What is Private University

Private universities are not operated by governments though many receive public subsidies, especially in the form of tax breaks and public student loans and grants. Depending on the region, private universities may be subject to government regulation. Private universities compare to public universities and national universities.

History

Australia

Bond University is Australia's first private university, founded in 1987. It runs three semesters per year (correlating exactly with the Northern and Southern Hemispheres' schedules), which allows a student to complete a six semester degree in two years and an eight semester degree (e.g. Law) in under three years.

Since Bond University's foundation, the University of Notre Dame Australia has also been founded as a private university, in 1989. They remain Australia's only private universities.

Melbourne University, a public university, owned a private university called Melbourne University Private from 1998 to 2005. The private university was not successful, losing $A 20 000 000 over its life.

Austria

In Austria, educational institutions must be authorised by the State to legally grant academic degrees. All state-rum universities are governed by the 2002 Austrian Universities' & University Degree Programmes' Organisation Act (Federal Law Gazette No. 120/2002). In 1999, a federal law (Universitäts-Akkreditierungsgesetz) was passed to allow the accreditation of private universities. The Akkreditierungsrat (Accreditation Council, evaluates applicants and issues recommendations to the responsible Austrian accreditation authority (the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science & Research).

Austrian law provides that private universities in Austria must use the term Privatuniversität (literally, "private university") in their German names, although their formal names in other languages, e.g. in English, are not regulated. Thus, there is the possibility of private institutions employing the term "university" as

opposed to "private university" in their advertisements in all languages except German while still complying with Austrian law.

Accreditation of private universities started in 2001. Today, there are 12 private universities in Austria. Most of them are small (fewer than 1000 students) and specialise in only one or two fields of study:

The Top 50 Private Universities at a Glance

We updated and ranked this list of the top 50 values in private universities for 2009 (how we scored the schools). Clicking on the college names below will show you all of the ranking data. Or, see our top 50 values in liberal arts colleges. Most of our data come from Petersons, a Nelnet company.

1 - Cal. Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Cal.2 - Princeton, Princeton, N.J.3 - Yale, New Haven, Conn.4 - Rice, Houston, Tex.5 - Harvard, Cambridge, Mass.6 - Duke, Durham, N.C.7 - Columbia, New York, N.Y.8 - University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.9 - Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H.10 - MIT, Cambridge, Mass.11 - Stanford, Stanford, Cal.12 - Brown, Providence, R.I.13 - Emory, Atlanta, Ga.14 - University of Richmond, Richmond, Va.15 - Northwestern, Evanston, Ill.16 - University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Ind.17 - Vanderbilt, Nashville, Tenn.18 - Cornell, Ithaca, N.Y.19 - University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.20 - Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Md.21 - Washington Univ. in St. Louis, St. Louis, Mo.22 - Tufts, Medford, Mass.23 - Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Mass.

24 - Brandeis, Waltham, Mass.25 - Wake Forest, Winston-Salem, N.C.26 - Georgetown, Washington, D.C.27 - Lehigh, Bethlehem, Pa.28 - Elon University, Elon, N.C. 29 - Villanova University, Villanova, Pa.30 - Bentley, Waltham, Mass.31 - Trinity, San Antonio, Tex.32 - University of Miami, Coral Gables, Fla.33 - Univ. of So. California, Los Angeles, Cal.34 - University of Rochester, Rochester, N.Y.35 - Providence College, Providence, R.I.36 - Emerson College, Boston, Mass.37 - Clark, Worcester, Mass.38 - Creighton, Omaha, Neb.39 - Whitworth, Spokane, Wash.40 - Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, Pa.41 - Butler, Indianapolis, Ind.42 - Bradley, Peoria, Ill.43 - Santa Clara Univ., Santa Clara, Cal.44 - Pepperdine, Malibu, Cal.45 - University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Okla.46 - Marist College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.47 - Boston Univ., Boston, Mass.48 - Tulane, New Orleans, La.49 - Case Western Reserve, Cleveland, Ohio50 - Gonzaga, Spokane, Wash.

List of Private Universities in Bangladesh

By Super Admin Published 14 February 2007

Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology

American International University - Bangladesh (AIUB)

America Bangladesh University

ASA University Bangladesh (ASAUB)

Asian University of Bangladesh (AUB)

Atish Dipankar University of Science & Technology

Bangladesh University

Bangladesh University of Business and Technology (BUBT)

Begum Gulchemonara Trust University

BGC Trust University Bangladesh

Brac University

Central Women's University

City University

College of Textile Technology

Comilla University

Daffodil International University (DIU)

Darul Ihsan University

Dhaka International University

East - West University

Eastern University

Gano Bishwabidyalaya

Green University of Bangladesh

IBAIS University

Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB)

International Islamic University Chittagong

International University of Business, Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT)

Leading University

Manarat International University

Metropolitan University, Sylhet

North South University (NSU)

Northern University - Bangladesh

Premier University , Chittagong

Presidency University

Prime University

Primeasia University

Pundra University of Science and Technology

Queens University

Royal University of Dhaka

Santa Marium University of Creative Technology

South East University

Southern University

Stamford University

State University of Bangladesh

Sylhet International University

The People's University of Bangladesh

The Millenium University

The University of Asia Pacific

United International University

University of Development Alternative (UODA)

University of Information Technology & Sciences

University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh

University of Science and Technology, Chittagong

University of South Asia

Uttara University

Victoria University of Bangladesh

World University of Bangladesh

This is a list of universities in Bangladesh. Universities in Bangladesh are mainly categorized into three different types — Public (government owned and subsidized), Private (private sector owned universities), and International (operated and funded by international organizations such as the Organisation of the Islamic Conference).

University of Dhaka, established in 1921, is the oldest university of the country. Bangladeshi universities are affiliated with the University Grants Commission (UGC), a commission created according to the Presidential Order (P.O. No 10 of 1973) of the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.[1]

The list is classified by the three types universities further segmented according to their locations. The locations are given according to divisions, the topmost administrative unit in Bangladesh. It is notable that, out of the 6 divisions Dhaka Division houses 58 out of a total of 87, of them 52 in Dhaka, the capital city. Most universities focus on general studies, meaning a diverse mix of curriculum, business studies, engineering or technology. Seven universities have specialized curricula focused on Islamic studies (2), agricultural sciences (2), medical sciences (1), Veterinary (1)and women's studies (1). Along with the universities their short names, mostly acronyms, are provided as nicks.

Private universities

Establishment of private university in Bangladesh initiated after the institution of the Private University Act 1992.[33] As of 2008, 54 such universities are operational in five out of six division of the country. Barisal is the only division of Bangladesh without having any private university.

[edit] Chittagong division

Following are the six private universities located in Chittagong division. All six have main campuses in Chittagong city. One has its urban campus in Kumira, outside the main city. Five are general purpose universities, while one is specialized in technology.

   University   NickFounded 

 Location 

 Specializatio

n  Websi

te

1.Begum Gulchemonara Trust University [34]

BGTU

2002Chittago

ngGeneral [31]

2. East Delta University [35] [36] EDU 2006Chittago

ngGeneral —

3.International Islamic University, Chittagong [37]

IIUC

1995Chittago

ngGeneral [32]

4.Premier University, Chittagong [38]

PU 2002Chittago

ngGeneral [33]

5.Southern University, Bangladesh [39]

SUB 2001Chittago

ngGeneral [34]

6.University of Science & Technology Chittagong [40]

USTC

1989Chittago

ngTechnology [35]

[edit] Dhaka division

Faculty of Business & Economics, Daffodil International University

School of Business, Independent University, Bangladesh

Queens University Campus, Banani,Dhaka

Foundation Building, East West University

Department of English Language and Literature, Darul Ihsan University

American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB) Banani, Dhaka

Following are the 45 private universities located in Dhaka division. All are in Dhaka city, capital of the country and most are in Gulshan Thana, Dhanmondi Thana and Uttara Thana. All but three are general purpose universities. Two specializes in technology, while one specializes in women's studies.

   University   NickFounded 

 Location 

 Specializatio

n  Websi

te

7.Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology [41]

AUST 1995 Dhaka Technology [36]

8.American International University-Bangladesh [42]

AIUB 1994 Dhaka General [37]

9.Asian University of Bangladesh [43]

AUB 1996 Dhaka General [38]

10.

Asa University Bangladesh [44] [45]

ASAUB

2006 Dhaka General [39]

11.

Atish Dipankar University of Science and Technology [46]

ADUST

2004 Dhaka Technology [40]

12.

Bangladesh Islami University [47]

BIU — Dhaka General [41]

13.

Bangladesh University [48] BU 2001 Dhaka General [42]

14.

Bangladesh University of Business and Technology [49]

BUBT 2003 Dhaka Technology [43]

15.

BRAC University [50] BRACU

2001 Dhaka General [44]

16.

Central Women's University [51] CWU 1993 DhakaWomen's

Study—

17.

City University, Bangladesh [52] CUB 2002 Dhaka General [45]

18.

Daffodil International University [53]

DIU 2002 Dhaka General [46]

19.

Darul Ihsan University [54] [55] DIU 1989 Dhaka General [47]

20.

Dhaka International University [56]

DIntU 1995 Dhaka General [48]

21.

Eastern University, Bangladesh [57]

EU 2003 Dhaka General [49]

22.

East West University [58] EWU 1996 Dhaka General [50]

23.

Gono Bishwabidyalay [59] [60] GB 1996 Dhaka General [51]

24.

Green University of Bangladesh [61]

GUB 2002 Dhaka General [52]

25.

IBAIS University [62] IU 2002 Dhaka General [53]

26.

Independent University, Bangladesh [63]

IUB 1993 Dhaka General [54]

27.

International University of Business Agriculture and Technology [64]

IUBAT

1991 Dhaka General [55]

28.

Manarat International University [65]

MIU 2001 Dhaka General [56]

29.

Millennium University [66] MU 2003 Dhaka General —

30.

Northern University, Bangladesh [67]

NUB 2002 Dhaka General [57]

31.

North South University [68] NSU 1992 Dhaka General [58]

32.

People's University of Bangladesh [69] [70]

PUB 1996 Dhaka General [59]

33.

Presidency University [71] PU 2003 Dhaka General [60]

34.

Prime University [72] [73] PU 2002 Dhaka General [61]

35.

Primeasia University [74] PAU 2003 Dhaka General [62]

36.

Queens University QU 1996 Dhaka General [63]

37.

Royal University of Dhaka [75] RUD 2003 Dhaka General [64]

38.

Shanto Mariam University of Creative Technology [76]

SMUCT

2003 Dhaka General [65]

39 Southeast University [77] SEU 2002 Dhaka General [66]

.40.

Stamford University Bangladesh [78]

SU 2002 Dhaka General [67]

41.

State University of Bangladesh [79]

SUB 2002 Dhaka General [68]

42.

United International University [80]

UIU 2003 Dhaka General [69]

43.

University of Asia Pacific (Bangladesh) [81]

UAP 1996 Dhaka General [70]

44.

University of Development Alternative [82]

UODA

2002 Dhaka General [71]

45.

University of Information Technology and Sciences [83]

UITS 2003 Dhaka General [72]

46.

University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh [84]

ULAB 2004 Dhaka General [73]

47.

University of South Asia, Bangladesh [85]

USAB 2003 Dhaka General —

48.

Uttara University [86] UU 2004 Dhaka General [74]

49.

Victoria University of Bangladesh [87]

VUB 2003 Dhaka General [75]

50.

World University of Bangladesh [88]

WUB 2003 Dhaka General [76]

[edit] Rajshahi division

Following is the only private university located in Rajshahi division. It is a specialized university with its campus in Bogra.

   University   NickFounded 

 Location 

 Specializatio

n  Websi

te51.

Pundra University of Science and Technology [89]

PUST

2001 Bogra Technology [77]

[edit] Sylhet division

Following are the three private universities located in Sylhet division. All three has main campuses in Sylhet town.

   University  Nick

Founded  

Location  

Specialization  

Website

52.

Leading University [90] LU 2002 Sylhet General [78]

53.

Metropolitan University [91] MU

2003 Sylhet General [79]

54.

Sylhet International University [92] SIU

2001 Sylhet General [80]

Universities in Bangladesh play very important role in the over all development of the country. This is evident form the fact that the students and teachers of the Dhaka University which was established in the year 1921, was at the forefront of the national liberation struggle that led to the independence of the country. Other Universities of Bangladesh at both public sector and the private sector are also playing important role by not only providing degrees and thus producing quality human resources for various sectors of the economy, but also producing enlightened citizens an thus improving the quality of life in the society as a whole. In order to solve the problem of accessibility of higher education the government of Bangladesh is allowing the establishment of private Universities in Bangladesh from 1992. However the University Grant Commission of Bangladesh would have the power to approve or reject the establishment of private Universities in Bangladesh. There are at present 54 private Universities in Bangladesh.

The University Grant Commission of Bangladesh would in fact be responsible for supervising and maintaining the quality of education in all the public and private Universities of Bangladesh, as it is the statutory apex body in the field of higher education in Bangladesh. Therefore it advises the govt. to improve the quality of higher education system in Bangladesh. It performs such other important functions like determining the

financial needs of the Universities and disbursing the grants for their maintenance and development.

Study in bangladesh

Making education accessible to all in Bangladesh has remained a major concern for the political leaders of the country after it became independent in the year 1971. Before getting independence, Bangladesh was part Pakistan and the primary medium of instruction in the schools were English and Urdu. As Bangla is the national and most widely spoken language of the country at present, Bangla and English have become the main mediums of instruction in Bangladesh. The education system in Bangladesh is mainly divided in three stages- primary, secondary and higher education.

One would need 5 years to complete primary education and 7 years for Secondary education. The secondary education in Bangladesh can again be divided in 3 stages- 3 years of junior secondary, 2 years of secondary and 2 years of higher secondary education. After completing the higher secondary education in Bangladesh, one can pursue the graduate level education in general or other professional courses. One needs to spend 4 yeas to earn a pass or honours bachelor degree from a university in Bangladesh. Those with an honours degree at the graduate level would have to spend 1 year for earning a masters degree. But for the holders of (Pass) Bachelor degree, the masters degree course would be of 2 years duration.

Religion plays a very important role in the polity of Bangladesh and Madrasha education with special emphasis on religious teachings is available in all three stages of education in Bangladesh- primary, secondary and higher education.

While the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MoPME) is responsible for management of primary education and mass literacy, the Ministry of Education (MoE) in Bangladesh is responsible for the management of secondary, vocational and tertiary education). While the net enrollment ratio for the year 2004 was 93.2% at the primary level, it was only 48% at the secondary level according to the UIS global education database. The enrollment at the higher education is also far from satisfactory.

