Friday 11 December 2015

To Russia, with Love

i would like to extend a personal message of welcome to all this blog's readers in Russia, as there seems to be a good number of them these days, according to my site stats - almost 500 this week alone!

I have no idea why HCT should be such an attraction in Putin's 'democratic dictatorship', but I guess that potential employees are checking out the nitty gritty on this splendid example of educational Alice in Wonderland. Is it worth the proverbial candle (in the wind) to make the jump from the sub-zero wastes of Murmansk to the humid heat of The Gulf?

Read on and find out, Tovarisch!

61 comments:

Anonymous said...

Reading about this place here and on Dave's ESL Cafe, I am reminded of very dysfunctional family where nobody trusts each other a single inch. Dad has put cameras on the walls, outside and inside, to trace the comings and goings of the teenage kids, and Mum has placed locks on the fridge and all the cupboards to stop that awful snacking.
It actually sounds a bit of a gas, so I might give it a try. The economy here in Putinland is getting rougher and rougher. What could possibly be worse that not getting paid?

Anonymous said...

Working at HCT.

Anonymous said...

Nothing could be worse than working for a Russian boss and not getting paid!

Or could I possibly be wrong?

Anonymous said...

Suede's ID has been revealed and the russian mafia have a contract to ice him.

Anonymous said...

SO is innocent, OK!

Delma said...

Would that be an HCT contract? Better check it VERY thoroughly first, and donT be surprised with the number or frequency of unilateral 'adjustments'!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Dear Student, please be informed that your Appeal for the re-sit exam has been REJECTED. - Mubeena - Business Dept.

I got this letter just now
Because i was late for an exam for 15 minites
For looking for the damn classroom that the exam will be taken in
And wasting another extra 15 minutes after i found the classroom to create an College Id card which i didnt have
They told me to go away and apply for an appeal
Now i got this message
Wow !!
We care for ur future they say?
Interesting

Anonymous said...

It's likely a hacking attack, someone doesn't like you and they will have stowed some kiddyporn or something similar on your site. Googlemare or related will repeatedly ping your site to make it more visible on the web.

Once that happens, you can expect a request for funding to 'fix your problem' or a visit from the police.

Someone definitely wants to harm you Suede.

Anonymous said...

The wheels are falling off the bus! All hell is breaking loose with the ridiculous exam policies... exams full of errors, with things not in the course outlines, 80% failure rates... teachers being ordered to mark all exams in 48 hours... insanity...

Anonymous said...

I would say that the wheels came off the HCT juggernaut some time ago, and what is now left is a wreck. The 'accident' already happened!

Anonymous said...

In the content areas anyone with any credibility and/or self-respect has left the building, apart from a few individuals close to retirement age who see little option but to weather the storm. Morale is at an all-time low as faculty are monitored from time of arrival to time of departure. Old despots, such as "Dr" Monica Gallant have left, only to be replaced by more loathsome cronies such as Dr. Syed Bashir, a talentless clone, intent on demonizing and removing anyone with an iota of talent. Some faculty have resigned only to find that paperwork does not get processed by their 'line manager' and they are unable to leave at the end of 6 months notice and are required to serve an extra six month term (for bad behavior). This is seen as helping with retention. In short, the place is a joke, for a Westerner to remain in their post is an admission that the said individual is so talentless and corrupt that they are now unemployable outside the system - there are quite a few individuals that fit this profile. Enjoy what you have created HCT, and good luck in your quest for a world ranking!

Tayeb Kamali said...

But, tell me how you REALLY feel about the system that I created and left behind!

Suede Oasis said...

A thousand curses on you, TK! Ever since you got fired, I mean left, everything has gotten much worse!

And NOBODY thought that was ever possible!!

Grazer said...

It's true, the highly-despised and lowly-talented 'Doctor' Monica Gallant was obliged to release her clammy grip on her position as 'Chair' (or was it Dean?) - some say it was by popular demand - and is now plying her cruel trade at ... a Fashion College!
Oh, how the once Mighty have fallen!,

Anonymous said...

Oh that's awesome!

What a comabative ho!

But she dressed so poorly, how can she teach fashion? All those Arab women are far more stylish than that cow!

