Higher Education Excellence: Impact on the Industrial Sector

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Higher Education Excellence Impact on the
Industrial Sector
22-Nov-2006
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Content

• Introduction
• Characteristics of Excellence
• Measure of Excellence
• Quality Assurance
• Pursuing Excellence
• Case study KFUPM
• Creativity
• Interaction with the Industry
• Concluding Remarks

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The Global Vehicle
SOCIETY
INDUSTRY
ACADEMIA
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Introduction

• Higher education creates a demanding but
  rewarding environment in which individuals can
  realize their creative and intellectual
  potential.
• Higher education equips people with the necessary
  knowledge, skills and values to play a wide range
  of social roles and to become effective citizens.
• Through research and the production of knowledge,
  higher education provides a society with the
  capacity to innovate, adapt and advance.

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Introduction

• There is a high correlation, globally, between
  excellent higher education and overall national
  achievements in development, growth,
  competitiveness and welfare.
• There is a lot written about the issue of quality
  and excellence in Higher Education.
• The words excellence and quality in Higher
  Education convey the same meaning and the varying
  definitions reveal the different ways in which
  these two concepts can be seen.
• There are four conventional views of excellence
  in collegiate quality. These are

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Views of Excellence
Excellence as
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Introduction

• There are a number of definitions for Excellence
  in H.E.
• One definition views the most excellence
  institutions as those who have the greatest
  impact or add the most value on
• The students knowledge and personal development
• The faculty members scholarly and pedagogical
  ability and productivity
• This definition focuses on results. It asks
  the questions, what difference did the institute
  make in student knowledge, skill and attitude?
• A more recent definition for educational quality
  is
• Quality is conformance to mission
  specification and goal achievement within
  publicly accepted standards of accountability and
  integrity

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Characteristics of Excellence

• Characteristics of Excellence in Higher Education
  include
• A mission appropriate to Higher Education
• Well defined and appropriate goals
• Established conditions and procedures under which
  the mission and goals can be realized

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Characteristics of Excellence

• Characteristics of Excellence in Higher Education
  Continue
• Assessment of both institutional effectiveness
  and student learning outcomes and the use of
  results for improvement
• Substantial accomplishment of mission and goals
• The support needed to continue to accomplish
  mission and goals
• Meeting the eligibility requirement and standards
  of accreditation bodies.

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Measure of Excellence (quality)

• Several questions associate with the measurement
  of quality
• What evidence or indicators are acceptable as
  appropriate operational expressions of quality?
• What evidence should be assembled to reflect the
  performance and quality of institutions that have
  diverse mission, history and environment?
• Hence, the evidence of quality (Excellence) at
  H.E. Institutions requires more than one data
  point.

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Measure of Excellence (quality) Cont.

• The following indicators could be used as
  evidence of collegiate quality
• Peer reviews as expressed in accreditation and
  program reviews.
• Students and alumni opinion and satisfaction
  indices.
• Reputation and ranking studies.
• Students performance profiles on entrance and
  exit tests.
• Professional licensure results.
• Faculty research and publication productivity

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Quality Assurance

• Quality Assurance Instruments in Higher
  Education include
• Accreditation The test of goal achievement and
  improvement
• Ranking and Ratings The test of reputation
• Outcomes The test of results
• Licensure The test of professional standards
• Program reviews The test of Peer Review
• Follow-up studies The test of client
  satisfaction
• Total quality management The test of continuous
  improvement

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Pursuing Excellence

• Fundamental Challenges in Pursuing Excellence in
  Higher Education include
• Broadening public appreciation for the work of
  the academy
• Increasing the understanding of the needs of
  workplaces
• Becoming more effective learning organizations
• Integrating assessment, planning, and improvement
  
• Enhancing collaboration and community
• Recognizing that everyone in the institution is a
  teacher
• Devoting more attention and resources to
  leadership
• More broadly framing vision of excellence

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Pursuing Excellence

• Where to Start? Organizational Checklist
• The checklist is a supplement to Excellence in
  Higher Education.
• Provides an introduction to excellence in Higher
  Education.
• Provides starting point for discussion and
  systematic self-assessment using the Excellency
  in Higher Education model.
• It covers 7 dimensions of organizational
  functioning that are critical in Higher
  Education.

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Organizational Checklist Cont.

• The seven dimensions are
• Leadership
• Strategic Planning
• External Focus
• Information and Analysis
• Faculty/Staff workplace focus
• Process Effectiveness
• Outcomes and Achievements

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Case Study KFUPM

• KFUPM has established a number of programs
  and practices towards excellence assurance in its
  education. These include
• Preparatory-Year Program
• Program Assessment
• Accreditation
• Self-Assessment
• Quality Management and Planning
• Strategic Planning
• Performance Measures and Indictors

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Case Study KFUPM Cont.

