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This electronic representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for non-commercial use only. Unauthorized posting of RAND PDFs to a non-RAND Web site is prohibited. RAND PDFs are protected under copyright law. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please see RAND Permissions. This product is part of the RAND Corporation monograph series. RAND monographs present major research findings that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND mono- graphs undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity. The Reform of Qatar University Joy S. Moini, Tora K. Bikson, C. Richard Neu, Laura DeSisto With Mohammed Al Hamadi, Sheikha Jabor Al Thani Foreword by Sheikha Al Misnad RAND-QATAR POLICY INSTITUTE The research described in this report was conducted within RAND Education and the RAND-Qatar Policy Institute, programs of the RAND Corporation. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The reform of Qatar University / Joy S. Moini ... [et al.] ; with Mohammed Al Hamadi, Sheikha Jabor Al Thani. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-8330-4744-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Jami’at Qatar. 2. Educational change—Qatar. I. Moini, Joy S. LG358.D38R44 2009 378.5363—dc22 2009025069 Cover photo courtesy Qatar University The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R ® is a registered trademark. © Copyright 2009 RAND Corporation Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Copies may not be duplicated for commercial purposes. Unauthorized posting of RAND documents to a non-RAND Web site is prohibited. RAND documents are protected under copyright law. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit the RAND permissions page (http://www.rand.org/publications/permissions.html). Published 2009 by the RAND Corporation 1776 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 1200 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 22202-5050 4570 Fifth Avenue, Suite 600, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2665 RAND URL: http://www.rand.org To order RAND documents or to obtain additional information, contact Distribution Services: Telephone: (310) 451-7002; Fax: (310) 451-6915; Email: [email protected] Preface Since the 1990s, the State of Qatar has been capitalizing on the country’s extraordinary oil and gas wealth to launch economic and social reforms aimed at modernizing and diversifying the country’s economy. Key to these reforms has been the improvement and expansion of Qatar’s edu- cation system from kindergarten through the post-secondary level. As part of the overall effort to improve the country’s educational offerings, in 2003 His Highness the Emir of Qatar mandated major reforms at Qatar University (QU), the nation’s first and only public higher education institution. The Diwan Amiri engaged the RAND-Qatar Policy Institute (RQPI) to assist the University with reform of its major administrative and academic structures, policies, and practices. This monograph summarizes that reform effort. The formal reform project lasted from October 2003 through January 2007, and began with intensive discussions about the mission of the University, the obstacles the University faced in trying to fulfill this mission, and strategies for overcoming these obstacles. After articulating a plan for reform, the University embarked on an implementation process that addressed every major area of University operations, including achiev- ing institutional autonomy, improving University decisionmaking pro- cesses, revitalizing academic offerings, improving faculty quality and performance and student achievement, and strengthening the Univer- sity community. The fundamental principle of the reform effort was that the Uni- versity itself had to plan and institute the reform. Outsiders acted only as advisors, sharing their experiences and offering suggestions. By iii iv The Reform of Qatar University design, RQPI’s role was limited to assisting the University leadership in organizing and facilitating the reform effort. In particular, RQPI helped the University to identify a handful of foreign experts in higher education who joined with senior mem- bers of the University to form a Senior Reform Committee (SRC) that advised the University President on reform matters. RQPI worked with University staff to organize meetings of the SRC and to set agendas for these meetings. Only the RQPI project leader was a member of the SRC, and his role was restricted to organizing and facilitating meet- ings. RQPI also assisted the University in creating a small secretariat to support the SRC by gathering background information, documenting SRC recommendations, and tracking reform actions. A small number of RQPI staff worked alongside University staff as a part of this sec- retariat. RQPI’s contribution to the QU reform effort was primarily organizational and supportive, rather than analytic. In its assigned roles, RQPI was well positioned to observe the reform process, to understand the reasons that certain decisions were made, and to note the extent to which reforms were implemented in the years immediately following the decision to reform. RQPI had no mandate, however, to dictate any changes to QU’s policies and practices or to assess independently the success of particular reform measures. These limitations on RQPI’s role are reflected in this monograph. In this document, we limit ourselves to describing what happened and why. Defense of the particular reform path chosen and assessment of the success of the reform are tasks for other analysts, best undertaken in the future when reforms have been fully implemented (or not, as the