Strengthening relations
and networking among faculties of science and between science faculties and
research centers
Dr. Ragi Abou-Chacra
Faculty of Science, Saint-Joseph University
It would be inappropriate
to talk about strengthening relations between faculties of science before
giving an overview of the existing relations between these institutions. It
should also be stressed that no cooperation can exist unless both parties
understand each other’s system of education something which requires, meetings,
discussions and above all trust.
It is not an exaggeration to say that relations between faculties of science
are at a minimum, and when they do exist it is a case of personal relations
rather than a well- studied policy. As we all know, science in the higher
education system in Lebanon is divided between public (LU) and private
institutions. The private sector is known for its speed of change and its total
freedom of development (in many case dangerously rapid), whereas the Lebanese
University is a heavy body which moves slowly, administered by almost
unchangeable laws.
So
it is natural to ask: why don’t the private universities cooperate among
themselves? Part of the reason is
the competitive spirit between these institutions, as their own income comes
from the students’ fees. This mentality of competition is not restricted to
Education but applies to all fields in Lebanon. However, Education is a
sensitive issue with far-reaching consequences. Universities would like to
prove that their curriculum is more up-to-date, more attractive to students,
more widely recognized and consequently better adapted to market needs.
However, let’s examine the
existing types of cooperation and what can be recommended in our view to
improve these relations. I will divide this cooperation into three main fields,
although there may be some overlapping.
1. Joint diplomas
A
few master’s degrees are organized jointly: Master in computer networking,
between the Lebanese University, The USJ, and the AUF[1].
A Master’s degree is also organized in agriculture involving USEK (University
of Saint-Esprit of Kaslik), AUF, USJ and the Lebanese University. In both cases
a non-Lebanese institution, the AUF, plays a role as partner in this action.
By “joint degree” we mean
that a student registered in one of the institutions concerned can follow the
courses, or part of them, in another institution and have his diploma from his
own institution. This is theoretically possible, but some difficulties lie
within the administrations of the institutions. How do we address the issue
that some students pay to follow these courses (if coming from the private) and
others get it free because they belong to a public institution (LU)? Quite
often AUF, as an institution, covers this discrepancy by contributing to the
expenses. But what would happen if the AUF were not involved?
The
legal side of the diploma is also unclear: who should sign the diploma? One
diploma, co-signed, or a diploma from each institution? There is nothing in
Lebanese law which regulates this kind of situation. We do not know of similar
cooperation at the level of the Bsc.
Why
do we boast about agreements signed between our universities and European or
American universities, and, in some cases, we even announce the event in the
Media, but we don’t see the same enthusiasm for an agreement, when it exists,
between universities within Lebanon?
An
agreement implies mutual recognition between the signatory institutions. It is
understandable that we can not consider the 53 “higher education institutions”
to be of a similar standard. Let me divide them into two classes: “Upper Higher
Education Institutions” and “Lower Higher Education Institutions”, just for the
sake of the discussion. When I talk about institutions here, I implicitly mean
the UHEI institutions, which do not exceed 15% of the total number of
institutions, the remaining LHEI are not worth considering in the field of
cooperation as they are purely commercial.
With
respect to Ph.Ds in science, no such joint programmes exist, as far as we know,
if we exclude the fact that some professors supervise a student’s thesis in
another university. As an example of this kind of cooperation, I can name Dr.
Saouma Abou Jaoude (from AUB) and Dr. Georges Nahhas (from Balamand) who are
participating in supervising theses respectively, in Biology and mathematics
Education at the Faculty of Science at the USJ (and here I take the occasion to
thank them for all their efforts). But I would like to mention that this
cooperation is the result of personal initiative, which has not been
institutionalized. We would like to see, at this level, some kind of agreement
on cooperation established between AUB, USJ and Balamand, stating all the
details, and the procedures to be followed.
A
fashionable habit today is that of creating an academic structure called “Ecole
Doctorale”, where only the name is taken from the French system. In France
this structure involves many universities combining their efforts and equipment
to organize a Ph.D in a particular field. But in Lebanon “L’Ecole Doctorale”
exists inside each university, and sometimes inside a single faculty; as if the
university needs a protocol to cooperate with itself.
2. Exchange Programmes
The
number of qualified science lecturers in Lebanon is limited, although, the
number of applications we receive from Ph.D holders is very high. In a study
published in Perspectives[2]
in 1991 (UNESCO) on “The difficulties in higher Education in Arab Countries” I
stated that the method of teaching consisted in general of “learning by heart”;
and unfortunately this technique has not yet disappeared. There is a strong
demand for experienced lecturers in teaching or those with an educational
qualification, hence the need for cooperation and exchanges of lecturers
between the UHEI.
