While the faculty discussion on the Qatar proposal last Friday afternoon was edifying, one key question was not asked and should have been considered before the nonbinding vote that favored establishment of a satellite campus in that small nation on the Arabian peninsula.
Much was made of the fact that the same admissions standards will be used to select students for the Doha campus as are used for admission to Chapel Hill.
But the program in Qatar is to be limited to those seeking a degree in our School of Business. The standards by which students are admitted to this campus do not serve as a guarantee that the student will be admitted to the business school to begin the junior year.
Indeed, most students who aspire to enter that school do not meet its demanding criteria for admission.
What happens to the students at Doha? Will they be guaranteed admission into the business program even if their performance in the first two years is substandard by the criteria used in Chapel Hill? Will they have any alternative for pursuing an undergraduate degree if their performance (or developing interests) makes the business option inappropriate?
However the above questions are answered, it appears to me that a degree from UNC-Q could not be interpreted as having anywhere near the same meaning for its holder as a degree earned by students in Chapel Hill.
Is the money that the University would receive worth the establishment of this double standard?
M. Richard Cramer
