Author: Khushboo

Publicly supported educational institutions are charged with responding to the fact of diversity and with advancing a shared vision of civic political membership (Ben-Porath, 2013). Affirmative action programs encompass more than outreach and recruitment, however, and include efforts to prevent discrimination by eliminating barriers to equal employment opportunity. Some of the guidelines which universities can consider while designing and managing affirmative action (Affirmative action itself has been defined as “any measure, beyond simple termination of a discriminatory practice, adopted to correct or compensate for past or present discrimination or to prevent discrimination from recurring in the future” by U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Statement on Affirmative Action, October 1977.) and culture diversity are:

• Enhance a supportive environment for diversity including the scholarly dialogue on diversity.
• Monitor the recruitment of women and minority faculty at the senior levels and faculty at all levels, consistent with the available pool.
• Continue to recruit, retain and graduate greater numbers of ethnic minority students.
• Continue to work with the central state community to promote understanding and effectiveness of diversity, and engage communities throughout the state in the dialogue.
• Involve all levels of administration, most notably the chairs to increase the level of accountability.

Affirmative action therefore means taking positive steps to end discrimination, to prevent its recurrence, and to create new opportunities that were previously denied to minorities and women. It will also assist in higher diversity in terms of culture, races and income groups and therefore provide a wider perspective to the university’s population. This will also be beneficial to inclusively plan strategies for all campus residents. Though affirmative action has been criticized as constituting reverse discrimination, preferential  treatment, stigmatizing to beneficiaries and contravening principles of merit (Maranto, et al. 2009). Provision of equal opportunities to them post their recruitment is equally important and should be given priority.

The introductory session for students, faculty and staff at all levels should be held. This is an important session as the new members can be introduced to various policies and important guidelines as well as assistance measures, they should be aware of. What are the services they are entitled to use and what steps may cause trouble for them.

Most of the international students face linguistic difficulties and the university can arrange for classes which may help in improving their linguistic skills. For example, writing Center at Virginia Tech provides an excellent source for international as well as all others to improvise their writing skills. Another provision can be made by giving freedom and facilities to the faculty, staff and students of various religions (cultures) to carry forward their religious / cultural practices without much hassles.

Sports and international festivals are yet again ways which can increase interaction between various groups on campus. These may also help in better understanding each other’s culture and their by establishing respect for each other.

References

Ben-Porath, S. (2013). Education Justice and Democracy. Editors D.Allen and R. Reich. University of Chicago Press.

Maranto, R., Redding, R. E. and Hess, F. E. (2009). The Politically Correct University – Problem, Scopes, and Reform. Washington DC: American Enterprise Institute.

Publicly supported educational institutions are charged with responding to the fact of diversity and with advancing a shared vision of civic political membership (Ben-Porath, 2013). Affirmative action programs encompass more than outreach and recruitment, however, and include efforts to prevent discrimination by eliminating barriers to equal employment opportunity. Some of the guidelines which universities can consider while designing and managing affirmative action (Affirmative action itself has been defined as “any measure, beyond simple termination of a discriminatory practice, adopted to correct or compensate for past or present discrimination or to prevent discrimination from recurring in the future” by U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Statement on Affirmative Action, October 1977.) and culture diversity are:

• Enhance a supportive environment for diversity including the scholarly dialogue on diversity.
• Monitor the recruitment of women and minority faculty at the senior levels and faculty at all levels, consistent with the available pool.
• Continue to recruit, retain and graduate greater numbers of ethnic minority students.
• Continue to work with the central state community to promote understanding and effectiveness of diversity, and engage communities throughout the state in the dialogue.
• Involve all levels of administration, most notably the chairs to increase the level of accountability.

Affirmative action therefore means taking positive steps to end discrimination, to prevent its recurrence, and to create new opportunities that were previously denied to minorities and women. It will also assist in higher diversity in terms of culture, races and income groups and therefore provide a wider perspective to the university’s population. This will also be beneficial to inclusively plan strategies for all campus residents. Though affirmative action has been criticized as constituting reverse discrimination, preferential  treatment, stigmatizing to beneficiaries and contravening principles of merit (Maranto, et al. 2009). Provision of equal opportunities to them post their recruitment is equally important and should be given priority.

