for facilitating these online class discussions by

asking probing questions to encourage critical

thinking and avoid superficial responses,

helping students stay on the topic, pointing out

aspects of the prompts students may have

missed, and encouraging synthesis of

information across readings. Students are

encouraged to use appropriate netiquette, craft

their responses so as to communicate

accurately and grammatically, and to respect

each other. This leads to the development of

linguistic skill improvement as well as team-

work, collaboration, and critical thinking. The

teacher stands back and allows students to

answer each other’s questions as much as

possible so as to help them build confidence,

trust each other’s insights, recognize that they

have something to contribute, and that the

teacher is not the sole voice of knowledge and

experience.

Through this assignment, students get real-life

communicative language practice. In fact, this

is a significant advantage of an online language

course, and one which is often not

recognized—students must communicate with

the teacher and their peers using oral and

written language in order to express their ideas

and needs. If they fail to communicate, they

recognize the need to modify their language

and try again. The discussion board is graded

with a rubric which indicates the expectations

248

for the assignment, including length and

frequency of response. It also helps students

take responsibility for learning as they

understand the standard and compare their

performance to it.

In the training course, teachers practice online

discussion facilitation skills, as well as use of the

technology used in the student course, by

taking turns at moderating discussion boards. In

terms of discussion board technology, they

practice modifying the discussion board

structure by setting up small groups, which

can be formed in various ways such as

alphabetical, random, homogeneous by

performance, heterogeneous by performance,

and so forth, as opposed to whole

class discussions. This can be particularly

helpful in large classes or simply to provide

variety.

The student discussion board assignment

provides structure in the form of directions,

steps, examples, and the grading rubric. This

instruction helps learners build knowledge and

skill. Course structure also offers predictability

by means of repetition of course components.

The course encompasses dialogue and

interactivity through the exchanges among

students as they support each other in the

learning process. Dialogue is utilized for

purposes of building linguistic skill; it also

utilizes the social environment, a dimension of

self-regulated learning, to provide help (peer

and instructor) and language practice.

Dialogue and structure impact autonomy, or the

ability of students to make choices and be self-

directed (Moore 1972, 2013). Autonomous

l ea rn i ng does no t imp l y comp le te

independence in the learning process, but

rather a situation of collaborative control in

which the learners and the teacher work

together to accomplish designated tasks (White

2003). In the case of the discussion board,

students exercise autonomy, or choice, by

selecting topics to respond to and determining

to whom they will respond. Self-direction is

required to stay current with assignments and

complete the tasks in the course.

The teacher assignment in the training course

parallels these features in the student course,

introduces instructors to the theoretical

constructs of transactional distance—

structure, dialogue, and autonomy, and gives

them the opportunity to apply them. Teachers

have the same experience with structure,

dialogue, and autonomy as the students.

Through the use of these elements,

transactional distance, or the psychological

gap between the learners and the instruction,

can be decreased to allow optimal learning to

occur as students increase their capacity for

autonomy.

The following is an example of a discussion

board prompt in the teacher training course.

Instructors respond to each other and share

their experiences and expertise. In different

units, teachers are assigned to take turns

facilitating the discussion to practice the role

they will have in the student course.

Share your thoughts about the teacher’s

role in online learning. How do you view

your role as an online teacher? How can

you apply your skill as a face-to-face

teacher to an online environment? What

advantages and disadvantages are there

to having the content of the course set?

How can you respond to student needs

when the content is already established in

the course?

Instructors appreciate the interaction and the

ideas exchanged. Through the “share your

thoughts” assignment, they build community as

they present challenges, resolve issues, share

teaching ideas and resources, and get

acquainted.

The instructors also recognize that the online

nature of the training course and its design

parallels the student course and experience.

Related to this, one of the teachers stated the

following:

I think it is important for students to know

that their teacher knows what they are

going through and know that they can go to

their teacher for problems. I hope that this

249

will set me up for a semester of good

communication and a good student-

teacher relationship. I want to address

these things in my introductory video as

well as my announcements.

This response demonstrates that the teacher

recognizes she is experiencing what the

students will experience. The other parts of the

response are related to specific modules in the

training course and indicate how the instructor

will implement the components of structure and

dialogue to decrease transactional distance,

increase autonomy, and develop positive

relationships with students; they also show that

she will use these components on an on-going

basis throughout the course.

Overall, instructors recognize and value the

training—they learn about the philosophy

underlying the course and how it translates into

teaching and learning online. They also support

and teach each other as they collaborate on the

assignments. They develop new skills and learn

to adapt pedagogical techniques from their

face-to-face courses.

Another aspect of the training course that

mirrors the student courses is the application of

key aspects of the three phases of self-

regulated learning—“the forethought phase

refers to processes and beliefs that occur

before efforts to learn; the performance phase

refers to processes that occur during behavioral

implementation, and self-reflection refers to

processes that occur after each learning effort

(Zimmerman 2002, p. 67).

Forethought involves planning and goal

setting and various aspects of self-motivation.

In the training course, teachers set goals related

to topics in the course, such as using new forms

of technology to interact with students, adopting

a face-to-face teaching strategy to online

learning, or selecting and implementing specific

strategies to create a community of learners. A

number of possible examples are included for

Self-Regulated Learning – Controlling

Factors Affecting Learning

each of the topics of focus for each module.

One example follows:

Set a goal for adopting the feedback

techniques reviewed in the lesson for an

online modality; for using individual, whole-

class, and peer feedback strategically; or

for experimenting with a variety of

communication tools.

As the course is concurrent with the actual

teaching experience, teachers can implement

the strategies they learn about and select as

part of the performance phase of self-regulated

learning. This phase consists of two parts: self-

control and self-observation (Zimmerman

2002). The former focuses on specific

strategies applied to improve learning such as

eliminating distractions in the physical

environment to improve study effectiveness

(Andrade & Evans, 2009) while the latter

describes the process of consciously analyzing

or tracking the effectiveness of the strategy

being used.

In the training course, an example of the self-

control phase is introducing teachers to a

number of approaches for learner response,

which are referred to in the goal-setting activity

above. One of the options for this exercise is to

implement whole-class feedback. This strategy

involves noting commonalities across student

work—strengths and weaknesses—and

composing collective class feedback that is

shared through an announcement or on an

instructor notes page, and possibly creating

supplemental materials to help students review

and practice their weak skill areas. This

process saves teacher time as it avoids having

to repeat the same comments to multiple

students, and it can also create a community of

learners among students as they begin to see

themselves as part of a class rather than being

on their own. They feel less isolated and

recognize that they are among learners similar

to themselves in terms of strengths,

weaknesses, and motives. It helps to create a

classroom experience in which the teacher

addresses the entire group as would occur in a

face-to-face class.

As teachers identify and implement their

selected strategies, they exercise choice, or

autonomy (referred to earlier); they determine

what goals to pursue and what pedagogical

practices to explore. They also observe and

monitor the effectiveness of their selected

approach as they implement it, which is the

second component of performance—self-

observation. This occurs as they see how

students respond to their feedback or approach

and how it impacts student performance. This

prepares them for the third component of self-

regulation.

The final stage of self-regulation involves self-

reflection, or comparing performance to a

standard—one’s own performance, another

person’s performance, or a set standard. It also

entails causal attributions (Weiner 1986). The

latter involves attributing successes and

failures to internal or external factors; in other

words, those within one’s control or those

outside of one’s control. The former leads to the

motivation to improve based on the belief that

this is within one’s control while the latter

negatively affects motivation due to the belief

that abilities are fixed, that poor performance is

caused by situations that cannot be changed, or

that they are due to the actions of others. This

approach results in attempts to protect one’s

self-image (e.g., “I failed the test because the

teacher did not explain the concepts well,” or “I

could have done better but I simply didn’t have

the time to prepare.”).

In the case of the teacher training course, self-

reflection involves the opportunity for teachers

to reflect on the outcomes of the new strategies

they have adopted, determine if they have met

their goals, and how they might revise their

goals. It completes the loop as they modify their

goals and continue to apply related strategies.

This mirrors the student course in which

students set learning goals, choose an element

of self-regulated learning that will help them

accomplish their goal (e.g. setting priorities,

controlling the physical environment, trying a

new learning method, getting help through the

social environment, etc.), reflect on their

learning in a weekly journal submitted to the

teacher, and evaluate their performance more

thoroughly at specific points in the course.

Thus, the teachers experience first-hand what

the learners will experience.

The example in Table 1 illustrates how the self-

regulated learning cycle works in practice and

how it can be integrated with the theory of

transactional distance. The example includes a

teacher’s goals (forethought), how the teacher

implemented the goal (performance), and how

the teacher determined the effectiveness of the

approach (self-reflection).

This example demonstrates not only the three

phases of self-regulated learning but also how

the teacher incorporated the three components

of transactional distance to facilitate learning.

The goal (forethought) focuses specifically on a

strategy for online learning—creating a

community of learners. In the performance and

self-reflection phases, the teacher considered

the use of structure and dialogue in order to

help learners become more autonomous. The

teacher determined that greater structure in the

discussion board assignment was needed and

less dialogue. In this way, the teacher applied

the theoretical constructs, both self-regulated

learning and transactional distance, upon

which the instructor training and student

courses are designed.

The third theoretical concept in the course

design, collaborative control (White 2003), is

evident in the discussion board activity in both

the teacher training course and the student

course, and in the teacher’s response in Table

1. Collaborative control is based on the idea

that learning is a social endeavor even in an

online context. The discussion board lends

itself to collaborative control as learners assist

each other in thinking critically about course

content to increase their knowledge, and the

teacher helps them reflect more deeply on their

posts through questioning techniques. Thus,

learners develop written communication,

reflection, and thinking skills and build

community with their peers. The teacher’s goal

Integrating the Theories

250

251

indicated in Table 1 also helps learners develop

leadership skills.

Although the following quote by Zimmerman

(2002) refers to self-regulated learning, it

indicates the need for social interaction in

learning whether online or face-to-face; in other

words, it implies a role for collaborative control.

What defines them [students] as self-

regulated is not their reliance on socially

isolated methods of learning, but rather

their personal initiative, perseverance, and

adoptive skill. Self-regulated students

focus on how they activate, alter, and

sustain learning practices in social as well

as solitary contexts (p. 70).

Although this was not written specifically to refer

to online learning, it is very applicable. Online

learning is often thought to focus predominantly

on solitary learning, but active learning is a

critical element. Application of the concept of

collaborative control assists in developing self-

regulated skills as learners activate the

strategies they are learning and work together

to accomplish tasks in the course

As teachers experience the three phases of

self-regulated learning in the training, they

have the opportunity to integrate the elements

of transactional distance in a collaborative

learning environment. Teachers understand

the efficacy of the theoretical framework in the

student course and how to lead students

through the phases of self-regulated learning in

order to apply effective learning strategies in

both social and solitary situations. This is

particularly appropriate in online learning,

which encompasses both learning with others

and on one’s own.

Students are seldom given choices

regarding academic tasks to pursue,

methods for carrying out complex

assignments, or study partners. Few

teachers encourage students to establish

Results

TABLE 1: Phases of Self-Regulated Learning

Next time I try this, I will

write better directions for the

lead student and include

examples of posts and

responses. I will also create

a list of suggested topics.

This will provide more

structure for the students. I

will also try to sit back more

and let the students respond

to each other. It’s difficult not

to step in, but I want the

students to gain confidence,

practice communication,

language, and critical

thinking skills, and develop

autonomy in order to take

responsibility and deepen

the learning experience. So,

I need to hold back a bit on

the dialogue aspect.

I found that some

students needed more

help than others with

this approach. I tried to

incorporate elements

of structure, dialogue,

and autonomy as I

helped students with

this assignment.

Overall, the students

enjoyed the leadership

role and demonstrated

responsibility for

responding to the

posts on the

discussion board.

Incorporate student-

led discussions three

times in the course.

Select a student to

identify a topic, post

the topic on the

discussion board, and

facilitate the

discussion among the

other students. The

topic can be related to

a course reading or

instructional point –

essay pattern, writing

strategy, etc.

Create a

community

of learners

Course Topic Forethought Performance Self-Reflection

252

specific goals for their academic work or

teach explicit study strategies. Also,

students are rarely asked to self-evaluate

their work or estimate their competence on

new tasks. Teachers seldom assess

students' beliefs about learning, such as

self-efficacy perceptions or causal

attributions, in order to identify cognitive or

motivational difficulties before they

become problematic (Zimmerman 2002, p.

69).

The online English language course and the

accompanying teacher training course are

designed to address the issues identified in this

quotation. In both courses, participants are

introduced to new learning and teaching

strategies, make choices about which

strategies to incorporate, set goals for the use of

these strategies, and self-evaluate their

success. They explore their motivations and the

factors to which they attribute their successes

and failures through reflection on their

performance. Structure and dialogue help them

become more autonomous in terms of making

good choices and being self-directed. They

collaborate with each other in the learning

process, thereby developing communication,

critical thinking skills, and the capacity to learn.

These are the types of skills and abilities that

employers seek over and above the major field

of study (AAC&U 2013), and which higher

education institutions strive to develop in

learners, whether this be through online or

traditional modalities of instruction.

Through the teacher training course, instructors

learn that they have a voice even though the

course structure may be set and materials pre-

developed. This voice is heard through their

response to learners and the strategies they

incorporate to support the learning process.

The training helps them set goals and

implement new strategies. They recognize that

the online training experience will help them

understand their students’ experiences. The

following quotations illustrate teacher reactions

to the training. These perspectives reflect

application of specific elements of the course

as well as overall perceptions.

I thought I would struggle with two sections

of the course this semester but it has been

just fine. In fact, thanks to the things I

learned from the teacher training course

last summer, it has been my best semester

yet. I love teaching! It never gets old.

I really want to prepare and make my

course more navigable for me and my

students. I have a long list of goals for

improving the flow of things next semester.

This [timely grading practices strategy] is

definitely something that I need to

implement more efficiently. I feel like I have

been doing it all wrong!! In the past, I have

waited to grade assignments when I had a

list of them to grade. I am going to change

all of that this semester. I agree that it is far

more helpful for the students and teacher

to do the grading upon receipt.

There are a few assignments that students

always misunderstand every semester. In

my preview of the upcoming weeks, I will

make announcements fo r these

assignments before anyone turns them in

clarifying and highlighting the key parts.

Should make it a million times easier than

having them redo the assignments.

I just know this semester is going to be so

much better than previous ones. I am

looking forward to reaping the rewards of

implementing these great strategies.

Thank you!

Instructors transitioning from traditional face-

to-face teaching approaches often need

support in determining how to build a

community of learners and how to teach

through various response strategies. The

training model described helps teachers

explore new approaches to online learning

through the application of a theoretically-based

learning framework.

253

Reflection and

Recommendations

Administrators in higher education are

convinced that more discipline is needed to

succeed in an online course than a traditional

face-to-face course (Allen & Seaman, 2014).

More than 40% of them also feel that it is harder

to retain students in online courses than

traditional courses (Allen & Seaman 2014). As

such, faculty training needs to include not only

familiarity with the delivery platform and

technological tools in a course, but strategies

for teacher response (Andrade 2014), for

teaching through response, and knowledge of

theories designed for effective learning.

The following list reviews successful

approaches to online instructor training based

on this case study.

