From Auburn to Abha
Dr. James Groccia, the director of Auburn University’s Biggio Center, has recently taken his education iniatives far from home. Groccia has been working in Saudi Arabia to improve the higher education system throughout the country.
Last year Groccia made several presentations on academic training at a conference in Sheffield, England. After that, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia invited Groccia to host a series of workshops for the campus faculty and administration. He has since been asked to put together training programs for Saudi Arabia’s oldest university, King Saud University in Riyadh and their newest public university, King Khalid University in Abha.
Groccia gives presentations to department heads and academic leaders from Saudi Arabian institutions on the importance of staff development, active learning, building academic portfolios and enhancing educational productivity and quality.
“The higher education system in Saudi Arabia and in the Arab world is growing exponentially,” Groccia said. “Officials recognize that they cannot rely on current methods that they have been successful with in the past. Critical thinking and problem solving skills gained through active and engaged learning and innovative teaching are being seen as essential outcomes for future educational and economic development.”
“On Becoming a Productive University: Strategies for Reducing Cost and Increasing Quality in Higher Education,” which he co-edited for publication in 2005, had been translated into Arabic and is known by Saudi Arabian education officials.
Groccia’s work aids Saudi Arabia’s transition from relying on foreign workers for health, banking and communication jobs to developing Saudi Arabian workers to fill these positions.
He says education policies in Saudi Arabia are changing and officials recognize the need to expand higher education to offer more disciplines and training to more people, including more broadly to women, which requires a cultural shift in thinking.
His long term goal is to assist institutions in developing more effective higher education systems and teaching methods. There are only 14 public universities and 10 private universities in Saudi Arabia. The country plans to build 11 more universities in the next five years.
“An interesting challenge is going to be how Saudis maintain their religious and social traditions while liberalizing their thinking in academics,” Groccia said.
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