Anonymous said...

Yes...but her legacy lives as her appointed successor continues her defiling of academia, favoring incompetence and rewarding corruption. At least the current despot wrote his own thesis.

Tayeb Kamali said...

@ Suede Oasis:Bah! Humbug! I scoff at your allegations and will fiddle on your grave!

Tayeb Kamali said...

@ suede oasis:

Ha, ha, ha! I OWN you! I will fiddle on your grave!

Suede Oasis said...

I know, You're very good at 'fiddling', TK. How much did you swindle out of HCT before they rumbled you?

Anonymous said...

Ha I once had to assign Dr. Syed Bashir as a teacher in an HR course. He came to Sharjah from DWC or DMC to meet me and I was immediately repulsed. What a disagreeable fellow, and stinky too, with lots of smoky smell and bad breath.

I think he was Lebanese or Syrian.

Students hated him too. He was authoritarian, gave no breaks during day-long seminars, etc. I was fielding complaints for weeks.

His style was like he was teaching elementary school.

Avoid, avoid, avoid.

Anonymous said...

The person who replaced Monica is a million times worse... the debacle of final exams, with all grades across the system having to be massively curved due to the ridiculously bad exams, is but one bit of evidence....

Anonymous said...

Well and how about the hand written final exams this division imposed on all students in a regime that demanded all final grades be entered within 24 hours after the fact. So we get to grade final exam papers from Wed and Thurs on the weekend. Yep that's a clusterf*** if ever I saw one. Marketing students were failing over 50% system wide leading up to final exam but whilst we were away they all 'curved' upwards. So much for grade inflation lets bury that one. oh and how about we change the final exam after the fact of the system course teams/faculty selecting the content. Yep we can do that too. Exam keys not matching questions, exam questions written by illiterates and hey who really gives a f*** anyway so let's have a 'spring' conference in winter to teach the faculty how to do their job properly.

Anonymous said...

Another who may be nervous is the Associate Dean in the computing area 'Dr' Nasser Nassiri, whose rise to fame was solely enabled by his cousins' (a hairdresser) best client, the former VC TK. Such are the ways that promotion is managed at HCT. Dr Nasser's idiocy knows no bounds. Even students didn't know where to turn when he started chanting "way to go UAE number one" upon hearing the revelation in a student presentation that the UAE led the world in carbon emissions per capita.

Anonymous said...

Dr Syed is a Pakistani with Australian connections. His rise to fame enabled by poor teaching and gratuitous overseas learning exchanges when they were flavor of the month. Hated by students, and an assessor who favors style over substance....in other words it does not matter if the students know anything or not, it is much more important that the room is decorated nicely and the students come equipped with suitable bribes. Quite simply a nincompoop. Avoid DWC if you are business faculty

Anonymous said...

Hey Gillbert Linne is the biggest fraud you ever did see, not only did he mandate that ALL online learning be completed with the students actually sitting in the classroom in front of faculty but he authorized that ALL final exam grades be passed through some stats software to smooth out any irregularities in the curve i.e anything more than 20%+ failures before being published to the students i.e. changed after the fact!!! This is at the highest level of the system which is now being run by lunatics who know nothing about education. And so Gill goes on vacation to leave the smucks to carry the can. Meanwhile faculty can please them selves as far as Performance bonuses goes since the biggest slice of the cash goes to the boys and their cousins at the top of the greasy pole. Wadda ya mean 'what about the CAA acredditation? and what about the High School equivalency certificate process before your next renewal?? ok so why don't we get thru this outrageous fraud first before we screw the faculty further. Read it here cause it aint getting published anywhare's else.

Anonymous said...

But academic honesty, in any way shape or form, has never been the strong suite of the Higher Colleges. Even when flagrant cheating is caught, it will only result in the dismissal of the faculty member (who must be at fault), and the eventual restoration and elevation of the "wrongly" accused parties. To adjust grades through an 'objective' system actually seems an advance on the 'subjective' resorting of grades that usually occurs.

