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COOPERATION IN FRENCH SPEAKING UNIVERSITIES

COOPERATION IN FRENCH SPEAKING UNIVERSITIES. A network between the heads of administration in French-speaking universities GISGUF (Groupement International des Secrétaires Généraux des Universités Francophones). 1 - The GISGUF network (goals, organization, topics, achievements…)

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COOPERATION IN FRENCH SPEAKING UNIVERSITIES

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  1. COOPERATION IN FRENCH SPEAKING UNIVERSITIES A network between the heads of administration in French-speaking universities GISGUF (Groupement International des Secrétaires Généraux des Universités Francophones) Françoise Granger

  2. 1 - The GISGUF network (goals, organization, topics, achievements…) 2 - A cooperation with Moroccan universities as part of an agreement between the French and Moroccan governments Françoise Granger

  3. 1 -The GISGUF network French-speaking heads of administration (HoAs) started an informal cooperation in 1977. The purpose was -- and still is -- • Build permanent links • between HoAs • Within French-speaking universities Françoise Granger

  4. The NAME given to this network Groupement International des Secrétaires Généraux des Universités Francophones (GISGUF) • Association (« loi 1901 ») • Now a member of « AUF »: Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (association for rectors, presidents, deans, researchers) Françoise Granger

  5. GOALS • Exchange and establish professional training to accompany pending changes in higher education and research • Coordinate skills and abilities of members • Organize meetings on special topics • Organize exchanges of « best practices » between HoAs Françoise Granger

  6. MEMBERS • HoAs from totally or partially French-speaking universities • « friends » • 140 members from 21 countries • Africa : 15 + 13 (Northern Africa) • Belgium : 6 • Canada : 26 • Lebanon : 3 • Switzerland : 15 • France : 62 Françoise Granger

  7. ORGANIZATION • General assembly (every 2 years) • Round Table (Board) : 11-14 members elected for 2 years (by the different constituencies as HUMANE does) • President elected for 2 years (Michel Quimper from the University of Montréal) michel.quimper@uquebec.ca • 5-member executive committee Françoise Granger

  8. 15 CONFERENCES SINCE 1977 • Belgium : 1987, 1997 • Canada : 1979, 1989, 2001 • France : 1977, 1985, 1991, 2003 • Lebanon : 1999 • Morocco : 2005 • Switzerland : 1983, 1995 • Tunisia : 1981, 1993 Françoise Granger

  9. TOPICS • 1977 : decision-making process and procedures • 1979 : role and responsibility of HoAs as regards official information • 1981 : participation and management (the role of trade unions…) • 1983 : new decentralization laws (1982 in France) and role of local authorities in higher education development Françoise Granger

  10. 1985 : university management in difficult economic contexts • 1987 : assessment : liberating or confining? • 1989 : international collaboration • 1991 : the new university ( problems encountered because of huge enrolment increases) • 1993 : students, partners or customers ? • 1995 : Funding and autonomy of higher education institutions Françoise Granger

  11. 1997 : partnerships • 1999 : risk management • 2001 : the role of HoAs in implementing and managing changes • 2003 : autonomy and assessment • 2005 : HoAs and governance Presentations can be found on the web site : http://www.gisguf.org/15e-colloque/conference.htm Françoise Granger

  12. (1st page Giuliana ‘s presentation) Françoise Granger

  13. 2007 : «  Quality, the role of HoAs  » Initiatives toward quality involve teaching, research and administrative procedures : how can HoAs contribute to improving quality ? Geneva 20-24 June 2007 Françoise Granger

  14. • Unfamiliar backgrounds (history, economy, geography, culture …) can lead to certain difficulties in understanding presentations from other countries: it is useful to take time to obtain information before meetings or training sessions (e.g. training session on human resources management with African colleagues in 2005). • « Best practices » in a country can prove to be difficult to implement in other places (Canada is not France, e.g. evaluation of teachers …) Françoise Granger

  15. • Attending meetings costs time and money and we lack both ! We must try to find a good balance between too little and too much (conference every 2 years) • Can a Canadian from Quebec easily understand a colleague from Meknès or Bouaké (and vice versa )? We all speak French but …. • Proceedings take too much time to be produced and distributed to members (not enough time and means) and therefore are less useful than they could be Françoise Granger

  16. • Broad-mindedness is necessary in our job to be able to anticipate changes and manage new partnerships : GISGUF - and HUMANE - are valuable training grounds for understanding what might soon take place in higher education • Continuing education is provided through the network • The network is recognized by our rectors and presidents ; conferences are sponsored by the minister of education and local authorities Françoise Granger

  17. • We can exchange doubts about our job and position: it helps ! • Last but not least : we derive a lot of pleasure in meeting new colleagues and discovering new places in the world ( we deserve this break sometimes…) Françoise Granger

  18. Cocorico ! Françoise Granger

  19. 2 - Cooperation with Moroccan universities An agreement between Moroccan and French governments was signed for the period 2002 – 2005 The agreement was overseen by the associations of university presidents in both countries Françoise Granger

  20. GOALS • Support the implementation of the reform to be headed in Moroccan universities • Get French universities to understand the purpose and contents of the reform • Create institutional relationships between the 2 associations of university presidents Françoise Granger

  21. The Moroccan BACKGROUND in 2002… The reform of the 14 universities in Moroco was urgent : • The number of students was increasing rapidly : they had to build facilities in a very short time • Morocco wanted its students to be able to attend courses in European universities : they had to adapt curricula to European standards • Departments were autonomous : universities needed a new form of governance and a centralized administration to lead the reform Françoise Granger

  22. The reform included : • Pedagogy and curricula • Research and technology transfer • Governance and administration Françoise Granger

  23. The administrative aspects of the project were assigned by the presidents to the French association of « secrétaires généraux » We were asked to help the Moroccan colleagues be ready in September 2004 They had very little time to : - recruit and train new staff (mostly scientists at doctorate level, often chemists) - get information technology and necessary hardware and software - conceive and implement central administration Françoise Granger

  24. The method used : • January 2003 : French HoAs went to Morocco to learn about the Moroccan higher education system • October 2003 : the 14 Moroccan colleagues worked for a week in 6 French universities to get acquainted with our system • February 2004 : 9 French colleagues led a 4- day training seminar in 3 Moroccan cities : workshops were organized to deal with student information and careers, human resources management, finance and space management . Françoise Granger

  25. The workshops brought together 50 people, which included representatives from all departments of one particular university as well as from several other universities (breaking down walls ) • June 2004 : administrative heads of departements stayed for a week-long training session at French universities • September 2004 : they did it ! Students started a new academic year (no holidays for our Moroccan colleagues and staff…) Françoise Granger

  26. They did it ! ?  • Well done, hats off to our Moroccan colleagues • I think the method was efficient ; I particularly appreciated the time we all took to get acquainted with both educational sytems before proceeding further (we often lack this knowledge in other situations of cooperation) • This gave the Moroccan HoAs the opportunity to work together – something they had never done before – and create a network in their country Françoise Granger

  27. But what next ?  We don’t really know…. • 2/3 of HoAs have changed recently • The programme, headed by presidents, focused on curricula and research But I am still in touch with a colleague from Rabat University : he is an academic and is now in charge of international affairs … Françoise Granger

  28. WELCOME TO GISGUF Next GISGUF conference GENEVA 20 – 24 June 2007 « Quality, the role of HoAs » web site : http://www.gisguf.org Françoise Granger

  29. WELCOME TO GISGUF Françoise Granger

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