Recruitment of Saudi Arabian students into Hospitality and Tourism Management at RIT

Recruitment of Saudi Arabian Students into the Hospitality and
Tourism Management Program at RIT
Name: SalehAljubaili
RIT
Date:
Chapter 1: Introduction
Saudi Arabia, for the better part of the last century has been concentrating on building an economy that is resources oriented, with close reference to the oil reserves. As such, much of the economy has been relying on the oil industry and the allied businesses. Analysis of the tourism industry has indicated that there is an immense potential in the sector (Telmesani, 2010). The government is looking to invest in the tourism sector with more emphasis on the religious tourism and at the same time build a better domestic tourism base (Pavan, 2013). The kingdom boasts of geographical and historical features, which it can leverage for better returns in tourism. The kingdom also has a large population and high growth rate of the same, but there very limited leisure products (Wish you were here; tourism in Saudi Arabia, 2014).
However, there are very few professionals in the industry who can help bring to fruition the objectives of the government in tourism (Hamid, 2014). At the same time, the industry has some very strict policies that may hamper the development of the industry with close comparison to other liberal states. Issues such as visa issuance, tourists’ freedoms and generally better accommodating hospitality of the tourist from across the globe regardless of their nationality will see the industry grow fast. This calls for a professional work force to revolutionize the industry much like the United Arabs Emirates has been able to do. More than half the population of Saudi Arabia is made up of the youths, majority of whom do not have formal employment (Alfawaz, Hilal, &Alghannam, 2014). The Saudi kingdom needs to focus on training more youths at home and abroad, where they can gain quality education to leverage at home, with guaranteed sustainable economic results (Telmesani, 2010).
Purpose of the research (Objectives)
To establish the best way that the Saudi students can learn about hospitality and tourism
To establish the educational needs in hospitality and tourism (Lawson, Vitalis, Niblock, Lacroix& Jones, 2011)
To establish how best the Saudi Arabian students in the USA can adapt to the different environment, academically, socially, culturally and economically (Ruiz, 2014).
Significance of the research
By the year 2020, the population of Saudi Arabia is expected to have grown to about 31.2 million (Telmesani, 2010). Half of the current population is made of youths who are below the age of 25 years. It is also important to note that the kingdom has been largely relying on oil to push the national economy. However, there is a great chance that the tourism sector could raise the economy further. This would require that the current policies and the professional capital in the sector to be improved significantly (Telmesani, 2010). Sponsoring youths to study hospitality and tourism in America is one of the ways that the government is looking to invest in the future of this industry and the entire economy (King Abdullah Scholarship Program, 2014).
Growing Saudi student population in US – how do they learn best?
Facts numbers KSA students in USA (What do Saudi Students need to know … learn … experience to be successful – likely different than a US student?)
History/Background of the Saudi Arabia Scholarship Program
Saudi Arabian students have been studying in the U.S. since the1950s. Originally, there were only 13 Saudi students studying in American universities. The Saudi Government has built a decent relationship with the U.S. Government in the past 6 decades to open doors for Saudi students to study higher education degrees in the United States (Ruiz, 2014). U.S.-Saudi relations are mostly predicated on the oil boom in Saudi Arabia. The growth of the economy in the past 20 years played an important role in educating the Saudis and sending them abroad to major countries like USA, England, and Australia (Chanin&Gause, 2003). The Saudi Government believes that investment in education will pay great dividends for the Kingdom in the future (King Abdullah Scholarship Program, 2014). As a country, it understands the importance of education as a means to development and therefore has spent a considerable amount of money on education, which helped increase the literacy rate from 10% to 83% (King Abdullah Scholarship Program, 2014).
Scholarship programs started as early as King Abdulaziz founded the region in late 1938 (Pavan, 2013). Saudi Arabian students were sponsored to study abroad to limited Arab countries such as Egypt and Lebanon to study Arabic and Islamic studies. In 1960, Saudi scholarship programs expanded to the U.S. and Europe (Ruiz, 2014). The central focus of the programs is to give the students the knowledge and skills they need to become successful, not only for themselves but for the benefit of the country (Taylor 2013). By 1975, there were thousands of sponsored students studying abroad, mostly working on higher degrees like masters and doctorates in different fields (King Abdullah Scholarship Program, 2014).The number of Saudi students in the U.S grew rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s. However, the number considerably dropped after September 11th and more restrictions were put on acquiring the American visas. In 2004, there were only 1,000 Saudi students studying in the U.S (Khizindar, 2012).
