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Faculty slams USQ

"It is disgusting that a world class University should have in fact allowed the staff and students to find out about the proposed closure from Khaleej Times," faculty members said in a statement released to the media on Wednesday.

"Except for the e-mail that the students received from Professor Bill Lovegroove, Vice-Chancellor of USQ, there has been no official communication," a faculty member told Khaleej Times.

The closure of the university had been in the air for some time according to the staff, but the USQ preferred to put a lid on it. Even the PR agency that handled the varsity's account kept mum and, according to one staff member, even advised the university to do likewise. It was crisis management of the worst kind.

The closure of USQ came about with the falling out between the University and the Knowledge Village over the contentious licence issue between the two. When the story broke the focus immediately shifted to the plight of the students of the university who suddenly found themselves with no place to go, their credits not worth a dime, their money down the drain and left with no option but to opt for distance learning. But the staff of the university were left to fend for themselves.

On Wednesday, some of the faculty members met the Knowledge Village authorities but the latter had only assurances to offer. KV officials said that they would "try to facilitate" the absorption of the faculty members but made no commitments regarding compensation to them. They also did not promise any legal support but said that they would consider such a thing.

Meanwhile, faculty members are clearly upset by the fact that USQ has remained mum as far as their future was concerned. The University has "made no mention of satisfactory compensation for the loss of working hours, jobs, cover for outstanding marking, and September classes, reflecting a lack of good faith considering the hard work as well as loyalty shown by the staff of USQ Dubai who have worked diligently over the preceding months to promote high standards of excellence", said the 14 faculty members in a statement.

In a letter written to Prof Bill Lovegrove, 14 faculty members of different nationalities said: "We the staff of USQ Dubai, would like to be informed by USQ Australia of its intended action concerning the matter of compensation for both the full-time and hourly paid staff members in accordance with obligatory redundancy pay-outs in Australia as a sign of good faith and respect for the work done by the faculty and staff at USQ Dubai by the sudden closure leaving staff members unemployed without notice."

Without pulling punches they further told the Vice-Chancellor that it was "a sign of bad faith on the part of USQ Australia to expect the students to accept online education as compensation when, in fact, they had paid for on campus, face-to-face learning.

"If they had wanted on-line education they would have already been studying online. This decision has only aggravated an already tense situation and added to the uncertainty of these students' futures and future options."

The faculty members feel that the stance taken by USQ reflects a lack of concern for the staff who have remained loyal, possibly compromising their future job prospects here in Dubai.

"It is obvious that USQ Australia isn't able to recognise a viable opportunity and the potential growth offered by the 300 students already enrolled. It is also short-sighted of USQ Australia as to the negative impact on those students who intend to further their studies in Australia.

The staff are hoping Prof Bill Lovegroove will act on the letter sent him and take immediate remedial action.

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