So the cover story of the current campus paper "The Desert Flyer" is about us jolly Americans on vacation here in the Middle East. Some of us got phone calls a couple weeks back and, as Allison put it, tried to be as diplomatic as possible. Most of the comments of mine that made it into the article involved trifles like campus size and lack of cultural activities. Here's one interesting tidbit: none of the Americans were willing to comment on the academic quality and standards of AUD. "Its too soon to tell" we said in unison (without even coordinating our stories beforehand.) I avoided the question by saying I would need more time to compare AUD with my university at home. To be honest, at the time of the interview, I had my doubts--now they've been confirmed. Let me explain:So AUD's got problems. It's a mix of students who don't apply themselves and transient faculty. Right now over half of my statistics class is getting an F. I can't believe it. How could over half of a class flunk? Part of this comes from a particularly difficult prof, but most of the responsibility rests on the students. Many of them either don't come to class or simply don't do the work. Cheating at AUD is a BIG problem. During a group project, one of the Saudis in my group began our meeting by phoning his friends to get finished projects to "refer to". When I asked him about it, he said that everybody does "it" here. He went on to tell me how he cheated on a final for one of his previous classes. Cheating seems casual, almost assumed. I keep getting the impression that many of the students don't particularly want to be here. Their parents perscribed an education and they're more interested in having fun. This attitude broadly affects the faculty. There's a pretty high turn around rate here. For instence, Eric Benson, the senior member of the business school faculty, has only been here a little over a year. The administration understands this weakness and is working to draw better more permanent faculty. They just finished an 11 story housing complex (which is VERY nice) on the back corner of the property for faculty. This should help with retention by removing the hour and a half commutes from their work equation. Of course things aren't so simple. Do I need to qualify obviously broad generalizations? Read the title. This is a gripe session. Yes, I have met great professors, administrators, and students here at AUD. This school is still in its infancy. Give it fifty years and I'm sure many of these issues will have dissolved.
Let's hope there is no follow up article. I won't be able to dodge the question so easily next time.
12 comments:
I'm completely in agreement with all of that, and this was to be a topic in the very near future in my LiveJournal although I may just let this entry speak for my own views. All in all, there is a general lack (with exceptions) of honest effort and, in general, caring about one's grades. I can't believe how many times I've been told that the grades were kind of pointless, that it was all about the piece of paper in the end. It surprises me that employers in the Middle East would so willingly accept any recent college graduate with that piece of paper without asking for transcripts and the like, but if this is the case, there is simply not enough competition in the labor market to provide the impetus to work one's ass off to get ahead in life. A lot of the students here are in for a severe shock when the Emirates and other markets in the Middle East really begin to attract a full complement of international businesses (which has definitely already started, but by no means has finished), and these businesses start bringing in their own people rather than hiring locals and the government decides it's in the best interest of commerce not to interfere with this process and maintain jobs for locals. I'm not particularly fond of being in school anymore and this is no huge secret, but at the same time I still go to class, finish homework assignments that are to be submitted, and study for tests; all three of which seem to be as much the exception as the rule at AUD. As for the quality of the classes, one has to wonder if the lack of a consistent and in theory, more productive, faculty has led to the lack of appreciation for the academic process here or if the lack of appreciation on the part of the students has led to the lack of a consistent faculty. Today, I was studying over in Media City and a couple of Iranian acquaintances came by to say hello. When they saw that I was studying for my marketing and after I told them I had a test the next day, their response was simply "Why are you doing that?" How do you answer a question like that, where do you even begin? I don't know, but I guess that's a question this University needs to solve. (sorry for the pseudo-entry of my own, but it was a definitely a topic that was coming to mind on a regular basis right now)
I also completely agree. I'm kind of debating whether or not I should post some full-fledged, no-holds-barred rant about some of the less desirable AUD characteristics. This whole place is pretty frustrating. More frustrating is my boyfriend's response to my complaints: "Well, didn't you expect that? At least to a certain extent?" Uh, no. But it wouldn't have been the first time I've been embarrassingly clueless.
