Where does higher education go from here? - Region’s university leaders share their perspectives

Over the past fortnight, I asked a select few higher education leaders – from a range of universities and colleges in the region - for their perspectives on the future of higher education in a post COVID-19 world. Given the wide spectrum of institutions they lead, rather than administering typical quantitative questionnaires, I asked them open-ended questions. 

Areas of higher education uniquely impacted by the COVID-19 situation were addressed: eLearning; enrollment; graduate employment and new programs; and international student and staff mobility. A brief summary of their perspectives is presented here. More details will be presented in subsequent blogs. 

A)  On the effectiveness of eLearning provisions during the shutdown:

Many of these leaders share the pleasant surprise of Prof. Khaled Assaleh, Provost of Ajman University, UAE at the speed at which faculty and students embraced eLearning, “it was a positive and pleasant surprise that things went better than most universities anticipated in terms of course delivery, student responsiveness, faculty adaptation to this mode of delivery. Even student attendance has been better than face to face classes”.   Dr. Thomas J. Hochstettler, Commissioner at Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA), Ministry of Education, UAE also observes, “First, higher education institutions by and large, grasped immediately the challenges of converting to e-learning, mid-semester and… faculty and administrators alike threw themselves heart and soul into the herculean task.... Second, many institutions have in the process become Learning Organizations…”. 

About half of the respondents declare effectiveness of learning in this format – as Prof. Ammar Kaka, Provost and Vice Principal, Heriot-Watt University, Dubai notes, “I think we can do a lot and effectively online and the last 4 weeks demonstrated this. Both our staff and students engaged very well.” Prof. T. G. Sitharam, Director – Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, India is bullish about projecting a bright future for eLearning in India, “India already has such a huge collection of online course modules and... can certainly take a lead in providing solutions for online teaching and learning throughout the World.”

However, some key issues have also been pointed out, as this situation has been suddenly forced on the universities.  Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar, Pro Chancellor, Symbiosis International University, Pune, India observes, “(as) this came all of a sudden.., faculty had to adapt technology and teach through online classes…. This was more of a reactive approach and not proactive”. Prof. Yusra Mouzughi, Vice-Chancellor of Muscat University, Oman cautions,” What we have seen in many cases …. has not necessarily been e-learning but delivery of the same (traditional) material on a virtual platform. E-learning has a different pedagogical base…”. Universities will be best served in the coming months by keeping this warning in view, reflect and refine their pedagogy, delivery and assessment more appropriate to and effective in e-learning mode. 

President of a smaller college in Dubai, who prefers to remain confidential, is not optimistic about the staying power of wholly online learning, “partly due to our College's student body which is mainly non-traditional…”. However, along with many other respondents, he is optimistic about “a significant long-term change… in the level of acceptance of the regulators regarding distance learning”. This development, if realized, will be of major consequence to the MENA region, where many regulators generally do not accredit fully online or distance learning programs.  Dr. Assem Al-Hajj, President of Khawarizmi International College, Abu Dhabi, UAE shares this hope, “Higher Education Institutions will be hoping that authorities will be fast to approve this move”. 

In the long-term, for sustainable adoption of eLearning, Internet access has been identified as a constraint across all the countries that the respondents hail from – the Gulf nations, India and Kazakhstan alike: Dr. Gilbert Linne, Vice President for Academic Affairs, KIMEP University, Almaty, Kazakhstan notes, “the bandwidth that is available… have also proved challenging as the faculty have had to adapt to asynchronous learning for those students.”

Assessment of learning is seen by many respondents as one of the challenges to overcome. Prof. Abdul Rahim Sabouni, President of Emirates College of Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE notes, “the biggest challenge was the assessment, especially through synchronous camera proctored exams, as they are seen to be intrusive...” Some are considering classical proctored assessment either online using state-of-the art security technologies or using physical testing centers. Prof. Ghassan Aouad, President of Applied Science University, Bahrain is emphatic about this, “Online examination is possible and could be more beneficial when designed properly… upskilling staff to deal with online examinations. We just need a different mindset.... Many techniques are being developed to address the issue of authenticity through image and voice recognition...”  

This assessment challenge could also be seen “as an opportunity to evolve new methods for assessing student success… and to make the quantum leap from baseline e-learning platforms into smart learning outright”, as articulated by Dr. Hochstettler who also adds, “the savvy instructor is also learning to avoid having to police students and to engineer assessments in ways that focus on student creativity”.  

Prof. J. Mahender Reddy, Vice Chancellor of ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education, Hyderabad, India notes that a few more advantages could be gained by effective eLearning implementation: “learning from eminent persons in the field; scale advantage; and interactive learning process”. Almost every respondent seems to have a strong view that eLearning is here to stay and make a much stronger contribution to higher education in the years ahead. Prof. Sitharam adds, “So far about 2,050 open online courses have been created on National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning platform (initiated by seven top IITs and Indian Institute of Science). Over ten million learners (including large number of teachers) from around the world have enrolled in these courses, available freely on internet. “He believes that many more institutions in India are embracing online delivery mode to reach more students at a low cost.

