The Outcome of the Partnership between
Staffordshire University - UK and Gulf College - Oman
2003 – 2013
Dr. Issa Al BulushiChairman and CEOGulf College, Oman
Sultanate of Oman
Prof. Taki Al AbduwaniDeanGulf College, Oman
November - 2013November - 2013
The Speaker
1. Prof. Taki has been the Dean of Gulf College since 2004.
2. He is the external reviewer of Oman Academic Accreditation Authority, Reviewer in The Research Council, Oman, he is also the Chair of the Executive Committee of the Oman Quality Network for Higher Education.
3. PhD Degree in Education from University of Reading, UK. His thesis was on assessing the role of the soft component of human capital theory and explains the differences in soft skill endowment in Oman.
4. He was awarded the Honorary Professorship by the International University of Vienna during the Oxford Summit of Leaders which was held during March 2010.
Today's Presentation will cover
1. About Oman
2. History of Gulf College
3. Quality Monitoring by internal and External bodies
4. Affiliation arrangements with Staffordshire University
5. The outcome of the partnership (9 areas), focus
areas for today’s presentation will be
• Staff research and consultancy
• Industry and community engagement
6. Gulf College new campus
7. Question and answer session
About Oman1. Area: 309,500 Square
Kilometre2. Population: 3.8 Million
2013, of this, • 2.2mn Omanis, and • 1.6mn expatriates
3. Capital: Muscat4. Official language: Arabic
language (English language spoken widely).
5. Time: Four hours ahead of GMT.
6. Currency: RO.1 = US$2.6 (0.385 Baiza = US$ 1)
7. Weather: Hot and Humid in summer and moderate in winter
8. Population Growth Average: 6.4%
9. Life Expectancy: 72 Years
About OmanCoastline - 1700 kms long
Heritage, castles, valleys,Green mountainsSea turtlesDesertsTraditional and Modern buildings And souqsGood hotels and tourist attractions
History of Gulf College
Establishment of the set-up offering vocational and professional qualifications.
The first MBA programme offered in Oman through a private institution
Managing the first privatised College in GCC (Kingdom of Bahrain)
Approval from Ministry of Higher Education Oman to upgrade the status to a Higher Education College, offering 10 different undergraduate programmes in-addition to the two postgraduate programmes which were already in place.
2003
1997
1996
1990
The partnership has started since then.
New Campus (8000 student capacity)2014
Quality Monitoring by internal and External bodies Quality Monitoring by internal and External bodies
Staffordshire
University, UK
Om
an Academic
Accreditation
Authority
Quality
Ass
urance
Agency
, UK
Min
istry
of H
igher
Educatio
n, Om
an
Internal Review of the System (results in a Quality Audit Portfolio)
External Review of the System (results in a Quality Audit Report)
Gulf College
Source: OAAA
ADRI ModelADRI Model1. Approach
2. Deployment3. Results4. Improvements
1. Approach2. Deployment3. Results4. Improvements
Quality Reviews
Internal Review
Semester review - Working Groups - College Board Internal
University
MOHE
OAAA
International Foundation Programme
Honours Degree
Programme
Masters Degree
Programme
Quality Assured SU examiners visit
Gulf College certificate
Franchise Visits from examiners fromother UK UniversitiesSU certificate
In Progress
Affiliation arrangements with Staffordshire University
Relationship
Business Awards1. BA(Hons) Accounting
2. BA(Hons) Business Economics
3. BA(Hons) Business Management
4. BA(Hons) Finance
5. BA(Hons) Marketing Management
6. BA(Hons) Travel and Tourism Management
The Awards
Computing Awards7. BSc(Hons) Computer Science
8. BSc(Hons) Computing Science
9. BSc(Hons) Information Systems
10. BSc(Hons) Mobile Computing
Quality is assured by Staffordshire University in accordance with UK Higher Education requirements
1. Access to staff, IT resources, books, e-library
2. Same curriculum, assessments (localised)
3. Same language, same examination process
4. Same rules for awarding qualifications
5. Access to personal help
Also checked by the Ministry of Higher Education, Oman and the Oman Academic Accreditation Authority.
Outcome
The Quality
Credit Framework
Level 4120 credits
Level 5120 credits
Level 6120 credits
1. Written Examination2. Practical Test3. Individual Assignment4. Group Assignment5. Case Study6. Project7. Essay8. Individual Presentation9. Group Presentation10. Business Plan11. Portfolio12. Journal13. Viva-Voce
Credit Transfer
Level 4120 credits
Level 5120 credits
Level 6120 credits
OMAN
UK
OMAN
Credit Transfer
Level 4120 credits
Level 5120 credits
Level 6120 credits
OMAN
UK
Other Country
Credit Transfer
Level 4120 credits
Level 5120 credits
Level 6120 credits
OMAN
Other UK University
OMAN
The Outcome (9 Areas)
1. Governance and management2. Student learning by coursework programs3. Student learning by research programs4. Staff research and consultancy5. Industry and community engagement6. Academic support services7. Students and student support services8. Staff and staff support services9. General support services and facilities
Details of the other seven areas can be downloaded from the report
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Staff research and consultancy
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• The GC research strategy revolves around the cultivation of new knowledge and its dissemination and development of research capability of staff and students.