• Academic Development
• Faculty Development Program
• e-Learning
• Student Programs
• Research Institute
• Dhahran Technovalley

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Accreditation

• Accreditation has a long and rich history as a
  quality assurance instrument
• It remains the best known signal and perhaps the
  most effective instrument for nurturing and
  guaranteeing collegiate quality
• Impressive number of organizations and agencies
  place credence in the concept of accreditation
• During its eighty years history, accreditation
  has undergone changes in philosophy and process
  that parallel and accommodate changes in society
  and in Higher Education.

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Accreditation Cont.

• The two benefits of accreditation that considered
  to be most fundamental are to
• ensure the quality
• assist in the improvement of the program
• Currently, accreditation places great importance
  on goal formulation and attainment, a heavier
  emphasis on results obtained than on meeting
  externally prescribed standards and criteria.
• Several issues and problems still surround the
  accreditation process such as increasing costs of
  obtaining and maintaining accredited status.

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Ranking

• Most Higher Education Institutions are concerned
  with both the perception and the reality of
  quality.
• Hence, they are concerned with the ranking and
  rating they receive.
• Ranking is another instrument for judging the
  relative quality of Higher Education
  institutions.

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Objectives of an Educational Ranking

• To compare institutions, programs or individuals
• benchmarking
• To learn in order to improve
• To identify areas for improvement

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Ranking Cont.

• Categories of indicators used by 3 different
  ranking bodies

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Criticism of SJT rankings

• Almost entirely Science and Engineering based
• Weights are arbitrary
• Relevance of the elements to quality can be
  questioned
• BUT
• It is global in scope
• All the elements are quantifiableyou can target
  many of these objectives (e.g. citations and
  publications)

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Criticisms of THES

• Heavy reliance on subjective judgments
• Are these the right measures?
• Are these the right weights?
• BUT
• Emphasis on peer judgment
• International elements included
• Importance of faculty productivity

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Follow-up Studies

• Follow-up Studies provide a tool for seeking
  feedback from customer of Higher Education( the
  students).
• Follow-up Studies remain a key element in any
  effective program of quality assurance.
• The primary focus of follow-up Studies is on the
  perceptions and satisfaction of the student.

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Follow-up Studies

• There are a number of surveys available for use
  by Higher Education institutions for seeking
  student feedback. These include
• The alumni survey
• The student opinion survey
• The survey of academic advising
• The survey of current activities and plans

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Licensure

• Licensure is a form of quality assurance that is
  relatively unnoticed as mean to evaluate program
  quality.
• When students find out their college preparation
  program has enabled them to attain licensure
  easily, they may assign their success to the
  quality of preparation program.

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Academic Program Reviews and Audit

• Academic program review is a comprehensive
  evaluation of a curriculum leading to a degree.
• The purpose of review/evaluation is to
• start or implement a new program
• assess the quality of an existing program
• revise or discontinue an existing program
• ascertain resource needs

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Academic Program Reviews

• The evaluators include
• External and/or internal Peer evaluators
• Currently enrolled students
• Alumni
• Advisory panels
• Deans or other administrators

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Academic Audit

• Academic audit is an instrument of quality
  assurance
• Academic audit enjoyed extensive application in
  the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia.
• Academic audit accents the improvement of student
  learning by examination and evaluation of an
  institutions or programs process of quality
  assurance.
• Academic audit an unlike accreditation or
  assessment, make no attempt to comprehensively
  review programs resources or activities nor to
  directly assess the quality of teaching or
  learning

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Outcomes

• College outcomes in terms of student outcomes,
  center on student growth in knowledge, in skills,
  in attitudes and in values.
• The focus of higher educations obligation in
  terms of accountability, evolved from one primary
  focused on the means of education to one focused
  on the ends of education.
• A number of current institutional and commercial
  instruments are available for assessing college
  outcomes such as the California Test of Critical
  Thinking.
• The concern in assessing outcomes is whether a
  given assessment instrument or approach matches
  the outcomes desired.
• The impact of college education on the students
  is measured by assessing the college outcomes.

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Total Quality management (TQM)

• TQM is a philosophy and a technique that emerged
  primarily in manufacturing organization and then
  was transferred to Higher Education.
• There are important and critical differences
  between corporate and collegiate settings
  concepts of students as customer.
• If TQM causes Higher Education to listen more
  attentively to the needs and hopes of students,
  then it makes an important contribution.
• But, if the concept of quality resides only in
  the students satisfaction, then TQM has done
  Higher Education a major disservice.