In 2005, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia started The King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP) with an agreement between King Abdullah and President George W. Bush to increase the number of Saudi students in the U.S. and to make the visa requirements easier on Saudis. KASP is the largest scholarship program in the history of Saudi Arabia. KASP is also a key part to prepare future generations in handling the country's main challenges. The rationale for the programme was that skills formation for the country lacked quality and focus and that workforce planning and development would be significantly enhanced by learner mobility that extended beyond its borders to major international universities (Smith& Abū, 2013). The over 71,000 Saudi students in U.S. constitute the majority in any of the Saudi students studying abroad at 48%. The Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) has a list of the best schools around the world; this tool helps students search for the ideal university or college (Hilal& Denman, 2013). Many Saudi Arabian students are studying in major states that have a high saturation of colleges and universities. California came on top of the list as number one state preferred from the Saudi students (Ruiz, 2014). Texas, Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania are also preferred states to study in, and in the Saudi students top 5 lists by enrollment.
Why are Saudis overseas studying hospitality and tourism?
(Important To Know Their Educational Needs in the Hospitality and Tourism Sector)
Saudi students need to be engaged in the U.S. society to better learn and experience during their stay abroad (Pavan, 2013). Educational environments in Saudi Arabia and the United States have few but important differences. For example, the American classroom includes active classrooms, pair work, group work, projects, papers, frequent quizzes, exams, required attendance, and constant homework (Shaw, 2009).
As mentioned earlier, the learning environment of the USA is quite different for the Saudi students, while in Saudi Arabia aspects such as attendance in Saudi is not usually focused on. International students having difficulties adjusting to a different classroom culture and environment is common (Dudley, 2013). The loss of language, friends, family, and cultural norms, along with being unfamiliar with the food and clothing make life a challenge for foreign students. They also encounter other challenges such as academic issues, and often live with constant uncertainty of host expectations (Dean Caldwell, 2013). In the U.S., students must do their homework, study every day, prepare for class, complete projects, and write papers on a regular basis while in Saudi Arabia most of the mentioned tasks are not required.
Study skills, time management, study groups, friends, and support communities are useful tools to success as well. A majority of KASP students have noted their main reason for choosing to study abroad is to enhance their future opportunities when they return to Saudi Arabia, and be useful to the entire country economy (King Abdullah Scholarship Program, 2014).
Background
Growth of tourism in KSAP
Growth of tourism “schools” in KSAP who need faculty
(The Support by KSA to Fund Overseas Education)
The Saudi Government has recognized the need to have another income besides oil. Over the last several decades the country has been relying on resource based economies to build the entire country. It is also quite apparent that the country has been struggling with youth unemployment (Alfawaz, Hilal, &Alghannam, 2014). Developing the tourism industry and getting more students to take the tourism studies will develop the industry further. This will lead to creation of jobs and sustainable economic development. The tourism industry has been recognized as a significant area for investment (Pavan, 2013). Domestically, the Government is developing and building religious tourism located in Mecca and Medina. These two religious destinations generate a high income for the country and are only second to oil exports. In 2014 there will be estimated 16.7mi1lion incoming tourist arrivals to Saudi Arabia, but the biggest opportunity for the country lies in the growing domestic tourism industry (Ruiz, 2014). The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) estimates that if the country focuses on developing domestic tourism, this will lead to a developed international tourism that attracts foreigners to visit Saudi (Colliers, 2011).