I thought it was suspicious that the reporter barely took any notes while I participated in the interview. I think she must have jotted about four words, total. I thought my name wouldn't even appear in the article, which was fine by me. So I was really surprised to read it and see all of these quotes that I allegedly made. I honestly think that some of them are a little, uh, inaccurate. Did you have that experience at all?
Ugh, Blogger seems to have ate my original comment.
Summary:
1) I agree with you, too. I've been trying to restrain myself from posting an extremely frustrated rant about the less desirable AUD characteristics. There are some things about this place that have been just grating on me.
2) I was really surprised to see my "quotes" appear in the article, because the reporter didn't write more than three or four words during the entire interview. I think a few of the things I allegedly said are less than accurate. Have you had the same experience?
the blogger thing is wierd. I think the template I am using sometimes absorbes comments for a short while and then spits them up when it feels like it..
Now I see why we haven't heard anything about the school.
I looked around a bit on the AUD website to see if they have a online version for your esteemed student newspaper, but was unable to locate anything.
Have you noticed any other non Arab students that are shocked by the state of things? I looked over the student handbook it clearly states that student with poor academic records would be kicked out. The must not enforce the rules in an even handed manner. This tends to make student think they can get away with things. It sounds like the school needs to get serious about their academic standards and start holding people accountable.
Now I see why we haven't heard anything about the school.
I looked around a bit on the AUD website to see if they have a online version for your esteemed student newspaper but was unable to locate anything. I looked over the student handbook it clearly states that student with poor academic records would be kicked out. The must not enforce the rules in an even handed manner. This tends to make student think they can get away with things. It sounds like the school needs to get serious about their academic standards and start holding people accountable. Maybe when you leave you could ask for an apoitment with the Dean and discuss some of your isseues.
I did the same thing that Allison did!!
I honestly don't think a meeting with the Dean will do anything. There are definitely two types of people here. Those who feel priviledged to be studying at an American accredited university, and those who don't know what American accredited is. A young private University needs to deal with problems as well as keep the money flowing in. I think they allow both groups in right now because they need the students. Also, being a SAP (study abroad program) student makes it a little more difficult to complain about things, since we aren't technically fully enrolled and will be gone in a matter of months. And no, this is not why I haven't written about the school yet.
I should point out that there isn't even a dean anymore. Dr. Hanson got sick, resigned, and went MIA and there are no assistant deans here, so a meeting with the Dean becomes exceedingly hard when you take that into consideration. The other thing is from what I understand that last semester a lot of the Americans were complaining about the University. I heard this early on this semester, and I told myself that I wouldn't do that too. It's a different place, they run things a little differently, as far as I'm concerned, they are entitled to do that. But now I find myself trying to hold myself back, because the rationale behind not criticizing the university would be if I honestly felt that some of these differences resulted in a more positive influence, and I'm finding it hard to say that any of them are beneficial. It's basically a system of bureacratic anarchy.
Oh and I also wanted to mention that we (study-abroad students) are almost in a ambiguous gray area with regard to our status here. On numerous occasions, we've been told that we're not entitled to everything that everyone else here gets simply because they have a duty to serve their own students first (my biggest example of this would be Dr. Hanson essentially telling Chris that the Career Services wouldn't do as much for him as they would for one of their own students looking for a job). We have not been issued ID cards and we won't get them, I can't even check out books in the library, its ridiculous. But at the same time, when it comes to rules and accountability, we are subject to all the same rules as the AUD students. In some areas, this is necessary (e.g. academic integrity, etc), but at the same time, the American Club is routinely being held accountable to University rules for clubs and groups, despite the fact that the University is almost seemingly telling every single member that we are not true students here. The very transitory nature of what the American Club is now and what it will be in the future due to the fact that its makeup changes from semester to semester makes it very difficult to become fully integrated with the rules and the bureacracy of the University.
And I want to be able to stand stationary on campus grounds for a full 10 seconds after midnight without being immediately shooed outside or into the dorms!
You would not believe how big of a deal they are making about this US port thing. The media is making it sound like everyone in UAE lives in a tent, and they are all harboring AQ operatives.
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