At
the moment this exchange is limited, when it comes to official exchanges going
through the administrations of both universities; whereas the number of
lecturers teaching in two different institutions is high and considered illegal
by the University of the full-timer. This problem is particularly acute with
the Lebanese University, which considers that the private universities are
“stealing” their lecturers! It is worth noting that the law in the Lebanese
University regulating this kind of exchange is 34 years old, and it is not
likely to change in the near future. This Law is a tool in the hands of the
administration of this university enabling them to exert pressure, when needed,
on lecturers in this institution. It should be noted that a lecturer from the
Lebanese University giving a course or two in another institution is in fact
beneficial for the Lebanese University itself as much as it is for the private
institution. The experience they gain in the private sector, with constant
questioning of their method of teaching and the use of new technologies, must
certainly reflect positively on their teaching at the Lebanese University.
The
relationship between the private universities is easier, but is still dominated
by competition and the misuse of any cooperation by some lecturers for
financial gain. We notice, for instance, that AUB does not allow a full-time
lecturer to give a course in another institution, and if, in certain cases, a
lecturer is granted permission, there is strict financial control of his
income, not to mention the heavy administrative steps that need to be
undertaken to get permission. Balamand has a more relaxed system, less formal
and allowing a better exchange. However, we need, at this level, common
regulations set up by, and for, the private institutions.
Since
the academic year 2003-2004, most French-teaching universities have undertaken
a measure of reform in introducing the Credit System. Some have already applied
it, like USJ, others are still preparing for it, like Lebanese University. With
this reform, there is going to be more and more ground for mutual understanding
between French and English universities. There is here a golden opportunity for
the UHEI to get together just before finalizing the system, and get informed, at
least, of what the other institutions are preparing in the matter of course
syllabuses, examination methods, graduation, ,..etc, paving the way for Diploma
Recognition.
Since
the main reason for this reform is the mobility of our students, enabling them
to complete their curriculum in a European university or validate some credits,
isn’t this an opportunity for certain universities to apply this objective
within Lebanon, with other Lebanese universities? Why not, once regulated by
prior agreements, make it possible for a group of students to go to another
university, to follow a course in a subject unavailable in my Faculty, or not
worth opening for just a few students?
If
such a meeting is to take place, I see the Ministry of Higher Education as the main
facilitator in this initiative. The Ministry should not prepare laws, but
simply call for a meeting of representatives of UHEI, and let this group of
universities get in touch and work together. When things are established and
mutual recognition has taken place, these universities would organize their own
relations, and by doing so create a lobby of Upper class universities,
something beneficial for all of them.
3. Sharing equipment and documentation
The
last form of cooperation between institutions is access given to students and
staff from other institutions to the Library and use of scientific equipment.
And here I would like to point to an important move taking place by CAMS, at
AUB, in offering free access to their computing center to researchers from
other institutions.
This
kind of cooperation takes place in a very limited way, mainly because there is
little demand for it, with certain universities not liking to admit that they
don’t have this document or that machine. Some universities are willing to buy
the equipment, although expensive, but do not ask for help from other
institutions they do not consider to be of their level. This leads to the
duplication of heavy equipment in more than one institution and which is
underused. Just as an example, you can find in Beirut within a circle of 3-4
Km, 3 RMN machines, 4 Gas
chromatograph ,…etc, wouldn’t better cooperation in the use of equipment save
money?
Concerning
access to libraries, the situation is better, but the demand is also limited.
The demand comes from staff or students doing research, and consequently a
smaller number of people is involved. On the other hand the use of virtual
libraries via the Internet has provided for researchers an efficient means of
retrieving documents and articles. We would have liked to see a joint programme
to establish library networking between universities providing a means of
searching remotely for references and articles on different sites, with a
delivery service to save time. I
can not see any effort made at this level, although each university is using
one system or another for electronic archiving.
Research centers
Research
is an integral part of the duty of a university lecturer. In USJ this point was
stressed by the Rector in his speech on 19th March 2004, when he
spoke of “the lecturer-researcher as the main actor in the university”. The
same is true with respect to AUB and other UHEI; they all require from their
lecturers a certain level of productivity in research.
But
what distinguishes Research in science from that of other subjects is that
research in science is very expensive, expensive in documentation and
particularly in equipment, so commercial universities have no interest in
research. Research can be purely fundamental or applied and this is why many
partners should be involved: universities, research centers and industries. We
believe that scientific research distinguishes UHEI from LHEI; it is one
important factor which makes the difference between good universities and
commercial institutions offering only lucrative services and shying away from
expensive projects. Cooperation in research could lift the burden of money from
the budgets of institutions and improve the quality of education.
