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Sept 8 2014
UC helps construct resources, revenue at private Armenian university
Incoming undergraduate students at the American University of Armenia,
which is receiving guidance from University of California staff and
administrators, gather for a group photo last month in Yerevan,
Armenia. Photo: Eric Grigorian, Special To The Chronicle
Wedged such as a peach pit surrounded by Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia
and Iran sits a nation half the size of Lake Michigan with great
weather, ancient history, and a dazzling private university run
largely by - that's right - the University of California.
Its students have the freedom to choose their possess classes. They
can spar with faculty. And, most unusually for Armenia, they don't
need to bribe a professor for a better grade.
Aimée Dorr, UC's provost, is a trustee of the American University of
Armenia, which opened to undergraduates for the primary time last
year.
Eight other UC professors, deans, finance executives and retired
leaders and academics also sit on its 22-member Board of Trustees.
Karl Pister, former chancellor of UC Santa Cruz, is one of them. Larry
Pitts, ex-UC provost, is chairman of the board - a role retiring UC
provosts agree to take on.
The new president of the Armenian university is a professor on leave
from UC Berkeley. Now he gazes out at Mount Ararat from campus instead
of Mount Tamalpais.
"Armenia is a very old country - almost such as an open-air museum
with churches and monasteries going back to the fourth century. But
there's no gate and no ticket to buy," stated Armen Der Kiureghian,
66, a civil engineering professor from Cal who initiated the job on
July 1. "We're hoping that some American students will be interested
in studying at an American university abroad. We'd be a natural."
Academic quality is high, he stated . "The diploma is accredited by
the same organization that accredits Berkeley and Stanford."
Rigorous evaluations
Like those stellar establishments, the American University of Armenia
undergoes a rigorous review of standards every seven years from the
Western Association of Schools and Colleges in Alameda. The evaluators
are volunteers from UC campuses, California State University and two
private American colleges. They travel at the academic institution 's
cost .
No UC money flows to the Armenian university, UC officials state .
What flows eastward is "just know-how," Der Kiureghian stated . "No
financial contributions."
The know-how does include legal and investment assistance . The
trustees - officially the American University of Armenia Corp. - rent
an office from UC in Oakland's Kaiser Center and invest their funds in
UC's general endowment pool. UC's controller, Peggy Arrivas, chairs
their finance committee.
"We are there as rooters, supporters and revenue generators for the
university," stated Pitts, the former UC provost who not only chairs
the Armenian University's Board of Trustees, but its Board of
Directors, which raises funds for wages , taxes and health care.
Yet others state UC offers the Armenian university - and its students
- something deeper.
"It's changing the moral fiber of the country," stated Judson King,
director of Cal's Center for Studies in Higher Education, referring to
the rare possibilities the academic institution provides for Armenian
students to have academic freedom in a region where universities
typically exert more control than in the West.
Until last year, the university offered only graduate-level programs.
Now its primary undergraduates - almost 300 18-year-olds - have
completed their primary year at a academic institution unlike any
other in Armenia and are starting their second alongside a new crew of
freshmen. One obvious difference is that everything is in English.
"I love this university," stated Shahane Arushanyan, a computer
science major who learned English at Ayb High School in Yerevan. "I
even go there during the holidays, because it is such as a home for
me."
Students such as the freedom to choose their possess major - not
always possible in Armenian universities - and the capability to take
classes alongside students studying other fields. They appreciate
browsing library shelves on their possess , rather than having to ask
for every book that interests them. And they such as being able to
disagree with their professors - without having it affect their grade.
No more bribes
The only way to get a better grade at the UC- linked to academic
institution is to work for it, students stated . Unlike faculty at
some Armenian schools, professors take no payment in exchange for
favors.
"The most famous type of corruption is bribing for admissions exams
and graduation exams," stated Maria Sargsyan, who is also studying
computer science and entering her second year. "I remember when I was
forced to give teachers money for buying presents for the headmaster
of my high academic institution . I also remember when some of my
classmates bribed for not going to academic institution and having
good grades with zero absences."
The unknown Western approach caused "educational shock" for Edita
Sahakyan last year.
"The differences between AUA undergraduate program and that of other
Armenian universities are really significant," stated the math and
programming major, marveling at the "library with wide opportunities,"
the fact that professors hold office hours to answer questions, and
the chance for students to hold jobs on campus.
The university offers just three undergraduate degrees as yet:
business, computer science, and "English and communications." Annual
tuition for business costs the most, at 1.5 million drams, or $3,663.