While many of the developing countries are trying to spend 6% of their GDP in education, expenditure in Bangladesh education was mere 2.2% of GDP in 2004. In order to put the country in the path of progress and development, it is very important to increase the budget expenditure in education of Bangladesh and undertake important reforms.

Concept, issues and importance of library consortium: Problems andprospects of university library consortium in Bangladesh.AbstractThis is an age of information explosion. No library, however big it may be, is able tosatisfy all the needs of its user due to various constraints. It is because of thisphenomenon that the concept of library consortium has developed. Consortium oflibraries is well known for sharing of resources all over the world. Information explosion,emergence of internet and particularly World Wide Web as a new medium of informationstorage make the concept more come into sight than earlier. This study aims to explorethe concept, issues and facilities offered by the library consortium and shows how thelibrary consortium is making resources available among the member libraries.Bangladesh has plenty of libraries but the concept is still at a nascent stage in libraryarena. It is essential to have some ideal consortia models for university libraries to adherefor optimum utilization of their resources and services. This study also aims to identifythe possibilities, problems of building library consortium and make viable

recommendations, suggest models for the future prospect of university library consortiumin Bangladesh. It believes that establishment of university library consortium will makeuniversity libraries more productive and effective to their user community.Keywords: University library, Resource sharing, Library consortium, Library services,University Library ConsortiumPrologueThe emergence of the internet, particularly the World Wide Web, as a new medium ofinformation storage and delivery in the 21st century. In the age of information explosion,the most challenging tasks for the information professionals and information centers allover the world is to supervise the huge information that are being produced anddeveloped in the world . It is impossible for a single library to monitor all the explosionof knowledge fields and accumulate for the users. To cope up with this situation, thephenomenon of consortia has become very important in the last few years. Initially theterm used for resource sharing activities was library cooperation. Though cooperationtheoretically could embrace almost all library activities, practically it was confined tointer-library loan of library documents. But due to physical distance and other reasonseven this limited system of cooperation was not being practiced widely. However, withthe advent of ICT and its application in library activities, new opportunities opened up forgreater cooperation among libraries. At the global level Internet and at the national andlocal level several library networks came in vogue and databases created for informationsharing. In recent years availability of information resources in digital or electronic

medium has further facilitated exchange of information resources among libraries, thuscreating favorable condition for increased resource sharing. Emergence of libraryconsortia is a very promising development in this direction (Chaterjee, 2002).Consortium of libraries is well known for sharing of resources all over the world. Severallibraries in the world have formed consortia to share their human and electronicresources. However, Consortium now being overheard everywhere is because of digitalform of information. It refers to co-operation, co-ordination and collaboration betweenand amongst libraries for the purpose of sharing information resources. Currently,university libraries are purchasing materials to answer the needs of their users. This taskis difficult for a single library. By forming a consortium among libraries, it becomespossible to purchase information in stabilized and reasonable prices. In Bangladesh,many library and information centers are making steps for building library consortium. Incase of university library, University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh is takinginitiatives for digital resource consortium for university libraries in Bangladesh.Literature reviewThough the idea of cooperation was in existence for many years now, library consortiumis still at its nascent stage in many countries. Being an emerging development where thenumber of participating libraries is increasing everyday much attention is placed onlibrary consortia and consequently a good number has been written about it. Most of theliterature is on case studies determining the feasibility aspects of consortia. (Nfial &Darko-Ampen, 2002) traces the history of library consortium from 1960’s through 2000and report that in 19997, an international association of library consortium was formed.

(Rao, 2001) repots about the status of the existing library and information networks inIndia. (Mclean, 1999) examined the characteristics underpinning resource sharing amonguniversity libraries in Australia on how the information revolution posses globalchallenges in times of infrastructure and use of internet. They argue that Australia lackresource coordination at a national level, but several important initiatives are underway.(Ashoor, 2000) suggest few guidelines for the Arabian Gulf regions and concludes thatlibraries in the region should enter into partnership to establish consortium. (Giordano,2002) traces the history of information communication technologies in Italian librarieswith reference to library networks and digital cooperation initiatives. (Fordyce, 2004)writes an article on ‘New Zealand University Library Acquisitions consortium for thesupply of print monograph resources’ where author discusses different consortium relatedissues. The Committee of New Zealand University Librarians Acquisitions Consortium(CONZULAC) was developed to gain maximum value from expenditure on printmonograph resources, to achieve operating efficiencies and to improve levels of service.This paper looks at the issues that arose during its development. (Rona , 1999) writes anarticle on ‘The very model of a modern library consortium’ where they discusses at whatstage and under what circumstances does an informal consortium need to think aboutchanging from an alliance of non- affiliated institutions to a formal legally incorporatedbody? This paper draws on research funded by the Western Australian Group ofUniversity Librarians (WAGUL). It is evident from the literature that every region or

country appears to have some unique and confined problems. However, identification ofthe factors implementing library consortium is vital in order to address the issue suitably.MethodologyThe available literature on the topic has been studied and reviewed to examine theconsortium concept in the country. The conceptual and textual information related to thepresent study were collected both from primary and secondary sources f information suchas books, professional journals, magazines, newspapers, conference proceedings as wellas from unpublished sources. Relevant literature was also made browsing differentnotable websites. In some cases observation method was also applied for collecting dataon different university libraries.Objective of the studyThe study intends to explore the university library consortium systems in Bangaldesh. Itis specially focused on the following issues:To be familiar with the concept, issues and identify the facilities offered by the libraryconsortium in case of information availability.Examine the existing situation of library consortium and finds the most advanceduniversity libraries for building University Library Consortium in Bangladesh (ULCB).Determine the impact of university library consortium and identify the majorconstraints of building consortium in Bangladesh.Suggests some effective measures and to provide certain future directions forintroducing University Library Consortium in Bangaldesh (ULCB). A road map is alsodiscussed for implementing university library consortium.Library consortiumAlthough no particular date can be cited as the beginning point of library consortium, theconcept as a consortium as being an association or partnership has long been a tenet of

librarianship (Kopp, 1998).The idea of consortium is not new. There were instances ofseveral libraries coming together voluntarily for the mutual benefit of respective usersjust like cooperatives, it was the earliest stage of library cooperation. In the second stage,computerized networks come into vogue for sharing of resources. Till this period, thelibrary resources were mainly in traditional printed format. The networks created theirbibliographical databases. The users of the participating libraries could get the requireddocuments from other libraries through document delivery services. With the advent of e-resources, the concept of consortia has been mooted mainly for acquisition of e-journals.As the resources that are procured today through the consortium are mainly e-resources,it has become possible for the users to access and download the required materialswithout even going through the elaborate process of inter-library lending. Though libraryconsortia have been created with narrow purpose, these can be turned into efficientinstruments for sharing all types of library resource.A consortium could be described as a group of organizations who come together to fulfilla combined objective that usefully requires cooperation and the sharing of resources, andneed to have a clear mutual goal in order to ensure their success. The aim should be todeliver “more than the sum of the individual parts”.Before pursing specific discussion a brief consideration of the term would be useful. The‘Consortia’ is the plural form of ‘consortium’ but is often used in place of singular form.The term is delivered form the Latin word for ‘fellowship’; the meaning emphasizes the

coming together of separate groups for a purpose. Homogenously it is used as, ‘alliance’‘coalition’, ‘collaboration’, ‘cooperation’, ‘partnership’, etc. Consortia are complicatedorganizations. It is “an association” in the sense that s not commonly understood; i.e. aconsortium is not a library association, although some association of libraries engages inconsortial activity (Scepanski, 2002).By definition a consortium is said to be “a cooperative arrangement among groups orinstitutions” or “an association or society”. Library consortium would be organization oflibraries formed to realize the benefit and opportunities of collaborative activity. It is acomparative alliance of libraries to share human and information resources. (Hirshon,1999) defines library consortia ‘a generic term to indicate any group of libraries that areworking together towards a common goal, whether to expand cooperation on traditionallibrary services (such as collection development) or electronic information services. It isnow used perhaps too broadly, and encompasses everything from formal legal entitles toinformation groups that come together solely to achieve better pricing for purchasingelectronic information’.However, the common things of all the definition is the ‘coming together of librarieshaving common interests and needs to achieve a common goal that is beyond what anindividual library could achieve on its own.Issues related to library consortiumVarious factors to be taken for an effective functioning of a successful consortium. Themajor issues of consortia approaches are

Selecting a coordinating agency to deal on behalf of the entire group of participants andexecuting and monitoring the work.Sources of funding to meet the subscription costIdentifying and negotiating the potential publishers / vendors or aggregators to provideaccess under consortia purchase.Source of funding to meet the subscription costLegal issues involved in contracts and usage of material within the consortia.Identification of libraries interested in participating and agreeing on common termsand conditions.Identifying the necessary infrastructure fro electronic access to resourcesIssues related to backup and archival of databaseDocumentation and training to staff.Last but not least, designing and launching a library consortium should be long runsubstance and robust models towards achieving the above goals.Importance of library consortium in the information societyAccess to resources is now considered more important than the collection building. Theconsortium facilities the libraries to get the benefit of wider access to electronic resourcesat affordable cost and at the best terms of licenses. A consortium, with the collectivestrength of resources of various institutions available to it, is in a better position toresolve the problems of managing, organizing and archiving the electronic resources(Bedi & Sharma, 2008).The phenomenon of information revolution has posed several problems and this has farreaching implications in the society. The nation or society which possesses moreinformation will lead the world. This is also true in case of individuals. The persons havemore information will guide a group or society and they will be superior to others. This

power of information has induced the nations and individuals to acquire and control moreand more quantities of information. But in this race, the poor nations, societies,institutions or individuals will be back as compared to the others. This has created a biggulf in the availability and use of information. The library consortia can be an idealsolution in this context. Perhaps the most important advantages of library consortia wouldbe their enhanced ability to serve the society by giving better library services. Theadvantages of library consortia may be summarized as following:1. To leverage resources by sharing existing resources or collection though virtual unioncatalogue and sharing ofCollections and collaborating on collection development; each library is able tocontribute unique titles to the consortium – avoid duplicationElectronic resources including the creation of digital collections-sharing amongconsortium members need not be just in terms of licensing products- it can also includesharing in the creation of digital collections.Storage of resources – Space is an issue for many librariesSharing the archiving of resourcesSharing staff expertise- a consortium provides opportunities for staff members todevelop new skills and interact with a varsity of people who would not have had theopportunity to meet otherwiseSharing risk- by sharing risk, members of a consortium can undertake projects that arelarger than one institution can safely take on its own.This form of cooperation enables the consortia libraries to borrow books, periodicals,articles, and scientific journals, which are not available locally.

Electronic access enables the user initiate their own search of remote catalogues andmake requests for information.Sharing catalogues—to enable user’s greater access to larger collectionCD-ROM union catalogue that provides access to books, videos and recording foreach institution.Union List of Serials that provides access to the journal holdings of all memberlibraries.2. To reduce the cost of library operations by obtaining a group purchased price forinformation product.3. To bring pressure on, providers especially publishers to reduce the rate of rise in thecost of purchasing information.Thus, library consortium are commonly formed to negotiate joint purchases (e.g. ofequipment, software, books, library materials and licensed electronic databases andresources) and to share resources.Growth of library consortia in the worldLibraries, especially academic libraries have long formed consortia for the purpose ofsharing existing physical resources--principally books and journals held by memberlibraries. Library consortia, does not have any remarkable history but the consortialarrangements started with the concept of resource sharing since long back. In 19990’s,new types of library consortia began to flourish that exploited the advances ininformation technology. The global development of OCLC in USA is a prime example.Over time the growth of newer consortium like; Colorado’s CARL, Georgia’sGALILEO, Illinois’s IDAL, Maryland’s SAILOR, Missouri’s MIRACAL, New

Zealand’s CONZUL, CAUL, MetroNet, North America’s CRL, North Carolina’sembryonic NCLive, Ohio’s OhioLink, Pennsylvania’s PALCI, Portland’s PORTALS,Texas’s TexShare, Virginia’s VIVA, Washington’s WRLC, CIC in South Asia , CURL inUK, CALIM in Manchester, Concord in Britain, Metroweb in NewYork etc came intoexistence in the international scenario (Wikipedia, 2007). In India, major initiatives areregarding consortium is J-GATE form Informatics India, IITS-BARC-TIFR Co-operation, TIFR Libraries Consortium, ISI Library consortia, SNDT consortia of LISA,STI Network, FORSA consortia, INDSET and INFLIBNET consortium under UGCInfoNet.Present scenario of library consortium in BangladeshAt present there is no library consortium in Bangladesh. In the past, UGC had takenmany initiatives for sharing information resources of different universities for the benefitof the universities. Since 1980’s there have been a number of attempts by UGC to unifythe library catalogue systems and even to arrange some form of cooperative journalsubscription for sharing resources (Awal, 2005). However, it is yet to be realized due tofinancial constraints. In 1998, there were a networking attempt called BangladeshNational Scientific and Library Information Network (BANSLINK). This project wasinitiated by the Bangladesh National Scientific Technical and Documentation Center(BANSDOC). It ventured to connect libraries across the country by setting up a networkwith 15 libraries 6 out of Dhaka and 9 in Dhaka via dial up links. The initiative fell apart

due to administrative reorganization at the top and subsequent lack of appreciationIn case of university library consortium the situation is worse than other researchorganizations. Since the inception of the country in 1971, the libraries of its highereducation institutions never got a chance to be in competitive shape. In Bangladesh thereare 21 public university and 54 private university libraries (UGC, 2006). The DhakaUniversity is the oldest university of the country and it was established on 1 July 1921.University libraries are facing a lot of problems and their improving scenery is remaininglow. Some of the large public universities have sound collection and private universitylibraries are essentially empty. Most university libraries have almost no audio-visualcollections. In case of subscription journal, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU)reportedly dropped the number of titles from 700 to 200 between1974 and 2005. In a2005 survey, out of 17 public universities 5 and out of 39 private universities 9 respondedto have some form of E-library. In 1998, Dhaka University started Dhaka UniversityLibrary Automation Project (DULAP) where the university uses world prominentsoftware Graphical Library Automation System (GLAS). Initially, this is the large andfirst one library automation project in the country. BUET has just completed the localmade software for their library named BUETLIB but yet to launch. None of the publicuniversities, including the largest technical and research universities Open University,Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka University can

provide access to any electronic journals to its students or faculties. Few privateuniversities provide access to limited collections namely DOAJ, AGORA, HINARI, OUPeGermany, EMERLAND and JSTOR (Uddin & Chowdhury, 2006). Not a singleinstitution in Bangladesh could afford the institutional membership to any major medical,engineering, technology collections such as ACME, IEEE or Elsevier, Academic PressJournals and proceedings. After 1992 Private University Act, many private universitiesparticularly some top ranking universities came forward and emphasized to establish anautomated modern library in respective premises with all IT facilities i.e. computernetwork, Internet and email, etc. Out of 54 private universities, two or three of them havetheir own VSAT. However, another attempt has been taken to build e-catalogue foruniversity library entitled ‘A Networked E-Union Catalog for Public UniversityLibraries’.Barriers to University Library Consortium in Bangaldesh (ULCB)Consortia have its inherent benefits but those benefits can be maximized, whileminimizing the negative aspects. (Helmer, 1999) express that the benefits of the consortiacan threaten by several issues, results the failure of consortia. Sometime it has been foundthat the consortia initiatives could not materialized, especially in Bangladesh, reasonsmay be the following:(a) Lack of awareness and understanding: University librarians especially inBangladesh do not fully comprehend the concept of consortia based subscription toelectronic resources and are not very keen to go whole-heartedly for formation of

consortia of libraries. Sometimes they do no have good understanding aboutconsortia benefits.(b) Speed of decision making: Notion that, belonging to consortium the speed ofdecision making of individual libraries can slow down. Though it depends howcentralized or decentralized the consortium is.(c) Budget and funding: These are always thorny issues. Belonging to a consortiummeans that part of library budget will be transferred and the issue of loss of controlraises again. Lack of initial funds of university libraries may be a barrier to startinguniversity library consortium.(d) Lack of decision making and control: There is a fear that if a library joins aconsortium, local decision making, autonomy, and control will be adversely affected.(e) Technological compatibility and security: The compatibility of the memberscomputing system is critical if a consortium is to achieve the maximum benefit fromtechnology. Different university library uses different library software and lbrarytools, so it becomes difficult for the university librarian to acquaint with differentsystems. Security is also another technical issue.(f) Fear from local identity: Most of the university libraries don’t want to feel like theyare losing their individual identity. They think, if they enter into a consortium theymay loss their local identity.(g) Type of agreements: Agreements between member libraries can have major impactson the consortium’s effectiveness. It has been found that some libraries did not joinin the consortia simply because of the agreement that was not of their choosing.

