The Arab Spring and Helping to Build
higher Education Capacity in the Middle
East and North Africa
Chair: Mark S. Lazar, Vice President, Global Scholarship and Learning
Programs, IIE
Panelists:
• Rajika Bhandari, Deputy Vice President, Research and Evaluation, IIE
• Kristen Cammarata, Regional Educational Advising Coordinator, Middle
East & North Africa, EducationUSA
• Kevin Browne, Vice Provost of Academic and Enrollment Services,
University of Illinois at Chicago
• Lucas Welch, Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, Soliya
Classifying Higher Education in the
Middle East and North Africa:
A Pilot Study
Rajika Bhandari
Deputy Vice President, Research and Evaluation
Center for Academic Mobility Research
Institute of International Education
March 8, 2012
Why develop a classification?
• Higher education sector has witnessed tremendous growth
• No standardized framework for understanding the region’s
institutions
• Many countries have established these types of classifications
and rankings to raise the quality and visibility of their higher
education sector
• The Arab Spring and higher education in the region
Intended Outcomes
• Deeper understanding of the diverse range of institutions in
the region
• Within region: benchmarking and comparison; increased
research collaboration & exchange
• Outside the region: institutions able to compete globally and
position themselves on the world stage; expanded
international collaboration
• Information available to guide students
• Increased degree recognition and academic mobility
Study Design
• Supported by the Carnegie Corporation, carried out in
partnership with LAES
• Pilot study countries: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, UAE
• Primary and secondary data from ministries and higher
education institutions (HEIs)
• Sample size: originally 643 institutions; final sample, 427
• Timeframe: March 2010 – March 2011
Methodology
• Reviewed existing classifications and rankings systems
• 11 dimensions, 77 indicators
• Developed and pilot-tested survey to validate the CMAC
• National-level data coordinators in each pilot country
• Outcome: validated and tested CMAC
scaled up and
applied to other countries
comprehensive classification
of higher education in the region
Dimensions of the CMAC
#
Dimension
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Institutional profile
Teaching and Learning Profile (Co)
Curriculum
Student Profile (Co)
Faculty Profile
Financial Profile
Research Involvement (Co)
Cultural Orientation
Religious Orientation
Regional Engagement (Eu)
International Engagement (Eu)
Number of
Indicators
8
7
3
7
7
7
9
3
6
7
13
Examples of Indicators
6.
Research
Involvement
10. International
Engagement
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
10.1
10.2
10.3
Expenditures on research
Publications
Research centers
Libraries
International students
International sources of income
Graduate students on out-bound exchange programs
10.4
10.5
Incoming grad students with degrees from other
institutions
International teaching and research staff
10.6
10.7
Twinning with international HEIs
International admission tests
10.8
10.9
Cooperation agreements with international HEIs
Affiliation to international institution/branch
10.10
10.11
10.12
Intended international engagement
Accreditation
Organization of international engagement
Findings: International Engagement
• What do we mean by “international”?
• Mobility:
• Only 2% of all students are international (0 to 80%); 4.3%
are from other Arab countries
• 11% of the teaching staff is international; 13% are from
other Arab countries
• There is a larger presence of foreign faculty than foreign
students.
Findings: International Engagement
• There appears to be more international engagement than
regional engagement: twinning programs and cooperative
agreements
• There are key differences by sub-region: Gulf nations vs. other
countries
• Incomplete measurement, missing data
Overall Findings
• Lack of institutional data
• Shifting cultural models: French (45%), American (43%)
• Low regional and international engagement
• Use of English for administration and teaching
• Impact of branch campuses
• Investments in research
Challenges
• Obtaining buy-in from ministries and HEIs
• Summarizing data across multiple campuses is difficult
• Challenges inherent in generalizing across diverse countries
and education systems
Looking Ahead
• Significant interest in expanding the work of the pilot study
• Capacity-building in the region
• Engage other countries that have strategically used
classifications and rankings to strengthen the quality of their
higher education systems
• Is a ranking currently feasible? Not yet. We have a good
framework in place, but better and more complete data is
needed to compile rankings that are accurate and fair.
• Higher education and the Arab Spring
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www.iie.org/mobility
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The Arab Spring and Helping to Build
higher Education Capacity in the Middle
East and North Africa
Chair: Mark S. Lazar, Vice President, Global Scholarship and Learning
Programs, IIE
Panelists:
• Rajika Bhandari, Deputy Vice President, Research and Evaluation, IIE
• Kristen Cammarata, Regional Educational Advising Coordinator, Middle
East & North Africa, EducationUSA
• Kevin Browne, Vice Provost of Academic and Enrollment Services,
University of Illinois at Chicago
• Lucas Welch, Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, Soliya