RAK university dismisses senior staff

RAS AL KHAIMAH // The American University of RAK has made nearly three-quarters of its administrative staff redundant in the past month. The senior management dismissals began on May 27 with the university's president, Sharon Siverts, and ended last week. Other faculty and administrative staff have been told to take pay cuts or accept termination in what the university has termed a restructuring effort.

One faculty member, who asked not to be named, said: "Considering we have fewer than 100 students, there were just too many highly paid members of staff and the management have just come down on everyone. But without the level of faculty, they will not retain their accreditation status." Earlier this month, the two vice presidents, assistant vice president and a series of directors and other staff were handed letters of termination.

Originally, the university employed about 50 staff and faculty. It is believed that 75 per cent of the administration staff have been dismissed. On June 14, the Commission for Academic Accreditation assessed the university's status. A new acting president, Dr Shaukat Mirza, has been appointed. Prof Ian Cumbus, the commissioner at the Commission for Academic Accreditation within the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, said the commission was "very concerned" with the situation at the university, adding that there is a need to improve the organisational structure and financial "overspend".

"Authorities there decided that there was overspend in relation to the staff and in terms of the numbers of students. They looked at it critically and wanted to make some changes," he said. However, he said the quality of programmes offered by the university still meets the commission's standards. While no faculty members have been affected by the restructuring, Prof Cumbus could not rule out more redundancies. "We will be keeping a very close eye on it," he said.

The faculty member said that that meant "we and all our students all very unsure of what will be our fate". Independent consultants reviewed the university's management structure in November. Before it was the American University of RAK, it was George Mason University. In between, it was closed down last year after just three years of operation because of "budgetary issues" between the university and the RAK Government.

The university offers bachelor's of science degrees in biotechnology, business administration, management, electronics and communications engineering and computer engineering. It embarked on a major student recruitment campaign last autumn, but has not reached the kind of numbers it needs to justify its costs. No one at the university was available to comment on the redundancies. @Email:[e-mail]