(h) Egos and attitudes: Egos and attitudes of individuals or organizations can have abig impact on the success or failure of a consortium. Bangladeshi university librarianalways makes different strategy and operating models.(i) Consortial as a legal entity: Consortia of libraries need to have a legal entity withpermission and authority to deal with institutions like banks and other institution forcollecting subscription amount on behalf of the participating libraries.(j) Lack of complete automation: A consortia without sharing the resources of theparticipating libraries is limited to online subscriptions made available from gatewayportal. Many libraries are allowed to jump into the ban wagon of consortia withoutconsidering its automation status. With the availability of some internet connectivitythis will allows such libraries to access the resources of other member libraries buttheir resource remain inaccessible till complete automation is done.(k) Lack of resource: The resources of all participating libraries needs to be balanced tocertain extend. Without some form of parity of collection of each library there is arisk of one library becoming a lending library while others remain borrowinglibraries. A participating library with very few resources is a loss to the librarieswhich have lots to offer. This is major problems in Bangladeshi university librariesas some of the universities have rich collection and some of have poor collection.(l) Absence of any culture of interlibrary lending: No university libraries inBangladesh started interlibrary lending activities among them. Traditionally,interlibrary loan facilities or any form of co-operation is functional in the university

library in Bangladesh.(m) Unavailability of web environment: Unavailability of web environment among theuniversity libraries is one of the major problems for accessing in the universitylibrary consortium. Internet connectivity is still in primitive stages which makeonline consortia almost unfeasible.(n) Lack of leadership: Excellent library leadership will begin with the notion ofenabling every one who works in the library to grow in knowledge, ability, andcommitment as the primary task. University libraries have lack of creative leader andskilled management body for removing all the barriers for introducing universitylibraries in Bangaldesh.Bangladesh University Library Consortium (BULC) and a road mapBangladesh like many other countries in the developing world is undergoing a phase ofrapid expansion in higher education. University Grants Commission (UGC) is facing anuphill battle to keep up the existing libraries. Private universities are also facing the samebattle. However, the silver lining is that more than ten public and private universitylibraries are now almost in sound phases in collection development and modern facilities.These University Libraries began to operation for consortium, subsequently rest of theuniversity libraries will be added in second and third phases. There can be no better timeto launch a federated university library consortium. A national university libraryconsortium initiative will ensure the following strategies benefit immediately (Khan,2006).(a) Access to latest scientific publication has reached almost none in public

universities. Universities have dwindling access to books, journals andperiodicals. This is having crippling effect on the future of national science andtechnology readiness. A university library consortium model offers only realisticpossibility to reverse the situation. It will not only restore this access to arespectable size and quality, but also make it comparable to that at developedworld.(b) Vast amount of electronic books, courseware, and multi-media content are alreadyavailable open access. A university library consortium with ICT facilities canmake them instantly accessible to the students, faculty and researchers ofBangladesh.(c) For Bangladesh almost none of the institutions individually are found to becapable of subscribing important periodical collections such as IEEF, ACM oreven the supposedly low cost new mode scholarly publishing (such as SPARC orDigital Library Science ). But, roughly, any federation with four members breakseven the cost-a federation with 30 members may expect about 7-5 times reductionin cost per institution.(d) Some publishers are very large as organizations. Federation provides betternegotiating positions to keep the cost under control. Increasingly the publishersare bundling journals as Big Deal. Individual institutions may not find all titles ina bundle useful but a large federation with more research diversity will benefitmore form Big Deal.(e) Even free access collections have restrictions such as Creative Commentslicensing. Due to the complexity of intellectual property laws and their variationsacross nations many of these collections are reluctant to enter into access

contracts with small entitles. It is easier to work out access contracts if theuniversities approach as a federation.(f) The automation of the libraries will help in improving other library servicesincluding better collection management, accounting and reduce floor-space usage.Demand and usage can be tracked more accurately with new tools.(g) Information property is fast becoming a major commodity in the 21st century.Developing countries may loose squarely rights on its intellectual resources due todigital divide. Locally originated content and intellectual properties may have tobe bought back.University Library Consortium in Bangladesh, like other countries, is expected to becapital saving and pay-off in few years. The members may want to pool together a part oftheir current library resources. It is expected that the saving from journal budget alonewill pay for the best part of the cost. However, international assistance funding is alsoexpected to be available provided the libraries can internally organize themselves.A Road MapInitiating and initiative(a) UGC can start by convening a conference inviting all the public and private universitylibrary management.(b) Invite participants from the three communities (i) professional librarians (ii) interestedfaculty researchers from library and information sciences, computer science andengineering and related fields, and (iii) chief operating officers. From a steeringcommittee to decide the mission, membership, planning and budgeting.(c) The next step will be to discuss the concept and collect letter of interest and initial

commitment from interested organization. With the concept and a unified platform of theuniversity library of Bangladesh under UGC leadership seek national and internationalfunding. The new consortia may seek technical cooperation by partnering with someestablished consortia.Organizing the consortium(a) Establish key technical committees in areas including (i) software development (ii)standardization and interlibrary cooperation (iii) collective resource procurement (iv)publishing and hosting support services (v) user services and training to lead in respectivetechnical areas.(b) Initiate signing a memorandum of understanding by university library members.There should be some commitment such as subscription, library facilitation to make theirlibraries consortium based.Functions and services(a) Being immediately: Roll out the first version of the University Library Consortium,UGC and the members should establish an initial budget and may roll out very basicconsortium systems.(b) Expand access: Join large international, multi-national, regional and trans-continentalconsortium federations to further obtain leverage in gaining access to content.(c) Expand services: University Library has to create an editorial process management,publishing, hosting and permanent archiving facility to the journals and proceedingpublished by the faculty and researchers of the universities in Bangladesh.(d) Move for unified cataloguing, classification, digitization and sharing local content.

Establish Interlibrary Loan Programme to complement the interlibrary catalogue sharing.Technical issues for the University Library Consortium in Bangladesh (ULCB)The technical challenges of ULCB are another factor for the countries. It would requiretechnical experts in information and library sciences and experts in user areas. It alsorequires permanent professional librarians and ICT engineers in central and memberlibrary sites. Training will be very important due to rapidly changing nature of thetechnology. Provision has to be built into the budget of the proposal.(a) Library automation System Software: At present different university library usesseveral library software’s for running library operations. CDS/ISIS, LIBSYS,GLAS, BUETLB is some of the examples of university library software inBangladesh. A local team can build a LAS and web based access versions. Thereare several free open source library software developed by UNESCO and otherorganizations. Bangladeshi specialists have to consider for federated accessmanagement, multi-lingual document management and other involving issues.Thus Bangladesh will gain strategic advantage by grooming local developer team.(b) Master catalogue and digitization: The driving force behind most universitylibrary consortium was to pool together the materials owned by their members.However, now the remote digitized materials are the gem attractions of libraryconsortium. University libraries of Bangladesh may be encouraged to make unioncatalogue and make digitization with priority given to the collections and uniquevalue. It can even join hand with international digitization initiatives.

(c) Standardization: The University Library Consortium in Bangladesh (ULCB)cataloguing system will require many interoperability standards. A technicalcommittee within the initiative should familiarize themselves with the ongoingissues with related international standards such as Dublin Core, IEEE LOM, OpenArchive Initiative, TEI, APPM, AACR2, MARC, ISBD, OWL, etc, and advicethe initiative as needed. The body should undertake leadership role in advancingstandards related to Bengali records and make other Bengali languageconstituencies.(d) Indigenous collection: It will be a timely idea also to simultaneously initiate adigital publication services for scholarly publications of the local origins. There iscurrently no local digital archival and circulation system though there are quite afew journals and regular conferences within the country. An offer to host localacademic journals and proceedings by ULCB is expected to be highlyappreciated. Such initiative will offer greater global visibility to local scholars andresearchers and to their research problems and would provide importantadvantages to retain the intellectual property rights of the local scholars.Model and implementation for University Library Consortium of Bangladesh(ULCB)There is not a single university library in Bangladesh that is fully automated. Somelibraries are in the initial stages of the automation and networking process. A fewlibraries have CD-ROM access, but no initiative has been taken in action to produceinformation products on CD. Some libraries have an online connection and are providing

external resource sharing on a limited scale. Only a few university libraries have startednetworking or resource sharing or have used the telecommunication system for datatransfer. The following university library can be included in the first phase of UniversityLibrary Consortium in Bangladesh. The entire scenario of the proposed universitylibraries are:Name of the libraryCollectionsInternetSoftwareWebsiteAccess toCatalogue of E-facilitiesE-journalsjournalsDUL5,00,000√GLAS√√-BUETL1,34,746√BUETLIB√--JUL90,578-CDS/ISIS√

--RUL3,00,000√CDS/ISIS√--SUSTL41,000√CDS/ISIS√√-AUBL1,79,666√-√--NSUL26,990√NSU Library Management√√-SoftwareEWUL10,666√EWU LMIS√√-

IUBL19,947√LIBRARIUM√√-SUL5,314-√--(Source: University website, brochure of university library and visit) (Dhaka University Library-DUL, Bangladesh University of Engineering andTechnology Library-BUETL, Jahangirnagar University Library-JUL, Rajshahi University Library-RUJL, Shahjalal University of Science & TechnologyLibrary-SUSTL, Agricultural University of Bangladesh Library-AUBL, North South University Library-NSUL, East West University Library-EWUL,)Independent University of Bangladesh Library-IUBL, Satmford University Library-SULThere is no single best model for a library consortium. Even it is also ambiguous, whocan become partners through consortia. (Allen & Hirshon, 1998) suggests three potentialpartners (information providers, service providers & libraries) are wishing to participatein a consortium. Initially, library consortia were most prominent in the academic sector.This feature of library consortia is changing. Basically consortia models are grouped intotwo; proposed models and observed models. In the perspective of Bangladesh, asconsortium is in not existence, it will be more effective to apply here proposed models.

Considering the size and volume of efforts to be required to implement the wholeinitiative. It will help to understand the potential requirements, processes and above allthe costs involved in undertaking the proposal in real situation. Below framework can behelpful at the implementation level1. Development of information infrastructureIdentification & evaluation of existing infrastructure within the university libraryAssessment of extra requirements of the participating librariesInstallation of hardware and softwareEstablishment of the networkEstablishment of human resourcesSystem analysis and designCreation of databasesData conversion, customization, routine maintenance, promotional activities, etc.2. Formation of the consortiaThe caption & call for “sharing resources, sharing risk, sharing success”Identification and evaluation infrastructure requirementsIdentification and evaluation for electronic resources subscription, digitization, toolsand so on.Establishment of integrated model to enable single web based interface, online access.Cost effectiveness, copyright issues, right management, services and benefits to beoffered.Training and workshop, quality improvement, etc.University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC) will act a coordinating agency toimplement the programme. UGC will engage all universities to draw, design, and preparea work plan for implementation of the ULCB. However, administration of the programmewill be run by the UGC. Three phases implementation plan may be made for the

university library consortium.Phase I. Consortium may be launched immediately by the advanced ten universitylibraries, which are connected with internet and having basic IT facilities.Phase II. Participants of phase I consortium may take part in dialogue for sharingexperiences gained in phase I. On the basis of the concerned issues and less advancedICT facility based university libraries may be included in phase II. Less advanced meansthat parts of the processes of the library will be carried out by the application of modernICT facilities.Phase III. Phase I & II plan may be implemented in phase III with all IT facilities andensure dissemination of information through the consortium with reduced cost butmaximum benefit. Keep an eye on the programme, review it and take steps for furtherimprovement if required.However, if the above operations and proposal is being implemented, the followingthings can imagine in the perspective of ULCB which are shown in a figure;Figure 1: Involve & evolve of University Library Consortium in Bangladesh (ULCB)Present SituationNot optimal, lack of strategy, inequality, un-coordinated, unstructured, lack of ITinfrastructure, lack of resources, budgetaryconstraints, light at the end of the tunnel, etc.Desired SituationFormulation of a strategy, optimal access toinformation, sufficient financial support,availability of resources, infrastructuralfacilities, shared risk etc.Extreme SituationEnormous resources, adequate quality,sufficient infrastructure, sufficient budget,

minimum risk, easiest access, utmostsatisfaction etc.This above figure shows that how the university library consortium will make the presentposition more convenient, user friendly and fruitful for the future university libraries inBangladesh.Major recommendationsULCB consortium initiatives have vital importance and are being recommended toconsider the following activities with an immediate effect.There is need to evaluate the existing network infrastructure available in theI.university libraries in Bangladesh and to identify the gaps that exists therein,for providing adequate number of internet enabled PC’s and a secure internetconnectivity with higher bandwidth among the consortium library.There is need to evaluate strengths and weakness of the existing informationII.resources, systems and services available in the university libraries , forproviding much required impetus in order to formation of the consortia.There is need to identify the maximum electronic resources options availableIII.for accessing in a consortia mode, desire for the university libraries, and toidentify the possibilities of electronic content creation in a co-operativemanner among the university libraries.There is a need to induct and motivate the library peoples that the technologyIV.driven co-operative arrangements of electronic resources could accomplish thelibrary services far more than they can individually. It is also necessary toorganize the training for existing library personnel in turn with the newenvironment and regular flashing of messages, like sharing resources meanssharing success.It is also recommended that the active consideration of the ULCB could bringV.

