The South East European University (SEEU) Higher Education Linkage Program (HELP) concentrates its activities on a number of key areas which include: undergraduate programs, staff training and upgrading, improving instructors English language capacity and use of technology in the classroom and developing cross-cutting programs that strengthen and reinforce individual faculty programs.
SEEU has created a number of centers with the assistance of Indiana University (IU) and the HELP project to achieve the outcomes stated above. These centers include the Instructional Support Center, the Business Development Center and the Career Services Center. Each of these centers is staffed by a full-time SEEU director who works closely with HELP project staff.
Instructional Support Center (ISC)
The ISC’s main goal is to provide in-service training to SEEU instructors to support the development of innovative curriculum, instruction and assessment. The ISC has implemented a pilot project for 35 SEEU instructors who will receive 18 months of intensive training in English language, teaching methodology and IT skills to include the use of ANGEL software, a course management program for developing asynchronous and synchronous courses online.
Business Development Center (BDC)
The BDC was created to improve SEEU’s linkage with business and help develop sustainable training programs that will improve the qualifications of university faculty and promote its students for internship and employment opportunities. The BDC has conducted a number of training activities for local business which include: Time Management training for 12 managers of ProCredit Bank, a new banking establishment that has over 200 employees and is rapidly expanding in Macedonia; and Customer Service, Time Management and Supervisory Skills training for senior managers of the company Gudalat, a Juice manufacturer located in Gostivar.
Career Services Center (CSC)
The mission of the new CSC is to teach students how to prepare for career employment using techniques such as CV preparation, cover letter design, networking, job sourcing, interview techniques, career strategies, etc. The CSC initiates contact with potential employers within the South East European region to promote SEEU and requests information on related job opportunities. This involves using tools, such at courses, a website, bulletin boards, the media, and daily communication with students and employers. On 1 June 2005, the CSC with the assistance of the HELP project conducted SEEU’s first Job Fair. The event was attended by over 30 companies including some of the largest employers in the region: Mobimak, Cosmofon, and others.
Communication Science and Technologies (CST) and Business Administration (BA)
The two main recipients of support from the HELP project are the CST and BA faculties.
Business Administration
Conduct required courses in English for SEEU students;
Assist in developing a new curriculum for a three year program in accordance with the Bologna Agreement;
Organize workshops such as one in September 2005 that resulted in the revision of all core course content and brought together IU professors and other International experts to work with SEEU instructors;
Provide three Fellowships to individuals who qualify to attend the Master of Information Science program at IU’s Kelly School of Business. These individuals will return to a four-year teaching assignment at SEEU.
Communication Science and Technologies
Assist in hiring two full-time Computer Science instructors;
Provide three Fellowships to individuals who qualify to attend the Master of Computer Science program at IU in Indianapolis. Currently one person has been accepted into the program and will begin his studies in September 2005 while two others are being tested for a January 2006 start date;
Provide technical support to establish a multi media lab on campus.
IT Certificate Program: With the assistance of IU Professor Ramesh Venkataraman, a draft certificate program in Management Information Systems has been developed that will offer students in both BA and CST Faculties the opportunity to develop applied skills in their fields. SEEU has singed an MOU with the Macedonian Information Technology Association (MASIT) that will provide industry feedback on program content and offer internship opportunities for students engaged in Capstone projects.
National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)
A necessary element of quality assurance effort in higher education is an institutional program of research on teaching and learning. IU has agreed to assist SEEU in establishing a program of assessment of teaching and learning at the institutional level for course evaluations. The HELP Project is introducing to SEEU the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) used by more than 700 US colleges and universities to measure institutional progress in improving teaching and learning. This instrument has been translated into Macedonian and Albanian languages and a bench mark is being established for all first and fourth year students and the results we be available in November 2005.
Contact Information
U.S.Agency for International Development
U.S Embassy, Samoilova 21,1000 Skopje, Macedonia
Telephone: +(389) 2 310 2000 Fax +(389) 2 310 2463
USAID Mission contact:
Natasha Buleska, AOTR
E-mail:nbuleska@usaid.gov
Lela Jakovlevska, AOTR ljakovlevska@usaid.gov
USAID Development Outreach and Communication office
Biljana Velickovska, DOC Specialist