Algonquin College of Kuwait (AC)

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Naseem · Kuwait · 19 Sep

Algonquin opens campus in Kuwait, contemplates one in Dubai

Algonquin College is expanding its branches in the Middle East, opening a new campus in Kuwait and planning another in Dubai. Meanwhile, Algonquin’s men-only college in Saudi Arabia has had a rough start, losing nearly $1 million last school year. The college in the city of Jazan opened in 2013 with promises of being a money-maker for Algonquin while bringing high-quality technical education to students in Saudi Arabia. Before it opened, officials said Algonquin College Jazan would eventually bring in revenue of “over $25 million” annually, and a profit of about $19 million over Jazan’s first five years of operation. That projection was downgraded last year to an estimated profit of $4.68 million over five years. Officials still expect to meet the revised target, says Doug Wotherspoon, Algonquin’s vice-president of international and strategic priorities. The Jazan college made a $79,000 profit in its first year of operation, then lost $983,000 in 2014-15, he said. Projections call for it to earn profits this year and for the next two years. Some mistakes were made, and officials are learning from them, he said in an interview from Saudi Arabia. “We probably weren’t as prepared as we should have been” when the college opened to 600 students, he said. Still, he called the enterprise a bold, innovative move. “I think this has to be measured in the long term, not the short term … judge us over five years.” The biggest challenge has been the struggle for students to learn enough English to qualify for entry to the two-year technical programs the college offered in mechanical or electrical engineering. Students are offered a “foundational” year of English training, but in the college’s first year of operation, only 25 per cent of students completed that year. Once they make it into the technical programs, the graduation rate jumps to 80 to 90 per cent, said Wotherspoon. The college has changed the way it teaches English, adding more practical applications such as lab work and creating a mentor system in which older students help younger ones. Wotherspoon is confident the changes are working. In the most recent semester, the pass rate for the English foundation program had risen to 65 per cent, he said. The college also dropped the mechanical engineering diploma because it was too challenging for students who lacked a background in physics, and added a business program instead. Algonquin’s expansion into Saudi Arabia has been controversial because the government is so repressive: criticism of the regime is not tolerated, prisoners can face torture or flogging and women do not have equal rights. Wotherspoon said the college’s philosophy is to “engage rather than isolate,” and an educated population is the best way to improve human rights. Algonquin professor Jack Wilson, who is a vice-president of the faculty union, says that argument is disingenuous, since the college teaches technical courses that might well help the repressive Saudi regime maintain its grip on power. “We’re not teaching critical thinking. We’re not teaching courses on civics, courses on the fundamentals of the rule of law or women’s studies. These are primarily business, trades courses. These are not courses that are designed to encourage people to be reflective and consider making changes.” The men-only college does not reflect Algonquin’s values, he said. “We would never, ever entertain the idea of segregating people on the basis of gender, race, or any of the human-rights dimensions.” Another college affiliated with Algonquin opened in Kuwait on Sept. 29, a year late because of construction delays, said Wotherspoon. Algonquin did not lose money because the Kuwait campus follows a franchise model. The college is operated by an independent company, Orient Education Services, which provides the building, pays the staff and takes the financial risk. Algonquin provides advice and a curriculum, and receives a fee for each student enrolled. However, Algonquin did forego an estimated $200,000 in revenue it had projected to earn from the college last year. Algonquin College Kuwait is a coed school, kind of. Women and men are taught in separate classrooms but are allowed to mingle in the hallways and cafeteria. There are 83 students enrolled in a foundation year at the Kuwait college. The English proficiency of students is much higher than in Saudi Arabia, said Wotherspoon. The students will move on to study computer programming, computer systems or business. In Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, Algonquin is negotiating with an existing health college to become an affiliated campus, said Wotherspoon. That means Algonquin would provide training for faculty and curriculum, but the Dubai college would operate under its own name. That proposal goes to the Algonquin board of governors in February. jmiller@ottawacitizen.com twitter.com/JacquieAMiller

Kuwait · 8 Dec 2015