a reasonable solution before the crisis threatens to the university libraries ofBangladesh, in the age of 21st century. It is also recommended for theformation of an apex body that would functions as central node forcoordinating activities of the consortium.It is important to recommend that the budgetary requirements for majorVI.technical up-gradations and consortia based activities may be provided to eachuniversity libraries from the external funds, as advocated by the consortiumfocal point.ConclusionThe possibilities of ICTs, digital information, electronic document delivery, libraryconsortia, web based resources, etc. have helped to provide better services to the users.But wide disparity in the availability and use of academic information still prevailsamong different universities in Bangaldesh. This justifies the establishment of UniversityLibrary Consortium which automatically will bring economy, efficiency and equality ininformation availability and use.Bangladesh being a developing country should form a body among the universitylibraries to catch the new opportunity to make proper university library consortium in thepresent time. The ULCB initiave is expected to trigger remarkable development of heuniversity libraries in Bangladesh. Proposed consortium would bring a special attentionto its members for its systematic approach and will ensure a sustainable growth of theuniversity libraries.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ReferenceAllen, Barbara M & Hirshon. (1998). Hanging together to avoid hanging separately-

opportunities for academic libraries and consortia. Information Technology and Libraries,17(1).Ashoor, M. Saleh (2000). Planning the electronic library: Suggested guideline for theArabian Gulf region, The electronic library, 18 (1): 29-39.Awal, Abdul. K.M. (2005). Bangladesh University Grants Commission and Library inHigher Education Plan. University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC).Bedi, S & Sharma.K. (2008). Library Consortia: A Step forward the Information Society,Electronicaddress:PanjabUniversity,Chandigarhdlist.sir.arizona.edu/2289/01/Shalu_Bedi_and_Kiran_sharma_LIBRARY_CONSORTIA.Chaterjee, Amitabha. (2002). Resource sharing among libraries in digital era: Role ofconsortia,JadavpurUniversity,Kolkata,Electronicaddress:www.isical.ac.in/~serial/consortia/CBSOR-02.ppt.Fordyce, Marilyn. (2004). New Zealand University Library Acquisitions consortium forthe supply of print monograph resources, University of Otago library, Annual report.Electronic address: www.library.otago.ac.nz/pdf/annualreport_2004.pdf.Giordano, Tommaso. (2002). Library co-operation on ICT in Italy: an overview.Program, 36(3): 144-151.Helmer, John F. (1999). Epidemiology of the consortial spore. Information technology

and libraries, 18(3), 119-120.Hirshon, Arnold. (1999). Libraries, consortia and management. Academic librarianship,25(2): 124-126.Khan, Javed I. (2006). A global perspective on university libraries and a road map forBangladeshdigitallibraryconsortium.Electronicresources:www.medianet.kent.edu/techreports/TR2006-02-02-UGC-DLC-K.pdf.Kopp, J. (1998). Library consortia and information technology: the past, the present andthe promise, Information Technology and Libraries, 17(1): 7-12.Mclean, Neil (1999). The evolution of information resource sharing infrastructure: anAustralian Perspectives, Library High Tech, 17(3): 256-264.Nfila, R.B & Darko-Amphen. (2002). The development in academic library consortiafrom the 1960’s through to 2000: a review of literature, Library Management, 23(4): 203-212.Rao, Siriginidi S. (2001).Networking of libraries and information centers: challenges inIndia, Library Hi Tech, 19(2).Rona, Wade. (1999). The very model of a modern library consortium, Library consortiummanagement: An international journal 1(1): 5-18Scepanski, Jordan M. (1998). Collaborating on new missions- library consortia and thefuture of academic libraries. Conference on New Missions of Academic Libraries in theBeijing:Peking,25-30October.

Electronicaddress:21stCentury,www.ait.org.tw/events/docs/20070501-Jordan.pdf.Uddin & Chowdhury. (2006). Developing a Digital Resources Consortium for UniversityLibraries in Bangladesh: Proposed Role of UGC. International Conference on AsianDigital Libraries, ICADL 2006, Kyoto, Japan, November 27-30.UGC (2006) Annual report of University Grants Commission, Dhaka, Bangladesh.Wikipedia(2007).LibraryConsortiaintheworld,Electronicaddress:htt://np.wikipedia.org.

This is the html version of the file http://www.usm.my/education/publication/JPP24_MohammadAshraf_17-32.pdf.Google automatically generates html versions of documents as we crawl the web.

Page 1Jurnal Pendidik dan Pendidikan, Jil. 24, 17–32, 200917QUALITY EDUCATION MANAGEMENT AT PRIVATEUNIVERSITIES IN BANGLADESH: AN EXPLORATORY STUDYMohammad A. Ashraf and Yusnidah IbrahimCollege of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia,06010, UUM Sintok, KedahE-mail: mashraf@monisys.ca, yibrahim@uum.edu.myMohd. H. R. JoarderSchool of Business, United International University,80-8A Dhanmandi R/A, Dhaka 1209, Bangladesh

E-mail: joarder@uiu.ac.bdAbstract: An exploratory survey was conducted to analyse the consumers’ (students’)evaluation of private higher education sectors in Bangladesh with particular reference tothe quality as well as the cost of education. The sample was taken on a random basis fromabout ten private universities in the Dhaka metropolitan area. The respondents (students)were asked to evaluate the quality and the cost of education at private universities inBangladesh. Respondents ranked the attributes according to a number of itemised seven-point scale ratings bounded at each end by one of two bipolar adjectives. The results ofthis study show that faculty credentials, the academic calendar, campus facilities, researchfacilities and cost of education are associated with quality education, and that theconsumers feel most of the private universities in Bangladesh provide quality education atunreasonably higher costs.Keywords: quality management, cost of education, satisfaction, private universitiesAbstrak: Satu kajian penerokaan telah dijalankan untuk menganalisa penilaian pelajar keatas sektor pengajian tinggi swasta di Bangladesh terutamanya dari aspek kualiti dan kospendidikan. Sampel kajian diambil secara rawak dalam kalangan pelajar daripada 10universiti swasta yang beroperasi dalam bandar metropolitan Dhaka. Responden (pelajar)telah diminta menjawab untuk menjawab soalan berkaitan kualiti dan kos pengajian diuniversiti swasta di Bangladesh berasaskan skala likert tujuh titik. Hasil kajian inimenunjukkan bahawa kredibiliti fakulti, kalendar akademik, kelengkapan kampus dan

kos pendidikan mempunyai hubungan dengan kualiti pendidikan, dan pelajar merasakanbahawa kebanyakan universiti swasta di Bangladesh menawarkan pendidikan berkualitipada kos tinggi yang tidak berpatutan. Kata kunci: pengurusan kualiti, kos pendidikan, kepuasan, universiti swastaINTRODUCTIONSince that enactment of the Private Universities Act of 1992, Bangladesh hasseen a tremendous growth in the number of private educational platforms over

Page 2Mohammad A. Ashraf et al.18the recent years, mainly through the emergence of a large number of universitiesin the private sector. Yet, this growth also has a downside to it, as rapidexpansion entails a risk of compromise on quality and expenses. However, thecombined effect is a vibrant education sector with a healthy rivalry among thecompeting institutions. Undoubtedly, the main beneficiary is the studentcommunity, which gains access to a wider platform of selection with thecomparative cost advantage of domestic study over studying abroad. Thus,society and the nation are the ultimate gainers (Chowdhury, 2004).Surprisingly, about 95% of these universities are located in Dhaka’s metropolitanareas. While in the year 2000 there were only 17 of these universities, today thenumber has reached 53 (Kabir, 2006). Obviously, this growth rate seemsunhealthy in consideration of the per capita income of the country and also interms of quality assurance in higher education, as education at these universitiesis much more expensive than at the public universities of Bangladesh. One veryfamiliar feature of these universities is the way they follow the American methodof education rather than the British model. They offer four-year bachelor degreeprograms with credit-based courses. This system has also created popular appealin Bangladesh. Still, regulators and consumers have concerns about servicequality, design and costs (Haque, 2004). As of today, there is nobody to regulateprivate universities and to assure the quality of education other than through theweak supervision of the University Grant Commission (UGC). Since privateuniversities receive no funding from the UGC, there is little that the UGC can doexcept report some facts for the government (Alam et al., 2007). The issue is,therefore, an important variable for higher educational private institutes thataspire to that degree of excellence. This study is, thus, an attempt to examine the

opinion or satisfaction level of the clientele or consumers (students) regarding thequality and cost of education in the private sector in Bangladesh.WHAT ARE QUALITY AND QUALITY IN EDUCATION?Whenever quality in education is mentioned, it may be vital to establish what isunderstood by the term “quality,” because different professionals such aseducators, researchers and politicians perceive this term differently. The term“quality” is derived from the Latin word “qualitas,” which means the degree ofexcellence of a thing (Oxford Dictionary, 2003). Coombs (1985: 105) defines theword quality as:qualitative dimensions mean more than the quality of education ascustomarily defined and judged by student learning achievements, interms of traditional curriculum and standards. Quality... also pertainsto the relevance of what is taught and learned—to how well it fits the

Page 3Quality Education Management19present and future needs of the particular learners in question, giventheir particular circumstances and prospects. It also refers tosignificant changes in the educational system itself, in the nature ofits inputs; its objectives, curricula and educational technologies; andits socioeconomic, cultural and political environment.In terms of quality in education, the World Bank (1995: 46) puts forth thefollowing concept:Quality in education is difficult to define and measure. An adequatedefinition must include student outcomes. Most educators would alsoinclude in the definition the nature of the educational experiencesthat help to produce thus outcomes—the learning environment. Murgatroyd and Morgan (1994: 45–46) offer two different definitions of quality.One is related to quality assurance, and the other is from consumers’ points ofview, which are as follows:Quality assurance refers to the determination of standards,appropriate methods and quality requirements by an expert body,accompanied by a process of inspection or evaluation that examinesthe extent to which practice meets these standards; andconsumer-driven quality refers to a notion of quality in which thosewho are to receive a product or service make explicit theirexpectations for this product or service and quality is defined in

terms of meeting or exceeding the expectations of customers. Murgatroyd and Morgan (1994) argue that the concept of quality includes acustomer-driven perspective that is a derivative of economic theories. In fact,service quality has now become an important dimension for education providers,as with any other business organisations. Hence, customer evaluations of thequality of education should be an integral part of overall quality management inany of the organisations (Haque, 2004).Quality, and in particular quality assessment and assurance procedures, havereceived a great deal of attention in higher education all over the world in recentyears. “Quality of education” has been described by Rowley (1996: 12), from theoriginal source by Gordon and Partington (1993) as follows:

Page 4Mohammad A. Ashraf et al.20The success with which an institution provides educationalenvironments which enable students effectively to achieveworthwhile learning goals including appropriate academic standards.Thus, the quality issue in private universities in particular is of special interest inthe contexts of Bangladesh and other developing countries in the world.GROWTH PATTERNS OF PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES IN BANGLADESHThe spectacular growth and expansion of the private universities in Bangladesh isdepicted in Figure 1. The first private university, namely the North SouthUniversity (NSU), was approved by the government of Bangladesh (GoB) on 5 November 1992 (Alam et al., 2007). The government in power at that time(1991–1996) showed a favourable stance towards opening the door to moreprivate universities in Bangladesh. Figure 2 shows that during the period of1991–1996, sixteen private universities (mostly in metropolitan Dhaka, with onlytwo in Chittagong) were opened. During 1996–2001, the government was notfavourably disposed toward the concept of private sector of education. Data showthat only four new universities were added to the list during 1996–2001. After2001, the private university concept got a significant boost again. Figure 1 showsdata taken from UCG that in a 6 to 7 years period, the total number of privateuniversities has gone up to 56 (UGC, 2008).LITERATURE REVIEW

There are a large number of reports and theoretical works on quality from theperspective of quality assurance and quality improvement. In many of them,research scholars have identified different views on the issue of quality educationand its determining factors. However, a very limited amount of empirical work isavailable on this particular issue in the case of Bangladeshi private highereducational organisations. Andaleeb (2003) analysed seven issues crucial foreffectively fostering higher education in Bangladesh, namely, teaching quality,method, content, peer quality, direct facilities, indirect facilities and politicalclimate.

Page 5Quality Education Management21Source: Field Study by the authors (2009)Figure 1: Growth of private universities in Bangladesh, 1992–2008Sabur (2004) compared private and public educations on the basis of qualityassurance. He discussed several points of debate rather than prescribing anysolutions to problems regarding the quality of education associated with the twodifferent platforms. Spanbauer (1992) discussed the need for educationalinstitutions to institute quality policies. Lamanga (2002) highlighted threedifferent aspects involved in measuring quality education in private universitiesin Bangladesh: the quality of teaching and research, responsiveness to thedemands of the labour market, and equity. Dhali (1999) emphasised techniquesrelated to student evaluation procedures, which he classifies as either formativeor summative. In Lamanga’s (2006) report on quality assurance in tertiary education in the caseof Bangladesh, he recommended several initiatives that can ultimately ensure aquality education system for the higher learning institutions in the country.Aminuzzaman (2007) noted that most departments of universities do not have along-term national vision, but that such a vision is crucial to quality education.