The introductory session for students, faculty and staff at all levels should be held. This is an important session as the new members can be introduced to various policies and important guidelines as well as assistance measures, they should be aware of. What are the services they are entitled to use and what steps may cause trouble for them.

Most of the international students face linguistic difficulties and the university can arrange for classes which may help in improving their linguistic skills. For example, writing Center at Virginia Tech provides an excellent source for international as well as all others to improvise their writing skills. Another provision can be made by giving freedom and facilities to the faculty, staff and students of various religions (cultures) to carry forward their religious / cultural practices without much hassles.

Sports and international festivals are yet again ways which can increase interaction between various groups on campus. These may also help in better understanding each other’s culture and their by establishing respect for each other.

References

Ben-Porath, S. (2013). Education Justice and Democracy. Editors D.Allen and R. Reich. University of Chicago Press.

Maranto, R., Redding, R. E. and Hess, F. E. (2009). The Politically Correct University – Problem, Scopes, and Reform. Washington DC: American Enterprise Institute.

Originally established in the late 1700s to protect academic freedom at religious schools (which are less than a fifth of the 4,703 U.S. colleges today), tenure has morphed into a guaranteed “job for life,” a benefit no longer enjoyed by any other segment of the U.S. workforce. Even the United Kingdom did away with tenure in the late 1980s when then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher implored the nation’s colleges to become more productive. While not all of academia’s problems can be laid at tenure’s doorstep, tenure has hamstrung colleges’ ability to fulfill their two fundamental missions of advancing knowledge and disseminating it. Also, tenure does gives the freedom to the instructor from having to use technology to revamp the way he/she teaches.(Wetherbe, 2013). I defend the tradition on the account of no other suitable/ pragmatic approach to safeguarding academic freedom.

Tenure offers both procedural and substantive protections. Procedurally, tenure means that a faculty member has continuing employment unless the university initiates an action against the faculty member and succeeds in proving “cause” for termination. It is the university that must begin the proceedings to terminate a tenured faculty member and that must bear the significant burden of proving the justification for its proposed action. Substantively, tenure means that the only specific, narrowly defined circumstances will constitute “cause” sufficient for termination or other adverse employment actions. Although the definition of “cause” varies by university, in general, there must be serious violations of the law or of principles of academic honesty to meet the standard (Chemerinsky, 1997) .

No alternative yet described is likely to succeed in providing both the procedural and the substantive protections accorded by tenure. Those who seek alternatives to tenure do so because of a desire to weaken the current protections accorded to faculty members. Although the motivation behind these reforms is the laudable desire to increase accountability for faculty members, by definition this entails a lessening of the safeguards embodied in the concept of tenure. Thus any alternative to tenure is likely to mean a substantial decrease in the protection afforded faculty members and consequently of academic freedom (O’Neil, 2008). The better approach is to devise ways to improve performance and accountability within the tenure system.

References

Chemerinsky, E. (1997). Is Tenure Necessary to Protect Academic Freedom? American Behavioral Scientist

O’Neil, R. (2008). Academic Freedom in the Wired World: Political Extremism, Corporate Power, and the University. Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press.

Wetherbe, J.C. (2013). It’s time for Tenure to lose Tenure. Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2013/03/its-time-for-tenure-to-lose-te

Originally established in the late 1700s to protect academic freedom at religious schools (which are less than a fifth of the 4,703 U.S. colleges today), tenure has morphed into a guaranteed “job for life,” a benefit no longer enjoyed by any other segment of the U.S. workforce. Even the United Kingdom did away with tenure in the late 1980s when then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher implored the nation’s colleges to become more productive. While not all of academia’s problems can be laid at tenure’s doorstep, tenure has hamstrung colleges’ ability to fulfill their two fundamental missions of advancing knowledge and disseminating it. Also, tenure does gives the freedom to the instructor from having to use technology to revamp the way he/she teaches.(Wetherbe, 2013). I defend the tradition on the account of no other suitable/ pragmatic approach to safeguarding academic freedom.