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Total Quality management (TQM) Cont.

• This concept ignores or dismisses the students
  responsibilities for reflection, imagination and
  initiative in the educational process.
• The TQM centers on continuous improvement, but
  Higher Education looks for new ideas and
  understanding as well.
• TQM has made useful conceptual contribution to
  the way in which people think about quality
  assurance in Higher Education.
• There is still constructive promise in TQM
  philosophy and methods

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Preparatory Year Program
Study Skills
General English
General English
Preparatory Year Program
Computer Skills
Physical Science
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ACCREDITATION
To assure the quality of offered programs and
their outcome by an independent body. This will
help in

• Recognition of the awarded degree by
  international bodies.
• Students potential in transferring to other
  institutions.
• Graduates being admitted to graduate programs in
  other international institutions.
• Increases the graduates potentials in job market

10 b
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History of Assessment Accreditation at KFUPM
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Self Assessment

• Promote the culture of assessment university-wide
• Improve and maintain the highest academic
  standards at KFUPM
• Enhance students learning outcomes
• Provide feedback for quality assurance of
  academic programs
• Prepare the academic programs for
  national/international
  accreditation

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Assessment Model
Input
Output
Processing Delivery
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Strategic Planning Methodology

• Strategic Planning based on strategic thinking
  approach has been developed.
• All internal and external stake holders were
  engaging in the development.
• Strategic Planning action Plan consists of 24
  projects.

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Major Directions And Strategic Goals
Direction I ? Excellence in Education
Direction II ? Excellence in Research
Direction III ? University Standing
Reputation Direction IV ? Universitys
Competitive Edge Direction V
? Rendering Services to Society Direction
VI ? Caring of KFUPM Community
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Conceptual Approach for Projects Identification
Internal/ External Scan
Data/ Information
Strategic Context
Culture Analysis
Portfolio Analysis
SWOT Analysis
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Faculty Development Program

• The program fosters an environment of continuous
  improvement and development at KFUPM.
• Assist faculty members to attain their highest
  potential in teaching and research.
• Improve students learning at KFUPM
• The Component of the program are shown next.

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Faculty Development Program
Activities
Research
Teaching

• International, national and KFUPM
• workshops and conferences.
• Peer consultation.
• Course coordination assignment.
• Teaching and learning grants.
• Mentoring.
• Teaching exchange program.
• Certification program.

• Research Workshops (DAD).
• Mentoring.
• Junior faculty grant.
• Industrial Experience.
• Summer Assignment.

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Excellence in e-Learning

• Highly available (24X7) e-learning infrastructure
  (WebCT, Authoring Tools, Wireless Network,
  Computer Labs, Smart Classrooms, )
• Institutional commitment to the e-learning
  initiative supported by presidential vision and
  financial support. Annual budget (More than one
  million riyals) for developing online courses.
• The e-learning program supports the University
  mission to achieve excellence in teaching and
  learning through supporting students with
  web-based education.
• Programmatic approach to faculty training to
  cover all major aspects of online education.
• Incentives for faculty members to develop online
  material Grants and Awards.

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Excellence in e-Learning Cont.

• Faculty buy-in of web-based education. Over 70
  of undergraduate course enrollments is supported
  by web-courses. In this semester (061), there are
  more than 700 web-courses on WebCT.
• Commitment to high quality online education.
• Comprehensive courses are designed according to
  pedagogical principles.
• Standards for online courses
• Guidelines and Templates
• Systematic evaluation and feedback of online
  courses
• Challenging approach in developing comprehensive
  online courses. 42 online course grants to
  develop comprehensive online courses. (24
  completed, 18 under development)

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Excellence in e-Learning Cont.
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Excellence in e-Learning Cont.
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Faculty Development Program
Activities
Teaching
Research

• International, national and KFUPM
• workshops and conferences.
• Peer consultation.
• Course coordination assignment.
• Teaching and learning grants.
• Mentoring.
• Teaching exchange program.
• Certification program.

• Research Workshops.
• Mentoring.
• Junior faculty grant.
• Industrial Experience.
• Summer Assignment.

