SQU College of Education Instructional & Learning Technologies Department TECH4211

Research Paper:

Done By:
Ateka Al Saqri (86205) Sara Al Hattali (87628)

 Overview:
Middle East College is a visible expression of higher education in the 21st century Oman. It's students are the flag bearers of a country that aims to be at the cutting edge of technology in the region. Middle East College is housed in the Knowledge Oasis that incorporates the IT Park of Muscat, which is another step in the development of the Sultanate as an emerging technology hub. Middle East College, in collaboration with Coventry University, UK, offers a wide range of programs in different areas of technology, communication and Business Management, primarily catering to the students in the Sultanate who are interested in embarking on successful careers in these fields. It gives students the opportunity to work towards obtaining various degrees in Design, Engineering and Technology. o The Vision of this college: Inspiring Creative Minds. o The Mission of this college: Excellence in developing human resources, creating knowledge, and active community engagement for the immediate society & the world at large through enhanced student experience. Middle East College is one of the leaders in private Higher Education Sector in Oman.One of the only institutions in private sector to have permanent members of Industry in curriculum design and development. Approximately 4000 students are currently doing their higher education at Middle East College. Middle East College Campus is spread over 100,000 Sq.meters in a special technology park.First college in Oman with WIFI access to all in campus. Teaching and Learning Block and Facilities Centre are of international standards. Students are assigned academic advisors. The Curriculum ensures that students are made industry ready and employable. and enables students to acquire Industry Certifications, without any further tutoring.

o Value Proposition: "Enhancing Student experience". The goal: -Measure the quality of services provided in the Middle East College The objectives: measure the quality of the personnel in the college measure the quality of program and training provided in the college measure the quality of the environment of the college

Personnel:
Middle East College, affiliated to Coventry University, UK offers career oriented academic degree programmers in the fields of Engineering, Business and Technology. MEC is seeking qualified and experienced candidates for the following positions: o Lecturers-Department of Computing: Bachelor/Master Degree in Computer Science having specialization in one or more given areas: o Hardware and Networking/ Wireless technology/ Artificial intelligence and expert systems/Data warehousing/ Database administration. o Core Java/ C/ C++/ Visual Basic/ Photoshop/ Flash/ Macromedia Dream Weaver/ DHTML/ Adobe Illustrator/ Corel Draw/ Adobe after effects/ Adobe Premiere/ AVID/ Combustion/ Sound Forge/ FL studio/ AuthorWare/ 3D Studio Max/ Maya/ Macromedia director/ Sony Vegas etc. o Professional certification: such as Oracle/ Cisco/ IBM/Sun/Microsoft would be an added advantages Teaching Experience: 2-5 years o Library Assistant: Bachelor Degree in Library Science. o IT Support Technician: Bachelor's Degree in computer science with specialization in networking or related field with 1- 2 years of experience in a similar role. Should have the ability to solve internal IT issues, very good knowledge

of Microsoft windows, office and applications installation and troubleshooting, Microsoft (active directory, exchange, system center) servers operator, experience in wired and wireless networking, good English command, willing to work under pressure and in weekends upon urgency. o Registration Officer: Bachelor degree with 1-2 years of experience in a similar role in any higher education college, should be proactive and possess good communication skills. Various staff development initiatives are organized and coordinated by the Centre for Academic Practices to ensure that the quality of teaching remains at a consistently high level. There are reciprocal visits to the partner University each semester and currently, a number of staff is undertaking the Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Professional Practice delivered by Coventry University faculty. In addition, there are regular training sessions conducted by peers and external experts.

Curriculum/training:
The teaching and learning systems at Middle East College and all academic departments are designed to produce employable graduates who are not only knowledgeable in their own field of study, but are also forward thinking, creative, and responsible members of society. Enhanced student experience is the guiding factor in ensuring well-equipped Middle East College graduates. In its quest to achieve its objective, the College has developed a set of generic graduate attributes that are embedded in programme and module learning outcomes. Attainment of these outcomes would imply internalization of these attributes. Middle East College, affiliated to Coventry University, UK offers career oriented academic degree programmers in the fields of Engineering, Business and Technology. It offers various programmes in: o Engineering o Science & Technology o Business & Information Systems o Post-graduation