But to expect the students to receive fair recognition for their work (good or bad) goes completely against the prevailing morals at the HCT. Those managers who have published have not actually contributed to their outputs, relying on 'slave' labor from South Asia to produce their papers for them and then to attach their name to said publication, and to fleece the system for their funded travel to exotic locales for conferences. The actual writers of the papers may be fortunate to get their name as 2nd or 3rd author, along with a rather cozy teaching load.

Suede Oasis said...

It appears that our Russian friends have left us. According to my stats and such there have been a few attempts to hack in to the site, but with no success, obviously. So, who has SO been pissing off in Russia? Or rather, who has hired a few russkies to try to bring the site to its proverbial knees? Could it possibly be ...

Anonymous said...

Steady on Suede, you have more pressing issues here at hct where the whole student assemblage has been duped into thinking that the grades showing on their transcripts for this past semester are REAL. Even their families believe this to be so. Under what type of pretext can a 3rd level institution publicly behave in this manner? Most would call the curvature of their grades a fraud and of course in most jurisdictions, illegal.

Anonymous said...

It just confirms that the HCT is NOT an educational institution. It is a lunatic asylum.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if the Russian visitors are related to Simon from Abu Dhabi? The old Director?

He visited me recently in LinkedIn, which is why I ask.

Maybe he's looking for a return to the old haunts?

Hardy har har!

HCT is SUCH A SHITHOLE!

Glad I saw it, and grateful I'm gone!

Anonymous said...

Is it really possible that students believe those outlandish marks are real?? Wonder if it will become the routine now.

Suede Oasis said...

Our dear departed Dr Simon Jones may well be responsible for these Russian visitors, especially since he got FIRED from his job in Kazakhstan and I went out of my way to congratulate him on the happy occasion!
Ain't that right, SiJo?!

Suede Oasis said...

Oh dear - another 80 visits from our Russian friends today alone! Shto dyelayoot? Ya ni znayoo ... Ochen interesno!

Anonymous said...

Don't worry, Suede, they will,be knocking on your front door soon, so you can offer them some nice Irish hospitality!

Raja said...

I do hope that traditional Irish hospitality includes lashings of Guinness, SuedeO, together with ample amounts of Stolichnaya. Dried fish is also a Russian essential when drinking!

Anonymous said...

I hope you are suitably armed with a few bottles of H20, suede. ;)

Anonymous said...

Get it right,man - it's h2o!

Suede Oasis said...

What, mere water?! For my possible Russian visitors I have prepared a potent brew of tea, but with added POLONIUM!

Anonymous said...

So let me get this straight:

HCT sucks - It used to suck big time, and now it sucks even more.

Thanks to this blog those individuals who gleefully sought to ruin the lives of others are facing consequences. A failed ex-HCT manager now seeking new employment is striking difficulties as prospective employers conducting due diligence enter "HCT / Simon Jones" into the search engine and uncover some unsavory facts. This creates some difficulties for ex HCT manager. However, this unlikely to change the behavior of current management who fail to see the big picture.

Recruitment will continue to prove difficult for HCT as prospective employees look at this site, and when once they could have been excused for thinking that this was the domain of a few demented malcontents, further research on reputable sites such as glassdoor will confirm all that is said. Anyone who would take up a position at HCT would need to be desperate.

HCT will continue to suck.

Anonymous said...

Latest out of HCT: System-wide non-renewals of all faculty who have not completed their equivalency certification.

Delma said...

A sound measure, in my view, designed to increase the academic rigor of the HCT brand.

Those who will mock this move as a mere pretext to cut costs should be ashamed of theirselves.

What, did you actually see my tongue set firmly in my cheek?!

Anonymous said...

Yes I did!

Anonymous said...

Where will they find replacements for all these who've been sacked?? Hmmmmmmm

Anonymous said...

Third world, of course. They'll be happy to graft for $1000 per month!

Anonymous said...

Apparently up to 350 faculty system-wide have been advised that their contracts will not be renewed. Those on higher salaries / benefits have been effectively sacked. Less well remunerated faculty have been given the option to reapply, rumors circulating that all other staff will be given 6 months to establish their credentials .....who needs faculty anyway, this is a masterstroke by HCT management to oust MIT from the #1 spot in the world uni rankings through leading the world in initiating the teacherless educational model.