Page 6Mohammad A. Ashraf et al.22According to Aminuzzaman (2007): Quality education in universities will be achieved through changingthe method of teaching and learning as well as assessment methods,renewing the curriculum continually, updating and upgrading

professional knowledge and skills and improving the broadereducational, administrative and resource environments.Actually, the student/lecturer interface is important in determining quality, and itis appropriate to seek to monitor this quality through appropriate qualityassurance processes. Though this is a superficial approach, the real challenge isthe enhancement of quality. Different institutions have started to investigateapproaches to quality enhancement (Rowley, 1996). For instance, Hart andShoolbred (1993) cited Wolverhampton University as seeking registration underBS 5750 and a number of other universities as taking the TQM path, includingAston, South Bank, Robert Gordons and Wolverhampton. Other contributionsthat describe initiatives in this area include Marchese (1991), Ewell (1991) andCornesky (1991). A paper by the Further Education Unit (1991) offers six criteriafor a quality model: (1) it seeks to improve the quality of teaching and learningstrategies, (2) it is flexible, (3) it harnesses the commitment of all staff, (4) thelearner should be involved, (5) there must be enhanced working relationshipsassociated with all functions of the organisation, and (6) requirements can bemeasured and progress can be demonstrated.Hart and Shoolbred (1993) seek to emphasise the relationship between qualityand culture; it is relevant to mention that quality management is after all relatedto how people act, and that this element of action is manifested in anorganisation’s work atmosphere and culture. If further and higher educationinstitutions are proceeding to make serious moves towards effective qualityassurance, they need to be aware of how much the culture may have to change.This may be highly uncomfortable for senior management and for the entireworkforce of the institution.With respect to the cost of private university education, Kotler (2003) is right tomention that cost is a foregoing measure or an exchange price or sacrifice madeto secure a benefit. Hence, the cost of education, according to Kotler, means thesacrifice made or price paid by the beneficiaries (students) so that they canachieve the specific objective of learning.Previous findings have reported mostly results that are based on purelytheoretical considerations. Given the circumstances, the present study takes theinitiative to conduct an empirical investigation based on a new approach thatevaluates the quality as well as the cost of education in the private sector of

Page 7Quality Education Management23

Bangladesh. The findings from this study are valuable in guiding professionalsand policy-makers to further formulate effective educational policy in thiscountry.RESEARCH METHODOLOGYThe main source of data used was a field-level survey conducted during thespring session of 2007 at some selected private universities in Dhaka. Thoseuniversities have all been in existence for at least ten years. A structuredquestionnaire was used in the survey. The respondents (students) were asked towhat degree the quality and costs of education services offered by the privateuniversities corresponded to their expectations with respect to the 36 variablesrelated to the seven dimensions of the quality-cost perception difference model.The items were applied to a seven-point “Likert type” scale (Likert, 1932). Forthis measurement, a score of 1 on the scale indicates strong disagreement and ascore of 7 indicates strong agreement. The questionnaire was pre-tested onstudents, and finally, data were collected from 360 students. Among them, 200students were in Bachelor programs and 160 were in graduate programs. Thestudents were interviewed face to face through personal visits by the authors tothe university campuses. The respondents said which score best indicated howthey would describe the attributes being rated.A reliability test was conducted to verify the internal consistency of the variablesobtained in the sample. For this test, the Cronbach’s alpha was used; the alphavalue is 0.8982, which is much higher than the minimum acceptable levelsuggested by Nunnally (1978). Several statistical analytical techniques such asFactor Analysis, Multiple Regression Analysis, and Analysis of Variance(ANOVA) were used to measure the level of quality education offered by theprivate educational institutions in Bangladesh.In order to measure the cost of education, the weighted average method wasapplied. The scale was converted 7 to +3, 6 to +2, 5 to +1, 4 to 0, 3 to –1, 2 to –2;and 1 to –3. The computed weighted average value for the particular variablewould indicate the particular level of significance. As per this method, a highervalue is assigned for greater weight.Conceptual FrameworkThis study investigated the factors affecting quality education in the privateuniversities in Bangladesh. In total, six independent determinants related to bothhuman resources and organisational factors have been identified that are likely to

Page 8Mohammad A. Ashraf et al.

24affect the quality of higher education offered to the students of Bangladesh. Theindependent factors are faculty credentials, classroom facilities, the academiccalendar, campus facilities, research facilities and the cost of education. Faculty credentials are important in assuring high-quality education. By andlarge, the faculty’s main function is to equip students with the pragmaticknowledge that is most necessary for and suitable in the current and emergingnew age of science and technology. In fulfilling this function, educational entitiesmust inevitably hire and retain talented teachers. For this reason, Hensel (1991)emphasises talented faculty members and maintained that the well-being of theuniversity depends on its ability to recruit and retain a talented faculty. The well-being of any nation as a whole depends on the ability to develop a happy,emotionally healthy, and productive next generation. According to Bowen andSchuster (1986: 3), “The excellence of higher education is a function of the kindof people it is able to enlist and retain on its faculties.” Thus, all these scholarlyqualities of the faculties need to be ensured in order to secure quality of educationin the universities. Higher education is by its nature a developmental environment (Rowley, 1996).Classroom facilities are important because they are part of the whole atmosphereof learning, which includes elements such as modern teaching aids as well as neatand clean space that is adequate in terms of class size and temperature environment. In Bangladesh, most of the private universities are established viarental, and classroom space is alarmingly inadequate. This factor is, thus,important in evaluating the satisfaction level of the students. The academiccalendar is another factor that is extremely important in the context of the privateuniversities of Bangladesh. In most cases, the semester is irregular and there is notight schedule, which affect the students in terms of the proper planning of theirstudies, which in turn negatively affects the quality of their education. As mentioned earlier, almost all private universities (with few exceptions) arefounded on rented space and buildings; campus facilities such as academicallysuitable building infrastructure, extensive library facilities, dormitory facilities,canteen facility, sports and recreational facilities, computer laboratories with highspeed internet access and transport systems are extremely limited. This factorinfluences the overall learning of the students, which affects the quality of theireducation. In a similar fashion, research facilities are also underdeveloped. Mostof the universities do not have research bureaus, and publication facilities are also

limited, as indicated by the fact that only four or five journals are publishedamong more than 50 private universities in Bangladesh. Due to the lack of adequate reference materials in the libraries, the teachers and the students

Page 9Jurnal Pendidik dan Pendidikan, Jil. 24, 17–32, 200925Figure 2. Conceptual framework for quality education at private universities inBangladeshface enormous problems (Alam et al., 2007). Clearly the variable of campusfacilities has an important impact on the overall quality of education in thesehigher learning centres of Bangladesh.The cost of education in private universities in Bangladesh is also an importantconcern where, about 42% to 45% of households live under the absolute povertyline (Alam et al., 2007). Only rich parents can consider paying the high fees andother costs of studies for their children. In exchange for high tuition fees andother costs, the students that come from affluent families expect to receive high-quality education from these private universities. However, the privateuniversities in fact spend most of their funds on renting for the campus buildings(Alam et al., 2007) instead of on high salaries to attract the highly qualifiedfaculty members. As a result, there exist serious questions about the quality of theeducation offered at these universities. Conceptual FrameworkIndependent VariablesDependent VariableFaculty CredentialsClassroom FacilitiesAcademic CalendarCampus FacilitiesResearch FacilitiesCost EducationQuality Education

Page 10Mohammad A. Ashraf et al.26DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONSA principal component factor analysis was conducted on the 36 variables related

to quality and cost of education. This analysis yielded a 7-factor solution thatexplained 53% of the variance as represented in Table 1. The factor analysisshows that faculty credentials, campus facilities and research facilities areimportant to students in their judgments regarding quality education. Thus,focusing on these factors would enable universities to achieve quality in privateeducation.The first factor, faculty credentials, which account for the most variance(24.56%), consists of five control variables. The five variables contained in thiskey factor are: faculty’s academic background, teaching experience, updatedcourse content, communication skills and fair treatments to students. The factorloading points for these variables are considerably higher than 60. Hence, policy-makers at private universities should be more concerned about these variables ifthey wish to increase education quality in higher education programs.The second most important factor is classroom facilities, which explains 7.02%of the variation in students’ evaluations of education quality. This factor includeslearning atmosphere, modern teaching aids, air-conditioned rooms, spaciousrooms, and neat and clean rooms. The factor loading points for these variables arealso higher than 60 except for the element “air-conditioned room.” Thus, theclassroom facilities are significant in explaining the quality of education at theprivate universities. The third most important factor is the academic calendar. Variables included inthis component are maintaining strict schedules, make-up class provisions, anautomated registration process, and the timely completion of registration. Thefactor loading points are also substantially higher, which shows the simplysignificant level of student judgment important for determining quality education. The fourth most important factor is campus facilities, which accounts for 4.54%of the variance and broadly covers well-equipped and modern independentcampus facilities. The specific variables are modern campus buildings, transport,dormitory facilities, dining facilities, recreation and gym facilities, high-speedInternet access, an extensive library, and computer lab facilities. The factors of research facilities and cost of education are also important, as eachone explains variation of close to 4%. Thus, the results show that the privateuniversities as a whole should be more careful with regard to the identified

Page 11Quality Education Management27Table 1. Principal factor analysis: Students’ evaluation on quality education

Factor NameVariablesFactorloading% ofvarianceexplainedCronbach’sreliabilitycoefficientFacultycredentials1. Faculty’s academic background2. Teaching experience3. Updated course content4. Communication skills5. Fair treatments to students.67.61.60.65.6024.567.7412Classroomfacilities1. Learning atmosphere2. Modern teaching aids3. Air-conditioned room4. Spacious room5. Neat and clean room.72.66.48.65.637.023.8138

Academic calendar1. Maintaining strict schedules2. Make-up class provisions3. Automated registration process4. Timely completion of registration.50.69.63.636.072.5140Campus facility1. Modern campus building2. Transport3. Dormitory facilities4. Dining facilities5. Recreation and gym facilities6. High-speed Internet access7. Extensive library8. Computer lab facilities.68.55.59.74.67.61.63.604.545.7610Research facility1. Support students’ research2. Support faculty’s research3. Existence of research centre4. Publication facilities

.66

.67

.56

.583.956.7153Cost ofeducation1. High tuition fees2. Financial aid for poor students3. Scholarships provided4. On-campus job facilities5. Cost of study materials.70.57.62.65.623.854.4725Quality education1. Nationwide recognition forproviding excellent education2. High-paid graduates on job market3. Foreign university affiliation4. Students’ pride5. Faculty’s availability to helpstudents .64.71.60.57.583.521.7438Cumulative % of variance explained = 53%

Page 12Mohammad A. Ashraf et al.28factors, using which they can achieve a higher quality of education; in effect, thiswill help to push up the overall performance and productivity of the universities.The most important point to note here is that the independent factor of qualityeducation is ranked in the lowest echelon based on the students’ judgments. Itexplains the smallest amount of variation and the factor loadings are also poor. Inthis regard, the administration has a significant role to play in order to upgradethe overall quality of education offered by the private universities in Bangladesh. A step-wise regression technique was then employed. Quality education and sixorthogonal component factors were taken as dependent and independentvariables, respectively. The results are shown in Table 2. Table 2. Results of step-wise regression VariablesBetasComputed tSignificanceFaculty credentials (FC).399.11.000***Academic calendar (AC).092.33.020*Campus facilities (CF).235.19.000***Research facilities (RF).143.20.001**Cost of education (COE).133.26

.001***** p < .001; **p < .01; * p < .05Only significant variables are shown in the table, along with their respectiveregression coefficients (βs) and computed students’ t statistics and theirrespective significance levels. The results of the regression analyses revealed thatout of six control variables, five—faculty credentials (FC), academic calendar(AC), campus facilities (CF), research facilities (RF) and cost of education (COE)had statistically significant effects on the rating of attitudes towards theeducational quality of the concerned universities of this study. These results arealso consistent with the results found in the factor analyses, because the findingsalso showed that factors such as FC and CF exhibit the highest significance levelsthat equivalently correspond to the factor analysis results. Thus, in order to enrichquality education in the private universities of Bangladesh, all five of thesevariables need to be considered.FC and CF were found to be statistically significant and positively related toquality education. The results show that both factors are the most importantcomponents of quality education. Similarly, factors such as research facilities andthe cost of education exhibited significant results. This statistical outcomeindicates that these variables deserve more attention in the attempt to improve thequality of education at private universities. Though the significance level of theacademic calendar is comparatively less than that of other factors, it also has to

Page 13Quality Education Management29Table 3. ANOVA for regressionSources of variationSum of square Degrees of freedom Mean squareComputed FRegression200.752540.15079.586***Residual178.589354.504

Total379.341359R2 = 53%; *** p < .001be addressed with an equivalent degree of focus for one to attain a higher level ofeducation. The result of the R2 value underneath the ANOVA table indicates that 53% of thevariation in the dependent variable can be explained by variations in theindependent variables, i.e., 47% is due to something else not included in themodel. The significance of the F value indicates that there has been a 0% chancethat the Adjusted R2 value is zero. These outcomes imply the robustness of thestudy.Table 4 presents the cost of education on a scale using the weighted averagemethod. The weighted average value of tuition fees is 1.12, which is the highestvalue in the table. This outcome indicates that the students see the tuition fee asan important factor in their education and learning process; students report thattuition is charged at a high rate by the private universities. At the same time,students also report that the number of scholarships is high, but thesescholarships are offered for a limited number of top students, so this effort is notsufficient to offset the tuition fees and reduce the costs of overall privateeducation in Bangladesh. This evidence is also supported by the lower weightedaverage values of financial aid for poor students as well as the values of on-campus job facilities. Moreover, the variable “cost of education” is found to bestatistically significant, which implies that this variable is an important factorinfluencing the learning process of the students in the private universities inBangladesh.

Page 14Mohammad A. Ashraf et al.30Table 4. Cost of education on a scale using the weighted average methodStronglyAgree+3ModeratelyAgree+2Simply

Agree+1Neutral0SimplyDisagree–1Moder-atelyDisagree–2StronglyDisagree–3WeightedAverageScores1. Tuition feesare high1077953474015191.122. Financial aidfor poorstudents6877845831735.81

3. Large numberof scholarships849682482015151.194. On-campus jobfacilities53599062381246.465. Studymaterials areexpensive46668758562324.50Source: (Field Survey, 2007)CONCLUSIONPrivate education in Bangladesh is getting more competitive with the remarkableincrease in the number of academic institutions in the country. The ineluctableforces of globalization in this new millennium make this growth path morecomplex and challenging. Despite the relentless and continuous effort of private

educational institutions, quality has not yet achieved at the desired level. The costof private education is another dimension to consider, as it is unaffordable inBangladesh, and more effort needs to be made if costs are to be lowered.However, the system is proceeding gradually towards greater improvement.Nevertheless, all the problems considered here should be addressed morerigorously to ensure the quality of education in Bangladesh reaches the desiredlevel. This study has shed the light on the dimensions perceived by students asassociated with the quality of education. These dimensions are facultycredentials, the academic calendar, campus facilities, research facilities and thecost of education. The study also concludes that, in general, the cost of educationin private universities in Bangladesh is somewhat expensive due to the imbalancebetween increasing tuition fees and an increasing amount of financial aid andscholarships.