The others are $2,637 each. As with UC, eligible students who can't
afford it pay no tuition.
International students pay regarding twice the in-country rate, so Bay
Area students eyeing the Armenian university as a way to get a
top-shelf education on the cheap would pay just regarding half of UC's
$12,192 tuition for California residents.
The campus also offers eight masters programs and a handful part-time
and non-degree-granting courses.
The university's story starts with the enormous 6.8-magnitude
earthquake that hit northern Armenia on Dec. 7, 1988, and killed at
least 25,000 individuals , wounded more than 30,000, and flattened
villages. Among the Americans who went there to assistance was Der
Kiureghian, then a young Cal professor.
Stunned by the extent of the damage and the substandard construction
that caused hospitals to collapse and kill scores of medics , Der
Kiureghian returned a year later.
"I realized not much had been done in terms of studying the reasons
for the damage and the loss," he stated . "It was very disappointing."
What was needed, he thought, was an remaining research university of
the kind that in the United States would have been all over an
earthquake region puzzling out causes and seeking solutions.
Der Kiureghian wrote a proposal and contacted colleagues.
On Sept. 21, 1991, the day the Soviet Republic of Armenia became an
independent nation, the American University of Armenia opened with 101
graduate students.
It would take another 22 years for the teenagers to arrive.
Able to stay in Armenia
Now the university "provides them with the opportunity to receive an
American-accredited higher education without leaving their country,"
stated Bruce Boghosian, a math professor from Tufts who was president
of the Armenian university from 2010 until July.
"Many, many parents have said to me that they had been planning to
deliver their college-age pupil abroad for their undergraduate
education," he stated . "They were very relieved to know that they
could stay in Armenia, keep the family together, and their child would
receive a globe -class education."
Of course, if Armenian students want a UC-style education, they may
need to practice certain activities common on UC campuses besides
studying.
"Last summer, when the fee to the public transport was raised, they
protested and finally achieved their purpose of decreasing it again,"
Sahakyan stated .
For now, she stated , no one is protesting tuition at the American
University of Armenia.
"The tuition fee in Armenia is quite little."
http://www.mynextfone.co.uk/breaking-news/uc-helps-construct-resources-revenue-at-private-armenian-university-h10312.html
From: A. Papazian
Sept 8 2014
UC helps construct resources, revenue at private Armenian university
Incoming undergraduate students at the American University of Armenia,
which is receiving guidance from University of California staff and
administrators, gather for a group photo last month in Yerevan,
Armenia. Photo: Eric Grigorian, Special To The Chronicle
Wedged such as a peach pit surrounded by Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia
and Iran sits a nation half the size of Lake Michigan with great
weather, ancient history, and a dazzling private university run
largely by - that's right - the University of California.
Its students have the freedom to choose their possess classes. They
can spar with faculty. And, most unusually for Armenia, they don't
need to bribe a professor for a better grade.
Aimée Dorr, UC's provost, is a trustee of the American University of
Armenia, which opened to undergraduates for the primary time last
year.
Eight other UC professors, deans, finance executives and retired
leaders and academics also sit on its 22-member Board of Trustees.
Karl Pister, former chancellor of UC Santa Cruz, is one of them. Larry
Pitts, ex-UC provost, is chairman of the board - a role retiring UC
provosts agree to take on.
The new president of the Armenian university is a professor on leave
from UC Berkeley. Now he gazes out at Mount Ararat from campus instead
of Mount Tamalpais.
"Armenia is a very old country - almost such as an open-air museum
with churches and monasteries going back to the fourth century. But
there's no gate and no ticket to buy," stated Armen Der Kiureghian,
66, a civil engineering professor from Cal who initiated the job on
July 1. "We're hoping that some American students will be interested
in studying at an American university abroad. We'd be a natural."
Academic quality is high, he stated . "The diploma is accredited by
the same organization that accredits Berkeley and Stanford."
Rigorous evaluations
Like those stellar establishments, the American University of Armenia
undergoes a rigorous review of standards every seven years from the
Western Association of Schools and Colleges in Alameda. The evaluators
are volunteers from UC campuses, California State University and two
private American colleges. They travel at the academic institution 's
cost .
No UC money flows to the Armenian university, UC officials state .
What flows eastward is "just know-how," Der Kiureghian stated . "No
financial contributions."
The know-how does include legal and investment assistance . The
trustees - officially the American University of Armenia Corp. - rent
an office from UC in Oakland's Kaiser Center and invest their funds in
UC's general endowment pool. UC's controller, Peggy Arrivas, chairs
their finance committee.