• Teacher training is particularly effective

when it is based on the philosophical or

theoretical underpinnings of the online

courses that instructors will teach; this

helps them gain familiarity with various

course activities that students will

experience and understand the rationale

for these activities.

• Familiarity with structure, dialogue, and

autonomy can help instructors apply these

components to their online teaching to

facilitate a learning experience in which

learners are guided toward the capacity for

greater choice and self-direction.

• Implementing the elements of goal-

setting, learning, and applying new

teaching strategies or adapting known

strategies, and reflection on the

effectiveness of these strategies parallels

effective student learning processes

based on the theory of self-regulated

learning. When teachers engage in these

activities, they build their repertoire of

effective practices for online teaching and

learning.

• Collaboration, and specifically the concept

of collaborative control, demonstrates that

online learning is not an isolated activity

and that socialization, support, team-

building, and problem-solving can be

developed through well-designed online

course activities. These can result in

ownership of learning, self-direction, and

autonomy.

• Well-designed training should help

instructors recognize how they can

incorporate their own voice through

response to learners in order to make a

course that may have been authored by

someone else their own.

The need for quality learning to extend access

to tertiary level education with the aim of having

a workforce prepared to build the world’s

knowledge economy can be realized through

online learning. Building instructor expertise in

this endeavor is key to its success and to

transforming the learning experience. The

desired result of skilled facilitation of online

learning, as indicated in the example of the

discussion board activity in this best practice

study, demonstrates how such an activity helps

learners hone their communication, critical

thinking, leadership, and collaboration skills

while increasing depth of knowledge in the

subject area (e.g., English language

proficiency). These skills are valued in the

workplace (AAC&U 2013), and have the

potential to lead to innovation (considered

essential to the on-going success of

organizations by 92% of employers surveyed;

AAC&U 2013) to improve quality of life and

build local and global economies.

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Andrade, MS 2014, ‘Dialogue and structure:

Enabling learner self-regulation in

t e c h n o l o g y e n h a n c e d l e a r n i n g

environments’, European Journal of

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254

IMPLEMENTATION OF ISO 9001:2008 AT AL KHAWARIZMI INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE – UAE

Organizer

CASE STUDY

AHMED ELTAHIR MOHAMED NOUR,

Head of Quality Assurance,

Al Khawarizmi International College,

United Arab Emirates

Email: taher@khawarizmi.com

Tel. 0507723610

256

Abstract

Background of the Institution

Al Khawarizmi International College (KIC)

operates a quality management system, which

complies with the requirements of ISO

9001:2008 since 2002. The College quality

po l icy s t ipu la tes "Customer Focus"

emphasizing on customer needs and

requirements. KIC interactive learning

environment counts on student centered

teaching and learning approach, which is the

vital focus of ISO 9001:2008 framework. The

implementation of the standardized QMS

framework at KIC is deemed necessary to

ensure that the delivery and assessment of the

College educational programs is consistent

across its two campuses in Abu Dhabi and Al

Ain. Through effective implementation of the

framework, students and faculty perception

about the College has resulted in significant

increase in sat isfact ion levels. The

standardization of the main processes; staff

recruitment and training, delivery of educational

services, evaluation and assessment, has all

led to practice preventative approach resulting

in a decrease in number of customer complaints

and a decline in repeated non-compliance

cases. The establishment of the quality policy

adopted by the College has helped in planning,

monitoring and controlling quality objectives to

ensure continuous quality improvement.

Key Words: Quality Management Systems,

ISO 9001:2008, ISO 9000 Series, Continuous

Quality Improvement, Higher Education

Founded in 1985, Al Khawarizmi International

College (KIC) is the first private institution in the

UAE to be accredited by the Ministry of Higher

Education and Scientific Research. Since its

inception, KIC has provided its students with a

variety of opportunities that aim to further their

education and help open doors for successful

future employment. The college is an ISO 9001

certified institution by British Standard Institute

(BSI) and has been so since 2002.

KIC offers a variety of undergraduate academic

programs at its campuses in Abu Dhabi and Al

Ain to suit students from all walks of life. It also

offers various timing options to ensure that all

students find suitable study timings. With such

flexibility in scheduling, the students are free to

remain employed while completing the

program of their choice, gaining both

professional and educational experience. At

KIC, the main focus is on teaching through

practical application. The academic programs

offered by KIC are all accredited by the

Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA)

of the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and

Scientific Research. The educational programs

have been designed to provide students with

adequate theoretical and conceptual

knowledge in their fields of specialization while

equipping them with relevant practical skills

and competencies in order for them to embark

successfully on their careers. The programs

have been developed to respond to the current

and future needs of the job market by equipping

students with the skills needed to flourish and

excel. KIC maintains affiliations and strong

links with local industries to ensure that

graduates can seamlessly merge into the

workforce upon graduation.

The Continuing Education Center (CEC) at Al

Khawarizmi International College (KIC) is a

leading provider of training, short courses, and

professional development programs designed

for individuals and corporate groups in the

UAE. The CEC supports KIC University

College with providing students with life-long

learning opportunities. The Continuing

Education Center at KIC offers a wide range of

courses in International Business, Graphics,

Animation, 3D Animation, Video Editing, Visual

effects, IT Courses, ICDL Training, Travel and

Tourism, IATA, AMADEUS Courses, English

Language courses, IELTS, TOEFL and

Emiratization.

257

Vision

Mission

Core Values

Context of the Initiative

KIC aspires to be a leading University College

of learning excellence by providing quality

applied learning, applied research, and

professional leadership to make significant

contribution in human capital development in

the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE and the region.

KIC is committed to provide the Emirate of Abu

Dhabi, UAE and the region with graduates who

are equipped with the theory, concepts, applied

research and practical skills in specializations

that are mapped with the Abu Dhabi 2030

strategic plan at the technician and officer

levels. The academic programs are delivered at

high standards following the best practices

found in developed countries (Al Khawarizmi,

2015).

The following constitute the core values of KIC:

• Respect for the UAE social system, the

Islamic culture as well as other cultures

• Transparency, fairness, and equitable

opportunities for all

• Social responsibility

• Ethical code of conduct

• Teamwork and positive thinking

• Learning and innovation

• Progressive, proactive and applied

learning

ISO (the International Organization for

Standardization) is a worldwide federation of

national standards bodies (ISO member

bodies). ISO technical committees in which

each ISO member body has the right to be

represented. International organizations,

governmental and non-governmental, in liaison

with ISO, also take part in the work. In order to

respond to the urgent market requirements,

ISO has also introduced the possibility of

preparing documents through a workshop

mechanism, external to its normal committee

processes. These documents are published by

ISO as International Workshop Agreements

(IWA). The objective of this International

Workshop Agreements is to assure the overall

effectiveness of the education organization’s

quality management system and the delivery

and continual improvement of its educational

services to the learner. While implementing its

ISO 9001 Quality Management System, KIC

has been guided by the Quality Management

Systems – Guidelines for the application of ISO

9001:2008 in education that was published by

ISO in 2007. The ISO 9001 specifies

requirements for a QMS that can be used for

internal application by organizations for

certification or for contractual purposes. KIC

has registered for ISO 9001 certification in

2002, and it has extended the focus of the

system to cover the guidelines of IWA. It

provides guidance on a wide range of topics for

the cont inuous improvement o f an

organization’s performance, efficiency, and

effect iveness ( IWA 2:2007). Qual i ty

Management Principles for ISO 9001 and IWA

which KIC is maintaining are based on the

following:

• Process Approach: Educational

organizations should adopt a process

when developing or implementing a

quality management system.

• Customer Focus: This includes various

enablers to ensure competitive advantage

of the educational organization, such as;

technology, ski l l , know-how and

organization’s culture.

• System Approach: This enables each

operational process to achieve its

objectives from an administrative

standpoint.

• Leadership: Educational organization

establishes vision, creates policy to

realize the vision, and respond to

change.

258

• Factual Approach: Educat iona l

organization ensures administrative

decisions based on clearly understood

facts and not on convenient speculations.

• Collaboration with Partners: It is

important in collaboration with suppliers

and other partners to obtain optimal

information, skills, and creativity to

achieve learner value.

• Involvement of People: This is the most

effective and efficient way for an

educational organization to achieve its

objectives by getting all staff and learners

involved.

• Continuous Improvement: This is the

learning process and the learner’s

personal learning, which enables

educational organizations to keep creating

values.

In addition to the above 8 principles, the

following 4 principles are recommended for

sustaining success:

• Creating Learner Value: This is to

encourage the learner to feel satisfied with

the value they are receiving. Satisfaction

measures determine the degree to which

values meet the learners’ needs and

expectations.

• Focusing on Social Values: Means

attending to how learners and other

interested parties feel about ethics, safety,

and environmental conservation.

• Agility: It is essential to sustained growth

in drastically changing education

environment.

• A u t o n o m y : T h i s i s b a s e d o n

circumstances analysis and self-analysis

where the organization takes its own value

decisions and takes action on its own.

In educational institutions such as KIC, the term

‘customer focus’ in its quality management

system usually refers to students focus.

Students at KIC are seen as a key stakeholder

lodging a substantial position in the entire

process of quality management system to

improve the overall effectiveness of the

institution. The students and graduates are the

primary stakeholders when considering

academic ach ievement as we l l as

employability. The main rationale behind the

implementation of the quality management

system at KIC is to ensure that students are

satisfied with the educational and support

services and to ensure that they are equipped

with adequate and sufficient knowledge and

skills to be qualified for employment in order to

make significant contribution to the human

capital development in a nation.

Faculty is the heart and soul of higher

education and research (Enders, 2006). Higher

level educational institutions expect their

faculty members to conduct research, publish

the results, and then convey their knowledge to

students through the design of new courses

and development of innovative curriculum

(Veblen, 1971; Boyer, 1982). In many

researches, quality of faculty members is one

of the main measures used to evaluate the

quality of the institution. It is evident that faculty

satisfaction and feedback of such important

and valuable assets should be taken into

consideration to maintain a robust quality

management system.

KIC has developed a quality management

system, to better satisfy the needs of its clients

– such as students, organizations and

institutions – and to improve the management

system of the organization.

• The first objective of the Quality

Management System is to maximize

students’ satisfaction by understanding

students’ needs and expectations and

ensuring that educational services

conform to the requirements.

• The second objective is to ensure that all

work practices conform to documented

procedures in order to minimize the cost of

Non-Conformance.

Goals and Objectives

259

The scope of the Quality Management System

at KIC covers the following processes:

Education and Training Services in different

KIC academic programs, such as Business

Administrat ion (BA), Computing and

Informat ion Technology ( IT) , Heal th

Management and Medical Sciences, Mass

Communication fields.

KIC Quality Management System has been

organized to comply with:

a) I n t e r n a t i o n a l O r g a n i z a t i o n o f

Standardization ISO 9001 2008

b) CAA Standards for Licensure and

Accreditation of United Arab Emirates

(U.A.E.) Ministry of Higher Education and

Scientific Research

c) Requirements of Abu Dhabi Education

Council (ADEC) – UAE.

KIC manages its Quality Management System

(QMS) in accordance with the requirements of

The Implementation Strategy

the ISO 9001:2008 Standard. To implement the

QMS, KIC had to ensure that it closely adheres

to the following:

a) Identify the processes needed for the

QMS,

b) Determine the sequence and interaction

of these processes,

c) Determine criteria and methods required

to ensure the effective operation and

control of these processes,

d) ensure the availability of resources and

information necessary to support the

operation and monitoring of these

processes,

e) measure, monitor and analyze these

processes and

f) Implement action necessary to achieve

p l a n n e d r e s u l t s a n d c o n t i n u a l

improvement of these processes.

The model for continual improvement of the

quality management system adopted by KIC is

shown in Figure (1) as follows:

FIGURE 1: Continual Improvement of the Quality Management System

Customers Customers

RequirementsSatisfaction

ManagementResponsibility

Measurement, Analysis &

Improvement

ResourceManagement

ProductRealization

Plan Act

CheckDo

Output

Information Flow Value-Added Activities

260

Figure (1) shows how the requirements of the

ISO 9001:2008 standards relate to each other.

It is important to note from the above figure that

how critical the process approach is to the ISO

9001 requirements. The model shows the flow

of information from the customers (students) to

the institution, and how the different quality

management processes are related in the

central flow of a plan-do-check-act (PDCA)

cycle for improvement.

T h e m o n i t o r i n g a n d m e a s u r e m e n t

requirements and its customers (students)

satisfaction clause (8.2.1) of the KIC QMS

specify that “the educational organization

should determine the learner’s perception of the

degree to which the educational service meets

his or her expectations. Trend data of learner

satisfaction should be supported by objective

evidence”. To address this requirement, the KIC

QMS system uses well-designed online survey

forms (S01, & S28) on a Likert scale of 5 points

to collect both students’ and faculty satisfaction

and expectations of various academic and

support services which are conducted on

annual basis.

The survey form (S01) is used for students’

satisfaction of the college services and it covers

the following sections:

Section (1): Educational Services

Section (2): Learning Resources Centre

Section (3): The Academic Advisory System

Section (4): The Admission and Registration

Services

Section (5): The Students’ Services (Career

Counseling, Personal Counseling, Sports

Activities, Trips, and newsletter)

Section (6): The Administration and Financial

Services

Section (7): Students General Services (Health

and Safety Unit, Cafeteria, Parking, Prayer

Rooms, Lockers)

Section (8): Students Council and Associations

Students and Faculty

Satisfaction

The survey form (S28) is used for faculty

satisfaction of various services provided by the

institution. It covers the following survey areas:

1. The academic policies of the College

2. The available resources of the Library

3. The promotion policy of the College

4. The research facilities of the College

5. The teaching load

6. The work environment at KIC

T h e m o n i t o r i n g a n d m e a s u r e m e n t

requirements and its internal audit clause

(8.2.2) of the KIC QMS states that “the

educational organization should conduct

internal audits according to an audit program to

assess the performance of the quality

management system and educational

processes. The feedback from the audit results

should be used to identify the need for

corrective and preventative actions”. To

address this requirement, the KIC QMS system

records non-conformities in Non-Conformity

Request (NCR) form, and preventative actions

in Corrective Action Request (CAR) form. The

two forms are specially designed to provide

detailed description to the nature of the

problem, identification of its root-cause, and

proposes timeline corrective or preventative

actions with assigned responsibilities. KIC

QMS maintains similar procedure for recording

customer complaints in Customer Complaints

form. All these forms are ISO-approved forms

and should be maintained during any internal or

external audit or assessment.

