Skip to main content

UK branch campuses in Gulf are not good always

Dubai, (UAE): Many of the British universitie’ branch campuses in the UAE are not up to mark, says the Quality Assurance Agency(QAA), education regulator in the UK. The agency reveals this shocking face in a report published recently.

The report said that only two British Universities’ branch campuses in UAE are keeping the proper standard which the same UK Universities maintains at Britain. The report said only Heriot-Watt and Middlesex University “are readily recognisable as branch campuses in including the range of facilities a student would expect of a campus in the UK, even if in some areas such facilities are provided at a lower level”. So a branch campus should match the supportive environment and range of facilities offered to students based in the home university.

The reports warn against the misleading the students into believing campus life would be similar to that in the UK. From the survey, the agency found out the fact that many other institutions offer just one course and rent small spaces in other buildings.

Heriot-Watt has about 3,500 students and Middlesex about 2,600 and both offer many courses.The QAA states a campus “must run like one with the full range of supports including pastoral, careers and social facilities. Institutions should consider the expectations they are raising in promising a global campus experience.”

Dr Warren Fox, head of higher education at Dubai’s regulator, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KDHA), said its team did not differentiate between institutions such as London Business School, which offers just one part-time MBA course, and universities such Heriot-Watt Dubai.

The latter has a stand-alone campus and courses ranging from fashion design to engineering, bachelor degrees and PhDs.

Heriot-Watt University, based in Edinburgh, is the only British university to have its own campus in Dubai International Academic City.It includes accommodation, sports facilities, restaurants and laboratories. Prof Ammar Kaka, head of campus said student experience was a priority.

The UK has 10 institutions in Dubai, which has the world’s largest concentration of foreign branch campuses – 26.The KHDA quality assurance team evaluates degrees at branch campuses every year to ensure they meet standards of the home campus.

Dr Lois Smith, head of campus at Middlesex University, one of the institutions rated most highly in the report, said she was pleased.

But many UK Universities’ branch campuses are operating with a minimum structure in UAE. Take the example of the Dubai branch of the UK’s Strathclyde Business School. It offers just one course to students and operates out of rented offices. It is little more than an administrative outpost of a foreign institution. This kind of compression of quality is one of the negative but inevitable consequences of a rapidly developing market.

It is important that such campuses are properly regulated, particularly those institutions operating in free zones. This kind of loophole will inevitably create confusion among students about local degree recognition and that, in turn, is bad for the entire education sector.

Global branch campuses play a significant role in developing education in this country by helping to meet rising demand, bringing certified quality programmes and offering international degrees recognised around the world. Better regulation would help students to ensure that they are getting proper value for their education.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Why You Should Not Opt For IIT Bombay

This article is written by IITians in the blog Actors Imran and Anushka during a cultural program at IIT Bombay If asked to compare IIT Bombay to IIT Delhi, most students say that the difference is negligible. Both are in metropolitan cities with good options for hostels, PG accommodations, food and entertainment. Cultural activities are equally good as is the faculty and study methodology. Even placements at the two IITS are amongst the best in the country. Yet figures indicate that the top JEE rank holders prefer Computer Science Engineering at IIT Mumbai rather than IIT Delhi. But, we are here to tell you when and why you can avoid IIT Mumbai. Mumbai IIT was earlier placed in the suburbs, away from the crowds, giving IITians the space and peace to pursue their career goals. Today the area in Powai is surrounded by high rise building, malls and traffic snarls, bringing with it all the clatter and patter of a metropolitan hub. Just like the population and popular...

Second Pakistani University opens in UAE

Abasyn University RAS AL KHAIMAH, (UAE): One more Pakistani University has started its operations in Ras Al Khaimah with a mission to provide good quality affordable education for Pakistani families living in UAE. Name as “Abasyn University ”, the new educational platform will offer degree courses to the 800 to 1,000 pupils who comes out of Pakistani high schools in the UAE every year. Previously Szabist University in Dubai was the only Pakistani university in the emirates. Abasyn’s Ras Al Khaimah centre is its overseas branch campus. As a famed brand in Pakistan, the Abasyn University has campuses in Peshawar and Islamabad. Abasyn University is considered to be more affordable as it charges only Dh1,200 a month. This makes it more affordable than Szabist which charges Dh1,900, and Abasyn is significantly cheaper than other institutions. On average, university fees in the UAE start at about Dh25,000 a year. However, for anything science or engineering based, costs can rise ...

AUS helps rebuild Iraq’s higher education

War-torn Iraq Sharjah: The World Bank and American University of Sharjah (AUS), will host tomorrow, Thursday, May 24, at Lecture Hall A, in the ground floor of the AUs main building, a training course for about 40 senior Iraqi education leaders, on strategic planning and quality assurance in higher education institutions. The nine-day training course is designed to equip Iraqi university representatives involved in strategic planning and quality assurance with the required skills to improve the quality of education offered by higher learning institutions in Iraq as the country works on rebuilding itself as a unified nation. The training is in line with AUS’s strategic goal of becoming the leader in higher education in the Middle East by being able to share its expertise with other countries in the region, especially helping its Arab neighbors such as Iraq achieve its potential. The course will touch on important subjects that include: A Framework for Strategic Pl...