"We are there as rooters, supporters and revenue generators for the
university," stated Pitts, the former UC provost who not only chairs
the Armenian University's Board of Trustees, but its Board of
Directors, which raises funds for wages , taxes and health care.
Yet others state UC offers the Armenian university - and its students
- something deeper.
"It's changing the moral fiber of the country," stated Judson King,
director of Cal's Center for Studies in Higher Education, referring to
the rare possibilities the academic institution provides for Armenian
students to have academic freedom in a region where universities
typically exert more control than in the West.
Until last year, the university offered only graduate-level programs.
Now its primary undergraduates - almost 300 18-year-olds - have
completed their primary year at a academic institution unlike any
other in Armenia and are starting their second alongside a new crew of
freshmen. One obvious difference is that everything is in English.
"I love this university," stated Shahane Arushanyan, a computer
science major who learned English at Ayb High School in Yerevan. "I
even go there during the holidays, because it is such as a home for
me."
Students such as the freedom to choose their possess major - not
always possible in Armenian universities - and the capability to take
classes alongside students studying other fields. They appreciate
browsing library shelves on their possess , rather than having to ask
for every book that interests them. And they such as being able to
disagree with their professors - without having it affect their grade.
No more bribes
The only way to get a better grade at the UC- linked to academic
institution is to work for it, students stated . Unlike faculty at
some Armenian schools, professors take no payment in exchange for
favors.
"The most famous type of corruption is bribing for admissions exams
and graduation exams," stated Maria Sargsyan, who is also studying
computer science and entering her second year. "I remember when I was
forced to give teachers money for buying presents for the headmaster
of my high academic institution . I also remember when some of my
classmates bribed for not going to academic institution and having
good grades with zero absences."
The unknown Western approach caused "educational shock" for Edita
Sahakyan last year.
"The differences between AUA undergraduate program and that of other
Armenian universities are really significant," stated the math and
programming major, marveling at the "library with wide opportunities,"
the fact that professors hold office hours to answer questions, and
the chance for students to hold jobs on campus.
The university offers just three undergraduate degrees as yet:
business, computer science, and "English and communications." Annual
tuition for business costs the most, at 1.5 million drams, or $3,663.
The others are $2,637 each. As with UC, eligible students who can't
afford it pay no tuition.
International students pay regarding twice the in-country rate, so Bay
Area students eyeing the Armenian university as a way to get a
top-shelf education on the cheap would pay just regarding half of UC's
$12,192 tuition for California residents.
The campus also offers eight masters programs and a handful part-time
and non-degree-granting courses.
The university's story starts with the enormous 6.8-magnitude
earthquake that hit northern Armenia on Dec. 7, 1988, and killed at
least 25,000 individuals , wounded more than 30,000, and flattened
villages. Among the Americans who went there to assistance was Der
Kiureghian, then a young Cal professor.
Stunned by the extent of the damage and the substandard construction
that caused hospitals to collapse and kill scores of medics , Der
Kiureghian returned a year later.
"I realized not much had been done in terms of studying the reasons
for the damage and the loss," he stated . "It was very disappointing."
What was needed, he thought, was an remaining research university of
the kind that in the United States would have been all over an
earthquake region puzzling out causes and seeking solutions.
Der Kiureghian wrote a proposal and contacted colleagues.
On Sept. 21, 1991, the day the Soviet Republic of Armenia became an
independent nation, the American University of Armenia opened with 101
graduate students.
It would take another 22 years for the teenagers to arrive.
Able to stay in Armenia
Now the university "provides them with the opportunity to receive an
American-accredited higher education without leaving their country,"
stated Bruce Boghosian, a math professor from Tufts who was president
of the Armenian university from 2010 until July.
"Many, many parents have said to me that they had been planning to
deliver their college-age pupil abroad for their undergraduate
education," he stated . "They were very relieved to know that they
could stay in Armenia, keep the family together, and their child would
receive a globe -class education."
Of course, if Armenian students want a UC-style education, they may
need to practice certain activities common on UC campuses besides
studying.
"Last summer, when the fee to the public transport was raised, they
protested and finally achieved their purpose of decreasing it again,"
Sahakyan stated .
For now, she stated , no one is protesting tuition at the American
University of Armenia.
"The tuition fee in Armenia is quite little."
http://www.mynextfone.co.uk/breaking-news/uc-helps-construct-resources-revenue-at-private-armenian-university-h10312.html
From: A. Papazian