Anonymous said...

And CAA accreditation is guaranteed now that the HEAD OF CAA IS WORKING AS AN"ADVISOR" TO THE VC!!! Un-frickin-believable....

Anonymous said...

Suede, your mission is nearly complete. It may soon be time to rename the blog 'hctsucked'.

Anonymous said...

But will it not suck for many years to come? And suck even more than currently?
Or do you think it will cease to function in some way and become breached on some desert sand dune?
Interesting times - for some!

Anonymous said...

My buddy goes to MOESHR today to finish the final submission and they won't accept her High School certificate even its stamped. It has to go to the MOE for equivalency first and then back to MOESHR!! It couldn't get more fucked up. 1 week at least for MOE stamp and then according to MOESHR maybe 2 months before it is all done and equivalented. Give me my baseball bat!!!!

Suede Oasis said...

These are clearly intimidation practices being played by the current mismanagement of HCT, in order to get rid of the expensive western expats. It is much better to employ cheap and pliable Asians!

RussianT said...

Oh, That's funny. I came across this blog by accident looking for HCT forum oman. Nothing changes from HCT to HCT, no matter what country it is. Cheers from HCT oman!))

Anonymous said...

So is the VC really on leave and under investigation... and has he lost all hiring and firing powers?

Anonymous said...

I'm surprised there is not more info posted on the horrible way HCT management is treating the faculty. Non-renewals for everyone whose contracts are up this year and not having the decency to provide them with 6 months notice as stated in their current contract. Mandating a ridiculous/meaningless equivilency process for degrees, fingerprinting in and out for work, mandatory overtime teaching (with no extra pay of course), must teach one summer semester now with reduced annual leave....... the list goes on and on. Prospective employees should stay AWAY from this place!

Anonymous said...

If you go to glassdoor.com and punch in HCT reviews you will see that the college is recommended by a mighty 21 percent of employees! It also garners an impressive 2.2 stars from a maximum of 5!
My only question is - who are these 21 percent of happy campers? And how sick are they?!

Anonymous said...

.....for what its worth....those who punch in positive reviews to glassdoor about HCT and other UAE Federal Universities [sic] such as Zayed are HR employees of these organizations....either that or members of the incompetent corrupt middle management structure of these places.....

....it almost feels bad to keep putting the boot into some of these middle management NAZIs, given that their jobs are just as threatened by the new regime....but their treatment of subordinates has been so bad, that they deserve a kicking....Suede noted above that the HCT now seeks to employ "flexible and pliant" individuals, this had been the case at Sharjah for some time, where the academic coordinator has been expected to be "flexible and pliant" in extracurricular activities designed for the pleasure of the business chair

Anonymous said...

It's true there are some people, probably HR or other sycophantic "flexible and pliant" employees (Indian sub-continent) who are punching in favourable yes's or no's, etc. to make the place look better.

Anonymous said...

If you are from the Indian sub continent.....being "flexible and pliant" means being a good employee at the good ole HCT....even if this means allowing managerial favorites from a higher caste steal your research, present it as their own, and leave you with nothing. Should you complain you will be labeled a trouble maker by an odious Pakistani business chair. For your troubles you will be saddled with an increased work load so that you can show your gratitude....
.such is the life of our diligent hard working colleagues

Tayeb Kamali said...

To prove how "flexible and pliant" he was to appease Tubby, Johnson Thomas bent over backwards to shove his...erm...Johnson up MY "Thomas".

I knew that Indians were good at yoga, but the twists and turns this guy performed were only of a quality that a dedicated sycophant could produce!

Suede Oasis said...

So welcome back TK! I heard a nasty/nice rumour that you had expired, but I guess that it was just wishful thinking. It is good to know that you are still able to 'pop in' and apprise us of the wisdom of your recent thinking.

As for the much disrespected JT - how could you?

Anonymous said...

VC under investigation?? Ya kiddin me , the guys recruit into New York with his piece of ass from Central Services. Nothin like takin in the Big Apple in spring with your favorite piece of pussy. oh yea and then recruit some faculty for this clusterfuck of a college system. good luck with that pal.