Non-Conformities and

Customer Complaints

261

Results of Implementation of the System

During the implementation of the KIC Quality Management System during the academic years

2012-2013 and the year 2013-2014 the following results have been obtained:

TABLE 1: Student Satisfaction for the Academic Years 2012-2013 & 2013-2014

STUDENT SATISFACTION

AverageRating

AverageRating

Increase/DecreaseSatisfaction

LevelSatisfaction

Level

2012-2013 2013-2014

Survey Questions#

Section 1: The Educational Services

Section 2: The Learning Resource Center

Section 3: The Academic Advisory System

The Lecturer

1 Topic Knowledge 4.3 0.85 4.6 0.92 0.07

2 Communication Skills 4.4 0.88 4.5 0.90 0.02

3 Personality 4.4 0.87 4.5 0.90 0.03

The curricula

4 Syllabi 4.2 0.84 4.5 0.90 0.06

5 Lecture Notes 4.3 0.85 4.5 0.90 0.05

The labs and equipment

6 Availability 4.2 0.84 4.3 0.86 0.02

7 Adequacy 4.1 0.83 4.3 0.86 0.03

8 Teaching Aids 4.2 0.84 4.5 0.90 0.06

1 Borrowing Policy 3.7 0.74 3.6 0.72 -0.02

2 Librarian 3.7 0.73 3.8 0.75 0.02

3 LRC atmosphere 3.3 0.66 3.6 0.72 0.06

4 Number of Books Available 3.3 0.66 3.8 0.76 0.10

5 Number of CBT DVDs/CDs 3.4 0.68 3.7 0.74 0.06

6 Number of Videotapes 3.4 0.69 3.5 0.69 0.00

7 Quality of the CBT CDs 3.8 0.75 3.5 0.70 -0.05

8 Quality of Videotapes 3.7 0.74 3.4 0.69 -0.05

9 Search for Titles 3.8 0.75 4.0 0.80 0.05

10 Space Occupied by the LRC 3.6 0.73 3.9 0.77 0.04

11 Type of Books Available 3.9 0.77 3.6 0.71 -0.06

1 Timing of Knowing Your Tutor 3.5 0.70 3.7 0.73 0.04

2 Availability of Your Tutor 3.5 0.69 3.8 0.76 0.07

3 Your Tutor Personality 3.5 0.69 3.9 0.78 0.09

4 Quality of Help Offered by the Tutor 3.4 0.68 3.9 0.77 0.09

5 Freshers’ Day? 3.3 0.67 3.8 0.75 0.09

TABLE 1: Continued...

AverageRating

AverageRating

Increase/DecreaseSatisfaction

LevelSatisfaction

Level

2012-2013 2013-2014

Survey Questions#

TABLE 1: Continued...

TABLE 1: Continued...

262

Section 4: The Admission & Registration

Section 5: The Student Services

Section 6: Admin & Financial Services

Section 7: Students General Services

1 Help Provided for Registration 3.5 0.70 3.7 0.74 0.04

2 Accuracy of Records 3.4 0.67 4.0 0.79 0.12

3 Registrar Personality 3.4 0.68 3.6 0.71 0.04

4 English Placement Test 3.3 0.66 3.6 0.72 0.06

5 Final Exams Arrangements 3.4 0.67 3.5 0.70 0.03

6 Speed of Issuing Certificates 3.2 0.63 3.7 0.73 0.10

1 Number of Student Trips 3.5 0.71 3.5 0.70 -0.01

2 Cost of Trips 3.4 0.69 3.7 0.75 0.06

3 Quality of Trips 3.4 0.69 3.5 0.71 0.02

Career Counseling

4 Availability of Career Counseling 3.5 0.70 3.1 0.62 -0.08

5 Job Placement Services 3.3 0.66 3.3 0.67 0.00

6 Quality of Job Placement Services 3.3 0.67 3.3 0.66 -0.01

Student Newsletter

7 Cursor Usability 3.3 0.65 3.5 0.70 0.05

8 Number of Issues 3.2 0.64 3.4 0.67 0.03

9 Quality of Newsletter 3.3 0.67 3.5 0.70 0.03

Sports Activities

10 Sports Activities Availability 3.3 0.67 3.6 0.71 0.04

11 Activities’ Coordinator 3.5 0.70 3.6 0.72 0.02

12 Sports Coach 3.5 0.69 3.5 0.70 0.01

Personal Counseling

13 Personal Counseling Availability 3.5 0.69 3.5 0.69 0.00

14 Quality of Personal Counseling 3.4 0.67 3.4 0.69 0.01

1 Cashier Services 3.4 0.68 4.0 0.80 0.12

2 Financial Aids Services 3.5 0.70 3.6 0.72 0.02

1 Cafeteria Services 3.3 0.66 3.6 0.72 0.06

2 Car Parking Services 3.2 0.64 3.2 0.63 -0.01

3 Health Services Unit 3.2 0.64 3.4 0.67 0.03

4 Lockers 3.3 0.67 2.7 0.55 -0.12

5 Prayer Rooms 3.3 0.66 4.0 0.80 0.14

6 Students' Lounges 3.2 0.63 3.7 0.74 0.11

4

AverageRating

AverageRating

Increase/DecreaseSatisfaction

LevelSatisfaction

Level

2012-2013 2013-2014

Survey Questions#

263

TABLE 1: Continued...

Increase/Decrease

FIGURE 3: Student Satisfaction for the Academic Years 2012-2013 to 2013-2014

TABLE 2: Faculty Satisfaction for the Academic Years 2012-2013 & 2013-2014

# Survey Questions Academic Year 2013 Academic Year 2014

1 Academic Policies of the College 65% 68%

2 Available Resources of the Library 60% 66%

3 Promotion policy of the College 53% 59%

4 Research Facilities of the College 53% 60%

5 Teaching Load 64% 67%

6 Work Environment at KIC 67% 69%

Mean 0.60 0.65

Standard Deviation 0.06 0.04

FACULTY SATISFACTION

Section 8: Student-Staff Committee

1 Degree of Representing Students

Opinion 3.7 0.73 3.5 0.69 -0.04

2 Selection of Committee Members 3.5 0.71 3.5 0.69 -0.02

3 Usefulness of the Committee 3.5 0.70 3.0 0.60 -0.11

Mean S.D Mean S.D

Mean & Standard Deviation 3.55 0.71 3.70 0.08 3%

71.10% 74.01%

264

FIGURE 4: Faculty Satisfaction 2012-2013 & 2013-2014

Non-Conformities and Customer Complaints

During implementation of the Quality Management System, the following results have been

obtained for the years 2013 and 2014:

TABLE 3: Number of Non-Conformities for the years 2013 and 2014

Number of Non-Conformity

Reports as of 31/12/13 Reports as of 31/12/14

# Department Internal *External Internal *External

Audits Audits Audits Audits

1. Admission and Registration 2 0 1 0

2. LRC 1 2 4 1

3. Training Courses 2 1 2 0

4. Student Relations 0 1 1 0

5. IT Services 2 2 2 1

6. Marketing 1 0 0 1

7. Academic Programs 1 6 1 0

8. Quality Assurance 0 3 0 1

Total 9 15 11 4

24 15

* All external audits are conducted by British Standard Institute (BSI)

Number of Non-Conformity

265

FIGURE 5: Non-Conformities and Customer Complaints for the years 2013 and 2014

Reflections on Lessons Learnt

Since the actual implementation of the quality

management system in 2002 at KIC, the system

has been quite supportive. It has provided the

College with the following competitive

advantages:

• It has endorsed the College to become a

more consistent competitor in the

marketplace. This is evident from the

increase of total enrollment of students

during the past decade.

• It has provided a better quality

management, which has helped to meet

customer needs and requirements. This is

evident from the increase in number of

programs in different disciplines based on

the industry and employers' needs.

• It has facilitated more efficient ways of

working, which has saved considerable

time, money, and resources. The system

uses the preventative approach rather

than the corrective approach, where

problems are anticipated in advance with

action plans in place if they occur.

• The system has improved operational

performance with decreased errors and

increase in profit. This is evident from

figure (5) where the number of non-

conformities has decreased from 24 in

2013 to 15 in 2014.

• The system has helped in motivating and

engaging staff with more efficient internal

processes. Many staff members have

been trained as internal auditors and they

resume internal auditing process on

regular basis.

• The system has helped to develop and

monitor quality policy and quality

objectives, review and follow up

performance of various critical factors,

such as student satisfaction, faculty

satisfaction, customer complaints,

suggestions for improvement.

• The number of suggest ions for

improvement has broadened new

business opportunities by demonstrating

compliance.

• The system is maintained as softcopy and

hardcopy with all relevant records. This

has helped in organization and control of

the College documentation.

Despite the above achievements, there are

still areas that need to be addressed, which

266

may constitute new directions for further

research to improve and enhance KIC Quality

Management System:

• In the system implementation and

certification process, there is heavy

emphasis on documentation in many

areas.

• The system requires lots of time,

processes, and procedures that can be

optimized. Hence, there is a need to more

human resources to be responsible for

various functions and activities especially

during internal and external audits.

• One of the limitations of using ISO 9000

series in education recorded by British

Standard Institute in one of their review

studies is that scientific control is less

achievable in higher education than

manufacturing (BSI, 2007).

• Despite the progress that has been made

in ISO 9000 series, it has been always

subject to research and debate that there

is still no universal consensus on how best

to manage quality with higher education

sector. This is due to the complexity and

multi-faceted construct in higher

education environments (Harvey and

Knight, 1996; Cheng and Tam, 1997;

Becket and Brookes, 2006)

• Staff culture about quality management

system and quality improvement has

been seen as one of the critical barriers

during implementation of the system.

Implement ing systemat ic qual i ty

improvement practices in education is

totally voluntary and educational

institutions have been slow to adopt a

continuous improvement philosophy,

(Jasinski, 1999). Therefore it is

recommended to have regular orientation

sessions to the staff and the students

about the vital importance of the system.

List of References

Al Khawarizmi International College - 2015

"KIC Institutional Effectiveness Model" –

www.kic.ae - UAE.

Boyer, E.L. (1982) Scholarship Reconsidered:

Priorities of the Professoriate, The Carnegie

Foundation for the Advancement of

Teaching, Princeton, NJ.

British Standard Institute Education (2007),

‘Quality Management in Higher Education: A

Review of International Issues and Practice’

by Maureen Brookes, the International

Journal for Quality and Standards, Oxford

Brookes University, OX3 0BP.

Cheng, Y and Tam, W (1997) Multi-Models of

Quality in Education, Quality Assurance in

Education, 5(4), 218 – 224.

Colling, C. & Harvey, L. (1995) Quality control,

assurance and assessment – the link to

con t inuous improvement , Qua l i t y

Assurance in Education, 3(4), 30-34.

Enders, J. (2006) ‘The academic profession’, in

Forest, J.F. and Altbach, G. (Eds.):

Internat ional Handbook of Higher

Education, pp.5–21, Springer, Dordrecht

International Standard 9001:2008 "Quality

Management systems requirements", fourth

edition, ISO 9001:2008(E).

International Workshop Agreement (IWA

2:2007) - 2007 “Quality Management

Systems – Guidelines for the application of

ISO 9001:2000 in education

Jasinski, J. (1999). Connecting quality

improvement practices to reaccreditation.

Veblen, T. (1971) ‘The academic personnel’, in

Anderson, C.H. and Murray, J.D. (Eds.): The

Professors: Work and Life Styles among

Academicians, pp.43–61, Schenkman

Publishing Company, Cambridge, MA.

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE… IS THE PATHWAY TO SUCCESS

Organizer

CASE STUDY

DR. ABHILASHA SINGH,

Dean, College of Education,

Director, International Office,

American University in the Emirates,

UAE

abhilasha.singh@aue.ae

268

Abstract

Inception and Strategic Vision

The overall teaching excellence in the Gulf

Region comes as a consequence to state

policies to make education as a cornerstone in

the buildup of national identity. Educational

Excellence in the Gulf Region means a

sophisticated aim coupled with certain

challenges to bring about a cohesional shift

from school to university life. This has been the

major concern of many higher education

institutions in the Gulf, including UAE.

The proposed case discusses the uniqueness

of the educational landscape in the UAE and will

further examine the challenges in bringing out

excellence as per the needs of the region.

The case contends that although education is a

recent concept in the Gulf Region it does not

hinder achieving excellence in education. To

demonstrate this as a case in point, we take the

case study of American University in the

Emirates (AUE), concept of excellence besides

being a means of learning. The concept of

excellence in this case does go beyond its

traditional definition to include the “national will”

in this country. Therefore, the AUE becomes not

merely a factor, or a means of learning, but an

“institutionalized will” mainly represented and

executed by its administration and the students.

The Gulf Region has for been well known only

for oil, gas, or political and military issues.

However, in recent years, it has emerged on the

world map as an important destination for

education. It calls for an elaboration on the

neglected socio-cultural and educational

development in the region. Despite the

constraints the region imposes, development in

the area of education was never hindered in the

UAE. The establishment of the Dubai

International Academic City (DIAC) is the

world’s only Free Zone dedicated to Higher

Education. Its aim of developing the region's

talent pool is undoubtedly a major step in this

direction. With more than 20 universities in

DIAC, there are very few that are accredited by

the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific

Research, UAE. Out of those few, the university

coming up with flying colors with a focus on

“quality” and a vision to serve the region is the

American University in the Emirates (AUE). It is

dedicated to be one of the leading liberal higher

educational institutions, providing an

integrated pathway for students to become

creative and productive members of the UAE

and the regional communities.

Since its inception in 2006 and with an ever-

increasing number of students, the American

University in the Emirates is engaged in a long-

term strategic planning process. It allows

growth and values strong academic and

professional standards, equality of opportunity,

integrity, and leadership to maintain social,

cu l t u ra l , r e l i g i ous ob l i ga t i ons and

environmental sustainability. The purpose of

the university is to consolidate and channel

human activities. It is meant to instill the fund of

human knowledge and share its benefit with the

society.

The University has envisioned itself as an

institution providing academic programs that

encourage students to pursue significant

academic accomplishments, as lifelong

learners. To pursue its mission vigorously, the

University leaves no stone unturned to

strengthen the capacities of its students, to

develop their leadership potential and make

them productive members of the global society.

The main aim of the University is to let the

students enjoy academic challenges that

support their professional development and

leadership skills. With its impressive record of

expansion during the past nine years, driven by

effective networking, international orientation,

and access to exce l len t academic

opportunities, the objective is to offer such

unique academic programs that meet the

demands of the market and at the same time

focus on the development of an engaging

learning community. To put it simply, the

269

University strives to help students to evolve into

positive examples of brilliant leaders in their

fields of study and work.

This is a university that focuses on continuously

expanding its reach for the benefit of its staff,

students, and the community in which it

operates. However, the goals set in AUE’s

vision and mission may not be realized without

the establishment of specialized and highly

effective facilities. Excellent facilities can

efficiently aid in the process of strengthening

the University’s name and reputation, and

guarantee the fulfilment of our students’

aspirations and aims.

We imbibe the vision of the great leaders of the

nation and their words and endeavor to

inculcate the same values in our students.

As said by, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed

bin Rashid Al Maktoom “We, in the UAE, have

no such word as “impossible”; it does not exist in

our lexicon. Such a word is used by the lazy and

the weak, who fear challenges and progress.

When one doubts his potential and capabilities

as well as his confidence, he will lose the

compass that leads him to success and

excellence, thus failing to achieve his goal. I

require you, youth, to insist on number one,” we

always aspire to be number one.

However, the vision to create affectively

committed, highly engaged and passionate

human capital or rather say creating flexible,

wi l l ing and passionate leaders with

magnanimity, dedication and integrity is never

easy. To actualize this vision, the leadership role

of AUE was given to Prof./Dr. Muthanna Abdul

Razzaq. A PhD Graduate in Management

Accounting from the University of Manchester

Institute of Science and Technology (UK), he

started his career with the Ministry of Irrigation

in 1972. Very soon, his passion for education

compelled him to join Baghdad University and

the journey to excel continued with various

academic administrative positions in the region.