Page 15Quality Education Management31REFERENCESAlam, M., Haque, M. S. and Siddiqui, S. F. (2007). Private higher education inBangladesh. Research papers. Paris: International Institute for Education Planning. Aminuzzaman, S. (2007). Overview of quality assurance in the context of Bangladesh.Paper presented in a workshop organised by American International UniversityBangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Andaleeb, S. S. (2003). Rejuvenating the Nation’s Higher Education System. Proceedingof the workshop organised by International University of Business Agriculture andTechnology, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bowen, H. R. and Schuster, J. H. (1986). American professors: A national resourceimperiled. New York: Oxford University Press.Chowdhury, I. G. (2004). Foreword. Management Forum 2004, April, 3–4.Cornesky, R. (1991). Implementing total quality management in Higher Education.Madison, WI: Magnar Publications.

Coombs, P. H. (1985). The world crises in education: The view from the eighties. New York: Oxford University Press.Dhali, S. K. (1999). Measurement and evaluation in education. Dhaka: Pravati Library. Ewell, P. T. (1991). Assessment and TQM: In search of convergence. New Directions forInstitutional Research, 18, 39–52.Further Education Unit (FEU). (1991). Quality matters: Business and industry qualitymodels and further education. London: FEU.Gordon, G. and Partington, P. (1993). Quality in higher education: overview and update.Briefing Paper 3. Sheffield: University Staff Development Unit, University ofSheffield.Haque, M. S. (2004). Quality management issues in business education in Bangladesh: A synoptic review based on Canadian and European papers, Management Forum2004, April, 1–10.Hart, C and Shoolbred, M. (1993). Organizational culture, rewards and quality in highereducation. Quality Assurance in Education, 1, 22–29.Hensel, N. (1991). Realizing gender equality in higher education: The need to integratework/family issues. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report no. 2. Washington, DC:School of Education and Human Development, George Washington University.

Page 16Mohammad A. Ashraf et al.32Kabir, N. (2006). Private universities: An analytical assessment. The Daily New Age, 10–11. Kotler, P. (2003). Marketing management. Delhi: Pearson Education Inc.Lamanga, C. Z. (2002). Strategic view of the development of Higher Education:Bangladesh AIUB perspective. Dhaka: A1 Publication._________. (2006). Quality assurance in tertiary education: Bangladesh experience.

Paper presented at the World Bank Learning Seminar, 18–20 June, CIEP, France.Likert, R. (1932). A technique for the measurement of attitudes. Archives of Psychology,140, 55–60.Marchese, T. (1991). TQM reaches the academy. AHHE–Bulletin, 44, 3–9.Murgatroyd, S. and Morgan, C. (1994). Total quality management in the public sector:An international perspective, Buckingham, Philadelphia: Open University Press.Nunnally, J. L. (1978). Psychometric theory. New York: McGraw Hill-Company.Oxford. (2003). The Oxford compact english dictionary. New York: Oxford University Press.Rowley, J. (1996). Motivation and academic staff in higher education. Quality Assurancein Education, 4, 11–16.Sabur, M. A. (2004). Dhaka University verses private university: A comparative analysisof quality of education offered by the institutions. BSS diss., University of Dhaka,Bangladesh. Schein, E. H. (1980). Organizational psychology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Spanbauer, S. J. (1992). A quality system for education. Milwaukee, WI: ASQC QualityPress. University Grants Commission. (2008). Annual Report 2008. Dhaka: University GrantsCommission.World Bank (1995). Priorities and strategies for education. Washington, DC: The WorldBank.

This is the html version of the file http://www.usm.my/education/publication/JPP24_MohammadAshraf_17-32.pdf.Google automatically generates html versions of documents as we crawl the web.

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QUALITY EDUCATION MANAGEMENT AT PRIVATEUNIVERSITIES IN BANGLADESH: AN EXPLORATORY STUDYMohammad A. Ashraf and Yusnidah IbrahimCollege of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia,06010, UUM Sintok, KedahE-mail: mashraf@monisys.ca, yibrahim@uum.edu.myMohd. H. R. JoarderSchool of Business, United International University,80-8A Dhanmandi R/A, Dhaka 1209, BangladeshE-mail: joarder@uiu.ac.bdAbstract: An exploratory survey was conducted to analyse the consumers’ (students’)evaluation of private higher education sectors in Bangladesh with particular reference tothe quality as well as the cost of education. The sample was taken on a random basis fromabout ten private universities in the Dhaka metropolitan area. The respondents (students)were asked to evaluate the quality and the cost of education at private universities inBangladesh. Respondents ranked the attributes according to a number of itemised seven-point scale ratings bounded at each end by one of two bipolar adjectives. The results ofthis study show that faculty credentials, the academic calendar, campus facilities, researchfacilities and cost of education are associated with quality education, and that theconsumers feel most of the private universities in Bangladesh provide quality education atunreasonably higher costs.Keywords: quality management, cost of education, satisfaction, private universitiesAbstrak: Satu kajian penerokaan telah dijalankan untuk menganalisa penilaian pelajar keatas sektor pengajian tinggi swasta di Bangladesh terutamanya dari aspek kualiti dan kospendidikan. Sampel kajian diambil secara rawak dalam kalangan pelajar daripada 10

universiti swasta yang beroperasi dalam bandar metropolitan Dhaka. Responden (pelajar)telah diminta menjawab untuk menjawab soalan berkaitan kualiti dan kos pengajian diuniversiti swasta di Bangladesh berasaskan skala likert tujuh titik. Hasil kajian inimenunjukkan bahawa kredibiliti fakulti, kalendar akademik, kelengkapan kampus dankos pendidikan mempunyai hubungan dengan kualiti pendidikan, dan pelajar merasakanbahawa kebanyakan universiti swasta di Bangladesh menawarkan pendidikan berkualitipada kos tinggi yang tidak berpatutan. Kata kunci: pengurusan kualiti, kos pendidikan, kepuasan, universiti swastaINTRODUCTIONSince that enactment of the Private Universities Act of 1992, Bangladesh hasseen a tremendous growth in the number of private educational platforms over

Page 2Mohammad A. Ashraf et al.18the recent years, mainly through the emergence of a large number of universitiesin the private sector. Yet, this growth also has a downside to it, as rapidexpansion entails a risk of compromise on quality and expenses. However, thecombined effect is a vibrant education sector with a healthy rivalry among thecompeting institutions. Undoubtedly, the main beneficiary is the studentcommunity, which gains access to a wider platform of selection with thecomparative cost advantage of domestic study over studying abroad. Thus,society and the nation are the ultimate gainers (Chowdhury, 2004).Surprisingly, about 95% of these universities are located in Dhaka’s metropolitanareas. While in the year 2000 there were only 17 of these universities, today thenumber has reached 53 (Kabir, 2006). Obviously, this growth rate seemsunhealthy in consideration of the per capita income of the country and also interms of quality assurance in higher education, as education at these universitiesis much more expensive than at the public universities of Bangladesh. One veryfamiliar feature of these universities is the way they follow the American methodof education rather than the British model. They offer four-year bachelor degreeprograms with credit-based courses. This system has also created popular appeal

in Bangladesh. Still, regulators and consumers have concerns about servicequality, design and costs (Haque, 2004). As of today, there is nobody to regulateprivate universities and to assure the quality of education other than through theweak supervision of the University Grant Commission (UGC). Since privateuniversities receive no funding from the UGC, there is little that the UGC can doexcept report some facts for the government (Alam et al., 2007). The issue is,therefore, an important variable for higher educational private institutes thataspire to that degree of excellence. This study is, thus, an attempt to examine theopinion or satisfaction level of the clientele or consumers (students) regarding thequality and cost of education in the private sector in Bangladesh.WHAT ARE QUALITY AND QUALITY IN EDUCATION?Whenever quality in education is mentioned, it may be vital to establish what isunderstood by the term “quality,” because different professionals such aseducators, researchers and politicians perceive this term differently. The term“quality” is derived from the Latin word “qualitas,” which means the degree ofexcellence of a thing (Oxford Dictionary, 2003). Coombs (1985: 105) defines theword quality as:qualitative dimensions mean more than the quality of education ascustomarily defined and judged by student learning achievements, interms of traditional curriculum and standards. Quality... also pertainsto the relevance of what is taught and learned—to how well it fits the

Page 3Quality Education Management19present and future needs of the particular learners in question, giventheir particular circumstances and prospects. It also refers tosignificant changes in the educational system itself, in the nature ofits inputs; its objectives, curricula and educational technologies; andits socioeconomic, cultural and political environment.In terms of quality in education, the World Bank (1995: 46) puts forth thefollowing concept:Quality in education is difficult to define and measure. An adequatedefinition must include student outcomes. Most educators would alsoinclude in the definition the nature of the educational experiencesthat help to produce thus outcomes—the learning environment. Murgatroyd and Morgan (1994: 45–46) offer two different definitions of quality.One is related to quality assurance, and the other is from consumers’ points of

view, which are as follows:Quality assurance refers to the determination of standards,appropriate methods and quality requirements by an expert body,accompanied by a process of inspection or evaluation that examinesthe extent to which practice meets these standards; andconsumer-driven quality refers to a notion of quality in which thosewho are to receive a product or service make explicit theirexpectations for this product or service and quality is defined interms of meeting or exceeding the expectations of customers. Murgatroyd and Morgan (1994) argue that the concept of quality includes acustomer-driven perspective that is a derivative of economic theories. In fact,service quality has now become an important dimension for education providers,as with any other business organisations. Hence, customer evaluations of thequality of education should be an integral part of overall quality management inany of the organisations (Haque, 2004).Quality, and in particular quality assessment and assurance procedures, havereceived a great deal of attention in higher education all over the world in recentyears. “Quality of education” has been described by Rowley (1996: 12), from theoriginal source by Gordon and Partington (1993) as follows:

Page 4Mohammad A. Ashraf et al.20The success with which an institution provides educationalenvironments which enable students effectively to achieveworthwhile learning goals including appropriate academic standards.Thus, the quality issue in private universities in particular is of special interest inthe contexts of Bangladesh and other developing countries in the world.GROWTH PATTERNS OF PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES IN BANGLADESHThe spectacular growth and expansion of the private universities in Bangladesh isdepicted in Figure 1. The first private university, namely the North SouthUniversity (NSU), was approved by the government of Bangladesh (GoB) on 5 November 1992 (Alam et al., 2007). The government in power at that time(1991–1996) showed a favourable stance towards opening the door to moreprivate universities in Bangladesh. Figure 2 shows that during the period of1991–1996, sixteen private universities (mostly in metropolitan Dhaka, with only

two in Chittagong) were opened. During 1996–2001, the government was notfavourably disposed toward the concept of private sector of education. Data showthat only four new universities were added to the list during 1996–2001. After2001, the private university concept got a significant boost again. Figure 1 showsdata taken from UCG that in a 6 to 7 years period, the total number of privateuniversities has gone up to 56 (UGC, 2008).LITERATURE REVIEW There are a large number of reports and theoretical works on quality from theperspective of quality assurance and quality improvement. In many of them,research scholars have identified different views on the issue of quality educationand its determining factors. However, a very limited amount of empirical work isavailable on this particular issue in the case of Bangladeshi private highereducational organisations. Andaleeb (2003) analysed seven issues crucial foreffectively fostering higher education in Bangladesh, namely, teaching quality,method, content, peer quality, direct facilities, indirect facilities and politicalclimate.

Page 5Quality Education Management21Source: Field Study by the authors (2009)Figure 1: Growth of private universities in Bangladesh, 1992–2008Sabur (2004) compared private and public educations on the basis of qualityassurance. He discussed several points of debate rather than prescribing anysolutions to problems regarding the quality of education associated with the twodifferent platforms. Spanbauer (1992) discussed the need for educationalinstitutions to institute quality policies. Lamanga (2002) highlighted threedifferent aspects involved in measuring quality education in private universitiesin Bangladesh: the quality of teaching and research, responsiveness to thedemands of the labour market, and equity. Dhali (1999) emphasised techniquesrelated to student evaluation procedures, which he classifies as either formativeor summative. In Lamanga’s (2006) report on quality assurance in tertiary education in the caseof Bangladesh, he recommended several initiatives that can ultimately ensure aquality education system for the higher learning institutions in the country.Aminuzzaman (2007) noted that most departments of universities do not have along-term national vision, but that such a vision is crucial to quality education.

Page 6Mohammad A. Ashraf et al.22According to Aminuzzaman (2007): Quality education in universities will be achieved through changingthe method of teaching and learning as well as assessment methods,renewing the curriculum continually, updating and upgradingprofessional knowledge and skills and improving the broadereducational, administrative and resource environments.Actually, the student/lecturer interface is important in determining quality, and itis appropriate to seek to monitor this quality through appropriate qualityassurance processes. Though this is a superficial approach, the real challenge isthe enhancement of quality. Different institutions have started to investigateapproaches to quality enhancement (Rowley, 1996). For instance, Hart andShoolbred (1993) cited Wolverhampton University as seeking registration underBS 5750 and a number of other universities as taking the TQM path, includingAston, South Bank, Robert Gordons and Wolverhampton. Other contributionsthat describe initiatives in this area include Marchese (1991), Ewell (1991) andCornesky (1991). A paper by the Further Education Unit (1991) offers six criteriafor a quality model: (1) it seeks to improve the quality of teaching and learningstrategies, (2) it is flexible, (3) it harnesses the commitment of all staff, (4) thelearner should be involved, (5) there must be enhanced working relationshipsassociated with all functions of the organisation, and (6) requirements can bemeasured and progress can be demonstrated.Hart and Shoolbred (1993) seek to emphasise the relationship between qualityand culture; it is relevant to mention that quality management is after all relatedto how people act, and that this element of action is manifested in anorganisation’s work atmosphere and culture. If further and higher educationinstitutions are proceeding to make serious moves towards effective qualityassurance, they need to be aware of how much the culture may have to change.This may be highly uncomfortable for senior management and for the entireworkforce of the institution.With respect to the cost of private university education, Kotler (2003) is right tomention that cost is a foregoing measure or an exchange price or sacrifice madeto secure a benefit. Hence, the cost of education, according to Kotler, means thesacrifice made or price paid by the beneficiaries (students) so that they canachieve the specific objective of learning.