Tenure offers both procedural and substantive protections. Procedurally, tenure means that a faculty member has continuing employment unless the university initiates an action against the faculty member and succeeds in proving “cause” for termination. It is the university that must begin the proceedings to terminate a tenured faculty member and that must bear the significant burden of proving the justification for its proposed action. Substantively, tenure means that the only specific, narrowly defined circumstances will constitute “cause” sufficient for termination or other adverse employment actions. Although the definition of “cause” varies by university, in general, there must be serious violations of the law or of principles of academic honesty to meet the standard (Chemerinsky, 1997) .

No alternative yet described is likely to succeed in providing both the procedural and the substantive protections accorded by tenure. Those who seek alternatives to tenure do so because of a desire to weaken the current protections accorded to faculty members. Although the motivation behind these reforms is the laudable desire to increase accountability for faculty members, by definition this entails a lessening of the safeguards embodied in the concept of tenure. Thus any alternative to tenure is likely to mean a substantial decrease in the protection afforded faculty members and consequently of academic freedom (O’Neil, 2008). The better approach is to devise ways to improve performance and accountability within the tenure system.

References

Chemerinsky, E. (1997). Is Tenure Necessary to Protect Academic Freedom? American Behavioral Scientist

O’Neil, R. (2008). Academic Freedom in the Wired World: Political Extremism, Corporate Power, and the University. Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press.

Wetherbe, J.C. (2013). It’s time for Tenure to lose Tenure. Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2013/03/its-time-for-tenure-to-lose-te

With our last class discussion on Innovation districts, I thought it would be interesting to blog something about the much talk about smart city development and its connection and impact on existing universities. In this blog, I introduce smart cities briefly, next discuss the relationship between a university and its host city (town) and conclude with how this relationship can be further strengthened.

There are a number of smart city definitions, most of them focus on integrating technology, research and data in unique and useful ways in order to boost economic growth, efficiency, sustainability, and quality of life. Sometimes this can be as simple as offering hot spots and online tools to help users to easily pay utility bills, find restaurants or look up transportation schedules. To work well, smart cities really need only three things; a smart and innovative population – that’s where higher education comes in; a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem, i.e. businesses, and smart government and infrastructure.

The relationship between universities and their host cities (towns) is fundamentally symbiotic. It is mutually enriching, along multiple dimensions. In other words, a strong university helps build a strong city, and a strong city helps build a strong university. Colleges and universities are essentially mini cities. They may have their own transportation systems, housing developments and perhaps even their own electricity and water systems. Therefore they are perfect testing grounds for larger-scale initiatives. Universities should take advantage of these opportunities. This will help the cities and provide students with valuable skills.

The literature on smart cities shows that ‘smart cities’ in particular are privileged sites for innovation, entrepreneurship, and the flourishing of ideas and opportunities. For instance, universities and research institutes thrive in part by solving problems brought to them by demanding customers – who become partners in an interactive innovation process. This symbiotic relationship is a win-win situation for both cities and universities.

Further, smart cities and universities or research institutions thrive in the same environments and fuel the same outcomes. As most creative, energetic, and entrepreneurial people, who can choose where they want to live, often decide to live where there are good schools and hospitals, vibrant neighbourhoods, stable property values, and so on… and all of these features are more likely to be present when one of your neighbours is
a research-intensive institution or educational centre. Thus it is important for the city and the university to collaborate and develop as a smart community, mutually benefiting each other.

References:

Click to access Universities_and_Smart_Cities_ORF_January_2015_Full_Text_and_Slides.pdf

https://universitybusiness.co.uk/Article/how-will-higher-education-help-to-make-our-cities-smart-1513790042

https://mytechdecisions.com/it-infrastructure/universities-can-play-key-role-creating-smart-cities/

With our last class discussion on Innovation districts, I thought it would be interesting to blog something about the much talk about smart city development and its connection and impact on existing universities. In this blog, I introduce smart cities briefly, next discuss the relationship between a university and its host city (town) and conclude with how this relationship can be further strengthened.

