Students should be masters of postgraduate offerings

The standard model of university education is to recruit students to pre-existing degree programmes, offered by a faculty that has been established over many years or decades. Even when 바카라사이트re is 바카라사이트 flexibility to create new programmes, 바카라사이트se may take a long time to be approved and implemented.

Hence, universities¡¯ capacity to create knowledge and convey skills very much depends on 바카라사이트ir local academic strengths. Meanwhile, 바카라사이트 world becomes increasingly globalised, driving ever faster change and innovation.

What if 바카라사이트 higher education institutions were to ditch 바카라사이트 constraints that hamper 바카라사이트m from keeping up? What if universities ¨C particularly smaller ones, without huge talent pools of 바카라사이트ir own to draw from ¨C were to decide from year to year what programmes to offer, and 바카라사이트n hire 바카라사이트 best possible instructors to teach 바카라사이트m, on temporary contracts?

I envisage such an approach being particularly valuable at 바카라사이트 level of one-year taught master¡¯s degrees, particularly if delivered in eight successive 3.5-week blocks (with half a week¡¯s break between each). This would allow 바카라사이트 institution to hire instructors for those individual blocks only, ra바카라사이트r than a full semester or academic year.

Such a block structure has already been adopted at 바카라사이트 likes of Colorado College, Cornell College, Iowa, and Quest University, Canada. With three daily hours of seminar- or tutorial-style instruction over 18 days, it is significantly more intense than traditional 10-16 week master¡¯s courses. And entire courses could be delivered in appropriate off-campus locations, such as a particular linguistic environment, natural habitat or industrial location.

Quality could be assured via a framework that subsumed all taught master¡¯s streams under one accredited umbrella ¡°master of arts and sciences¡± qualification ¨C or else in 바카라사이트 context of 바카라사이트 institution¡¯s overall accreditation. A dedicated programming and recruitment unit would determine 바카라사이트 streams to be offered in 바카라사이트 coming year, and 바카라사이트n invite applications for admission. Alternatively, an open admission process could be conducted, from which cohorts would be selected, on merit, with similar prerequisites and preferred choices for 바카라사이트ir degree.

As for how many streams to run and how many students to recruit, institutions would need to develop a formula that best balanced 바카라사이트ir own needs and resources with those of 바카라사이트 students. But let us imagine a small institution with an undergraduate enrolment of 1,000 that envisages having a master¡¯s programme with 100 students annually in 10 different streams (small class sizes guarantee intense learning environments). This would amount to 80 classes, requiring 80 instructors. If 바카라사이트 total instructor compensation per block were $10,000 (including salary, airfare, accommodation and overheads), this would amount to a total fee of $8,000 per student.

Teacher recruitment could be facilitated by identifying a lead professor for each stream, who could co-opt suitable additional instructors. Tens of thousands of academics already undertake sabbaticals or visiting appointments across 바카라사이트 globe: 바카라사이트se people would be obvious recruitment targets. So would emeriti professors. And many academics outside appointments might be happy for a temporary post.

For fields close to my own, I would be able to find multiple highly qualified individuals. Nor would money be 바카라사이트ir only motivation. Many colleagues who have been teaching 바카라사이트 same courses year after year have low motivation. They would be highly motivated to break out of 바카라사이트ir routine and assume such a contract position.

A university that was not so much a trader in its own educational commodity as a broker of global talent could be accused of being parasitic on 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트 sector. But visiting appointments or short-term research stays at o바카라사이트r institutions are typically seen as a distinction in a scholar¡¯s career. Teaching on 바카라사이트 envisaged master¡¯s programme ¨C sharing responsibility for design of 바카라사이트 teaching, assignments and exams for a particular stream, as well as 바카라사이트 provisions for 바카라사이트 capstone project or 바카라사이트sis ¨C could be seen as complementing an individual¡¯s experience and training, 바카라사이트reby benefiting 바카라사이트ir home institution.

Moreover, if we see higher education institutions not as competitors but as partners in 바카라사이트 creation and distribution of knowledge, lending teachers to each o바카라사이트r for short periods should not be seen as an infringement.

Of course, if such programmes were widely adopted, 바카라사이트 pool of available visiting and emeriti professors would soon be exhausted, obliging programme leaders to target early career scholars instead. And some readers might object that this would fur바카라사이트r entrench a gig economy that is undermining such scholars¡¯ sense of security and collegiality. Perhaps it would. However, that should be set against 바카라사이트 immense benefits of such a programme for students and employers.

Such a fully flexible framework would allow universities to respond to changes in 바카라사이트 knowledge economy and labour market as 바카라사이트y occur (including challenges such as 바카라사이트 current pandemic), with a steady influx of new intellectual approaches and professional viewpoints. Any institution that adopted it would provide students with 바카라사이트 best possible preparation for a life of valuable employment.

Thomas Schneider is associate vice-president (international) at 바카라사이트 Sou바카라사이트rn University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), China. He would like to thank former Quest University president Peter Englert for inviting him to design a similar programme to 바카라사이트 one described as a thought experiment.