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Student Programs
Programs
Personal Skills Program
Gifted Students Program
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Life is too short and precious to spend 25 years
in school memorizing facts and recipes for later
real life. The University shall be an
integral part of life, providing
lasting experiences, while addressing realistic
problems.
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The most efficient way of education is to
motivate the students, stimulate their
curiosity - and the learning will follow by
itself.
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Educating Future Leaders

• Skills
• Knowledge
• Understanding (wisdom)
• Ethics, Responsibility

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Personal Skills Program
Technical Competence
The need for such a program?
Solution Synthesis ability
Lifetime Learning
Practical aptitude
Critical Thinking
Entrepreneurship
- - - - - - Current Graduates Future
Graduates
Communication Behavioral skills
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Personal Skills Program Cont.
Developing students skills that is needed by job
market
Special events short courses, workshop
Voluntary Community services
International Computer Driving License , ICDL
Academic Programs
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Personal Skills Program-cont.
Study skills courses (Prep. year)
English Courses
Introducing the Skills into academic programs
Communication Skills (IAS)
Other academic Courses (Senior Project, Summer
Training etc)
Training faculty members to infuse skills into
courses
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Gifted Students Program

• Attracting distinguished and gifted students from
  high school.
• Taking care of gifted students and developing
  their skills.
• Establishing criteria for selection of gifted
  students.

Criteria
Nomination by Faculty Members
Results of high School, RAM I and RAM II
Students Nominate themselves
Students GPA
Others
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Dhahran Technology-Valley (DTV)

• Dhahran Technology-Valley (DTV) established by
  King Fahd University of Petroleum Minerals
  (KFUPM) in the year 2006.
• It is expected to contribute significantly to
  industrial research and development (RD).
• The valley provides development, production, and
  marketing support services for innovation that
  originates from academic research, but under
  business environment.

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Dhahran Technology-Valley (DTV)

• The DTV consists of six entities, namely

Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Science Technology
Center (SciTech)
King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Science Park (KASP)
DTV
Innovation Center
Technical and Business Incubator
Liaison Office
Consultance Services Centre (CSC)
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Performance Measures for Teaching Learning
Process
A Alumni E Employer G Graduating
Students
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Performance Measures for Research
Process
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Performance Measures for Community Services.
Process
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General Measures
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Targets for key performance indicators
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Key Performance Indicator
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KFUPM Strategic Planning Schedule
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Research Institute
Research Innovation Support Office
Administrative Support
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Research Institute (Cont.)
Annual Value of Projects
Million SR
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Research Institute (Cont.)
Publishing Activities
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Research Institute (Cont.)
Intellectual Property
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What is needed for being creative?

• What is needed for being creative?
• Curiosity, questions, questions,
• and searching for answers
• creative unrest

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What is needed for being creative?

• Broad horizon
• Knowledge in several fields
• Interdisciplinary thinking
• Inspiration by analogies

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Creativity
Creativity
Goal
Profession
additional Passions
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What is needed for being creative?

• Inquietude, conflicting feelings
• Self-confidence Self-critics
• Stubbornness Flexibility
• Concentration Relaxation

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Serendipity
Goal
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What is needed for being creative?

• Partners for discussion
• Open Dialogue
• Openness for critics
• Honesty towards one-self
• Honesty towards others

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University Industry Interaction
Industry
Collaboration
University
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Industry
Exchange of People
University
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It is strongly Recommended that Professors,
worked for at least a year in industry ! -
Postdoctoral Employment - Sabbatical in
Industry - Own Company
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Scientists and Engineers in Industry return
regularly to the University ! -
Sabbatical at a University - Continuing
Education at University - Collaboration on
Joint Projects - Bringing Experience in
University Teaching
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Continuing Education for Professionals and for
the Public is a Joint Task of Industry and
University
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Research is for the Benefit of Society
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!
To succeed, we have to run
faster every day
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But are we running in the proper
direction ??
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Concluding Remarks

• Excellence in Higher Education means that Higher
  Education Institutions can
• create knowledge and spread it
• craft solutions to crucial social challenges
• add value in a way that only a higher education
  institution can.
• Excellence in Higher Education means the
  formation of responsible and innovative leaders
  with long-term vision, willing to serve society.
• Excellence in Higher Education means a society
  with the capacity to innovate, adapt and advance.
• Excellence in Higher Education means local
  industry with the capacity to compete globally

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Concluding Remarks

• Those who know more are expected to accomplish
  more, earn more, and, in the end, to live a
  happier life.
• To succeed, we have to run faster every day. But
  are we running in the proper direction??
• Who will keep our boat afloat, Policy? Economy?
  Or Academic Community?
• Lets convert our academic institutions into
  radiating cultural centres with an impact on
  society!
• Lets be reminded that academic institutions
  alone can not solve major Global Problems. We
  also need Empathy, Compassion, and Foresight.

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• Thank You