There are a number of smart city definitions, most of them focus on integrating technology, research and data in unique and useful ways in order to boost economic growth, efficiency, sustainability, and quality of life. Sometimes this can be as simple as offering hot spots and online tools to help users to easily pay utility bills, find restaurants or look up transportation schedules. To work well, smart cities really need only three things; a smart and innovative population – that’s where higher education comes in; a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem, i.e. businesses, and smart government and infrastructure.

The relationship between universities and their host cities (towns) is fundamentally symbiotic. It is mutually enriching, along multiple dimensions. In other words, a strong university helps build a strong city, and a strong city helps build a strong university. Colleges and universities are essentially mini cities. They may have their own transportation systems, housing developments and perhaps even their own electricity and water systems. Therefore they are perfect testing grounds for larger-scale initiatives. Universities should take advantage of these opportunities. This will help the cities and provide students with valuable skills.

The literature on smart cities shows that ‘smart cities’ in particular are privileged sites for innovation, entrepreneurship, and the flourishing of ideas and opportunities. For instance, universities and research institutes thrive in part by solving problems brought to them by demanding customers – who become partners in an interactive innovation process. This symbiotic relationship is a win-win situation for both cities and universities.

Further, smart cities and universities or research institutions thrive in the same environments and fuel the same outcomes. As most creative, energetic, and entrepreneurial people, who can choose where they want to live, often decide to live where there are good schools and hospitals, vibrant neighbourhoods, stable property values, and so on… and all of these features are more likely to be present when one of your neighbours is
a research-intensive institution or educational centre. Thus it is important for the city and the university to collaborate and develop as a smart community, mutually benefiting each other.

References:

http://www.president.utoronto.ca/secure-content/uploads/2015/02/Universities_and_Smart_Cities_ORF_January_2015_Full_Text_and_Slides.pdf

https://universitybusiness.co.uk/Article/how-will-higher-education-help-to-make-our-cities-smart-1513790042

https://mytechdecisions.com/it-infrastructure/universities-can-play-key-role-creating-smart-cities/

Post our presentation in the International week for Grad 5104, discussing about Higher Education in India and getting questions about International students coming to India for education, I wanted to explore this more and thus thought of writing a blog about it. In this blog, I talk about some of the facts about education system in India, international student population coming to pursue education in India and mentioning some of the links for some of you who may have an interest to pursue education in India.

Starting with giving a bit of historical perspective about education in India. The country has been a major seat of learning for thousands of years. India was home to both Takshashila –  one of the first university in the world, and to the inventor of the digit 0 – Āryabhaṭa. Indian educational system is as encompassing and as diverse as its history, making studying in India unlike anywhere else. India is home to the world’s largest university by enrollment, Indira Gandhi National Open University, with 3.5 million students.

India is perceived across the world, especially in the developed nations as a country that sends international students. However, the paradigm has shifted over that past few years and an increasing number of students from various countries are now opting to study in India. Indeed, the 2015 Open Doors report from the Institute of International Education found that India is the 12^th most popular country for US students abroad. This was surprising for me as well.

Most of the international students come from countries such as Nepal, Malaysia, Afghanistan and a number of African and middle eastern countries. The most popular courses for foreign students include Bachelor of Technology and Bachelor of Business Administration, followed by Bachelor of Arts, Science and Commerce degrees.  In fact, there are over 2,000 foreign students studying engineering and medicine each. However, nearly 80% of the foreign students are enrolled in undergraduate courses. In India, Karnataka is by far India’s biggest hub for foreign students followed by Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

One of the major reasons which is attracting international students to India is the availability of quality education at a reasonable cost. Compared to international study hubs like the USA and Australia, the cost of education is negligible. The average tuition fee in India works out to be around $1,000 compared to about $ 25,000 in the US. While living in India can be challenging for international students, it is surely an affordable and rewarding experience.