Problems or Challenges?

His passion for bringing educational

excellence in the region motivated him to

propose and establish two Universities while

serving in various other leadership positions.

His constant drive to excel inspired him to

establish the American University of the

Emirates (AUE) in the year 2006, also serving

as the President and CEO, Member of the

Board of Trustees and Partner of AUE.

However, the first year was challenging when

the dropout rate was high. That was the time

the slogan ‘Nothing is impossible’ was

raised with a pledge to serve the community for

the cause of education and educational

reforms.

The 21st century concept of education

acknowledges the fundamental purposes of

the university to be a ‘Provider of Knowledge’, a

trainer of young minds, a transmitter of culture,

an acknowledger of social values, and caterer

to environmental demands.

AUE acknowledges the demand of the new

world order that suggests that unless higher

education is changed from its traditional roles

to match the new social order, the paradigm in

which we excelled in the past may not be

relevant, as society will abandon us if we fail to

adopt the changes. The core issues of public

service and research in the age of knowledge

as well as a culture of learning should remain

the focus in the future. This sounds glamorous,

practical, and appropriate. However, the real

challenges are the implementation aspects,

considering the constraints.

In a rapidly evolving environment, it is

important to diagnose a process that is not only

capable of adapting to fluctuating conditions,

but also capable of meeting environmental

changes by the 2030s. Through its positioning

and transforming strategies the AUE aspires to

build on its reputation of strength and

effectiveness as expressed in the vision of the

A Move from Traditional

Teaching

270

university. The AUE leadership works closely

with faculty members, academics and

management units to deliver a new vision, role

and mission for the 21st century. With a strong

focus in knowledge sharing, teaching and

research the AUE believes in the 3 Qs, namely,

Quality Faculty, Quality Teaching, and Quality

students. The idea is basically to place the

highest quality students from home and abroad

and to pass on the knowledge and practices to

allow them to experience the best social and

real life practices. The journey has never been

very easy and encompasses numerous

challenges.

Over the past decade, the pace of change has

been remarkable and one thing which has been

imperative within this unprecedented change is

‘quality’. With the narrowing of physical

distances between peoples due to globalization

leading to shrinkage of space and time,

development of science, technology, and

communication, we have realized that there is

no ‘customer/client service’ without high quality.

In fact, in this era, where the only thing that is

constant is change, where change is inevitable,

the only way to achieve the competitive edge is

by embarking on quality improvement

initiatives. Conservatively speaking, quality

comes with a cost but is that true? What about

continuous quality initiatives? How about doing

the root cause analysis? Evidence suggests

that improving quality does not lead to

increased costs. However, the challenge is to

cease looking for ‘quick-fix’ solutions as the

focus on quality does not always provide a quick

solution.

To be the best, calls for a ‘culture’ of quality

improvement and the bottom line of quality

initiatives is the ‘human factor’, which is also

one of the primary elements of TQM. Total

employee involvement occurs when all

employees participate in working toward

Focus on ‘Human Factor’ in

Quality Initiatives is the Need of

the Hour

common goals. Total employee commitment

can be obtained only after driving out fear from

the workplace, when empowerment occurs,

and management provides the proper

environment. This will lead to High-

Performance Work Systems integrating

continuous improvement efforts with daily

operations. SMWT – self-managed work teams

are one form of empowerment. The seven

basic tools that involve detailed study are check

sheet, control chart, histogram, Pareto chart,

scatter diagram, stratification, and flow chart.

These can only add impetus to the quality

initiatives through qualitative analyses.

Theoretically, it all appears glamorous but it

gives hard time to have affectively committed,

highly engaged and passionate human capital.

If we assume that the key drivers in creating a

congenial environment, oriented towards

service is ‘quality’, we cannot ignore the fact the

need of the hour is to create flexible, willing and

passionate leaders with magnanimity,

dedication and integrity. An approach which is

being applied across all sectors for a

successful development of employees is

called, ‘TASK’ – the acronym for talent, attitude,

skill, and knowledge. In short, to bring in quality,

‘TASK’ needs to be not only channelized

appropriately but also needs to be applied in

the right way. On one hand, the focus is on

quality hiring and on the other hand to retain the

talent. With a strong belief that customers will

never love a company until the employees love

it first, AUE focuses equally on internal and

external customers for professional

development.

The International Office at AUE plays a major

role in achieving the said goals. While the

Office plays a role in shaping the career paths

of the students, it is also responsible for

exploring the arising challenges that may be

encountered by our students. Hence, it is also

in charge of setting the way towards new

horizons, for the University, and for all those

connected with it.

Internationalization Efforts

271

The emphasis of International Office is always

on the development of soft skills that is

undoubtedly much needed in the global market.

One of its unique steps in this direction is to

initiate the International Practicum Program. It

inculcates cross-cultural sensitivity among the

participants (Exchange Students) while

exposing them to entirely different culture than

theirs through experiential learning. Such

initiative provides opportunities to the students

to learn the business and cultural aspects in the

UAE. Due to its frequent offerings throughout

the year, the program is gaining popularity and

encourages students from US, UK and Europe.

The international efforts at American University

in the Emirates also focus on employability. It

offers a number of training programs that invite

professionals from partner and non-partner

institutions to develop the talent of students.

AUE realizes the importance of international co-

operations, especially keeping in mind that

internationalization in education has become

one of the criteria for measuring success in the

educational sectors. Hence, it firmly believes in

the importance of collaboration with

international partners and cannot negate that

education has become more international and

beyond mobility than ever.

The present scenario certainly looks for leaders

who can make decisions and take action while

maintaining high standards of professionalism

and integrity. In facilitating the development of

such leaders, our faculty members emphasize

professionalism and integrity as key elements.

These elements are for coverage in the

classroom, using cases, project reports, field

study, internships, action research to bridge the

gap between theory and practice. We focus on

experiential learning and extensively utilize

peer-to-peer learning as well, while stressing

the importance on co-curricular activities.

AUE’s focus always remained on developing

the potential of our student leaders by offering a

value-driven curriculum that emphasizes

leadership best practices. Each College at AUE

Leadership Development

is committed to developing students with the

professional skills and behaviors required to

excel in the workplace. This is done by

providing students excellent opportunities to

apply the knowledge and skills developed in the

classroom in a real-world, workplace context

where their performance is jointly evaluated by

the field supervisor and employer.

A need for a global mindset cannot be negated.

Hence, it is extremely important for today’s

students to ‘think globally.’ Dubai, while being a

fascinating destination, also presents some

unique challenges for managers. Some of

these challenges are leading organizations

with a diverse workforce, sustaining growth and

understanding the culture of the local and wider

region. AUE, with its almost 70% of the Emirati

student population, lays importance on the

application of concepts and techniques that are

ethically integrated to help create managers,

executives, and leaders for diverse and

changing work environments. Our diverse

portfolio of unique programs in Sports

Management, Sports Law, Security and

Strategic Studies, Digital Forensics, Network

Security, Diplomacy, Media Sales etc., has a

global perspective. It reflects on the

employability of graduates and keeps in mind

the position of the Emirate of Dubai as a hub of

international business activities, a global

business city, and a world financial market

center. The students from diverse nationalities

and cultural backgrounds add flavor to our

efforts to design and deliver a systematic,

comprehensive, and planned approach to

develop leadership potential in the student.

This is done through a number of events

organized by students themselves under the

supervision of their student affairs. We

challenge the creativity of the students. Events

like “underwater fashion show” have become

exclusive in the region. While such events

provide opportunity to the students to

showcase their talents and their creativity, it

also develops their management skills and

makes creative use of university resources.

Think Global, Act Local

272

Industry-University Partnerships

Not a Travel Agent, Rather a

Tour Guide

National borders do not define whether

graduates become entrepreneurs or

employees, corporate markets, and most

business opportunities have international

dimensions. We consider that information

technology, market diversification, product and

service innovation, and dynamically changing

levels of risk, are some of the regional and

international trends that will continue to evolve

during 2015. Hence, we do not hesitate to take

assistance of the industry-based Advisory

Board, to review the curriculum regularly, so as

to ensure that our students are engaged in the

best practicable teaching and learning

environment, in a customized manner. While

doing the exercise of curriculum review, a good

blend of local and international expertise is

always kept in mind.

One of the unique concepts that can be

observed in the College of Law that attracts and

grooms students is the concept of “moot court.”

AUE’s collaboration with Dubai Court and other

leading law firms in the region facilitates student

learning with live cases. Similarly, all other

colleges work closely with the community and

take the advantage of the Advisory Board to

bridge the gap between theory and applied

aspects.

Another advantage is that such IUPs facilitate

the academia to be closer to the industry and

vice-versa. This assists the industry in research

and training. Be it soft skills training provided to

students to the training provided to the Interpol

officers in the area of cyber crime.

Last but not the least, with our commitment to

serve the community and the region, we at AUE,

never forget the involvement of the primary

stakeholders. We focus on experiential

learning.

The participation of students in governance and

in the decision making process through the

Student Council is another example that brings

the best out of them. They practice and

demonstrate their leadership pattern and by

engaging in such behaviors, they become more

effective leaders. In addition, the University

community members are able to participate

fully in establishing our institutional direction.

This allows ownership of the steps required

towards institutional success.

We strive to be one of the top universities by

offering qualitative, unique, multi-disciplinary

programs and aim to contribute to society

through the pursuit of education, learning,

training, and research. Hence, we will continue

focusing on student-centric learning and

personalized instruction to graduate leaders

and lifelong learners, who can provide practical

solutions to the problems of the region.

While traditional lectures in the classrooms are

still the norms in many institutions, we rather

take the lecture sessions closer to the

community. This is because we believe in

experiential learning and in coming years we

will establish ourselves as a globally

competitive research-intensive institution.

While taking every challenge to fulfill our

passion, we also take responsibilities of the

new millennium at social, environmental,

economic, security, and cultural levels as we

strongly believe that education is an essential

pre-requisite for attaining sustainability in any

nation. As human beings, we are the only

species on earth that can make a difference in

our respective society. We just need to believe

that, “Nothing is impossible… is the

pathway to success!”

© American University in the Emirates,

Dubai In ternat iona l Academic C i ty,

Abhilasha.singh@aue.ae.

The author would like to acknowledge the

President of the University for sharing his

thoughts from time to time.

The Road Ahead…

INTERIOR DESIGN CASE STUDIES: DESIGNING ENTREPRENEURIAL ENVIRONMENTS IN A UNIVERSITY SETTING

Organizer

CASE STUDY

MARCO SOSA,

College of Art and Creative Enterprises,

Zayed University,

Abu Dhabi, UAE

Marco.sosa@zu.ac.ae

LINA AHMAD,

College of Art and Creative Enterprises,

Zayed University,

Abu Dhabi, UAE

lina.ahmad@zu.ac.ae

CONSTANCE VAN HORNE,

College of Business,

Zayed University,

Abu Dhabi, UAE

Constance.vanhorne@zu.ac.ae

274

Introduction

Background to Zayed University

The two case studies discussed here provide

lessons learned from a collaboration between

interior design and entrepreneurship

professors, inside (and outside) the classroom.

Students were given real spaces with mandates

from best practices in entrepreneurship. This

was to develop a university-based incubator

space and a university-based entrepreneurship

consultancy centre. These Emirati female

students had no prior exposure to work

experience and limited knowledge of what

entrepreneurship was. However, the students

were able to research, design, test, and present

their designs with professionalism, creativity

and a healthy demonstration of skills

development. When compared with past

courses not done in collaboration, students

were better able to engage with a potential

professional client and engage in a real life-like

project. Students discussed design needs and

produced meaningful design proposals. The

opportunity exposed the students to the need

for multi-disciplinary spaces in which they found

pragmatic and poetic design proposals. The

experience also created an opportunity for

the involved non-design professors to interact

and formulate design briefs for design

professionals.

The paper is organised as follows; the following

section will present a background of Zayed

University in the United Arab Emirates. Then,

the issues that were addressed by the case

studies will be presented. Following this, the

goals of the professors and the implementation

strategy will be outlined. The results of the case

studies will then be illustrated and finally the

lessons learned will conclude the paper. The

final part will include recommendations for such

future projects.

Zayed University was founded in 1998 as an

all-women’s university based on the American

liberal arts college system. There are over

8,000 students attending classes on two main

campuses, one in Abu Dhabi and the other in

Dubai. There are five colleges, including the

College of Business and the College of Art and

Creative Enterprises. The University became

co-educational in 2008 with the introduction of

the men’s program, but undergraduate

education remains gender segregated and

80% of the students are female. A great

majority of Zayed University’s fresher students

come from the national K-12 system (80-85%)

and 15-20% of students are from the English-

medium private educational sector. (Zayed

University, 2015)

The founding principles of the university remain

unchanged from the beginning: “We expect

students to think independently, and we

support faculty in their mentoring role by

carefully preserving academic freedom,

characterized both by the free flow of ideas that

is fundamental to a university, and by respect

for the principles of Islam and the values of the

United Arab Emirates.”

In the August 2003 Convocation address by the

then Vice-President of the University, Dr. Al-

Qassimi stated (Zayed University, 2003):

“From the beginning, Zayed University was

charged with the responsibility for graduating

students fluent in both Arabic and English, able

to use the latest technology, capable of doing

independent research, having a global outlook,

and prepared to demonstrate leadership within

their communities” (Zayed University, 2015

(August 2003 Convocation Address).

The College of Art and Creative Enterprises

has been accredited by the National

Association of Schools of Art and Design

(NASAD) in the United States. It has four

specialisations; Animation, Graphic Design,

Interior Design and Visual Art. The mission of

the College is to prepare students to become

creative leaders in the arts and related

industries. Its mission is also to provide student

artists and designers with an opportunity to

explore and develop their own creative ideas

while contributing to national initiatives in

culture in the United Arab Emirates.

275

This mission is accomplished through

specializations and initiatives in which

students:

• Integrate traditional and new practices in

the production of exciting and innovative

outcomes;

• Are adaptable and flexible in their

professional practices; and

• Give back to their community (Zayed

University, 2015).

The Interior Design specialization allows

students to acquire the appropriate technical

skills and conceptual knowledge to design

functional, safe, and aesthetically appealing

interior architectural spaces for their clients.

Students work on small residential spaces to

large commercial projects and learn about soft

and hard decorative finishes, illumination, and

the interplay between social and natural

environments. Through research, problem

solving, and applied practice, students

understand the complexities of the built

environment while developing creative

solutions.

Space designates how we as users occupy a

place. How we move through and how we

inhabit the place. Space can be measured by

distance and the time we use to travel through it

– by walking, running or by our vision and

hearing, just by standing or sitting. We define

feelings by the impression certain colors have

on us within a space. Colors are capable of

making us feel happy, sad, excited, frightened,

uncomfortable, and angry.

Spatial exploration in the form of human

occupation is the heart of the interior design

pedagogical approach at Zayed University. The

realization that spaces we occupy and objects

we use are merely a response to our lavish or

primitive needs. We grow so accustomed and

familiar to our own environments that it

becomes a challenge to withdraw ourselves

Teaching Principles of Interior

Design

from it, to question what others term as the

‘norm’ and to challenge our perception and way

of thinking.