(Why educating Saudi’s in Hospitality and Tourism is important)
The SCTA predicts that domestic tourism will grow to a 128 million trips that includes air and ground transportations, and 640 million nights by 2019. The population is estimated to grow from 27 million in 2010 to 28.6 million in 2015 to 31.2 million in 2020 (Colliers, 2011).The demand in the tourism industry led the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) in collaboration with SCTA to invest in the Saudi students and encourages them to study tourism abroad so that they contribute in the development of the tourism industry in Saudi Arabia (SCTA, 2013). In recent times, however, the focus has shifted from meeting the identified needs of the Kingdom to meeting the specific professional and personal needs of individual students (Smith& Abū, 2013). The Government has invested substantial amounts of money in the expansion of the education system in Saudi Arabia (Lawson, Vitalis, Niblock, Lacroix& Jones, 2011). There are 6 public and 3 private universities that offer bachelors and two-year diplomas degrees in tourism and hospitality to fill in the tourism, hospitality, hotels, and event positions in Saudi Arabia (Tourism Investment in Saudi Arabia, 2014).
Other Growth Related Reasons
There are a few hiccups that have derailed the development of the tourism industry compared to other parts of the world. For instance, companies planning to sponsor tourisms in the country are forced to start the visa application process (King Abdullah Scholarship Program, 2014). Most tourists will avoid destinations that have too much paperwork, as they want to have the best experience. In the kingdom, only five companies have the license to bring in tourists from other countries which is quite a small number compared to the tourism potential in Saudi.
Specific to RIT the Growth of Saudis in HTM Program and RIT Overall
RIT has more than 2497 students that are taking their studies with institution from other countries. The number of Saudi students in RIT is set to grow even further in the near future as the kingdoms plans to put in place elaborate measures to increase the number of the students taking their studies abroad. In particular the kingdom is prepared to assist students taking hospitality and tourism studies, to rhyme with the strategic plans to uplift the tourism industry (King Abdullah Scholarship Program, 2014). Having more students study in institutions offering quality education as RIT, will boost the personnel skills, which are going to be fundamental in the aspects of uplifting and sustaining growth in the hospitality and tourism industry (Telmesani, 2010).
In the following sections, a review of the literature on the reasons of choosing to study in U.S., the learning styles of Saudi Arabian students and the educational experience. In the method, survey questions methodology is introduced; the results of this study will be provided in the results and discussion section.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
Reasons for choosing to study at in the USA
The United States government officially opened the doors to international education with the passage of the Fulbright Act in 1946 immediately following the Second World War (Dean Caldwell, 2013). This was done to promote international relations between United States and other countries. In recent years, foreign undergraduate enrollment has been on the rise. For example, in the 2011–12 academic year, the number of foreign students enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs in U.S. academic institutions rose 11% from the previous year, to approximately 245,000 (National Science Board, 2014). This rise follows a trend of low admission after the 9/11 attack. Saudi Arabia was marked as one the top ten countries with a high undergraduate enrollment in U.S institutions; others were China (75,000), South Korea (38,000), Saudi Arabia (14,000), India (13,000), Canada (13,000), and Vietnam (11,000) (National Science Board, 2014). This was a 31% increase from the previous years.
Since 2005 the number of Saudi students studying abroad has increased rapidly for the purpose of achieving high education standards for themselves and the country. One of the reason for the high number of Saudis studying abroad is the fact that stipends (levels of financial support for accommodation and general living expenses) are very attractive, and the prospect of studying overseas also has a growing ‘social’ appeal among Saudi youth, particularly in terms of becoming a ‘global citizen’ (Smith& AbuÌ„, 2013). The participants of the scholarship program enjoy a wide range of support from the government from living expenses to the paying of tuition fees.
Rochester institute of technology is among the most acclaimed institutions that most of the students from Saudi choose to go and take their studies. This is an institution that for quite a long time has stood out from the rest of the institutions in the United States. Considering the level of resentment that has been accorded the Arab students since the events leading to and after 9/11; the institutions has still held its open policies in place. Most students from Saudi Arabia have chosen the institution over time, on the basis of the fact that they feel safe and accommodated in this institution than in most others. RIT is an institution that holds principles promoting, pluralism, values of diversity and inclusion. As such the students are assured that they can rely on the institution policies that do not allow for chances of being discriminated along the lines of skin color, creed, race, sex, marital status, gender, gender expression, age, religious, nationality, sexual orientation and disabilities among others.