At present, the Government of India is taking several steps to attract more foreign students such as promising to waive or discount fees and to expedite visas under a programme called ‘Study in India’ launched by the Human Resource Development Ministry and aided by the External Affairs Ministry. Through Study in India, foreign students will have access to a range of educational institutions, from smaller private colleges that offer diplomas to large universities offering undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral degrees. The list includes the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and other esteemed institutes. The program aims to target students especially from the “partner countries” — countries with which India has warm diplomatic relations — such as Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Iran and Rwanda.

I hope this blog provided you with a brief idea about scenario of international students coming to India. For more information, please refer to the following links.

References:

https://www.thenational.ae/world/asia/india-offers-fee-cuts-to-attract-foreign-students-1.723801

https://www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/03/31/in-the-developing-world-india-is-a-major-hub-for-foreign-studen_a_22020122/

https://studyabroad.careers360.com/articles/study-in-india-know-all-about-studying-in-india

https://studyabroad.careers360.com/articles/top-courses-study-in-india

Post our presentation in the International week for Grad 5104, discussing about Higher Education in India and getting questions about International students coming to India for education, I wanted to explore this more and thus thought of writing a blog about it. In this blog, I talk about some of the facts about education system in India, international student population coming to pursue education in India and mentioning some of the links for some of you who may have an interest to pursue education in India.

Starting with giving a bit of historical perspective about education in India. The country has been a major seat of learning for thousands of years. India was home to both Takshashila –  one of the first university in the world, and to the inventor of the digit 0 – Āryabhaṭa. Indian educational system is as encompassing and as diverse as its history, making studying in India unlike anywhere else. India is home to the world’s largest university by enrollment, Indira Gandhi National Open University, with 3.5 million students.

India is perceived across the world, especially in the developed nations as a country that sends international students. However, the paradigm has shifted over that past few years and an increasing number of students from various countries are now opting to study in India. Indeed, the 2015 Open Doors report from the Institute of International Education found that India is the 12^th most popular country for US students abroad. This was surprising for me as well.

Most of the international students come from countries such as Nepal, Malaysia, Afghanistan and a number of African and middle eastern countries. The most popular courses for foreign students include Bachelor of Technology and Bachelor of Business Administration, followed by Bachelor of Arts, Science and Commerce degrees.  In fact, there are over 2,000 foreign students studying engineering and medicine each. However, nearly 80% of the foreign students are enrolled in undergraduate courses. In India, Karnataka is by far India’s biggest hub for foreign students followed by Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

One of the major reasons which is attracting international students to India is the availability of quality education at a reasonable cost. Compared to international study hubs like the USA and Australia, the cost of education is negligible. The average tuition fee in India works out to be around $1,000 compared to about $ 25,000 in the US. While living in India can be challenging for international students, it is surely an affordable and rewarding experience.

At present, the Government of India is taking several steps to attract more foreign students such as promising to waive or discount fees and to expedite visas under a programme called ‘Study in India’ launched by the Human Resource Development Ministry and aided by the External Affairs Ministry. Through Study in India, foreign students will have access to a range of educational institutions, from smaller private colleges that offer diplomas to large universities offering undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral degrees. The list includes the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and other esteemed institutes. The program aims to target students especially from the “partner countries” — countries with which India has warm diplomatic relations — such as Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Iran and Rwanda.

I hope this blog provided you with a brief idea about scenario of international students coming to India. For more information, please refer to the following links.

References:

https://www.thenational.ae/world/asia/india-offers-fee-cuts-to-attract-foreign-students-1.723801

https://www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/03/31/in-the-developing-world-india-is-a-major-hub-for-foreign-studen_a_22020122/

https://studyabroad.careers360.com/articles/study-in-india-know-all-about-studying-in-india

https://studyabroad.careers360.com/articles/top-courses-study-in-india