o Records Management and Archival Studies A wide spectrum of teaching methodologies are applied, including lectures, practical work, group discussions, and research based teaching. Both teacher-led and student-centered learning are given equal consideration, with the emphasis moving from generic content and skill development at the certificate and diploma levels, to problem solving and critical thinking at the undergraduate level. In addition to subject specific skills acquired in the technology and engineering programs, students are also given an opportunity to develop soft skills that will enhance employability. Technology resources are utilized to support learning in purpose built laboratories. Classrooms are also equipped to facilitate the use of technology in teaching. Additional learning support is provided by the Student Success Centre through strategies such as extra tutorials, training sessions to enhance life skills, and counseling services. Various staff development initiatives are organized and coordinated by the Centre for Academic Practices to ensure that the quality of teaching remains at a consistently high level. There are reciprocal visits to the partner University each semester and currently, a number of staff is undertaking the Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Professional Practice delivered by Coventry University faculty. In addition, there are regular training sessions conducted by peers and external experts. Teaching quality is also assured through the moderation process. There is internal as well as external moderation of assessments to ensure that these are in compliance with set standards, and of an appropriate level. The medium of instruction for all programmes offered by Middle East College is English except the Archives and Records Management Programme for which the medium of instruction is Arabic.

Apart from the undergraduate programmes, the College also offers postgraduate programmes designed by Coventry University. The MBA (IT) programme has been hosted since Fall 2007, and MSc (IT) from Fall 2010.The Archives and Records Management programme is introduced in collaboration with the National Records and Archives Authority. The medium of instruction isArabic, but academic processes do not differ from those of the undergraduate programmes. Middle East College's aim is to harness creative abilities through innovative teaching and learning practices. This is to be achieved through enhanced student experience.

Environment:
Working environment at the college is similar to that of international standards. It's open from Saturday to Wednesday with Thursday and Friday as our weekend. Working hours are between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. An academic year at Middle East College is from September to June, consisting of two semesters of 15 weeks each. Faculty usually teaches 20 hours per week and is expected to be in the college for at least 40 hours per week. Non-academic staffs generally work from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The College staff comes from varied background and cultures which has helped in defining a diverse organizational life. Middle East College offers a variety of support services for its students and staff members. To provide an enhanced individual experience to every member, Middle East College has subdivided its support services into four support service departments according to the nature of services. The four support services departments are:

o o o o

Registry Services. Learning Resource & Technology Services. Department of Student Affairs. Department of Property Management & Support Services.

Planning and coordination takes place between the constituent units offering these services to ensure preparedness prior to the start of each academic year.Registry Services provides diverse academic and administrative services to students, faculty members, staff, parents, guardians and sponsors. The services offered range from registration through to graduation.The Learning Resources & Technology Services department develops, maintains and upgrades the learning resources at Middle East College. The department also provides technology services & support along with their related policies and procedures at Middle East College.Department of Student Affairs at Middle East College offers a range of professional services to students with a view to assisting students to harness the maximum reward, enjoyment and benefit from their college life.Department of Property Management & Support Services offers a wide variety of services to the college community. These services includes maintaining and up keeping the college and hostel premises, providing a healthy and safe learning and working environment for students, staff and visitors, providing transportation services, providing personnel services, providing health services etc. The College library is well equipped with a strong collection of over 25000 books on a wide range of topics and subjects. The collection comprises of reference books, text books, audio-visual materials and subscribes to print, electronic journals and databases. The library includes two reading areas with a area of 2400 sq meters and has a seating capacity for 310 students at a time. The ground floor is equipped with a circulation counter, a reference section, five discussion rooms, photocopying and a large reading hall with a seating capacity for 150 students at a time. Additionally, the first floor is dedicated to book stacks, a silent reading area with reading carrels, a faculty research and periodical section, an audio-visual section and a photocopying section equipped with state-of-the arts machines. Library facilitates includes: o Audio visual section: one of the most attractive facilities at the library is its audiovisual section. This section is capable of seating 30 students at a time. Additionally it is also equipped with state-of-the art technology. The library constantly acquires and holds a large collection of audio-visual tapes, DVDs, CDs, Audio cassettes

