Abstract
This essay argues that it is important to promote collaborative governance institutions within higher education institutions so that faculty can develop creative and engaging teaching and research projects. Through an examination of the higher educational reform process in the GCC nations of the Gulf, the essay finds that the privatization of higher education and the reform of public universities have had a mixed record in establishing appropriate governance practices. Ambitious liberal arts colleges and universities have moved towards collaborative management practices, but small for-profit colleges are often extremely hierarchical and pay less attention to educational quality. Educational reform efforts in public universities have been marred by their authoritarian, top-down character which can erode the morale of professors and damage higher educational institutions’ academic mission.
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Notes
- 1.
Important information on the problems of governance can be gleaned by examining accreditation reports published online by the government of Oman’s Oman Academic Accreditation Authority and the government of Bahrain’s National Authority for Qualifications and Quality Assurance of Education and Training. See respectively http://www.oaaa.gov.om and http://www.qqa.edu.bh.
- 2.
Four major institutions that fall into these categories are the Gulf University for Science and Technology (in Kuwait), the American University of Kuwait, the University of Wollongong in Dubai, and the American University of Sharjah (AUS). The case of AUS also demonstrates that it is often difficult to distinguish between private and public universities, since the institution has been established as a nonprofit institution but receives significant backing from the ruler of Sharjah.
- 3.
A rolling contract exists when a faculty member is given a long-term contract of, for example, three years, and then is evaluated for extension in the second year of her or his employment.
- 4.
For example, the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar has established an impressive Center for International and Regional Studies that has developed a significant publication record in a short period of time.
References
Badry, Fatima, and Willoughby, John (2015). Higher education revolutions in the gulf. London: Routledge.
Ghabra, S. (2010). Student centered education and American style universities in the Arab world. Higher education and the Middle East: Empowering underserved and vulnerable populations (pp. 21–26). Washington, DC: Middle East Institute.
Moini, J. S., Bikson, T. K., Neu, C. R., and DeSisto, L. (2009). The Reform of Qatar University. Santa Monica: Rand Corporation.
UNDP (2003). Arab human development report 2003: Building a knowledge society. New York: UNDP.
Williamson, Oliver (1996). The mechanisms of governance. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Willoughby, J. (2018). Educational Reform, Privatization, and the Challenge of Collaborative Governance in Higher Education in the Arab World. In: Azzi, G. (eds) Higher Education Governance in the Arab World. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52060-5_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52060-5_7
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