Previous findings have reported mostly results that are based on purelytheoretical considerations. Given the circumstances, the present study takes theinitiative to conduct an empirical investigation based on a new approach thatevaluates the quality as well as the cost of education in the private sector of

Page 7Quality Education Management23Bangladesh. The findings from this study are valuable in guiding professionalsand policy-makers to further formulate effective educational policy in thiscountry.RESEARCH METHODOLOGYThe main source of data used was a field-level survey conducted during thespring session of 2007 at some selected private universities in Dhaka. Thoseuniversities have all been in existence for at least ten years. A structuredquestionnaire was used in the survey. The respondents (students) were asked towhat degree the quality and costs of education services offered by the privateuniversities corresponded to their expectations with respect to the 36 variablesrelated to the seven dimensions of the quality-cost perception difference model.The items were applied to a seven-point “Likert type” scale (Likert, 1932). Forthis measurement, a score of 1 on the scale indicates strong disagreement and ascore of 7 indicates strong agreement. The questionnaire was pre-tested onstudents, and finally, data were collected from 360 students. Among them, 200students were in Bachelor programs and 160 were in graduate programs. Thestudents were interviewed face to face through personal visits by the authors tothe university campuses. The respondents said which score best indicated howthey would describe the attributes being rated.A reliability test was conducted to verify the internal consistency of the variablesobtained in the sample. For this test, the Cronbach’s alpha was used; the alphavalue is 0.8982, which is much higher than the minimum acceptable levelsuggested by Nunnally (1978). Several statistical analytical techniques such asFactor Analysis, Multiple Regression Analysis, and Analysis of Variance(ANOVA) were used to measure the level of quality education offered by theprivate educational institutions in Bangladesh.In order to measure the cost of education, the weighted average method wasapplied. The scale was converted 7 to +3, 6 to +2, 5 to +1, 4 to 0, 3 to –1, 2 to –2;and 1 to –3. The computed weighted average value for the particular variablewould indicate the particular level of significance. As per this method, a higher

value is assigned for greater weight.Conceptual FrameworkThis study investigated the factors affecting quality education in the privateuniversities in Bangladesh. In total, six independent determinants related to bothhuman resources and organisational factors have been identified that are likely to

Page 8Mohammad A. Ashraf et al.24affect the quality of higher education offered to the students of Bangladesh. Theindependent factors are faculty credentials, classroom facilities, the academiccalendar, campus facilities, research facilities and the cost of education. Faculty credentials are important in assuring high-quality education. By andlarge, the faculty’s main function is to equip students with the pragmaticknowledge that is most necessary for and suitable in the current and emergingnew age of science and technology. In fulfilling this function, educational entitiesmust inevitably hire and retain talented teachers. For this reason, Hensel (1991)emphasises talented faculty members and maintained that the well-being of theuniversity depends on its ability to recruit and retain a talented faculty. The well-being of any nation as a whole depends on the ability to develop a happy,emotionally healthy, and productive next generation. According to Bowen andSchuster (1986: 3), “The excellence of higher education is a function of the kindof people it is able to enlist and retain on its faculties.” Thus, all these scholarlyqualities of the faculties need to be ensured in order to secure quality of educationin the universities. Higher education is by its nature a developmental environment (Rowley, 1996).Classroom facilities are important because they are part of the whole atmosphereof learning, which includes elements such as modern teaching aids as well as neatand clean space that is adequate in terms of class size and temperature environment. In Bangladesh, most of the private universities are established viarental, and classroom space is alarmingly inadequate. This factor is, thus,important in evaluating the satisfaction level of the students. The academiccalendar is another factor that is extremely important in the context of the privateuniversities of Bangladesh. In most cases, the semester is irregular and there is notight schedule, which affect the students in terms of the proper planning of theirstudies, which in turn negatively affects the quality of their education. As mentioned earlier, almost all private universities (with few exceptions) are

founded on rented space and buildings; campus facilities such as academicallysuitable building infrastructure, extensive library facilities, dormitory facilities,canteen facility, sports and recreational facilities, computer laboratories with highspeed internet access and transport systems are extremely limited. This factorinfluences the overall learning of the students, which affects the quality of theireducation. In a similar fashion, research facilities are also underdeveloped. Mostof the universities do not have research bureaus, and publication facilities are alsolimited, as indicated by the fact that only four or five journals are publishedamong more than 50 private universities in Bangladesh. Due to the lack of adequate reference materials in the libraries, the teachers and the students

Page 9Jurnal Pendidik dan Pendidikan, Jil. 24, 17–32, 200925Figure 2. Conceptual framework for quality education at private universities inBangladeshface enormous problems (Alam et al., 2007). Clearly the variable of campusfacilities has an important impact on the overall quality of education in thesehigher learning centres of Bangladesh.The cost of education in private universities in Bangladesh is also an importantconcern where, about 42% to 45% of households live under the absolute povertyline (Alam et al., 2007). Only rich parents can consider paying the high fees andother costs of studies for their children. In exchange for high tuition fees andother costs, the students that come from affluent families expect to receive high-quality education from these private universities. However, the privateuniversities in fact spend most of their funds on renting for the campus buildings(Alam et al., 2007) instead of on high salaries to attract the highly qualifiedfaculty members. As a result, there exist serious questions about the quality of theeducation offered at these universities. Conceptual FrameworkIndependent VariablesDependent VariableFaculty CredentialsClassroom FacilitiesAcademic CalendarCampus FacilitiesResearch Facilities

Cost EducationQuality Education

Page 10Mohammad A. Ashraf et al.26DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONSA principal component factor analysis was conducted on the 36 variables relatedto quality and cost of education. This analysis yielded a 7-factor solution thatexplained 53% of the variance as represented in Table 1. The factor analysisshows that faculty credentials, campus facilities and research facilities areimportant to students in their judgments regarding quality education. Thus,focusing on these factors would enable universities to achieve quality in privateeducation.The first factor, faculty credentials, which account for the most variance(24.56%), consists of five control variables. The five variables contained in thiskey factor are: faculty’s academic background, teaching experience, updatedcourse content, communication skills and fair treatments to students. The factorloading points for these variables are considerably higher than 60. Hence, policy-makers at private universities should be more concerned about these variables ifthey wish to increase education quality in higher education programs.The second most important factor is classroom facilities, which explains 7.02%of the variation in students’ evaluations of education quality. This factor includeslearning atmosphere, modern teaching aids, air-conditioned rooms, spaciousrooms, and neat and clean rooms. The factor loading points for these variables arealso higher than 60 except for the element “air-conditioned room.” Thus, theclassroom facilities are significant in explaining the quality of education at theprivate universities. The third most important factor is the academic calendar. Variables included inthis component are maintaining strict schedules, make-up class provisions, anautomated registration process, and the timely completion of registration. Thefactor loading points are also substantially higher, which shows the simplysignificant level of student judgment important for determining quality education. The fourth most important factor is campus facilities, which accounts for 4.54%of the variance and broadly covers well-equipped and modern independentcampus facilities. The specific variables are modern campus buildings, transport,dormitory facilities, dining facilities, recreation and gym facilities, high-speedInternet access, an extensive library, and computer lab facilities.

The factors of research facilities and cost of education are also important, as eachone explains variation of close to 4%. Thus, the results show that the privateuniversities as a whole should be more careful with regard to the identified

Page 11Quality Education Management27Table 1. Principal factor analysis: Students’ evaluation on quality educationFactor NameVariablesFactorloading% ofvarianceexplainedCronbach’sreliabilitycoefficientFacultycredentials1. Faculty’s academic background2. Teaching experience3. Updated course content4. Communication skills5. Fair treatments to students.67.61.60.65.6024.567.7412Classroomfacilities1. Learning atmosphere2. Modern teaching aids3. Air-conditioned room4. Spacious room

5. Neat and clean room.72.66.48.65.637.023.8138Academic calendar1. Maintaining strict schedules2. Make-up class provisions3. Automated registration process4. Timely completion of registration.50.69.63.636.072.5140Campus facility1. Modern campus building2. Transport3. Dormitory facilities4. Dining facilities5. Recreation and gym facilities6. High-speed Internet access7. Extensive library8. Computer lab facilities.68.55.59.74.67.61.63.60

4.545.7610Research facility1. Support students’ research2. Support faculty’s research3. Existence of research centre4. Publication facilities.66.67.56.583.956.7153Cost ofeducation1. High tuition fees2. Financial aid for poor students3. Scholarships provided4. On-campus job facilities5. Cost of study materials.70.57.62.65.623.854.4725Quality education1. Nationwide recognition forproviding excellent education2. High-paid graduates on job market3. Foreign university affiliation4. Students’ pride5. Faculty’s availability to helpstudents .64

.71

.60

.57

.583.521.7438Cumulative % of variance explained = 53%

Page 12Mohammad A. Ashraf et al.28factors, using which they can achieve a higher quality of education; in effect, thiswill help to push up the overall performance and productivity of the universities.The most important point to note here is that the independent factor of qualityeducation is ranked in the lowest echelon based on the students’ judgments. Itexplains the smallest amount of variation and the factor loadings are also poor. Inthis regard, the administration has a significant role to play in order to upgradethe overall quality of education offered by the private universities in Bangladesh. A step-wise regression technique was then employed. Quality education and sixorthogonal component factors were taken as dependent and independentvariables, respectively. The results are shown in Table 2. Table 2. Results of step-wise regression VariablesBetasComputed tSignificanceFaculty credentials (FC).399.11.000***Academic calendar (AC).092.33.020*Campus facilities (CF).235.19

.000***Research facilities (RF).143.20.001**Cost of education (COE).133.26.001***** p < .001; **p < .01; * p < .05Only significant variables are shown in the table, along with their respectiveregression coefficients (βs) and computed students’ t statistics and theirrespective significance levels. The results of the regression analyses revealed thatout of six control variables, five—faculty credentials (FC), academic calendar(AC), campus facilities (CF), research facilities (RF) and cost of education (COE)had statistically significant effects on the rating of attitudes towards theeducational quality of the concerned universities of this study. These results arealso consistent with the results found in the factor analyses, because the findingsalso showed that factors such as FC and CF exhibit the highest significance levelsthat equivalently correspond to the factor analysis results. Thus, in order to enrichquality education in the private universities of Bangladesh, all five of thesevariables need to be considered.FC and CF were found to be statistically significant and positively related toquality education. The results show that both factors are the most importantcomponents of quality education. Similarly, factors such as research facilities andthe cost of education exhibited significant results. This statistical outcomeindicates that these variables deserve more attention in the attempt to improve thequality of education at private universities. Though the significance level of theacademic calendar is comparatively less than that of other factors, it also has to

Page 13Quality Education Management29Table 3. ANOVA for regressionSources of variationSum of square Degrees of freedom Mean squareComputed FRegression

200.752540.15079.586***Residual178.589354.504Total379.341359R2 = 53%; *** p < .001be addressed with an equivalent degree of focus for one to attain a higher level ofeducation. The result of the R2 value underneath the ANOVA table indicates that 53% of thevariation in the dependent variable can be explained by variations in theindependent variables, i.e., 47% is due to something else not included in themodel. The significance of the F value indicates that there has been a 0% chancethat the Adjusted R2 value is zero. These outcomes imply the robustness of thestudy.Table 4 presents the cost of education on a scale using the weighted averagemethod. The weighted average value of tuition fees is 1.12, which is the highestvalue in the table. This outcome indicates that the students see the tuition fee asan important factor in their education and learning process; students report thattuition is charged at a high rate by the private universities. At the same time,students also report that the number of scholarships is high, but thesescholarships are offered for a limited number of top students, so this effort is notsufficient to offset the tuition fees and reduce the costs of overall privateeducation in Bangladesh. This evidence is also supported by the lower weightedaverage values of financial aid for poor students as well as the values of on-campus job facilities. Moreover, the variable “cost of education” is found to bestatistically significant, which implies that this variable is an important factorinfluencing the learning process of the students in the private universities inBangladesh.

Page 14Mohammad A. Ashraf et al.30

Table 4. Cost of education on a scale using the weighted average methodStronglyAgree+3ModeratelyAgree+2SimplyAgree+1Neutral0SimplyDisagree–1Moder-atelyDisagree–2StronglyDisagree–3WeightedAverageScores1. Tuition feesare high1077953474015191.122. Financial aidfor poorstudents

6877845831735.813. Large numberof scholarships849682482015151.194. On-campus jobfacilities53599062381246.465. Studymaterials areexpensive46668758562324

.50Source: (Field Survey, 2007)CONCLUSIONPrivate education in Bangladesh is getting more competitive with the remarkableincrease in the number of academic institutions in the country. The ineluctableforces of globalization in this new millennium make this growth path morecomplex and challenging. Despite the relentless and continuous effort of privateeducational institutions, quality has not yet achieved at the desired level. The costof private education is another dimension to consider, as it is unaffordable inBangladesh, and more effort needs to be made if costs are to be lowered.However, the system is proceeding gradually towards greater improvement.Nevertheless, all the problems considered here should be addressed morerigorously to ensure the quality of education in Bangladesh reaches the desiredlevel. This study has shed the light on the dimensions perceived by students asassociated with the quality of education. These dimensions are facultycredentials, the academic calendar, campus facilities, research facilities and thecost of education. The study also concludes that, in general, the cost of educationin private universities in Bangladesh is somewhat expensive due to the imbalancebetween increasing tuition fees and an increasing amount of financial aid andscholarships.

Page 15Quality Education Management31REFERENCESAlam, M., Haque, M. S. and Siddiqui, S. F. (2007). Private higher education inBangladesh. Research papers. Paris: International Institute for Education Planning. Aminuzzaman, S. (2007). Overview of quality assurance in the context of Bangladesh.Paper presented in a workshop organised by American International UniversityBangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Andaleeb, S. S. (2003). Rejuvenating the Nation’s Higher Education System. Proceedingof the workshop organised by International University of Business Agriculture and

Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bowen, H. R. and Schuster, J. H. (1986). American professors: A national resourceimperiled. New York: Oxford University Press.Chowdhury, I. G. (2004). Foreword. Management Forum 2004, April, 3–4.Cornesky, R. (1991). Implementing total quality management in Higher Education.Madison, WI: Magnar Publications.Coombs, P. H. (1985). The world crises in education: The view from the eighties. New York: Oxford University Press.Dhali, S. K. (1999). Measurement and evaluation in education. Dhaka: Pravati Library. Ewell, P. T. (1991). Assessment and TQM: In search of convergence. New Directions forInstitutional Research, 18, 39–52.Further Education Unit (FEU). (1991). Quality matters: Business and industry qualitymodels and further education. London: FEU.Gordon, G. and Partington, P. (1993). Quality in higher education: overview and update.Briefing Paper 3. Sheffield: University Staff Development Unit, University ofSheffield.Haque, M. S. (2004). Quality management issues in business education in Bangladesh: A synoptic review based on Canadian and European papers, Management Forum2004, April, 1–10.Hart, C and Shoolbred, M. (1993). Organizational culture, rewards and quality in highereducation. Quality Assurance in Education, 1, 22–29.Hensel, N. (1991). Realizing gender equality in higher education: The need to integratework/family issues. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report no. 2. Washington, DC:School of Education and Human Development, George Washington University.