By profession, Interior Design Faculty have

interest in spatial inhabitation. We teach in an

environment rich with culture and tradition,

situated amidst a global and international

setting, yet isolated in a protected sheltered

environment. Zayed University students are

from a unique demographic with overall limited

exposure and very basic acquired design skills,

yet with extensive ambition and yearning for

learning.

Three main challenges were identified and

used to devise alternate pedagogical

approaches. There were three main objectives:

1. Break the pre-set conceptions and ideas,

and expand on the students’ perceptions

and design abilities.

2. Equip the students wi th three-

dimensional spatial understanding, thus

enabling them to think out of the box,

coming up with alternative creative

solutions to designated design problems.

3. Equip the students with the essential

technical skills and representation tools to

communicate their concepts and ideas.

Entrepreneurship has become a key priority for

the United Arab Emirates as illustrated in both

Abu Dhabi 2030 and UAE 2021 – two key

strategy documents for the Nation (Van Horne

et al., 2012). Although there are still key

barriers to doing business in the UAE, the 2011

World Bank’s Doing Business Report ranked

the UAE as the 35th in relation to ease of doing

business compared to 47th in 2009 among

183 countries. Also, the UAE is in the top tier

of 23 innovation-driven economies. This

high ranking in innovation is due to the

Government’s heavy investment in the

development of infrastructure and their

commitment to supporting entrepreneurship

among Emirati nationals and on a winder scale

(Erogul and Van Horne, 2014).

Entrepreneurship in the UAE

276

The Interior Design Faculty members endeavor

to train their students for the future. Hence, they

decided to collaborate with colleagues from the

College of Business doing research and

teaching in Entrepreneurship and incorporate

the principles of Entrepreneurship with the

Principles of Interior Design.

While the two case studies involved the same

teaching faculty and collaborating faculty, the

goals of the two case studies were different

and yet complementary. The first project

– Entrepreneurship Office – involved

intermediate interior design students. They

were required, as part of their course work, to

design a space that will provide an office for

cultivating young graduate entrepreneurs

within Zayed University. The existing site was

inside the university campus and was a disused

space originally earmarked as retail space in

the main promenade of the campus for female

students.

To add validity to the academic exercise, it was

integral for close coordination and cooperation

with the College of Business Faculty who took

the official role of ‘clients’. Their expertise in

entrepreneurship was invaluable as it provided

in-depth insights of the needs of such a facility.

In addition, the partnership provided another

element, the human element. The student

designers had to respond to a real brief set by

real people and respond accordingly to their

demands, tastes, and logic. This provided

invaluable experience, which cannot be gained

in the studio/classroom. The clients met the

students at least three times; at the beginning,

halfway through the process, and at the end.

Some students kept in touch with the clients

through social media using the medium for

extracting extra information from the clients’

taste and needs.

Additionally, the students were required to:

• Capture the essence of the proposed

organization in their designs;

Goals of the Two Case Studies

• Design a space that enriches the

experience of visitors and employees;

• Take into consideration, budget, the

construction plan, furnishing;

• Ensure materials and operations were

sustainable and environmental ly

responsible.

The second project – Incubator Space – used a

three phased process to achieve main

objective focused on introducing students to

the aesthetic and practical sides of the interior

design world with an emphasis on three-

dimensional spatial understanding, design

developments, and physical and technical

resolution. Simultaneously, it also incorporated

basic client analysis, programmatic evaluation,

space planning and essential materials, and

finishes understanding.

Titled ‘Make Space’, three main phases were

identified for the project:

1. ‘I’ Phase: In this phase, students

individually proposed designs for micro-

spatial entities for themselves to use and

occupy. This phase commenced with

understanding of body proportion in

relation to the environment we and

objects we use occupy. It then progressed

to a spatial prototype proposal where

forms of personal use and inhabitation

were addressed.

2. ‘US’ Phase: In this phase, students

building on what they learned took their

individual created experiences and

formed a group of three students. Then,

they transformed, altered, merged, and

adapted their experiences to a new

site, audience, and programmatic

requirement.

3. ‘Layout’ Phase: In this phase, students

ventured into the detailed design stage,

expressing and realizing their journey,

as well as executing the necessary

preparations for an exhibition and

presentations.

277

Strategies for Implementation

With the intermediate design students, the

students were given tasks to accomplish and

follow the project from initial concept to client

presentation. The design proposals were

developed through primary and secondary

research using experimentation of light,

materials, and spatial conditions. This stage

also included research of materials and building

systems. The faculty ensured that the students

learned sensibilities of combining graphics with

colors, fonts, drawings, and even samples in

presentation and “mood” boards. The use of

large scale 3-dimensional physical models

would play an integral role in the project. Using

large scale models allows the students to

visualize their ideas better, photograph the

spaces, and use these representative tools for

helping the clients understand the proposals.

In addition, the students were required to

produce CAD drawings and computer

visualizations showing the design proposals.

The project culminated with a client

presentation, which was marked by the clients

and other invited guests. The presentations

were rated on merits of clear presentation of the

idea, research, functionality, and aesthetics of

the proposal.

Studio investigations of the spaces were

articulated by the interaction of individuals and

place. Emphasis was placed on understanding

of design process, light and color, construction

systems, and ongoing study of materials.

Constant interaction with the ‘clients’ was

carried out throughout the process.

The students followed a series of exercises/

stages to define the key moments in the design

process.

• To develop understanding of complex

space planning

• The students carried out continuous

research on designs typologies for a

variety of different commercial projects

ranging from individual office workspace to

a large-scale retail outlet

• Complex conceptual development of an

idea

• Experimentation of spatial ideas through

large scale models

• Complex space planning, designing using

available furniture and materials and

bespoke

• 2D (plan, section, elevation) and 3D

technical drawings (axonometric,

perspective) showing the student's design

proposals

• Mood board, material board, CAD and

Photoshop visualization perspective

views of the design proposal

• The students explored a series of design

and analytical exercises to understand

human behavior and reaction within

diverse interior spaces with various

methodologies of color and light

applications

The Incubator Space done by a beginner

Interior Design students followed a more

focused structure that introduced students to

the basic fundamentals of interior design. The

process was split into eight steps called Acts

with specific requirements of students to

demonstrate skill development.

The “I”, “US” and “Layout” phases of the second

case study were executed through eight main

steps. They are referred to as ‘Acts’ – a

connotation that symbolizes students’ work and

creation process via smaller increments of

‘actions’ culminating into a spatial design

proposal.

Act 1: A series of analytical recording exercises

leading to fundamental understanding of the

body proportions, its relationship to the

surrounding and the realization of the human

being the reference point against which all

measures are compared and assessed.

Act 2: Deconstruct a familiar object or a

recognizable form from everyday life elements.

278

The only constraint on the object selection was

its size; it had to fit in an imaginary 2.2m box and

be large for a 0.5m one.

Each student then misplaced her object

position, altered its resting plane, and changed

its orientation. This experimentation constituted

the first step towards purposely ‘misplacing’ the

obvious and challenging the ‘known’. It was

astonishing to witness the overall class reaction

as they collaged pre-printed silhouettes, and

described the results in verbs and adjectives

that almost lost all its ties to the objects’ origin.

Forgetting what the object was supposed to be,

represent and do, students started seeing it as

elements constructed of a series of

components, that they further shuffled, rotated,

sliced, and rearranged.

Act 3: Creating spatial configurations. Students

continued their interventions with acts such as:

omit, shuffle, aggregate, subtract, and multiply.

Simultaneously, they studied the resulted

spatial qualities and exploring possible ways of

interaction and occupation, thus forming and

totally reinventing their relation to the resultant

artefact. Selecting an ‘acting’ verb from the

context of their academic environments,

students were asked to further refine their

designs and identify its relationship to the user

(the student). Outcomes were presented in the

form of 1:2 cardboard prototypes, each

representing a ‘personal’ space for the student

to occupy and perform her ‘ray’ of identified

activities.

Refer to photographic reference section 1.0 &

section 2.0

Act 4: The term ‘Incubator Space’ was

introduced. Case studies were used to

familiarize students with the definition, to

understand the function, to predict the users’

primary and secondary needs, and to establish

an overall understanding for the needed

services and facilities.

Act 5: Dissecting and understanding the

provided client’s brief, students were asked to

further analyze, articulate, and represent it in a

series of spatial and relationship diagrams. ZU

Incubation Space located within Zayed

University Library was introduced as a site. It

presented a mediating zone between the

academic world - where students are prepped

with skills and knowledge, and the outside

world - where ideas crash against existing

realities; social and financial among others.

Incubator was defined as an in-between zone;

a facility created to ‘incubate’ groups and

individuals and their ideas, nurture further prior

to release and manifestation.

Students were asked to form groups of three.

Then, they were asked to combine and expand

on their personally defined ‘I’ experiences;

appropriate them further and propose an

alternate design scheme for the incubator

space.

Refer to photographic reference section 3.0

Act 6: Students took their created experiences

and interlaced them into the new space

program and users; ZU students and graduate.

The students integrated it and / or transformed

and appropriated, thus creating shared

experiential moments with and for the others.

Students were asked to keep the specificity of

the site, and the relation to the overall spatial

and programmatic brief. Then, they were asked

to think and reflect upon different ways in which

existing architectural elements can emphasize

(or hinder) the meaning and value of a space, or

on the contrary accommodate it.

This stage culminated in concept design

presentations.

Act 7: Students were asked to take their

designs to the next level of detail, expressing

different elements, focusing on their tectonics

and materiality. This crucial stage transformed

their ideas into interior design spatial

proposals.

This stage culminated in detailed design desk

critique and discussion sessions.

279

Act 8: Students presented their proposal to the

client representative and other jury members.

The following were the evaluation criteria used:

1. Transition from ‘I’ and ‘Us’

2. Brief strength and its articulation on the

s i te , i ts programmat ic use and

requirements

3. Strength of concept and overall idea

4. Proposal representations via a series of

drawings, diagrams and models; their

quality, clarity and idea communication

5. Overall panel and poster layout

6. Verbal presentation delivery

Refer to photographic reference section 6.0

There are many overlapping positive results of

these two case studies which were done in

collaboration with the faculty from the College of

Business. Having “real” clients and being

exposed to the concept of entrepreneurship and

the needs of entrepreneurs made it more real to

the students. In the first case study of the

in termedia te s tudents des ign ing an

Entrepreneurship Office, at the end of the

course, the students had acquired significant

skills in the Interior Design profession. They

also achieved greater insights in developing a

project from conception of an idea to presenting

the final project. The student produced a body of

work, which consisted of drawings in various

media and techniques, mood and material

boards, phys ica l models , sketches,

photography and the sketchbook.

The Interior Design students developed a

variety of design proposals that varied in

concept and approach. The students developed

their own concepts following a specific design

brief and carried out a series of research

exercises to explore their ideas. The body of

research varied from testing light conditions,

historical precedence, material research,

surveys, interviews, and experiments. For

technical tools, they used sketches and

Results

computer aided design software. Most

importantly, they developed their designs

through 3-dimensional physical models. These

models helped the students understand and

visualize their creations and at the same time

explore the ‘physicality’ of the design

proposals. Some of these models were then

beautifully photographed to capture the specific

‘atmospheric’ conditions, showing the poetry of

light, shadow, space, and materiality of the

proposed ‘places’.

The final process was to produce a series of

1:20 or 1:25 large-scale section drawings (hand

and computer) that provided a narrative to their

proposals. The body of work accumulated by

the students, allowed them to understand the

level of exploration, research and quality of

finish, which is necessary for a professional

Interior Designer to develop design proposals

ready for client presentation. The project

culminated on a formal final presentation of all

the projects to the clients.

The following is a list of the learning outcomes

achieved by the students:

• Design for commercial use

• Design using available materials

• Analytical analysis of human behavior

(anthropometrics)

• Color and light application in design

• Knowledge of materials

• To develop creative thinking and problem

solving capacity

• To build a program to respond to the needs

of a variety of commercial clients

• To research and design for commercial

spaces in small and large scale

• To deepen the knowledge of material use

and construction methods

• To communicate design ideas visually and

develop a technical understanding of

space

• To utilize computer software and

sketching methods effectively

280

The second case study of beginner Interior

Design students successfully widened the

students’ horizon. It formulated the basics of

their interior design education, and clearly

distinguished and clarified itself from what is

termed as Interior Decoration. It also formulated

an important reference point that continues to

be used in the consequent studios; human

scale and spatial occupation.

The positive outcomes were numerous:

• Students were exposed to a variety of

learning experiences that go beyond the

classroom realm.

• Students had two different audiences to

convince and sell their proposals; their

direct instructors and other interior design

professor, as well as the cl ient

representative, and a professor from the

business school. Very soon, students

realized that the same language and

terminology can be used when presenting

to both parties, and the areas of focus and

interest vary as well. This was instrumental

in helping them take on the skill of self-

critique and evaluation using their own

judgments and reasons for executed

actions. This approach is totally different to

them as they are used to following certain

fixed steps and orders.

• The studio culminated in an exhibition at

the Al Fonoon Gallery, where the work of

students remained on display for two

weeks.

There were also some obstacles presented.

The following are some of them.

• It was the instructor’s assumption that

students would use knowledge learnt in

other classrooms and appropriate it to their

studio. Parallel to Interior Design Studio,

the same instructor taught Computer

Aided Design course, where computer

controlled cutting techniques were

introduced. 75% of the students were

enrolled for both classes. Students,

however failed, to transfer the knowledge.

Thus, their design proposals were not

influenced nor benefited from the acquired

laser cutting knowledge and experience.

This showed that there is absolutely no

distinction over their 25% peers who did

not have the exposure.

• Students lacked three-dimensional

modeling experience. The first stage of the

project (1:2 prototype) aimed to

compensate and provide them with

alternate means of 3D representations;

constructing spaces and then making a

collage of photographs. Students were

given the basics, and were expected to

pursue the learning and experimentation

with mixed media representation

approaches . S tudents however,

abandoned that acquired knowledge and

did not capitalize on its possibility.

• The ZU incubator site is an irregular one,

with curved and exterior inclined walls.

With the interior design studio being an

introductory one, students were not

equipped adequately to deal with the site

challenges. Students failed to capitalize

on certain other unique aspects like site

opportunities, such as the extended desert

views, the in-between space defined by

the building’s exterior, roof cascade, the

outdoor direct access, and library

adjacencies.

• Three students formed each group. The

incubator program was defined to consist

three parts; individual working zone,

communal working zone and outreach

zone. Students were given the freedom to

interlink and expand, but were asked to

select a focus and maintain the

coordination with the other two members.

Even though, this is a common practice in

the industry, students failed to understand

the merit behind it. Each student

concentrated on her own design with

minimal communication with the other

group members.

281

Lessons Learnt

The entire two case studies can be seen as

successful collaborations between two

Colleges and an introduction of Interior Design

Students to “real” work environment and the

important concept of entrepreneurship.

However, there were some lessons learned to

ensure even more learning in the future if these

projects are replicated inside or outside the

College of Art and Creative Enterprises at

Zayed University.