B)  Impact on student enrollment:

The leaders were asked about the potential impact or drop in enrollment of new students and how the universities plan to deal with this impact. Many agree with Dr. Hochstettler’s observation, “Financial uncertainty is the biggest challenge that colleges and universities face today.”   Prof. Mousa Mohsen, President of American International College in Kuwait describes two effects on enrollment working in opposite directions for the universities in the Gulf, “The first effect, expats in the Gulf region - laid off from their jobs - will not be able to sponsor the education of their children at local universities. On the other hand, many students who are currently studying abroad will return to their home countries to finish their degrees at local universities. For example, 35,000 Kuwaiti students who are studying abroad will return to Kuwait in the coming few weeks.” Prof. Khaled sees potential to increase post-graduate student enrollment as “many unemployed graduates may choose to go for post-graduate studies”.  

Dr. Vidya is confident about the situation in top Indian universities, “In India we will not see much fall in admissions as the numbers seeking admissions in good Universities are very high as compared to the seats available.” In addition, thousands of Indian students who go abroad are likely to stay in the country next year. In terms of admission process for new students – with some lack of standardized tests and even final grades, Prof. Khaled has been thinking of a flexible process that includes conditional admission, remedial provisions and adjustments in the Fall semester.  Several university leaders are considering increasing need-based tuition support. 

There is consensus that international student enrollment in top destinations will be adversely impacted – as Dr. Sabouni notes that these countries may lose their “charm”. Prof. Ghassan views this as an advantage, “This will create opportunities for local and regional universities as most students and their parents will be watching the situation very carefully over the next few months.”  Dr. Assem concurs, “students will stay in their own countries in the foreseeable future”. For universities that rely significantly on international students, there is a suggestion to allow foreign students to compete for financial aid on the same terms as domestic applicants. At a time like this, Prof. Yusra adds, “we may need to reconsider international partnerships and look how we can leverage blended learning as a tool to maintain a presence in international markets.”

C)  Graduate employment / new programs:

Fresh and inexperienced graduates of 2020 are certainly “confronting a truly daunting prospect”. From the past experience of national or regional recessions, such unfortunate cohorts are known to face continuing challenges in their careers over the next decade. Dr. Sabouni adds, “The new graduate will face new challenges in finding employment, and they may try to get into graduate studies or more on-line training, until the businesses re-open again”.  A couple of university leaders recognize the need for their universities to make additional efforts to place their students – however, a number of them feel that these graduates may need to reflect on their skills and “begin to reimagine themselves as members of a rapidly changing labor force”.  In terms of specific help that universities can offer, Prof. Ghassan lists a few, “Universities can help graduates by offering support to pursue higher degrees. Universities should also increase the amount of the student aid fund… and allow some flexibility for the payment of tuition fees”. 

Responding to our question on the combined impact of global recession and the 4th industrial revolution on current and new program majors, Prof. Mousa elaborates, “Countries will directly require more graduates from health-related majors... Applications of AI/Robotics in health and medicine will witness more demand. In addition, there will be a demand on majors such as e-commerce, health-economics and global supply chain management.”  Prof. Khaled adds educational technology major to the set of new programs. 

Some important take-aways:

• eLearning has a strong future. Many lessons learned during this forced adoption will be put to good use by universities to enhance and expand eLearning provisions.
• Specific areas in eLearning that need to be addressed include: authentic assessment, equitable student access to Internet,
• Universities are acutely aware of the potential disruptions to student enrollment. This region seems much more optimistic of retaining their enrollment levels – as compared to universities in the West. 
• There is clear understanding of economic hardships faced by students – and universities in the region seem to be considering increased financial aids, scholarships and flexible payments. 
• Regional educational leaders strongly believe that there will be major reductions in number of students from the region travelling for studies to leading international destinations.  
• While most agree about the challenging period ahead for graduating cohort of 2020, universities are yet to devise specific strategies to help address these challenges. 
• There is an awareness about new program majors that would evolve from this crisis combined with the 4th industrial revolution imperatives. 
• Universities that rely on international students may wish to consider need-based and merit-based scholarships and also blended learning in partnership with regional universities.

Acknowledgment:

I would like to thank these academic leaders for their thoughtful and extensive contributions, during a busy and challenging period in their institutions:

Prof. Abdul Rahim Sabouni, President & CEO of Emirates College of Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE;

Prof. Ammar Kaka, Provost and Vice Principal, Heriot-Watt University, Dubai;

Dr. Assem Al-Hajj, President of Khawarizmi International College, Abu Dhabi, UAE;

Prof. Ghassan Aouad, President, Applied Science University, Bahrain;

Dr. Gilbert Linne, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer, KIMEP University, Almaty, Kazakhstan;

Prof. Khaled Assaleh , Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Ajman University, UAE;

Prof. J. Mahender Reddy, Vice Chancellor, The ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education, Hyderabad, India;

Prof. Mousa Mohsen, President, American International College in Kuwait;

Prof. T. G. Sitharam, Director, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, India;

Dr. Thomas J. Hochstettler, Commissioner - Commission for Academic Accreditation, Ministry of Education, UAE;

Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar, Pro Chancellor, Symbiosis International University, Pune, India;

Prof. Yusra Mouzughi, Vice-Chancellor, Muscat University, Oman;

A president of a smaller college in Dubai.