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Colleagues:
As you may know, two weeks ago I travelled to the American University of Malta (AUM) to sign two dual degree programs (Business Administration and Finance) that were created in consultation with the interim dean, chairs, and faculty members in our Griffin College of Business. My visit was also to evaluate the potential for AUM to serve as a future study abroad location. In addition, select chairs and faculty members from departments in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the College of Education and Behavioral Science, and the College of Liberal Arts and Communications have also worked with our Global Engagement and Outreach division to develop other potential dual degree programs with AUM. These agreements are similar to the articulation agreements that we have signed with community colleges across the state, where students combine hours from other schools with A-State hours to earn a four-year degree with us. Members of our faculty have created similar international degree partnerships with universities in Japan and China in the past couple of years.
The dual degree programs that our faculty members wish to establish at AUM have two models. The first allows interested AUM students to take an online class from A-State for each of their first six semesters of their degree program, followed by two semesters as a full-time student at A-State in their last year. The courses these students would be taking from A-State already exist – no new courses/sections have been proposed. The second model allows interested A-State students to take their second and third year of classes at AUM combined with their first and fourth years at A-State. In the end, both models result in the participating students earning a degree from A-State and from AUM.
In addition to these dual degree programs, our relationship with AUM has a second component. Because English is one of Malta’s official languages and because of its rich history, I believe that Malta can be a great European location for A-State faculty members to plan short-term study abroad and research opportunities. One of our faculty members will be leading a short-term study abroad class to our dual degree partner in Saitama, Japan, in Summer 2019. Two faculty members are currently working on proposed short-term study abroad courses for Malta in Summer 2020.
Our university has a long history of creating international agreements dating back for decades, including programs that brought large numbers of international students from countries ranging from Saudi Arabia to South Korea guided then by Dr. Mossie Richmond and Dr. Afak Haydar. Dual degree programs like these align with our current strategic plan (http://www.astate.edu/a/strategic-planning/) and with A-State’s Institutional Priorities, as outlined in the 2018 version of the Faculty Handbook:
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- I.D.6. Increase our diversity and expand our globalization.
- Prepare students for global citizenship.
- Develop a service environment that supports the needs of a diverse ASU community.
- Attract, employ, retain, and advance greater numbers of university faculty and staff from underrepresented groups.
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Last Tuesday, I was made aware of a controversy surrounding the termination of faculty members at AUM (https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/01/09/controversial-start-university-fires-founding-faculty-members). I have been told that there are worries among some members of our faculty about our relationship with AUM. At least part of the uncertainty concerns the extent to which faculty members were involved in developing these agreements. During my visit to AUM, I met several students, I guest lectured for a class, and met several faculty members and the Provost. I did not hear anything then about issues related to faculty terminations. That is not to say that I did not hear about problems related to AUM. During my visit to AUM, for example, I learned that enrollment in the Fall 2017-Spring 2018 academic year (their first year of operation) had lagged expectations. I also learned that because the University of Malta provides free tuition (and a stipend) to Maltese citizens, AUM students are primarily international students. I heard that there was some local concern about the Malta Prime Minister’s support for AUM – in particular the granting of access to land for campus locations. I met with the Prime Minister and his Minister of Education and Employment during my visit, both of whom expressed support for AUM. The Minister of Education and Employment attended our signing ceremony.
Because of the concern I have for A-State’s reputation and how that might be affected by our connection to AUM, I met today with deans who have established or investigated opportunities for dual degree programs with AUM so that I could understand better how we got here. I remain confident in our short-term study abroad opportunities in Malta, but dual degree programs are different. We need to be confident that we are safeguarding our curriculum and academic integrity. My main concern is that our faculty knows that they maintain autonomy over their curriculum. I have also examined all of the documents and timeline of the creation of these agreements. Finally, I assessed the accreditation status of AUM. Here is what I discovered.
In Fall 2018, the university was approached with an opportunity to create a study abroad and dual degree program with AUM similar to what we had created in Japan. Our Global Engagement and Outreach division reached out to department chairs whose degrees were considered to be possible options for these agreements. An administrator from AUM came to campus to visit with department chairs and some members of the faculty in early January, 2019. When the department chairs decided to create these dual degrees, the Global Engagement and Outreach division facilitated the preparation of the agreement documents. The relevant deans and the Provost where also brought into the conversations once the specific degree plans were decided upon. In at least one case, the faculty decided that they did not want to partner on one of the dual degrees, and that agreement was pulled from the proposal. As mentioned earlier, two faculty members are also working with the Global Engagement and Outreach division to develop Summer 2020 short-term study abroad courses in Malta. By mid-March, the relevant chairs, deans, and provost signed all the proposed dual degree agreements. As a result, Bill Smith, Thilla Sivakumaran, and I travelled to Malta on March 18-19, where I met the Prime Minister on March 20, and signed the dual degree agreements on March 21.
I also inquired into possible accreditation questions related to AUM, which might reasonably be posed by the media coverage of the January 2018 terminations. Because we are accepting AUM classes for credit toward our degree, it is important for us to be assured of the quality of learning provided by AUM.
As a result of this inquiry, I learned that Clemson University serves as an internal quality assurance auditor on behalf of the Maltese National Commission for Further and Higher Education. Clemson University audits AUM annually and conducts “spot-checks on a regular basis to ensure that all aspects of AUM’s operation are viable and effective.” The Commission itself also conducts its own quality audits on a regular basis during the term of the five-year license under which AUM operates (starting on 2016). The Commission stated that it was “confident that under the terms of the license granted, AUM is in a position to fulfill its potential as a provider of high quality education and the rigor of the process undertaken before granting the license will continue to broaden the appeal of Malta as a location for the provision of international educational services” (https://ncfhe.gov.mt/en/News/Pages/2016/pr_19_09_2016.aspx). It is my understanding that Clemson University is involved in reviewing all faculty hires to insure high quality instruction. I will continue to learn more about the extent to which oversight by the NCFHE and Clemson University is protecting A-State’s academic integrity.
Finally, when questions about our participation in agreements like this arise, it is useful to examine to process by which we arrived at the agreements. In my meeting with the our leadership team today (including deans, our Provost, and the Executive Director of the Global Engagement and Outreach), we identified areas where we can improve our process and our communication. For example, while department chairs were involved at the beginning of the process and ultimately signed off on the agreements, it is not clear that all faculty members were included in the conversations. Also, we have no policy in place that prescribes how such agreements should be vetted (should these conversations begin with deans or should they begin with department faculty?). Thus, I have asked the Provost and the GEO Executive Director to work with the faculty to determine a policy that outlines our procedure. That policy will include fully vetting the accreditation our partner institutions.
We live in an increasingly global community and providing rich international opportunities for our faculty and students is important. But, as we move toward creating our future strategic plan this year, we have to be sure that our actions align with our mission and our goals. It is also vitally important that the faculty retains governance over curriculum and degree offerings.
Best,
Kelly
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