• Plan collaborations well in advance for all

parties to get relevant material

• Introduce “experts” at the beginning of the

project and have planned and informal

meetings

• Have a clear project outline with clear

learning objectives at each phase and

insist on carrying these new skills to the

next level

• Insist on skills learned in other classes to

be incorporated into the project (e.g. CAD)

• Have several “progress reports” to steer

students in the right direction

• Make the formal presentations very

formal – students perform their best under

pressure and in the presence of experts,

both internal and external

These case studies presented two successful

collaborations between faculty from the

College of Art and Creative Enterprises and the

College of Business at Zayed University. These

innovative projects combine new skills,

develop hands on learning, complementary

learning and provide students with a sense of

working on something bigger than themselves.

Erogul, M., and Van Horne, C. 2014

"Entrepreneurial Innovation and Policy

Implications in the United Arab Emirates."

Journal of Enterprising Culture 22.02:185-

208.

Van Horne, C., Huang, V. and Al Awad, M.

2012. “UAE GEM Report 2011”, Zayed

University, UAE.

Zayed University website www.zu.ac.ae, last

accessed June 6, 2015.

References

Photographic Reference Case Study 1: Entrepreneurship Office

All photographs are courtesy Marco Sosa

Selected Site, Zayed University Entrepreneurship Office

282

Examples of students’ drawings and process work exploration

283

Proposals

284

285

286

Final Presentation

Photographic Reference Case Study 2: Incubator Space

All photographs are courtesy Lina Ahmad

SECTION 1.0: Examples of cardboard prototypes – Project ‘I’

Courtesy; (Left) Asma Mukhaini, (Right) Tasnim Al-Wahedi

287

Courtesy; (Left) Fatima Al Marzooqi, (Right) Alia Al Shamsi

Courtesy; (Left) Amal Dahman, (Right) Raysa Al Ktebi

SECTION 2.0: Examples of students’ drawings and process work exploration – Project ‘I’

Courtesy; Alia Al Shamsi

288

Courtesy; Alia Al Shamsi

Courtesy; Maryam Mohammed

SECTION 3.0: Selected Site, Zayed University Incubation Area

Zayed University Incubation Area floor plan Diagram provided by Zayed University Abu Dhabi

Campus Physical Development Office illustrating the irregularity of the site.

289

Internal Views

Exterior in-between space defined by the building’s exterior and the roof cascade

External Desert Views

290

Snapshot of the students in a surveying process.

SECTION 4.0: Eni Shams Tower Residential Tower Site Visit

291

SECTION 5.0: Brainstorming Session

SECTION 6.0: Final Presentation

292

Final Presentation took place in Al Fonoon Gallery – Zayed University, Abu Dhabi Campus

on Saturday 11th January 2015.

UTILIZING NEW APPROACH TO TEACHING OF PHYSICS IN STUDIO FORMAT

Organizer

CASE STUDY

DR. CURTIS BRADLEY,

Head of Physics Department & Associate Professor,

<cbradley@pi.ac.ae>;

DR. JAMAL HAJSALEH,

jhajsaleh FYE Coordinator,

jhajsaleh@pi.ac.ae ,

Petroleum Institute, UAE

294

Abstract

New interactive and student-centered course

delivery has been adopted by the Physics

Department of the Petroleum Institute (PI) in

Abu Dhabi, starting in the Fall of 2011. The

approach is a student-centered model based on

learning by inquiry and utilizes various learning

technologies and instruments of assessment.

Online resources and novel software support

student work on class activities and contribute

to the f l i pped c lass concep t . The

implementation of the approach is a gradual

abandoning of traditional lecture and lab

sessions and an adoption of in-class,

collaborative activities. These activities exhibit

‘ intent ional content ’ to promote the

understanding of basic concepts and

procedural fluencies, framed by the course’s

learning goals. Despite the significant ongoing

transformation process, the curriculum, as

defined by the course description, has been

maintained. The ‘studio approach’ has been

successful in terms of improved student

engagement, increased levels of student

satisfaction, increased student success rates,

and reduction in DFW outcomes. Team

teaching has been adopted to give more

attention to individual students, to support

constructive peer interactions during class

sessions, and to help train new instructors in the

approach. The new model has also

incorporated a redesign of the furniture and

layout of the classroom/laboratory, new

equipment, information technology, and a

revised class schedule. Based on the early

successes of the Studio Physics approach at

PI, courses in Economics and Chemistry are

undergoing similar developments and are

under consideration for Mathematics and

several Engineering topics.

Introduction

The Studio Approach

Context and Scope of This Study

The so-called “studio” or “hybrid-studio”

approach is a shift in orientation of teachers

and students, to increase student engagement

and motivation and to thereby improve student

retention, learning and achievement (Beichner

et al., 2007; Kohl & Kuo, 2012). This is achieved

by “flipping” the classroom: converting the

traditional teacher-centered class lectures,

recitations, and labs into a format that produces

a more effect ive, s tudent-centered,

collaborative learning environment. In this

context, the flipped classroom has students

talking a lot more about Physics (rather than

just listening). This is due to an increase in class

time dedicated to active student exploration of

concepts and application of skills in

collaborative teams.

The work described here is undertaken in a

unique educational setting. The Petroleum

Institute (PI) was created in 2001 with the goal

of establishing a world-class institution in

engineering education and research in areas of

significance to the oil and gas and the broader

energy industries. The PI’s sponsors and

affiliates include Abu Dhabi National Oil

Company (ADNOC) and four major partner

international oil companies. Currently the PI

offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in a

range of engineering and applied science

disciplines. The PI is open to both male and

female students, with world-class instruction

and research facilities and a modern, gender-

segregated campus in Abu Dhabi. This gender

separation plays a role in the way the

educational reform was conducted, as

discussed below.

This study summarizes a major effort to reform

the university’s Physics I course, the first half of

a two-semester, calculus-based, physics

sequence that is required of all PI students.

Due to student recruitment problems and

295

fluctuations in the student intake at the PI, the

number of students taking Physics I ranged

from a low of 46 to a high of 121 during the

period under consideration. The curricular

reform was conducted in stages. Starting in Fall

2011, with Physics enrollment at its lowest, a

single section of 18 female students were

treated to a first trial of the Studio Physics

approach. In the next semester, the reform

expanded to involve two female sections (with a

total of 40 students) and in Fall 2012, the reform

finally extended to all PI Physics 1 sections

(while still totaling only 35 male and 17 females

students). For the purpose of this study, data

from the Studio Physics sections (S) is

compared with data from students enrolled in

traditional lecture/laboratory sections (T). Data

from T sections is included for semesters

starting from spring 2009 (Sp09) to Spring 2012

(Sp12), after which Physics 1was no longer

taught in a traditional format in any sections. A

chart of the number of students in each of these

groups is shown in Fig. 1.

What Remains the Same and What

Has Changed?

Despite the many changes discussed in this

paper, much remains the same in Physics 1 at

the PI. The basic curriculum is the same as in

previous semesters in terms of the variety and

depth of topics covered. The same textbook is

used, as is the expected coverage of topics for

the same required chapters. The main

elements of course assessment are also still

the same. The Midterm Exam and Final Exam,

contributing 15% and 30% of the course grade,

respectively, still consist of sets of `new’ free-

response questions (collaboratively written

each semester by participant faculty). Further,

the balance of the course grade is still 30% from

a mix of credit from attendance, homework and

section quizzes and tests (written by individual

faculty), 20% from labs (now part of the studio

activities), and 5% from a final lab (studio)

assessment exercise. In the past, this was a

one-hour lab test, but now students need to

FIGURE 1: Number of students enrolled in studio and traditional course sections during Spring

(Sp) and Fall (Fa) semesters from Spring 2009 (Sp09). The chart indicates the growth in the

number of students participating in Studio Physics at the PI, from fewer than 20 female students in

Fall 2011 to nearly 140 in Spring 2013.

296

complete individualized measurements and

analysis that are submitted as a written report.

The decision to maintain the basic curriculum

and a comparable mix of assessments is

deliberate: by faculty consensus, they are

regarded as the expected, normal practice for

courses offered by the Physics Department.

Further, since we hope to demonstrate

improved learning and continuity of curriculum,

assessment is valuable for simplifying the

interpretation of any student course

performance step changes or other trends.

The main change is that we have built a

coherent system of Studio Physics student

group activities. These activities fully integrate

the theoretical and practical aspects of the

course’s content with other developmental

learning objectives. These additional objectives

include the promotion of student learning

habits, such as preparation for class, note-

taking, documentation and organization of

work, and time management. In addition, we

have also added some new content to support a

far stronger emphasis on measurement of

uncertainties into the course. Coordination and

smooth running of this system of activities

requires a significant effort from teaching faculty

and support staff. It also requires class time –

about 2/3 of the total available class time is now

dedicated to student group activities. Studio

activities have replaced the traditional formal

laboratory and some of the course lecture time

because of these new teaching objectives and

the over-arching goal of creating a more

supportive and effective student-centered

learning environment.

Instead of three 50-minute lectures per week,

the current (“hybrid studio”) schedule has two

50 minute lectures. The first lecture is used to

review quickly the prior week’s topics and then

to motivate and introduce the new week’s topic.

Studio Physics Features and

Innovations

Lab/Lecture Conversion to Studio

Schedule

The Thursday lecture is used to review the

recent activities and to prepare for the following

week. The lectures are focused on basic

concepts and typically include about five

thought-provoking questions, generally

designed to confirm understanding or confront

misconcept ions and st imulate c lass

discussions.

Now, students spend three days per week

doing studio activities (two sessions of 75

minutes and one session of 50 minutes), rather

than just one 3-hour lab per week, with timings

shown in Fig. 2. Also, teachers and students

stay together for the full schedule of lectures

and activities. These changes directly counter a

functional `disconnect’ that used to exist

between lab and lecture due to the timings (lab

sections meeting on different days during the

week) and teaching practices (different lab

sections led by different teachers or lab staff).

The new semester schedule consists of

approximately forty distinct studio activities

(rather than the 10 labs in the previous format).

A typical Studio Physics schedule,

indicating the significant time commitment to

student activities and the two lecture days that

start and finish each week.

The course activities are spread over 15 topics,

with one quarter of them being equipment-

based experimental activities, one quarter of

them being simulation-based activities. The

other half topics are question/problem type

activities. Cognitive Tutors (described below)

have been created to guide student work on the

equipment-based and simulation-based

activities. We use the textbook publisher’s

online learning environment (WileyPLUS,

described below) to organize the question/

problem type of activities.

FIGURE 2:

Multiple Activity Types

297

Student Groups

All class activities are conducted in groups of

three (and rarely, two or four) students.

Balanced groups are formed by the instructor,

initially based on student grade-point averages

and later by student performance on course

assessments. For activities, task completion by

groups contributes to each student’s overall

assessment. More importantly, as students

work together, they discuss and debate the

details as they work to complete activity tasks,

particularly since each individual is responsible

for writing out answers, explanations, and

solutions along the way. These conversations

are the main purpose of the studio approach.

Groups are reformed several times during the

semester. Since groups are a vital part of the

course’s smooth operation, due care must be

taken in their formation.

The naming of student groups provides a nice

example of how attention to subtle details can

make a difference. In order to make group

assignments more fun for all and to encourage

student group affiliation, themes for the group

names were carefully considered. Suitable

themes should be both positive and familiar

and, importantly, should facilitate natural

choices of attractive group symbols. The group

names and thematic images/logos are used to

signify group documents (submitted at the end

of each activity), for identifying assigned

seating in the studio room and to help with

organizing individual student notebooks

(discussed later). For this reason, just using

numbers (“Group 3”), colors (“Red Group”), or

room locations (“North Group”) were rejected.

The theme of physics particle group names

(“Neutrino Group”) was similarly considered

and rejected. We finally chose, for female and

male Studio Physics sections, respectively,

groups named after precious gemstones and

sports cars (such as the “Topaz Group”

identified by the gem image and the “Bugatti

Veyron Group” identified by the company logo,

as shown in Fig. 3).

FIGURE 3:

Weekly Assignments

WileyPLUS

A light-blue topaz gem image and

the red Bugatti company logo are examples of

theme-based Physics Studio names for female

and male groups, respectively. Most

importantly, because these are familiar and fun,

they encourage positive attitudes about group

affiliation while facilitating practical course

logistics.

In addition to their in-class activity work,

students are required to do three online

homework assignments per week. Two of these

are preparatory assignments that consist

mostly of reading questions emphasizing basic

concepts and definitions. These are designed

to help students prepare for the following day’s

activity. The third weekly assignment is a set of

problems, intended as a review and application

of the learning from the week’s lectures and

activities.

This is online teaching and learning

environment from John Wiley & Sons. It

integrates the entire digital textbook with

additional online teaching and student

resources. We use it to build the course’s

weekly assignments and also the in-class

question/problem type activities. All of these

are based on the service’s excellent database

of reading questions, concept questions,

multiple-choice test-like items, and end-of-

chapter questions and problems. The service

has a sophisticated interface for selecting items

and making student assignments. It also

provides an editor feature for creating simple

questions and adding them to the database.

298

This feature has been useful for creating

customized items for some of the preparatory

assignments.

Students in a group using individual

notebooks to work out the details of assigned

activity tasks.

Each student records his/her work during all

class activities in a dedicated notebook that is

kept in the studio to facilitate frequent written

feedback and assessment from instructors.

During experimental, simulation-based, and

question/problem activities, these notebooks

are used for making sketches, note-taking,

writing out observations, data recording, doing

the detailed working out of all kinds of analysis,

the writing of short summaries and conclusions.

A separate notebook is also provided for

students to record their homework. Because of

the use of the Cognitive Tutors and WileyPLUS

for immediate feedback during activities,

the marking of notebooks is far simpler and

focused on student work completion and

documentation, organization, readability and

neatness. We have found that while many

students initially resist using the notebooks

or find it difficult to comply with course

expectations, with continued emphasis and

daily practice in activities, these valuable habits

and/or skills do show significant improvement

during the semester. This is demonstrated

by a sampling of student notebooks, and

comparison of student entries early in the

course with those at the end of the semester.

FIGURE 4:

Activity and Homework Notebooks

Cognitive Tutors

Measurement and Uncertainties

Emphasis

A set of almost twenty Cognitive Tutors has

been developed by the authors to support

student learning in a unique approach to Studio

Physics. These are sophisticated custom-

made computer programs utilizing the

programmability and built-in functionality of the

Excel platform. The Tutors are designed to

facilitate and guide most aspects of group

activity work in combination with separate

written activity instructions and reference

materials (the Studio Reader, described

below). If used appropriately, Cognitive Tutors

provide students with structure and routine

feedback as their work progresses. The Tutors

support students' work as they navigate

unfamiliar, complex, thought-provoking, and/or

otherwise challenging tasks, via prompt,

reliable, and high-quality feedback (Harrer,

McLaren, Walker, Bollen, & Sewall, 2005).

Further, because immediate feedback is given

to students in groups, it helps to generate

discussions, facilitate peer instruction, and

scaffold skill development and deeper

conceptual understanding. Finally, the Tutors

free up faculty and staff time for more in-depth,

one-on-one teaching and troubleshooting

tasks that are bound to arise during class. For

the desired student learning experience,

curricular development of Cognitive Tutors is a

significant design, programming, and testing

challenge.

