The "haemorrhage of British academics" from the business school of the Malaysian branch campus of the well-known Nottingham University is threatening to cast dark clouds over the quality of its world-renowned masters in business administration (MBA) programme.

The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC)'s Business School is said to have lost more than half its senior faculty members including lecturers seconded from the UK, with more on the way out by the end of the month.

Dr Geoffrey Williams, who quit in mid-December, said nine senior staff out of a total 14 have left the school for various reasons although the main grouse appears to be a "general dissatisfaction" with the university's overall administration.

He said the school initially had 18 staff but was soon left with 14, which has since dwindled further.

"Of the nine (who had left), six are UK academics and two are Malaysians. The school's manager was also a Malaysian," he told malaysiakini in an e-mail interview.

"I understand they have recruited an associate professor from Universiti Malaya and an assistant professor from Monash (Malaysia)."

Over the last 18 months, he said the school has lost two professors, four associate professors, two assistant professors and the school manager - all of whom had either resigned or their contract not renewed.

"For a school of around 14 staff, this is a huge loss, especially since it is the senior faculty staff teaching in core areas who have left.

"I mention this because the make up of the staff at (the UNMC) is now mostly Malaysians with no experience of the UK system, so students will get a very similar experience as that at any other Malaysian university although they pay many times as much for it in fees!"

The UNMC chief executive officer and vice-president Prof Brian P Atkin had reportedly said that the fees to study here were generally less than 50 percent of the UK fees.

Unhappy lecturers

Last year, Williams filed complaints with the Association of MBAs (AMBA), the global guardian of MBA quality, alleging discrepancy in the marking scheme which he claimed could have affected the overall grades of MBA students.

Yesterday, malaysiakini published an exclusive report based on the complaints.
All the allegations were denied by the UNMC.

Williams, 36, a senior staff seconded from Nottingham, UK, to teach financial economics at the UNMC, said he left due to 'victimisation'.

"One of my colleagues (Dr) John Zinkin - who wrote an e-mail supporting my position on the marks discrepancies - resigned from his position as associate professor of marketing and strategy and director of external affairs. He will be leaving at the end of January.

"The resignation is not directly to do with the marks issues but relates more to the general dissatisfaction (with the university administration).

"This means that the school has now lost four senior staff in the first two weeks of the year (namely) me, Zinkin and two others, Prof Bala Ramasamy and Assoc Prof Leong Kai Hin."

He said Bala, an associate professor of international economics and business, has left for China while Leong will be leaving the school in February.

"This makes it almost impossible for the school to deliver the MBA programme using Malaysian-based staff and it's not clear if the programme can survive in its current form now."

None of the parties, including Atkin, could be reached for immediate comments today.

Questions have been e-mailed to Zinkin, who is the director of external relations, and Atkin earlier today*.

Markers undermined

Williams also claimed that lecturers were being undermined by the administration, causing friction between the top management and faculty staff.

"In the UK, for example, examination papers are marked twice but here (it is marked) thrice with the final check in the UK. It is more of 'checking the markers', implying that the administration does no trust markers in Malaysia despite being seconded from Nottingham."

It is yet unclear what or how much impact the brain drain will have on the quality of the MBA degree offered at the UNMC.

When met in Kuala Lumpur recently, Williams described the development as a "big haemorrhage of British academics".

"This is similar to the on-going brain drain, a phenomenon local universities have been facing for years, due to poor administration and political interference.

"For instance, Bala was offered a remuneration package that was five to six times lower than what his predecessor had, and minus the perks. This is clear discrimination."

Williams claimed the problem at the UNMC was a case of sacrificing the quality upheld in Nottingham UK for quantity.

"Several colleagues and I are worried about the students here as they are very, very good with results - as good, if not better, than their counterparts in the UK."

He thinks that the MBA programme should either be shut down or offered in a way similar to that in Singapore where scheduled classes are held in hotels with lecturers flown in for a stipulated period.

The university opened the doors of its spanking-new RM120 million boutique campus overlooking Broga's lush and scenic green hills in late September last year.

It is run as a joint-venture MSC-status company with stakes held by Boustead Holdings (66 percent), Nottingham University (29 percent) and property developer YTL Corp (5 percent).

Nottingham retains total control of academic matters at the branch campus and is financially accountable to a board of directors chaired by Tengku Ahmad Rithaudeen.

(* 'earlier today' refers to the date the report was filed which is Jan 25.)