Australian university faculty experience of offshore internationalization:

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Australian university faculty experience of
offshore internationalization Lessons for
Canada?
Mark Rosenfeld, Ph.D Ontario Confederation of
University Faculty Associations York University
-- March 2, 2006
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I. Introduction

• Growth in Canadian university offshore
  (crossborder) education
• e.g. UWO Ivey Business School campus, Hong Kong
• Carleton University MBA degrees
  India, Iran, China
• Al-Ahram Canadian University in Cairo
• No comprehensive data or study of Canadian
  university initiatives
• Questions
• How well regulated? financial, quality control
• Role of faculty? nature of involvement

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I. Introduction

• Australian research involved two distinct
  phases
• general survey
• trends in offshore delivery of courses by
  Australian universities
• case studies
• issues confronted by staff involved in offshore
  programmes.
• Research published as NTEU Research Report
  co-authors Paul Kniest (NTEU) and Mark Rosenfeld
  (OCUFA)

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II. Trends in Australian University Offshore
DeliveryTable 1 International students enrolled
at Australian universities
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II. Trends in Australian University Offshore
Delivery Table 2 Current Offshore Programs of
Australian Universities (by year of first
intake), Pre 2000 2003
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II. Trends in Australian University Offshore
DeliveryTable 3 Offshore Students by Field of
Education, 2001-2003
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Table 4 Australian universities with the
largest number of international offshore students
and as a of their total international students
Top 10 (2002)
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II. Trends in Australian University Offshore
Delivery

• Regulation
• Australian government
• Offshore governments
• Australian universities

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(No Transcript)
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II. Trends in Australian University Offshore
Delivery

• Concerns
• Australian Senate Committee reports
• Media coverage
• University academic and general staff
• Regulation theory versus practice

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III. Case Studies

• 12 universities
• almost 100 staff
• senior administrative staff
• academic and admin staff involved in the
  delivery of courses

all information collected on a confidential basis
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IV. Delivery Modes

• Numerous models of offshore delivery
• twinning
• franchise
• moderated
• offshore campus
• online

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IV. Delivery Modes

Most Common Mode
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V. Issues and best practice regulation
Staff Consultation

• Issues
• insufficient consultation with staff responsible
  for delivery of courses especially with respect
  to
• impact of new courses on academic and
  administrative unit workloads
• willingness of staff to participate
• preparation time for delivery of new courses
•  

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V. Issues and best practice regulation
1. Staff Consultation

• Best Practice
• Policies to ensure staff involved in offshore
  programmes
• consulted before universities agree to
  participate,
• involved in all key aspects of course
  development and delivery,
• consulted and involved in development and
  orientation programmes
• Staff consultation principle included in AVVC
  Provision of education to international students
  Code and guidelines for Australian universities
  Institutional adherence to this principle also
  part of Australian Universities Quality Agencys
  (AUQA) evaluations

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V. Issues and best practice regulation
2. Adequacy of Offshore Facilities and Resources

• Best Practice
• Before sending staff offshore to teach,
  universities ensure
• provision of appropriate facilities to undertake
  work required, and
• offshore students have access to necessary
  learning resources including computers, readings
  and other library services.

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V. Issues and best practice regulation
3. Quality Assurance

• Best Practice
• universities develop formal processes whereby
  staff concerns about quality of offshore
  programmes be reported and transparently dealt
  with, and
• staff responsible for coordination of offshore
  programmes have veto over appointment of locally
  engaged offshore staff

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V. Issues and best practice regulation
4. Classification of offshore work

• Best Practice
• offshore work considered non-standard
• offshore work always voluntary, and
• assignment of offshore teaching to staff who
  volunteer, as far as practical, be equitably
  distributed among staff

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V. Issues and best practice regulation
5. Workloads

• Increases in
• quantity of work
• intensification and complexity of work

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V. Issues and best practice regulation
5. Workloads

• Best Practice
• Where staff elect to include offshore work as
  part of workload
•        develop appropriate models that quantify
  ,and place reasonable cap on workloads
•        some dislocation allowance provided
  (either monetary or workload compensation) to
  compensate for unique pressures and
  difficulties, and
•        guarantee additional continuing staff
  positions created to meet additional workload

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V. Issues and best practice regulation
6. Intellectual property rights

• Best Practice
• Development of polices that clearly define
• intellectual property rights over materials
  produced for use in offshore courses, and
• moral rights in relation to use of materials
  produced for offshore courses.

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V. Issues and best practice regulation
7. Equity

• Best Practice
• To ensure all staff have equal opportunity to
  participate in offshore programmes, policies
  ensure
• appropriate family friendly policies so not as to
  disadvantage staff with family responsibilities
  who wish to teach offshore, and
• adequate compensation for staff incurring
  additional costs related to responsibilities

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V. Issues and best practice regulation
8. Health and Safety
BBest Practice rRegulations that   impose limits
on amount of staff offshore work eensure staff
given sufficient time to prepare and recover from
periods of offshore travel, and Soffshore work,
even above normal workload, be covered by
workers compensation
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V. Issues and best practice regulation
9. Staff Development
BBest Practice pPolicies ensure A appropriate
formal training and development for staff
implemented in consultation with staff currently
involved in offshore delivery O orientation in
practical and pedagogical matters provided for
new staff refresher courses for experienced
staff O overseas- appointed staff provided with
formal training before appointment, including
expectations of Australian university re
academic standards requirements
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V. Issues and best practice regulation
10. Impact on Onshore Activities
. Best Practice pPolicies ensure         
offshore teaching responsibilities dont
adversely impact quality of onshore courses and
students, and          offshore teaching
requirements dont result in cancellation of
onshore course teaching, by engaging additional
continuing staff members or appropriate
scheduling of onshore and offshore teaching
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V. Issues and best practice regulation
11. Remuneration

• Best Practice
• Universities assumes responsibility for
  arrangements/ costs associated with
• appropriate visas other travel documents
• health and travel insurance
• airfares
• accommodation, and
• other incidental expenses
•  
• minimum rates of remuneration be established,
  applied to all staff of the university
  participating in offshore work, either in terms
  of
• monetary payments, or
• appropriate workload allocation relative to
  onshore work, and
•  
• rates of remuneration (monetary or workload)
  based on work carried out and not contingent on
  profitability of programmes

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• Conclusions
• By regulating involvement of staff/adopting best
  practices in offshore work
• move toward a quality model of delivery
• identify and quantify the real costs
• avoid risks associated with unwillingness of
  staff to participate