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[alleyoxenfree]

And as for the other 'stans, I've heard absolute terrifying stories from an economics prof I know who did a few academic tours of duty in Kyrgyzstan. So no 'stans for me either.

Okay, now it's just mean to tease us this way and give no details.  We need stories.

[hugoergo222]

I would also not recommend applying to the UKH. Speaking from experience, the biggest problem is that they are simply not sincere in what they tell you or what they do. They advertise the place as "applying for validation" in a UK institution but that was never more than a pipe dream. I tried to check out the place as much as I could before I could go there and asked a lot of questions, but there is such a secretiveness about everything there--entirely unnecessary for a place with only 300-400 students--it was ridiculous. Applicants almost never are allowed to meet with current faculty or students, or even contact them. Criticising the university administration is a firing offense. (I'm not talking about political activism here, just asking them to follow their own policies). Speaking of which, at the beginning of last year they made a big deal about their new "rules", but they wouldn't let people keep a copy of them, and as soon as the administration realized that the new rules would constrain their behavior they simply stated that they had the right to "interpret" them anyway they liked!

Other examples: they claim to have a health plan but it consists of a single $1,000 per year payment towards health insurance. When I applied, I was told that was enough to get westen style health insurance. What a joke! Private health insurance in Iraq is at least $6,000 for an individual. For a while the University pretended to look into a group plan, but they just conveniently forgot about it. Of course, Iraq does have free health care, but you might want to check out the public hospitals first: 6 to a room, no nurses, no bedding, no laundry service, and I won't go into the medical issues. There are good doctors here, but a lot of quacks too.

Of course, they will have you do lots of committee work, but unless your committee tells them what they want to know it will be completely ignored. The faculty sent a petition to ask to be represented on the "academic board" (the equivalent of an acedemic senate in the US) only to be told that the Governing Board did not wish to hear from the faculty! Speaking of which, the governing board is made up of political cronies of the regime, and most of them are unknown to anyone at the University. They never contact anyone but the top administrator and it is entirely self-appointing--so zero accountability. Even the Kurdish Regional Government has no control over it! Indeed, trying to contact either the GB or the KRG is also a firing offense.

Finally, can you imagine being recruited to a job based on a three year contract and then finding out that your department was slated for closure? That happened to my colleagues in the sociology department. It turned out that they massively overhired in the department solely in order to get enough FTE to be able to start an entirely different program (Natural Resources) without having to ask for more money. No, they just fire the people they have and shift the money over! This was done in such a sneaky way that nobody at the University besides the top administrator and, presumably, the Governing Board, were even aware that either of these major steps was being taken until it was announced. It seems that they even fooled the British consultants who were advising the University, if they are to be believed. (Of course, they were released as soon as they weren't necessary or refused to legitimize the actions of the administration.) This did explain why they made the department go though a whole process of designing a popular new degree scheme, only to ignore it.

I'm not opposed to Natural Resources, but I am opposed to dishonesty. An administration that is willing to promise you something they have no intention of providing cannot be trusted to do anything honestly.

I can go on and on, but I'll save my breath for now and simply say, look elsewhere. Even in Kurdistan there are a lot better places--at least places where they will tell you the truth. I would add that you should check into any foreign university very carefully. Do NOT assume that what you are told is anywhere near the truth. The problem with the UKH was that since it was new there just wasn't that much information, and the people handling the applicants were just plain dishonest, or themselves had been lied to.

It is sad, because as several other people noted, there did seem to be a sincere desire on the part of the government to built a high-quality University and of course it did seem to be a great place to conduct research and grow in one's career. But so far the University is on it's third administration and is only going from bad to worse, with absolutely no concern about the quality of its programs or faculty and with a level of favoritism that is shocking even in Kurdistan. At this point even if the administration were radically revised I would take a wait-and-see attitude before thinking about going back.

[kabulite]

Alleyoxenfree, please forgive me for the time-lapse, but I have just returned to Afghanistan to assist in the development of two new degree programs. Your questions and points are thoughtful and I hope I can answer them without straying too far from the issue raised by qariwa55.
   In answer to your first question, no, I'm no longer at AUAF. My two-year contract was not renewed in 2008, presumably because I challenged the decisions of the newly-hired president. That situation was reported on by The Chronicle of Higher Education in the November 28, 2008 issue; there is no need for me to rehash it here. It is too simplistic, though, to suggest that the issue is one of forcing a despotic or simply misguided administrator to join the 21st century. I have no knowledge of the UKH president's background at the time of the incident described by qariwa55, but the person hired as president of AUAF in 2006 was an experienced American educator who had been president of several other universities in the US before taking the position in Afghanistan.
   Any university can have a poor administrator.  It is as likely to happen in the West as it is in Kurdistan or Afghanistan. Western universities simply have a greater number of checks and balances to minimize the wreckage to personnel and the reputation of the school these people can cause.  If, however, we advocate that no new faculty (or administrators) apply to take our places and the places of others who left, what becomes of the school? Students in "the ...stans" have limited opportunities for a quality education as we have come to define it. When a school closes, opportunities are lost for the students who studied there while the administration members we sought to sanction simply take senior-level positions at other universities. Who suffers the greater loss...the students or the despotic administrator?
   Though I'm certain that some Western women are disrespected in Kabul, I do not personally know of any who have been. As for women not being seen by or talked to by men to whom they are not related, I have met the wives of many of my professional colleagues here. Kabul is, certainly, still a city of burkas, but change is coming. A surprising number of Afghan women are leaning toward (conservative) Western dress. Increasing numbers of women are seeking higher education opportunities. I have seen a few women driving in Kabul and the number of female entrepreneurs and business owners is growing.
   Many of the professors at AUAF were women, and I assure you that they were highly respected by students and members of the community. I'm sorry that I don't have statistics on how many female faculty teach in the Afghan universities. The Afghan students in our classes were extremely polite, thoughtful and very inquisitive. Many were married, nearly all worked full-time jobs to support their families and their schooling. For the most part, they were ideal students.
   Violence and tragic events certainly affect schedules at schools in the Middle East and Central Asia more often than in the West, and it requires a higher level of flexibility on the part of the administration and the faculty to deal with these issues. We may add a few minutes to each class for a month or schedule a make-up day on Saturday, but we move on. The university is seeking accreditation in the US and maintaining the requisite number of contact hours for courses is critical. But, yes, security is certainly a consideration in Afghanistan and other parts of the region. Several of the students during my tenure there carried weapons as a part of their jobs as security personnel for government officials. However, all weapons were surrendered at the university gate, locked-up and then collected by their owners on the way out. Students, staff and visitors all pass through security.
   As for the "golden parachute," it does not exist here in most organizations. On the other hand, salaries in Afghanistan generally include a post differential supplement as well as a hazardous duty supplement that adds an additional 50% to 70% to the base salary. Transportation and housing are provided as part of the contract, and faculty can have their salaries deposited or transferred to the bank of their choice in the West. Tax laws vary with the organizational structure and are constantly changing, but much of the salary is exempt from US tax. For that reason, I expected international faculty and staff to save enough to cover contingencies since there is little, other than food and clothing, to spend money on while here.
   Forgive me for redirecting this discussion to Afghanistan. This issue is about a despotic administration, and I fully understand the point of view and frustration expressed by qariwa55. My argument is simply that there are alternative points of view on dealing with these situations.