In the studio context, a natural, much stronger

emphasis is placed on the role of measurement

and the related quantitative estimation of

uncertainties for making comparisons and

decisions. This theme is developed early in the

course and applied throughout all experimental

and simulation-based activities. Explanatory

materials about uncertainties are given to

students in the Studio Physics Reader, briefly

described below.

299

The Studio Physics Reader

Results of Curricular Reform

A new twenty-one page course guide and

experimental and quantitative analysis

reference has become a central part of the

course. During activities, students are

frequently directed to use this document,

particularly during experimental and simulation-

based work. In fact, the first course activity is an

introduction to the Reader. The document’s

sections include an explanation of the course’s

structure and specific expectations, such

as guidelines for activity notebook use,

homework, and studying for tests and exams,

with the actual course activity reference

materials. Activity related topics include safety

information, the estimation of uncertainties

for measurements, determining averages

and standard deviations from repeated

measurements (for improved precision), graph

linearization, determining fits to linear graphs

(based on linear regression), the estimation of

uncertainties for calculated values (error

propagation), the proper reporting of data in

tables and graphs, and the use of uncertainties

for making comparisons and decisions.

The initial results of this curricular reform are

encouraging. As with any other major

educational change, we were concerned that

we would encounter significant student

resistance. Certainly, the shift from a teacher-

centered to a student-centered approach can

be disorienting. For example, given its

emphasis on student action and interaction, it is

likely to be perceived as needing more effort,

both inside and outside of the classroom.

Thankfully, despite the unfamiliar course

format, the pressure for increased in-class

effort, and other course expectation changes,

students have generally embraced the new

approach and seem to be learning more. In an

end-of semester, video-taped interview, one

student stated his positive attitude very clearly:

[In our high school physics courses] we

used to work individually and then there

were just some labs… that were not

related to what we were doing

theoretically. It was frightening for us…

[Now, in studio] it actually simulates what

engineers do. We work in teams; we

collaborate with each other in order to get

the work done. Now, we find it enjoyable to

take physics; we are sharing our

experiences and correcting each other’s

mistakes. It’s a science course but it has

actually improved our social relationships.

Another student who was interviewed also

favored the new approach and emphasized the

use of technology:

We’ve learned many things in studio. One

example was the use of simulation on a

computer to study simple harmonic

motion. If we got it just in lecture, we would

not understand how it is going. If we used

a rope or something, we still wouldn’t

understand. By using the studio and the

computers, we really get it.

Frankly inspired by such anecdotal feedback,

we look for reliable quantitative measures to

evaluate the progress of our curricular reform.

However, a number of factors complicate the

implementation of this reform. First, as shown

in Fig. 1, we have small student numbers and

class variability due to fluctuations in university

student recruitment and enrollment. Related to

this, there are variations in student preparation

and background. Also, the Physics

Department’s practice is to use new (or edited)

free-response problems/questions for tests and

exams. Hence, additional fluctuations are

introduced into measures of student

performance. These issues must be kept in

mind in the following analysis and discussion.

Since the dominant assessment in Physics 1 is

a final exam, we start with it to look for evidence

of learning gains attributable to course reforms.

While the final exam questions are changed

each semester, the format and topical coverage

Learning Gains: Student

Performance on Final Exams

300

of the exams remains constant. The course

instructors write the exam questions

collaboratively and endeavor to maintain a

consistent overall exam standard (level of

difficulty). The exam is administered with a

150-minute, eight-page paper. Each page

provides three to four free-response questions

relating to one of the eight major course

topics: Kinematics, Kinetics, Energy, Systems

(Momentum), Rotation, Equilibrium, Oscillation,

and Waves. Each topic has questions that

range in difficulty levels. The topics are always

arranged in the same order from the beginning

to the end of the paper (the same order as the

sequence of instruction). While there are

variations, we generally see the trend shown in

Fig. 5, with students performing better on early

questions and a bit worse on the later questions.

Shown by the grey bars in the figure, the

average score is obtained from all of the

sections taught in the traditional manner

between Spring 2009 and Fall 2012 (involving

524 students in all). This is compared with

averaged scores from studio physics sections

between Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 (involving

110 students).

Looking at the figure, the most conservative

interpretation is that, at least, the change in

course format has not done the students any

significant harm. However, looking at the trends

in more detail gives a more encouraging

comparison. For six of the eight topics, the

studio group’s performance is the same or

somewhat better than the traditional group’s.

Also, for the other two topics (Kinetics and

Systems), there is a possible complication that

the more recent exams have placed a greater

emphasis on the explicit use of vectors,

something that students encounter with

difficulty. This factor could easily be playing a

role in lowering the studio group averages,

particularly for these two topics.

Another concern in interpreting the above

exam results is the fact that the first two pilot

semesters of Studio Physics involved only

female students, while the results in Fig. 6 are

showing averages of all sections, irrespective

of gender. Is the small apparent gain attributed

to the studio reforms actually only a gender

difference? To explore this, the same data from

Fig. 5 is examined with student and traditional

student groups further segregated by gender.

FIGURE 5: Average scores on final exam questions labeled by topic, comparing student

performance in studio and traditional sections, using exam data from Spring 2009 to Fall 2012.

Score averages were obtained from either 110 or 524 students in the studio or traditional groups,

respectively.

301

Looking at the two rightmost bars for each topic,

we can compare the performance of female and

male students in traditional sections. The figure

shows that, on average, female students tend to

do a bit worse than males for the early topics

and then gradually they catch up. The

difference tapers from a surprisingly large 10%

on the first topic to a negligible value by the fifth

topic, Rotation. While the source of this

difference is not known, it is clear that there is

some initial disadvantage faced by the female

students compared to the male students in the

traditional groups. In contrast, by looking at the

two leftmost bars for each topic, we can

compare the performance of female and males

students in the studio sections. While the

statistical variations are more pronounced here

due to smaller numbers of students, the female

disadvantage with the early topics is no longer

apparent. In fact, in the studio sections, the

question averages for female students are

higher than for male students on five of the first

six exam topics. Comparing averages for male

students in studio vs. traditional groups, it

appears that generally the performance is

about the same, with two topics showing

apparent positive gains (Energy and

Oscillation) balanced out by apparent declines

(particularly the Kinetics and Systems).

So, there does appear to be a gender

difference in terms of impact. A close

examination of Fig. 6 suggests that male

students have no clear aggregate gain or loss

from the reform but that female students are

showing positive learning gains. It does appear

that this is the significant learning gain that is

attributable to the switch from the traditional to

the studio approach.

To further explore the issue of learning gains,

we also examined student performance on the

30 item, multiple-choice Force Concept Survey

(Hestenes, Wells, & Swackhamer, 1992),

comparing student scores before and after

instruction in either the traditional and studio

groups. In the Fall 2012 semester, with all

students in Studio Physics sections, the pre-

instruction average score was 27.2% for male

students and 22.5% for female students.

Comparing the pre-instruction and post-

instruction scores, the average normalized

FIGURE 6: Average scores on final exam questions labeled by topic, comparing male and female

student performance in studio and traditional sections, using exam data from Spring 2009 to Fall

2012. Score averages were obtained from 75 female and 35 male students in the studio group and

215 female and 309 male students in the traditional group.

302

(positive) gains were 21.5% and 11.6% for

males and females respectively. In recent

semesters with traditional instruction, average

pre-instruction scores of 20-25% and

normalized (positive) gains of 15-20% have

been typical. Several years prior, the pre-

instruction and gain averages were even

higher. We attribute this overall downward trend

to a gradual decline in student preparation for

university studies, part of the enrollment

difficulties faced by the university, as indicated

by Fig. 1. Finally, these recent scores, and more

importantly their corresponding gains, provide

no evidence of improved learning about force

concepts as a result of the Studio Physics

curricular reform. Clearly, this is an issue that

can be worked on systematically with future

refinements of our Studio Physics curriculum.

As stated earlier, our reform goal is to increase

student engagement and motivation and to

thereby improve student retention, learning,

and achievement. The previous section

discussed some evidence for l imited

improvements in student learning and

achievement. The student quotes given earlier,

hint at other possible gains. Certainly, improved

student attitudes have been observed by the

authors in the day-to-day interactions with

students, essentially through anecdotal student

comments and feedback. In fact, to date, the

Physics Department is surprised by the high

level of student acceptance and enthusiasm for

the reformed course. To explore this more

quantitatively, an end-of-semester survey was

conducted in Fall 2012 focusing on student

attitudes about the studio approach. The results

of this survey show that a large majority of

students rate the studio approach very

positively. Regrettably, we do not have

comparable survey results from students taking

Physics in a more traditional approach.

In the survey, the first question asked was

“What do you think about the studio-physics

Student Attitudes: Responses to a

Survey on Studio Approach

class?” Collected student responses were then

paraphrased as “good” or “bad”, and/or

including either “positive” or “critical” feedback

comments about the course, and/or describing

the course as “stressful”. In all, 47 students

completed the survey and gave 78 written

responses to this first question. Accordingly,

nearly 78% of comments were categorized as

good or positive while only 11% were negative

or critical. No significant differences were seen

in the responses given by female and male

students. The results are shown in Fig. 7,

below.

Survey response category

frequencies to the questions “What do you think

about the studio-physics class?” given near the

end of Fall 2012 semester. The category

“Good” included written responses such as “it is

great/ good/ nice/ helpful/ perfect” and such.

The category “Positive” included descriptive

responses such as “it is collaborative/

interactive/ confidence-building” and similar.

The categories of “Stressful”, “Critical”, and

“Bad” included comments about the difficulty

or time demands, course limitations, or

expressed dissatisfaction with the approach,

respectively.

A similar majority of students have asked about

the possibility of this approach for other

courses at the PI. To explore this, a second

question in the survey asked “Would you like to

have other classes in a studio environment?”

produced a total of 68 stand-alone responses.

Of these, over 72% of the replies were “yes” or

“maybe” and fewer than 26% were a “no”. The

results are given below in Fig. 8.

FIGURE 7:

303

FIGURE 8: Survey response frequency to the

question “Would you like to have other classes

in a studio environment? If so, what other

classes?” questions posed near the end of the

Fall 2012 semester. The follow-up comments

included “Physics 2” and “Chemistry” on 40%

and 23% of surveys, respectively.

Accordingly, this survey clearly demonstrates

that PI students have accepted the new format

for Physics 1, are encouraging its expansion to

Physics 2, and are likely to welcome it in other

science courses.

Course Retention

Conclusions

Along with the strikingly positive student

attitudes that were revealed by the survey,

there may be a related and quite dramatic

consequence: students are no longer

withdrawing from the course at significant

rates. The trend is illustrated clearly in Fig. 9,

showing the sharp decline in student

withdrawal from Physics 1 during Fall 2011 and

Fall 2012. In particular, by comparing 2007-

2009 with 2012, the biggest change in this DFW

chart is the decrease in the W outcomes.

Clearly, the overall grading distribution (as

shown here by the fractions of D and F grades)

has not changed very significantly. The

distributions during 2009-2010 are perturbed

by a major earlier disruption to student

recruitment to the university.

The early indications are that the ongoing

curricular reform of Physics 1 at the PI has

already achieved a significant positive impact

FIGURE 9: DFW rates for students’ withdrawal (W) or getting a grade of D or F in Physics 1 during

Fall semesters in recent years at PI. The dramatic 2009-2010 rise in DFW rates is generally

attributed to declining standards of student preparation prior to enrollment in Physics 1.

304

on student attitudes. It is starting to show

evidence of improved student learning and

achievement. There appears to be a gender

difference in the impact of the studio approach,

with improved exam performance by female

students. This should be explored in more detail

in the future. Certainly, the progress to date is

supportive of continued refinement of the studio

approach in Physics 1 and consideration of

extending the student approach to other

courses at the PI.

Beichner, R. J., Saul, J. M., Abbott, D. S., Morse,

J., Deardorff, D., Allain, R. J., . . . Risley, J.

(2007). The student-centered activities for

large enrollment undergraduate programs

References

(SCALE-UP) project. Research-based

reform of university physics, 1(1), 2-39.

Harrer, A., McLaren, B., Walker, E., Bollen, L., &

Sewall, J. (2005). Collaboration and

Cognitive Tutoring: Integration, Empirical

Results, and Future Directions. Paper

presented at the 12th International

Conference on Artificial Intelligence in

Education.

Hestenes, D., Wells, M., & Swackhamer, G.

(1992). Force Concept Inventory. The

Physics Teacher, 30, 141-151.

Kohl, P. B., & Kuo, H. V. (2012). Chronicling a

successful secondary implementation of

Studio Physics. American Journal of

Physics, 80, 832.

SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF ELECTRONIC RUBRICS AT THE PROGRAM LEVEL

Organizer

CASE STUDY

SAIDAH QUNNEIS

Accreditation Administrative Office,

saidah.qunneis@zu.ac.ae

SAMIT LOTLIKAR

Manager Systems Development,

Zayed University, UAE.

LotlikarSamit.Lotlikar@zu.ac.ae.

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Abstract

Introduction

Zayed University has been an institution based

on learning outcomes since its inception in

1998, and over the past few years has gained

international accreditations from MSCHE,

ABET, AACSB, and NCATE. As a best practice

within both the learning outcomes assessment

movement and promoted by many accreditors,

the use of rubrics to assess student learning

has become a common practice at this

institution. This best practice case study

describes the developmental phases of a

project to embed rubrics into an existing

Learning Management System (LMS) in order

to facilitate program level assessment of

student learning. One college struggled to

transpose and analyze rubric data in an error-

free and efficient manner because of the large

number of paper-based rubrics that were being

used. By embedding the rubrics directly into

courses within the LMS, and creating a

program-level reporting system, the college has

been able to simplify the analysis and

aggregation of data to the point where

assessment results are available consistently,

reliably, and with little burden on faculty. This

case explains how with minor modifications in

practice and technology, major benefits for

program level learning outcomes assessment

can emerge. Recommendations for other

institutions through lessons learned will also be

provided.

Key Words: Rubrics, program assessment,

learning outcomes, Blackboard, learning

management system, assessment

Using accreditation as a lever for increasing

accountability and continuous improvement,

this best practice shares the experiences from

the implementation of an online rubric reporting

tool which is integrated with the existing

institutional Learning Management System

(LMS). Where only 15 years ago, neither rubrics

nor LMS’s were very common in higher

education, they have both achieved an

extraordinary level of prevalence. By

recognizing these realities, Zayed University’s

NCATE/CAEP accredited College of Education

(COE) has been able to increase the

standardization and consistency across

different sections of courses and provide

aggregated program level data on student

learning without burdening faculty. This

represents the initial phases of a more

thorough roll out to other colleges.

Established in 1998, Zayed University is one of

three federal institutions in the UAE. With

gender segregated campuses in both Abu

Dhabi and Dubai, it serves approximately

9,200 students who are mostly undergraduate

Emiratis. The institution offers English-medium

baccalaureate and master’s degrees through

the University College (UC) - general

education, the College of Education (COE), the

College of Communication and Media

Sciences (CCMS), the College of Business

(COB), the College of Sustainability Sciences

and Humanities (CSSH), the College of Arts

and Creative Enterprises (CACE), the College

of Technological Innovation (CTI), the Institute

for Islamic World Studies and the Institute for

Arabic Language.