related to various academic subjects to further strengthen the already strong audio visual section. Conference/Discussion Rooms: Five discussion rooms are provided in the ground floor of the library with a capacity of 8 to 10 users each. These rooms can be used by students for presentations, group discussions, and group studies. To book these rooms students are required to reserve the room as per the library policies. Online Catalogue Search: Online library catalogue search facility popularly known as OPAC is being provided through the College Information system (CIS). The catalogue lists all the books and text books that are available in the Library, by showing all the details of the item that the user is searching for, like the author name, Title, publisher, ISBN, number of available copies and the location of the item in the library. The catalogue search also gives the user an option to reserve a book. Internet Facility: WiFi connection is provided in the Library and across the campus. Students can connect to internet using their personal laptops anywhere inside the campus. Photocopying Facility Photocopiers are provided in the library on both floors. Students can use this facility for photocopying books and other resources available in the library. Students can use this facility by using their smart Identity cards. Parents, Guardians and Sponsors are encouraged to contact the Registration Office to follow up on the progress of their wards/sponsored students. Furthermore, they are encouraged to reach the academic advisers for comprehensive feedback on the student performance both academic and otherwise. Middle East College is also devoted to the community and strongly believes in serving its immediate society. As part of colleges commitment to community outreach, it consistently nurtures its staff and students to be responsible citizens through the college's strong culture. As Middle East Colleges curriculum is designed in a way that encourages active participation towards community service.

 Conclusion:
At a conclusion, Middle East College is one of the leaders in private Higher Education Sector in Oman.One of the only institutions in private sector to have permanent members of Industry in curriculum design and development.There are many strong points that we observed about the collage In terms of personnel, Curriculum/training and Environment. many development initiatives are organized and coordinated by the Centre for Academic Practices to ensure that the quality of teaching remains at a consistently high level. Teaching quality is also assured through the moderation process. There is internal as well as external moderation of assessments to ensure that these are in compliance with set standards, and of an appropriate level.

 References:

- Educational Psychology Service. (2002). Prompting Positivelearningenvironment. Leicestershire County Council. - Ontario Ministry Of Training. (2010). How to use checklist to evaluate learning materials. Employment Ontario. - Mishra, Sanjaya. (2006). Quality Assurance in higher education. National Assessment & Accreditation Council(NAAC).

- Middle East Collage.

http://www.mecit.edu.om/index.html .

11/5/2013.

 Appendixes:
1. The Process Diagram choose an educational institution visit the institution website read an overview about the collage searsh about collage adminstrators & instructores searsh about the collage curriculam and training search about the collage environment choose the assessment tool draw the fish bone

2. Checklist for evaluating Personnel:

Evaluation Criteria Attendance & punctuality 1 to 5 rating (5 = best) comment

Dependability Appearance Productivity Work quality Work quantity Work consistency Knowledge of job Work skills Managerial skills Attitude Cooperation Enthusiasm Initiative Judgment Attitude
Other Items for Consideration: Accomplishments ............. Strengths . Weaknesses

3. Checklist for evaluating Curriculum and Training:

1. Goals Are the learning objectives clear? Are those goals congruent with curricular goals of the institution? 2. Content Is the content current, relevant and accurate? Is the content appropriate to the needs of the target students? 3. The supported curriculum Has the school district clearly specified time to be allocated to this field of study at each level? Does the material satisfy various teaching and learning styles? Is the quantity of instructional materials adequate in relation to student enrollments? 4. Ease of use Does the information presented in an appealing ways? Does the materials provided flexibility in use? 5. Staff development Does the it provide ongoing staff-development programs? high(5) low(1)

high

low

high

low

high

low

4.Checklist for evaluating Learning Environment:

1. Rules A policy exists to promote positive behavior? Rules are communicated frequently and effectively 2. Support for Staff Staff roles are clearly defined 3. Parents and Governors Parents are involved in supporting students learning and positive behavior? 4. Classroom Environment ( Physical Factors) Classrooms are pleasant places to work Lighting is adequate and there is no glare Extraneous noise is minimized Equipment and materials are clearly labeled and are easily accessible Students have adequate personal workspace 5. Classroom Environment ( Social and Emotional Factors) Opportunities are available to help students feel valued Opportunities exist for students to discuss personal and emotional issues Opportunities exist for students to practice listening, and negotiating High(5) Low(1)

high

low

high

low

high

low

high

low