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Kabir, N. (2006). Private universities: An analytical assessment. The Daily New Age, 10–11. Kotler, P. (2003). Marketing management. Delhi: Pearson Education Inc.Lamanga, C. Z. (2002). Strategic view of the development of Higher Education:Bangladesh AIUB perspective. Dhaka: A1 Publication._________. (2006). Quality assurance in tertiary education: Bangladesh experience.Paper presented at the World Bank Learning Seminar, 18–20 June, CIEP, France.Likert, R. (1932). A technique for the measurement of attitudes. Archives of Psychology,140, 55–60.Marchese, T. (1991). TQM reaches the academy. AHHE–Bulletin, 44, 3–9.Murgatroyd, S. and Morgan, C. (1994). Total quality management in the public sector:An international perspective, Buckingham, Philadelphia: Open University Press.Nunnally, J. L. (1978). Psychometric theory. New York: McGraw Hill-Company.Oxford. (2003). The Oxford compact english dictionary. New York: Oxford University Press.Rowley, J. (1996). Motivation and academic staff in higher education. Quality Assurancein Education, 4, 11–16.Sabur, M. A. (2004). Dhaka University verses private university: A comparative analysisof quality of education offered by the institutions. BSS diss., University of Dhaka,Bangladesh. Schein, E. H. (1980). Organizational psychology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Spanbauer, S. J. (1992). A quality system for education. Milwaukee, WI: ASQC QualityPress. University Grants Commission. (2008). Annual Report 2008. Dhaka: University GrantsCommission.World Bank (1995). Priorities and strategies for education. Washington, DC: The WorldBank.

BANGLADESH: Private universities meet demandMahdin Mahboob25 January 2009 Issue: 0060

The system of private universities is a relatively new concept in Bangladesh. Because of the ever-growing demand for education at the university level, and the fact that existing public universities could not meet the need, the government passed a Private Universities Act in 1992. Starting with a handful, the number of private universities has grown rapidly and stands at 54 to date, compared with 21 public universities.

Part of the reason is that Bangladesh has one of the fastest-growing populations in the world, increasing from 45 million in 1971 to more than 145 million today. But private universities are also popular because the public institutions could not offer enough places in courses of high demand so students opted for lesser-known universities rather than study a subject which might not have good job prospects.

The private universities have capitalised on this situation by limiting what they offer to a few disciplines such as business, computer science, engineering, medicine and so on which are very much in demand in the job market.

A University Grants Commission report says the standard of education in most of the public universities is not up to the mark. The reasons include student politics, irregular and interrupted classes and examinations, unsatisfactory teacher-student ratios and so forth. In contrast, most of these problems are non-existent in the private universities.

Prior to their introduction, most students were not able to enrol in the esteemed public universities and had few options left to

them. Some went abroad to study, the majority going to India and a few to the US, UK and Australia.

Eventually, Bangladesh began to suffer from the loss of huge amounts of hard-earned foreign currency, and also the loss of many of its then highly qualified citizens - the brain-drain factor.

So the private universities have directly helped in saving foreign currency as well as reducing the brain drain. Many scholarships are also available for students with brilliant academic results although they are also popular with those who face financial constraints. Critics say more need-based scholarships should be available to create opportunities for a higher number of deserving candidates.

Although some of the universities have come under fire for failing to deliver what they had promised, it has to be remembered that Bangladesh's whole system of higher education is still in its development stage.

In the US, as well as in many other countries around the world, private universities and colleges are as good as the public ones, if not better at times. MIT, Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Dartmouth are all private institutions. In Bangladesh, many private universities are also excellent education institutions.

Campus

The University Campus (UC) is an organization which works for the development of education and youth of Bangladesh. It started functioning in 1984 with the joint efforts of teachers, students and intellectuals who were committed to develop qualitative education in Bangladesh. Since then it has been publishing "The University Campus", a news-magazine on education and youth development. For the last 20 years, it is the only regular newspaper exclusively on education and youth development in Bangladesh.  

UC is devoted to motivate qualitative and modern education by identifying relevant problems and possible solution. At the same time, it helps the students directly to develop their educational and cultural quality. It also nourishes patriotism among the people, specially the young generation. Different activities of UC are meant to help building up cultured and well-educated people who will work for the development of Bangladesh. UC works as a bridge among students, policy-makers and employers. It organizes open dialogue on various education & society-related controversial issues where the policy-makers and different stakeholders freely exchange views to reach a meaningful solution.

As UC is committed to build up an enlightened nation, it has taken up a widespread social awareness program. Under this program it prints and distributes posters, stickers, desk slips, leaflets, calendar etc. containing valuable messages throughout the country. UC also takes special disaster management program to help the distressed people of the country. In addition to full-time regular jobs, UC offers part-time jobs in journalism, specially for the students, so that they can earn their study-cost as well as can learn how to make report on a topic thereby becoming self-reliant & self developed. UC has multipurpose-training program to train the young generation on various practical skills.

The system of private universities is a relatively new concept in Bangladesh. Due to the ever-growing demand of educational institutions at the university level and the fact that the existing public universities could not meet the need, the Government of Bangladesh passed the Private Universities Act in 1992. Starting off with a handful, the number of private universities has grown rapidly and stands at 54 to date, compared to the 21 universities in the public sector.

Part of the reason of course is the fact that we have one of the fastest-growing populations in the world, considering the growth of our population from 45 million in 1971 to the current 145 million in a span of just 35 years.

There are various reasons why private universities have become so popular in Bangladesh. Among the various factors that govern a person in choosing an institution for higher study, the most dominant one is the availability of the desired major or program. The fact that the number of seats in the esteemed

public universities in a given program (say BBA) is very limited, students these days tend to opt for a lesser known institution rather than study some subject which apparently does not have any prospect in the long run. Private Universities have capitalized on this situation by limiting the studies to a few disciplines (BBA, MBA, Computer Science, Engineering, Medicine, etc.), which are very much in demand in the job market.

According to a University Grants Commission report, the standard of education in most of the public universities is not up to the mark due to reasons including student politics, irregular and interrupted classes and examinations, unsatisfactory teacher-student ratio, etc. On the other hand, all these problems are completely non-existent in the private universities of Bangladesh.

Prior to the introduction of private universities, students not being able to get a ’seat’ in the esteemed public universities had very few options left to them. Some of them went abroad to study the majority of them going to India and few to USA, UK, Australia, etc. Eventually, our country had to suffer from losing huge amounts of hard-earned foreign currency and also the brain-drain factor to a large extent.

The private universities have directly helped in saving foreign currency as well as brain drain. Large amounts of scholarships are also available for students with brilliant academic results.

However, private universities still remain to be popular amongst the students with financial constraints. More need-based scholarships should be given to the students to give opportunities to a higher number of deserving candidates.

Although much has been said about how some of these universities have failed to deliver what they had promised, it must also be remembered that the whole system is still in its development stage. In the United States, as well as in many other countries of the world, private universities and colleges are as good as the public ones, if not better at times. MIT, Harvard, Yale Princeton and Dartmouth are all private institutions!

It can thus be summed up that private universities are doing a great job. Many of them are functioning excellent as a matter of fact, and they require our support to turn out to be model educational institutions.

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Open-ended Dialogue with UGC Chair

It was Monday 26 May 2008. The venue was the office of The Daily Star. Star Campus, a weekly publication of The Daily Star, arranged a new and innovative concept for a policy maker to talk and share views with direct beneficiaries. University students from both institutions public and private were waiting eagerly. They were waiting to share their views with the chief executive of the overseeing body of all universities in Bangladesh, the Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC), Prof. Nazrul Islam. It was a rare and wonderful opportunity for all who were present that afternoon in the Conference Room of The Daily Star.

Professor Nazrul Islam came at 4:15pm. In spite of the incessant rain outside, the room was almost full by then. Shahnoor Wahid, on behalf of The Daily Star introduced the distinguished guest with the floor. From the moment go, the talk was informal. This feature describes the talk session between the Professor and the students.

Professor Islam started with an introduction on what the UGC is and what its responsibilities include. The UGC was established in 1973. It is the statutory apex body for higher education in Bangladesh. It oversees 29 public universities; around 1800 colleges under the National University; the Bangladesh Open University; and 51 private universities. The UGC is responsible for supervising, maintaining, promoting and co-ordinating university education. The body further oversees the standard and quality of university education. The UGC determines standards of quality of the teachers and also the minimum grade a university applicant has to have for admission in private

universities. UGC is also responsible for distributing government funds to universities in the public sector.

The final responsibility of the UGC is to create an environment where universities in Bangladesh will be a centre for both quality education and a seat of knowledge creation and extension. This principal objective of the UGC started the debate between the Professor and the students.

The problem with university education in Bangladesh probably lies in the classic dilemma of quantity and quality control. University education is viewed as a social good. Not going into the finesse of definitions, a social good is simply a good that a society desires. Historically, social goods have been provided by the society, i.e., the State. Until 1992, this has been the scenario in Bangladesh with university education.

In spite of all our efforts, only 4 percent of the university going population (18-25 years) is currently enrolled in a university in Bangladesh. This figure is 13 percent for India and Pakistan and as high as 40 percent for Thailand. Even then, Bangladesh struggles with those who do enroll. In absolute figures, the public universities accommodate approximately 1,50,000 students; the National University another 800,000; and the Open University another 250,000. All the private universities accommodate around 1,30,000 students.

In spite of funds from the Government, public universities lack adequate funding and adequate infrastructure (physical and non-physical). Remuneration of teachers is low compared to their alternative in the private sector. Not receiving “efficiency wage”, teachers in the public sector are sometimes forced to look for part-time employment in the private sector. Professor Islam stressed on a mechanism to attract quality teachers in the public sector and create a secure environment. Students from public universities stressed on a mechanism whereby there is a limit to involvement of public sector teachers in the private sector.

Public universities have limited access and limited scope to raise finance outside funds generated from the Government.

Tuition fees in the public sector aren't rationalised by markets. Public universities, being a “social good”, are also obliged to provide transport; housing to students, faculty and staff; and other facilities besides education. It is true social goods like education usually generate positive external benefits for the society. It's also true such services aren't free and sooner or later will stress the coffer. Further dilemmas arise because increasing fees isn't socially or politically acceptable at times. Professor Islam stressed that the time has probably come that we debate on ways to find how public universities can achieve some kind of financial autonomy. Any policy, however, has to be somewhere in between a market and a social solution. The debate pointed to donations from generous citizens and alumni. This is a practice observed in even the richest universities in the world, Oxford, and Cambridge just to name a few.

Private universities face a different set of problems. Since private universities have to raise funds from own sources, they tend to emphasise subjects that have more of a market value than only a social value. They also tend to locate predominantly in Dhaka and/or where more affluent families live. Tuition fees can burden the budgets of the parents. High tuition fees can also totally discourage genuine meritorious students from the

thought of applying for admission in a good private university. Professor Islam stressed that private universities should try to charge fees that are more socially acceptable. The UGC can come forward in debating ways to do so.

Although tuition fees in the public sector are extremely low, maintenance allowance can put burden on students and their families. Professor Islam stressed that both public and private universities should fund the full education of the truly meritorious students as much as possible so the truly meritorious need not worry about tuition fees and maintenance. Everybody appreciated this.

The discussion then went towards the grading policy. The grading policy differs between public and private universities and across public and private universities. It even varies within the same university and sometimes within the same department of a university. This sends mixed signals to the job market. Professor Islam mentioned that the UGC is trying to move towards a common grading policy for all universities in Bangladesh. Although the market has its own mechanism of finding which 'product' from which university or department 'could' be better in the job market, Professor Islam stressed on finding a method to rank universities and also departments and programmes of universities. We can learn from the experience of many countries where ranking exists.

A common grading policy took the discussion towards a common admission test. Public university students raised this issue. Students came up with the argument that if medical colleges in Bangladesh can have a common admission test, why not all public universities too? This would save time, money and hassle on students and their families. Professor Islam noted this as 'food for thought'.

The inevitable problem with public universities soon surfaced session jam and politicisation of the university administration. Professor Islam made one thing very clearall citizens have the

right to express their political views, whether they are students or the teachers. Nevertheless, having said so, an institutional arrangement has to be reached where such political expression doesn't hamper academic activities of universities anywhere in Bangladesh. Things can't and won't change overnight, but Professor Islam assured that the UGC and the government are concerned about the issue just as much as are most teachers, students and guardians.

The talk then slowly focussed on quality of education. Although the UGC is an overseer of the quality of university education in Bangladesh, it's ultimately the universities themselves who have to address the issue.

This can be done through university associations and other formal platforms through periodic reviews. The civil society, other bodies and especially the media can also play positive roles. The government can also play its role towards both public and private universities. The UGC is exploring ways on how private universities can also receive funds from the Government. It's also high time we all think about providing e-library facilities in all universities with access to the Internet. Bangladesh can no longer afford the luxury of remaining immune from technological advantages that the Internet can offer.

A university is not only a seat of teaching, but also a centre for knowledge creation and knowledge extension. This is where both public and private universities have to come forward together. There are many good academics in public and private universities who are publishing in international journals and doing wonderful researches without patronage from their own universities. There are also wonderful teachers in public and private universities who are teaching for the love of the profession without caring much for any personal benefit. While mentioning this, Professor Islam stressed we have to have the heart to at least acknowledge these great minds, if not anything else. A light of hope came when the Professor mentioned the UGC is thinking on how to address this issue.

Universities in Bangladesh have the potential to specialise and expand graduate teaching through research. With guidance and assistance from the State or generous citizens and other philanthropic institutions, it is possible for universities in Bangladesh to expand their MPhil and PhD programmes. With some initiative it's very much possible for universities to develop link programmes with universities outside Bangladesh. This can address the brain drain problem and also save resources that would have been spent elsewhere.

The American economist Alchian once said, a society that proceeds is a society that allows scope for trial and error. Although Alchian never specified what 'trial and error' means, a civilised society proceeds through trial and error by debating. Through debates come new ideas. Through new ideas the time comes to realise old concepts have to make room for the new if the society wants to proceed forward. A debate becomes productive when institutions and their beneficiaries sit together as friends to exchange views and learn from each other.

The dialogue at the Daily Star that day was unique. Public and private university students met with one common goal to discuss how to improve university education in Bangladesh. The dialogue became a blue moon because they interacted directly with Professor Nazrul Islam. The Professor set an example for our policy makers. Good things can come out through dialogue and debate with direct beneficiaries of a service. After just three hours on the dot, Shahnoor Wahid wrapped up the fruitful interactive session. He thanked the distinguished guest on behalf of The Daly Star for taking time out of his busy schedule. He also thanked the students for braving the inclement weather to be here that afternoon.

The audience had nothing to offer but appreciation and a big round of applause. Those who were present in that room that day will tell, the applause came from the hearts of the future generation of Bangladesh that was inspired by a person from the previous generation. Everybody left the room to get back into

the rain, but everybody left with 'food for thought' from the wonderful dialogue. Even the Professor!