case may be) and their effects can be observed from an analytically appropriate distance. This monograph should be of interest to Qatar University faculty, staff, and students in search of an overview of the reform process and a summary of changes that have been made at the University. The mono- graph may also be of interest to education policymakers, researchers, and scholars in Qatar, in the Gulf region, and internationally who are working on policy reform, implementation, and organizational change in higher education. Preface v This project was conducted under the auspices of the RAND- Qatar Policy Institute and RAND Education. RQPI is a partnership of the RAND Corporation and the Qatar Foundation for Education, Sci- ence, and Community Development. The aim of RQPI is to offer the RAND style of rigorous and objective analysis to clients in the greater Middle East. In serving clients in the Middle East, RQPI draws on the full professional resources of the RAND Corporation. RAND Educa- tion analyzes education policy and practice and supports implementa- tion of improvements at all levels of the education system. For further information on RQPI, contact the director, Bruce Nardulli. He can be reached by email at [email protected]; by telephone at +974-492-7400; or by mail at P.O. Box 23644, Doha, Qatar. For more information about RAND Education, contact the director, Susan Bodilly. She can be reached by email at [email protected]; by telephone at +1-703-413-1100, extension 5377; or by mail at RAND, 1200 South Hayes Street, Arlington, Virginia, 22202-5050. More information about RAND is available at www.rand.org. Contents Preface ............................................................................. iii Figures and Tables ............................................................... xi Foreword .........................................................................xiii Summary ........................................................................ xvii Acknowledgments ............................................................xxvii Abbreviations ...................................................................xxix ChAPTeR One Introduction ....................................................................... 1 The State of Qatar .................................................................. 2 Education in Qatar ................................................................ 4 Qatar University ................................................................... 8 Governance ....................................................................... 9 Enrollment ........................................................................ 9 Academic Programs .............................................................10 Faculty............................................................................12 Research ..........................................................................12 The Need for Reform .............................................................13 ChAPTeR TwO Designing the Reform Agenda ................................................19 Organizing for Reform ...........................................................21 Objectives and Obstacles ........................................................ 24 The Role of Qatar University in Qatari Society ............................ 24 Obstacles to Be Overcome .................................................... 26 vii viii The Reform of Qatar University The Reform Agenda .............................................................. 27 Launching the Reforms ..........................................................31 ChAPTeR ThRee Implementing the Reform Agenda ...........................................33 Create Institutional Autonomy ..................................................35 Improve University Decisionmaking Processes ............................... 38 Revitalize Academic Structures and Services ..................................41 Improve Management of Faculty ............................................... 44 Foster and Support Student Achievement ..................................... 46 Strengthen the University Community ....................................... 48 Looking Forward ................................................................. 50 ChAPTeR FOuR Reflections on the Reform: Key elements of the Reform Strategy and Challenges to Implementation ......................................53 Conditions That Made Reform Possible ....................................... 54 Timing of the Reform ......................................................... 54 The Organization and Sequencing of the Reform ......................... 54 Strong Leadership ............................................................. 56 The University as Primary Actor ..............................................57 Support from Outside Experts ................................................58 The Difficult Choices .............................................................59 Academic Standards Versus Social Norms ...................................59 Pragmatism Versus Ambition..................................................62 Well-Established Versus Innovative Academic Structures .................63 University Service Versus Scholarly Development ..........................65 The Pace of Reform ............................................................ 66 Efficiency Versus Inclusiveness ............................................... 68 ChAPTeR FIve The Challenges Ahead ..........................................................71 APPenDIXeS A. Senior Reform Committee Members .....................................73 B. Qatar university’s vision and Mission Statements ....................75