Research
centers in Lebanon, when they exist, are part of a university, apart from the
centers attached to the Council for Scientific Research which are independent,
but the researchers are usually university lecturers. With respect to industry,
research is applied and relationships with universities are still at their
beginning: in the sense that only small projects are financed by industry or a
researcher is called upon to solve a particular practical problem.
Between
universities, common research projects are limited. A few of these projects
involve a foreign university (French university) and a Lebanese university:
Projects CEDRE[3]. The
Lebanese are still reluctant to work together unless they are forced to do so
by a third financing party.
At
a colloquium in April 1999 on scientific teaching, held at the Faculty of
Science of USJ, I suggested the creation of a Council of Presidents of Lebanese
universities with the objective of managing common research projects. No one
objected, but nothing happened. In 2002, I took the initiative of calling all
the Faculty of Science Deans in order to start something together. Again, the
idea did not develop any further; it should have been followed up more
vigorously.
After
the recent wild proliferation of universities, the situation is even more
complex. Cooperation and partnerships are urgently needed, but very much
influenced by the acceptance of the other: no university would accept to
cooperate with another university considered to be of a lower level. Thus the
need for establishing a “Who’s Who” in the higher education market, and
unfortunately the government, which supposed to establish this classification,
is incapable of taking this painful step, so we have to look for international
accreditation bodies.
The
international tendency is to establish International Standards for Higher
Education Institutions. There are attempts at the level of individual States,
and all these attempts take into account, among other factors, the quality of
research.
We
name, at the national level, in particular the HEFCE (Higher Education Funding
Council for England) which issued, in cooperation with other bodies and UK
universities, a consultation document setting out proposals for a revised
method for quality assurance in England, “Quality Assurance in Higher
Education” (HEFCE 01/45). Out of the characteristics of the proposed method of
evaluation, we note the stress on the need to:
“
-
Review not only the
institutional mechanisms and procedures for securing quality and standards, but
also the outcomes delivered in practice – that is, the quality and standards
actually experienced and achieved by students.
-
Carry out reviews at
the level of the subject area or theme, rather than continuing to review
externally all subject areas on a comprehensive basis.
-
Use the information
collected to contribute, in partnership with others, to enhancing quality and
standards across higher education.”
Similarly in the USA, a
Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA[4]),
was created in 1996. Judith EATON, the President of this council, states in an
article published in the News Letter of The Boston College Center for
International Higher Education, Number 36, summer 2004, the following:
“Two Major Efforts to
Establish International Quality Standards:
UNESCO, has developed a
Global Forum Action Plan that would include an “education regulatory framework”
for higher education quality, perhaps through updating and expanding the
various UNESCO conventions to operate as “educational agreements providing
international standards in the context of the growing liberalization of trade
in services.” The plan also calls for development of national and regional
quality assurance capacity, information tools for students, and sustainable
development of higher education systems.
OECD[5] has joined forces with
UNESCO to establish an international database of reliable or “recognized”
higher education institutions. OECD also seeks to develop non-binding
guidelines for cross-border higher education, intended to provide student
protection, to assure clarity of information and to encourage accreditation and
quality assurance cooperation among countries. The guidelines may address
higher education institutions, quality assurance and accreditation
organizations, recognition and credential evaluation agencies, and professional
bodies.”
And
recently, at the international level, OECD, in cooperation with UNESCO,
organized a conference on “Higher Education in the Knowledge Society”, 13-15
September 2004, in Paris, in which standardization was widely discussed.
I
will not go into detail on accreditation and standards, as it is the subject of
the next theme addressed by my colleague Dr. Nasr.
However,
I am more and more convinced that cooperation between universities in all its
aspects: exchange, common projects, and research, is tightly related to three
factors:
1-
The acceptance of the
other as equal, by accreditation,
2-
Continuous improvement,
leading to confidence in our institution,
3-
Stability in the number
of universities (UHEI), so that instead of competing over the number of
students they can register, they begin to compete over the quality of education
they provide and the diplomas they award.
The
key factor is accreditation, which should be confirmed by an international
body. As Lebanese alone, I doubt that we can classify our universities, all
attempts in this direction would be easily labeled with a lot of adjectives:
political, religious, confessional, regional, etc.. And I believe that UNESCO
could play an important role in the establishment of such an organization on
the one hand, and in helping national standardization efforts on the other. The
application of common standards would facilitate not only cooperation and
partnerships between universities in Lebanon, but also the recognition of our
diplomas in other countries.
[1]
Association des Universités Francophones
[2] R. ABOU-CHACRA, Perspectives, UNESCO,
Vol. XXI, no 3 (1991)
[3] Agreement co-signed between the Lebanese and the French governments
[4] Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). One Dupont circle, Room 510, Washington DC 20036.
[5] Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, regrouping 30 members.