Most of the students have cited the fact that the RIT is one of the institutions that offers quality education compared to most of the other institutions. This comes from the fact that the American education system is one of the best in the world. Students are involved in a variety of academic activities that sharpens their approach to the general life situations (Dudley, 2013). Higher education in the United States expanded greatly after World War II. As a result, the U.S. population led the world in educational attainment for several decades. Because of this, the United States offered clear advantages for firms whose work would benefit from the availability of a highly educated workforce (National Science Board, 2014). In Saudi, the education system is not as in involving and the teachers and lecturers do majority of the work while the students try to assimilate the process. The programs and other curriculum activities are designed in manner that they get students the best chance of exploring the educational material while at the same time exploiting their potential to the fullest. RIT has been credited by several international accreditation institutions among them HYPERLINK "/" \t "_blank"The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (Caldwell, 2013). That notwithstanding the institutions has also been recognized by The Bestschools.org. This is an American organization that takes to great lengths to assess the various learning institutions in the American education system. It is accredited for offering the students with the best insights on the best schools to join and increase their chances of quality education and a promising career. Specifically, the organization has on several occasions recognized the RIT institution for the best school to join in the field of hospitality and tourism. RIT is rated among the best 20 schools in America that one can join and get quality education in hospitality and tourism with improved chances of landing a career. According to the organization the institution also offers the best online experience for the students whether they are in the country or not.
One of the reasons that the students cited as a baseline for choosing the institution, is that it offers one of the best cites for preservation of academic material. Artifacts preservation is done using the world’s leading technology. Using a technology developed by the image permanence institute, RIT is sure to preserve all of its artifacts in a manner that is durable and reliable. This means that most of the material that the institution preserves such as library material, archives as well as historical collections, retain their heritage and cultural relevance for all times. Cultural preservation is an issue that revolves around the element of the hospitality and tourism industry. This means that the students that go through RIT have the full appreciation of the elements of preserving a culture for the generations to come and the visitors that come to the country. As such, the students get invaluable lessons that they can directly implement in Saudi Arabia. This is a country that retains some of the most crucial sources of artifacts and cultural relevance to the region as far as Arabs are concerned. As such, learning some of the best methods that are used by the leading institutions in the world is of immeasurable value to the country and to the world in general.
In these institutions, the students are assured that even if they are not taking computer engineering, they are assured that they will have the very best of technology at their disposal. The level of flexibility offered to the students, ensures that they are not locked of academic or professional chances that come their way (Alhazmi&Nyland, 2013). This means that the students have the chance to take their exams on a later date if they missed to do them on the right date. This is a quality feature for the institution, as the students do not have to worry about the fact they are sick and they may have to retake an entire semester. At the same time if they had some other form of emergency, they are allowed to take their special papers for the stage and do not have to be victimized for situations in their lives that they could not have controlled.
The students that take their studies in the USA have the ability to be employed anywhere in the world due to the quality associated with the studies. This means that students upon completion of their studies have a great chance of seeking employment anywhere (Alhazmi&Nyland, 2013). It is also important to note that the institution also offers the students that go through it the chance to be placed in the job market. This is a crucial step taken by the institution as sometime the students may take much longer in the searching for the right job in their field. Not many institutions assist their students with after school services and their relationships ends with the last date of their students’ graduation from the institution. RIT has however revolutionized the relationships that it forms with all its students by assisting them in and out of school.
How learning style and environment differ
Saudi Arabia and the United States of America have fundamentally different learning styles. The style of learning used by a particular state or country greatly affects learning by students. A simple summary of learning style proposes that if a person t learns the names of the people they meet by writing it down and reading it, then they are visual learners, whereas if they learn by hearing and saying the name then their learning style is auditory (Abdu Saadi, 2014). From an educational perspective, students respond differently to learning situations because their responses are influenced by their thinking, experience, environment and current task. How we learn is influenced by culture. As cultures are different, it’s natural to expect differences in the styles of learning in different countries (Sywelem, Al-Harbi, Fathema, & Witte, 2012).
The learning environment of the USA is quite new for the Saudi students and they usually have some difficulties adjusting to the new environment. International students having difficulties adjusting to a different classroom culture and environment is common (Dudley, 2013). With reference to the psychographics, the Saudi Arabian students taking t...