The COE is the unit, which prepares teachers,

school social workers, or community

educators. There are approximately 36 faculty

members and 200 students currently in the

college. Teachers may specialize in subjects

dealing with early childhood, or upper primary

English or Mathematics. Students may also

study in three cross-disciplinary programs,

school social work, psychology and human

services, both offered in collaboration with

CSSH, and technology and education, a

joint offering with CTI. Field experiences in

schools forms a vital part of study for

education students, and the college maintains

rigorous assessment protocols throughout

the program.

The Institution

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Accreditation and Assessment

Since its early years, Zayed University has had

a learning outcomes-based curriculum. This

curricular focus has allowed the institution to

develop a strong learning outcomes

assessment program and is well-prepared to

meet the requirements of international

accreditors. Zayed University was first

accredited by the Middle States Commission on

Higher Education (MSCHE), one of six regional

US accreditors, in 2008. Since that time, it has

gained international accreditations from

NCATE/CAEP - National Council for

Accreditation of Teacher Education, AACSB -

Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of

Business, and ABET - Accreditation Board for

Engineering and Technology. It is expected that

in 2015 two further accreditations will be

achieved through ACEJMC - Accrediting

Council on Education in Journalism and Mass

Communications, and NASAD - National

Association of Schools of Art and Design.

Over the past number of years, as there have

been increased accountability pressures

applied to tertiary institutions, accreditation

bodies have often taken the lead in insisting that

the key function of nearly all universities, that is,

educating the next generation, be measured,

evaluated, reported, and improved upon when

necessary. For accreditors, the importance of

the assessment of student learning is evinced

through the CHEA Award for Outstanding

Institutional Practice in Student Learning

Outcomes (CHEA 2014). CHEA, the umbrella

organization for US accreditors, has decided to

prioritize student learning by making this the

only award they present. CHEA emphasizes

that this process involves:

• Articulating student learning outcomes;

• Providing evidence towards attainment of

the learning outcomes;

• Reporting on successes and expectations

of the learning outcomes;

• Using results for improving student

learning.

Most US accreditors implement such a

process, but couch it in slightly different

terminology and may go about it in unique

ways. For example, NCATE has two robust

standards that detail their expectations and this

process quite thoroughly:

Standard 1: Candidate Knowledge,

Skills, and Professional Dispositions

Candidates preparing to work in schools

as teachers or other school professionals

know and demonstrate the content

knowledge, pedagogical content

knowledge and skills, pedagogical and

professional knowledge and skills, and

professional dispositions necessary to

help all students learn. …

Standard 2: Assessment System and

Unit Evaluation

The unit has an assessment system that

collects and analyzes data on …

candidate and graduate performance…

to evaluate and improve the performance

of candidates, the unit, and its programs.

(NCATE 2008)

The data requirements of NCATE to meet their

expectations are quite comprehensive, and the

use of rubrics is often identified as an ideal

method to capture the required data. Through

their Specialized Professional Associations

(SPA) Assessment library, for example, they

share more than 250 assessments that have

been identified as exemplars and many of

these utilize rubrics (NCATE 2014).

The use of rubrics in higher education is

becoming near ubiquitous (Kuh, Jankowski,

Ikenberry, & Kinzie 2014). Literature shows that

rubrics are being used by many disciplines

(Reddy 2010). One would be hard pressed to

find an accrediting body that does not offer

rubr ic workshops, presentat ions, or

recommend their use as a way to increase

transparency and accountability or as a

formative teaching tool. A Google search for the

Rubrics

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term “higher education” and rubric provides 1approximately 381,000 hits . Whereas 15

years ago rubrics were far from mainstream;

many faculty members now use them and

recognize rubrics as one of the most effective

tools that exist to set expectations, improve

learning, and demonstrate student learning

(Suskie 2015). Some of the transition of rubrics

into mainstream higher education vernacular

can be attributed to the VALUE Rubrics which

presented a set of 16 faculty-developed rubrics

for learning outcomes essential to a quality

liberal education. These rubrics have been

viewed by representatives from more than

3,300 separate institutions across the US and

the world (AAC&U 2010). Related to this, the

US-based Degree Qualifications Profile (DQP),

is further encouraging the use of rubrics to

assess student work by stating that:

“…tools for evaluating the quality of

naturally occurring student work like…

rubrics are not easy to construct and take

a good deal of training to apply effectively.

They are essential, however, to actualize

the approach to assessing student

learning outcomes implied by the DQP…”

(Ewell 2013).

Though rubrics are becoming commonplace, it

is important to clarify which type of rubric we are

concerned with. There are generally

considered to be two types of rubrics – holistic

and analytic. A holistic rubric is one which

includes multiple descriptors of student work

grouped according to level of achievement, but

it is one which is not further broken down

according to the specific criteria or indicators

being examined (see Figure 1). The

weaknesses of such rubrics are that the

descriptors of student performance may cross

several levels of attainment making it difficult to

assess overal l student performance

accurately. In addition, results do not provide

any guidance as to where the students’

strength or weaknesses exist, which makes it

impossible to identify areas to target for

improvement. Holistic rubrics at least make

students aware of the important elements in an

assignment. However, the feedback they

provide leaves them wanting. Conversely,

analytic rubrics provide a much fuller picture of

student performance on specific criteria.

Hence, they are able to offer guidance for areas

to target for improvement. Analytic rubrics

present unique descriptors of student

performance on specific criteria along several

levels of student attainment. This allows the

rater to select the appropriate unique

descriptor for each of the criteria listed, making

the results much more accurate and

meaningful (see Figure 2). Analytic rubrics with

numerous criteria and descriptors are the focus

of this best practice.

Figure 1: Holistic Rubric

Level of Achievement Level of Achievement Level of Achievement

• Descriptor • Descriptor • Descriptor

• Descriptor • Descriptor • Descriptor

• Descriptor • Descriptor • Descriptor

• Descriptor • Descriptor

• Descriptor

1 Google.ae search on March 7, 2015

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The Problem Being Addressed

Through the work done by the University

Learning Outcomes Assessment Standing

Committee, the College of Education

representative raised the issue of exhaustive

data collection facing the college. As educators,

they were sophisticated users of rubrics, but

their data collection and analysis of results was

paper-based through a combination of Word

documents and Excel spreadsheets. This made

the process of collecting rubric results from

students across the program arduous, labor-

intensive, and prone to error.

For accreditation purposes, the college is

required to collect results from a common

assessment for each course every semester. In

addition, core course key assessments are

required for each of the specific specializations.

This is a total of around 40 assessments.

An ideal method to standardize these

assessments was to utilize rubrics. For this

reason, college teams met and decided upon

these assessments and the accompanying

rubrics.

These rubrics were paper-based which caused

problems with consistency in versioning of

rubrics implemented, the amount of associated

paperwork, and in the difficulty providing

feedback to students, especially when students

were out teaching in schools. The other

challenges the faculty faced were creating

reports in MS Word for each of their course

sections, and then aggregating data across

sections. Manual entry and report creation led

to inevitable errors. An improvement that was

initiated was to use MS Excel to decrease the

amount of manual work, but data still needed to

be combined, so this consumed valuable

faculty and staff time while some errors

remained.

As COE was facing challenges, they began to

look for solutions which would allow rubric data

entry, results dissemination, and analysis to be

conducted electronically. They found that

Blackboard had the ability to create rubrics,

allowing for the evaluation of students online

from any location, while being paper-free and

offering feedback to individual students by

individual criteria or for an entire rubric. This

would save time and enhance communication

between students and faculty. The issue was

that rubrics were designed for individual

courses and the reports that were generated

were not conducive to program level

assessment. Reports were granular for

individual students but not granular enough

from the perspective of an entire rubric.

Moreover, the rubric results remained in silos

and were not aggregated across multiple

sections as was desired. For these reasons, an

in-house reporting tool was developed to

integrate with the existing Blackboard rubric,

but which would provide the reports needed at

program level.

Nearly all courses at Zayed University are

delivered through the traditional face-to-face

environment. However, each course is

automatically provided with an accompanying

Blackboard course template. Blackboard has

been primarily used as the LMS to deliver

syllabi, announcements, course materials,

activities, quizzes, surveys and to manage

grades. It has increased transparency and

Implementation Strategy

FIGURE 2: Analytic Rubric

Level of Achievement Level of Achievement Level of Achievement

Criteria/Indicator Unique Descriptor Unique Descriptor Unique Descriptor

Criteria/Indicator Unique Descriptor Unique Descriptor Unique Descriptor

Criteria/Indicator Unique Descriptor Unique Descriptor Unique Descriptor

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efficiency by providing a mechanism to

distribute content consistently and in an

organized manner. The ubiquitous use of

Blackboard is one of the precursors, which has

facilitated this project.

Blackboard is integrated with Banner, the

Student Information System, to create these

courses, faculty assignment and student

enrollments. Data is exported from Banner into

feed files (CSV text files) twice daily. The

generated feed files are uploaded to the

Blackboard host server, a custom application

developed by the Computing Services

Department called BbAutoSnaprun. It

processes these feed files, generates specific

snapshot commands to bulk upload data, and

executes them automatically into the

Blackboard database.

Blackboard Learn 9.1 introduced several new

features including the analytic rubric

assessment tool. The rubric is a tool which lists

the evaluation criteria for an assignment, and

provides a mechanism to convey to students the

expectations for the quality of completed

assignments. These rubrics help students

organize their efforts to meet the requirements

of an assignment, can be used to explain the

evaluation to students, and help foster

consistent and impartial grading. Because of the

benefits of rubrics, they were used by individual

faculty members but in a limited number of

courses. The rubric provided students and

faculty with adequate individual and course level

data. However, it did not provide meaningful

aggregate data or statistical reports.

The built-in rubric report provided in Blackboard

is limited to an individual course section and

provides rubric evaluation reports for that

specific course only. It does not provide an

aggregate report for groups of classes, whether

by course, campus, college or term. This in-

house solution and standardized approach was

developed because program learning

outcomes assessment occurs across an entire

program.

Technology Solution

Standardization

Web Application and Report

The first step in getting the desired outcome,

aggregated rubric reporting, required that a

rubric naming convention be defined. This

allowed rubric results to be aggregated across

groups of classes. For each course

participating in this project, shared rubrics were

developed and then named according to the

agreed upon convention. The naming

convention is that these rubrics should begin

with the course prefix and number (i.e. EDC

324 or BUS 202). The rest of the rubric name

does not matter; it is the initial prefix and

number that identifies a rubric as a shared

rubric, which can be aggregated across the

program. These rubrics are then loaded into

Blackboard course templates and made

available for use across multiple sections.

A Visual Studio.Net application was developed

to provide users with a tool to filter the rubric

reports based on the rubric name, term,

instructor, course information, campus, and

specialization (see Figure 3). It is the agreed

upon naming convention noted above that

facilitates the inclusion of a rubric into this

application. This is a web application directly

accessible from any browser, so users with the

appropriate permissions can access

aggregated rubric results from one or multiple

sections of courses.

Reports were developed using Crystal Reports

to produce the required information based on

the filter criteria selected by the user. Creating

filters was the most challenging technical

component of this project because information

was collected from both Banner and

Blackboard, which have entirely different

systems and different database schemas. The

major time of product development was spent

on analyzing the rubric data in Blackboard and

course and student information data in Banner

in order to find the best approach to link the data

sets using common criteria that could be utilize

to run the reports. The Blackboard and Banner

schemas were studied intensely to ensure that

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FIGURE 3: Rubric Reporting Tool

FIGURE 4: PDF Report

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every element of a rubric was captured along

with the relevant Banner information. The

outcome of this was flexibility for the user to

select criteria at a granular level based on

course and student specific data. This allowed

the generation of an aggregated rubric report

based on these parameters, something not

possible from within Blackboard alone. For

example, a report can be generated for a

specific rubric, term, instructor, and for students

in specific specializations. In addition, it permits

further demarcations into specific sections of a

course and within specific campuses. Different

permutations and combinations can be used to

generate desired reports in a variety of formats.

The web application has the option to export the

reports generated to a .pdf, .csv or.xlsx formats.

Figure 4 demonstrates an aggregated .pdf

report suitable for program assessment from

two sections of one course. It shows the number

of students who were rated along each of the

four levels of achievement across five rubric

criteria.

FIGURE 5: Excel Report

The benefit of the .xlsx report is that the details

for the performance of each student are

provided (see Figure 5) and in this format can

be easily manipulated, transposed, and

transformed into graphical representations

(see Figure 6).

The web application had to be secure; so an

authorization module was built in the system to

govern the required permissions for users to

generate necessary reports for their

department or college. Microsoft Active

Directory is used for end user authentication.

The web application uses integrated

authentication and enables single sign on.

Users, once logged on to the network, have

access to the rubric application based on

their permissions set in the application (see

Figure 7).

Authorization

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FIGURE 6: Graphical Representation

FIGURE 7: User Permissions

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Results and Outcomes

At this stage, working only with COE, we are at a

point where the Blackboard rubric tool is being

utilized by 100% of faculty in all of the courses.

In addition, nearly all of the rubric-based

common and key assessments that are to be

used in the fall 2015 semester have been

finalized and collected. These pending rubrics

are going to be uploaded into Blackboard

course templates by the end of June. This will

allow the Computing Services Department to

ensure that all course sections that are created

in Blackboard will contain the appropriate

rubrics embedded directly into the Blackboard

Grade book. Faculty intervention will then be

limited to completing the rubric for each student

in their courses. Both faculty and students will

be able to see the detailed ratings provided by

the rubrics along with associated comments

within Grade book. However, the aggregate

scores that are of interest at program level will

also be available through our reporting tool.

It is hoped that implementation of this reporting

tool with the COE will demonstrate its utility to

other colleges and departments. The COE’s

data reporting requirements far outweigh those

of other units; so success here should

guarantee success elsewhere. Given that every

section of a course receives an automatically-

generated, template-based Blackboard course,

the potential exists for other colleges using

shared rubrics to commit to using the rubric and

the reporting tool; thereby making data

collection less arduous, less labor-intensive,

and less prone to error. Even if this only occurs

with their one or two direct assessments that are

used for their program level learning outcomes

assessment, this will be a major triumph.

Though we are providing regular project

updates to ULOASC, a demonstration of full

implementation by the COE in the near future

should be convincing.

Lessons Learnt

• It is important to start small by targeting a

few sections or courses, gain some easy

wins, then share successes with faculty

and expand the project.

• Support from the Dean is essential to

demonstrate to faculty the importance of

this project.

• Faculty need to be educated as to the

outcomes, steps involved, and limitations

of the rubric tool.

• It is important to work closely with faculty

to complete development of the rubrics in

a timely manner.

• Assign a person in an administrative role

to be the lead and face of the project.

Faculty need to know whom to approach

for assistance or with concerns.

• After success with one college or

department, share these successes with

the wider community to see the project

grow.

• Develop step-by-step tip sheets or videos

for faculty using the grade book and the

reporting tool.

• It can be challenging to have all faculty

members agree on shared rubrics well

ahead of time. However, it can be done if

limitations and benefits are effectively

articulated.

• Some faculty will be challenged

technologically, while others will resist.

• Do not begin such a project unless you

have competent Blackboard technological

support and development know-how.

• If you are interested in expanding use,

provide regular updates to interested

parties.

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