• The vision for GC is to become a leading research centre in the Sultanate of Oman through the following objectives:
1. To establish research grounds and to enhance
the students' analytical skills and provide spin-off initiative ideas to conduct research on incentive basis.
Staff research and consultancy
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2. To provide opportunities for the entrepreneurs through cultivation of knowledge and creating links between the higher education providers and the industries.
3. To improve the research capability of the faculty and the students of the college to match international standards
4. To achieve the percentage set for each level of the academic jobs as per the college academic ranking policy. This is summarised below:
1. Professor 5%2. Reader 10%3. Principal Lecturer 15%4. Lecturer 30%5. Assistant Lecturer 40%
Staff research and consultancy
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5. To create an environment that inspires and enables innovative research and scholarship.
6. To disseminate research findings effectively through publications, faculty exchanges, workshops, seminars and conferences locally and internationally.
7. To ensure that the outputs of research conducted at the college benefits the society and the economy through effective knowledge transfer and appropriate management of intellectual property
8. To develop viable portfolios of activities from research like project consultancy and project management.
Staff research and consultancy
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Focus Areas Active participation by staff and students in research
activities such as workshops and seminars; conduct of surveys and undertaking research projects and publications in refereed journals.
1. Conduct regular Research workshops (research methodology, research proposals and research publications) to help the researcher to analyse local problems in a scientific way and contribute to creative thinking and innovativeness.
2. Joint publications by faculty, students and the industry.
3. Enhancement of college’s research and enterprise activities.
4. Developing soft skills of the students and their employability.
Staff research and consultancy
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Implementation1. Establishment of the Centre for Research,
Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CRIE)2. Appointment of the Deputy Dean for Academic
and Research3. Appointment of three Research Coordinators (one
for each faculty)4. Annual implementation plan based on the
approved research strategy5. Awareness campaigns to enlighten the local
community of the research activities in the college. 6. Strengthen the employment opportunities of the
students focusing on employability and soft skills
Industry and Community Engagement
Each faculty produces annual activity calendar to enhance relationship with Industry, Community, Employers, Professions, Alumni and Other Education Providers, this include activities such as:-
1.Participation in local and international events focused on humanitarian, health and environment aspects
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Industry and Community Engagement
2. Support various Government programmes like Blood Donation, H1N1 Campaign, beach cleaning programme and others which are beneficial for the people of Oman and its community.
3. Organise and sponsor various sports, craft and hobbies
4. Offer free training and seminars on Career Development for its students and to the general public
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Industry and Community Engagement
5. Facilitates the processing of applications of its graduates to industries and companies both for training and employment.
6. Employer survey to assess employers’ needs.
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External Audit Report Outcomes
1. Prior to the audit visit, the panel invited submissions from the public about the quality of GC’s activities.
2. Audit visit took place over 10-13 April 2011
3. During the audit the panel spoke with over 90 people including representatives of the governing authorities, staff, students, and external stakeholdersS
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Audit Panel Members1. Prof. Debbie Clayton (Panel Chairperson) Clayton International Education Consulting Service Brisbane, Australia
2. Dr. Ahmed Al Bulushi Caledonian College of Engineering, Muscat, Oman
3. Dr. Ammar Al Ojaili Salalah College of Technology, Salalah, Oman
4. Dr. Elizabeth Stanley Higher Education Consultant, Colorado, USA
5. Prof. Gus Pennington Independent Consultant, UK
6. Tess Goodliffe (Executive Officer) Oman Academic Accreditation Authority
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Audit Outcome
1. Commendations – 42. Affirmations – 103. Recommendations – 24
For details you can visit :
http://www.oac.gov.om/Review/GC%20Audit%20Report%20final.pdf.
Commendations
1. Developing an affiliation agreement with SU which underpins Quality Assurance of the UG programmes offered
2. Robust moderation of assessment to ensure consistency of standards in UG programmes
3. Flexibility in timetabling, opening hours, payment schedules & responsiveness to students
4. Developing and implementing an effective staff induction programme
10 affirmations & 24 recommendations can be accessed from the audit report –
www.oaaa.gov.om
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Gulf College New
Campus
1. Land : 24000 square metres2. 4 floors3. Building area : 72000 square
metres 4. 8000 students capacity
References1. www.gulfcollege.edu.om
2. www.omantourism.gov.om
3. http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/oman.htm
4. www.oaaa.gov.om
5. http://www.oac.gov.om/Review/GC%20Audit%20Report%20final.pdf
Question and Answer Session
1. Any further clarification needed from today’s presentation
2. How can we work together to overcome the future challenges
3. How can we work together towards • sharing the good practices• benchmarking • peer observations (different partners of SU)• cultural activities and student exchange• joint research
ThanksProf. Taki Al Abduwani
www.gulfcollege.edu.om