The world is awash with a multitude of higher education system approaches. The United Kingdom emphasises rigourous standards, moderated validation across the whole system, and shorter programme lengths.
The continental European approach often highlights standardisation, highly specialised degree programmes, and students selecting their specific degree concentrations of study right from the onset of their studies.
The Chinese system is similar to America’s system, described below, but with a greater focus on competitive entrance exams and large-scale public institutions.
The Indian higher education system thrives as vast and diverse while encompassing a wide range of public universities and private institutions also characterised by its competitive entrance exams and a blend of traditional and modern learning approaches.
Other major systems exist and Kenya follows a hybrid approach of the above systems, but let us examine the system in the United States and its implication on business education.
The United States Government’s Department of Education shows that almost 4,000 universities offer degrees in the country.
There exist roughly an even 1,600+ non-profit public entities and a similar 1,600+ non-profit private universities than with more than 600 for-profit private institutions.
Hundreds of universities in the US operate campuses in other countries such as Kean University and its full campus in China, New York University’s campus in Abu Dhabi, Georgetown University’s campus in Qatar, and Johns Hopkins University in Italy.
Further, an upsurge of “American University” brands proliferates across the world. There are the American University in Beirut, American University of Sharjah, American University in Cairo, American University of Paris, American University of Rome, American University in Bulgaria, American University of Armenia, American University of Central Asia, American University of Nigeria, American University of Iraq-Sulaimani, American University of Afghanistan, and the American University of Dubai, among many others.
The largest growth of these independent yet American-style universities is in the Middle East.
But what is so unique about American-style higher education that makes it desirable outside its country of origin?
Vanderbilt University, as an example, breaks down what American style higher education means a combination of academic programmes that involve the formal curriculum and teaching, then the faculty and research that contributes to knowledge, then the student experience as the final component of the tripartite pillar as of equal importance to the other two.
Most countries tend to emphasize the academic programme and faculty research as dual pillars with student experiences as lower experience. These three pillars hold the following unique attributes.
First, the curriculum and teaching in American-style higher education usually emphasise liberal arts education.
Many American universities emphasise a broad-based education that intentionally exposes students to a wide range of subjects, not only subjects in their main concentration of study, often including humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and mathematics.
This kind of approach encourages is supposed to enhance critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills while building intellectual curiosity and interdisciplinary connections.
While in Kenya we do some of this and not as often in business education, some argue we should do more interdisciplinary courses.
Second, American universities tend to offer more flexibility in terms of course selection and major or minor combinations of study focus.
Students often have the option to design their own educational path or explore various fields before committing to a specific concentration of study rather than applying to a specific field upfront.
In Kenya, educationists advocate for continued shift away from courses of study at the tertiary level based on KCSE results and KUCCPS assigned programmes. Student autonomy is growing in Kenyan higher education selection.
Third, American universities place a strong emphasis on student life and community engagement outside of the curriculum and classroom learning.
Such activities can include athletics, clubs, organisations, community service, and other undertakings that hopefully assist students to develop leadership skills, interpersonal connections, and a sense of belonging.
Fourth, most American universities emphasise the campus experience of the students and therefore retain residential campuses, where students live, study, and participate in various activities.
They intend to create a vibrant and immersive learning environment that should foster personal growth, academic success, and social connections.
On a deeper level, it builds social capital by creating norms and based on which students know and how to interact.
Criticism regarding universities as a wholistic wide experience for students with learning outside the classroom involves a dramatic shift, as Professors Ian Bremmer and Konstantin Kisin say, from faculty focus to most universities retaining far more non-teaching staff to attend to student experiences and deemphasising faculty and relegating 70 percent of faculty to often underpaid part-time adjunct roles.
Fifth, academic freedom and independence of faculty in developing their course syllabi and assessment models.
There is no moderation of pre-assigned examinations and projects as is common in the British and Kenyan models. Additionally, there is not an obsessive focus on classroom attendance taking at the tertiary level.
Sixth, most curriculum decisions in American-style higher education occur bottom-up with faculty on committees in their respective colleges.
This shared governance ensures that the experts in subjects make decisions on student learning rather than top-down administrators far removed from the pedagogy of subject learning.
Seventh, diversity and inclusion. Universities in the United States prove exceptionally keen on having a wide array of faculty and students from many different social, economic, national origin, racial, geographical, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds.
The American-style universities domiciled outside the US find most of their diversity in the wide range of international faculty.
What implication does the American style have on business education?
A wider knowledge base, longer to complete undergraduate programs, greater student social capital upon graduating, but all too often half-baked classroom learning from desperate part-time lecturers without the resources or time for research.
Which areas of American higher education do we want in our Kenyan business education approaches and which we like to do without? Join the discussion on #KenyanHigherEd on Twitter.
