Your January 28 article about the University of Battambang (UBB) was considerably off the mark in our opinion. The reader is left with a sour impression of UBB that does not match with our experience.

We are a foreign faculty at UBB with many years of teaching and administrative experience at Canadian and US universities. We also have extensive experience with higher education accreditation both here in Cambodia and with accrediting agencies in Canada and the US. We know what a successful university looks like.

While UBB does have growing pains, it is going in the correct direction on many fronts. For example: Courses, teachers, programmes and administration systems are evaluated yearly. Student satisfaction is measured by university research. All students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels complete a thesis. UBB is setting the standard for a high quality education in Cambodia.

UBB has a strong commitment to the community through relevant applied research on issues important to the region. UNESCO and the World Bank fund projects at UBB.

Students are flocking to UBB because of its emphasis on programme quality. Enrollment has jumped to 5,000 in only three years. UBB plans to reach its capacity of 10,000 within a short time. Good support for students is provided through 350 scholarships. Low income students enroll in classes through a work-study programme.

Flexible programming (short courses, a weekend programme, an Associate Degree programme and a Foundation Year programme) helps students access a university education who otherwise would not have the opportunity.

Lastly, we observe high morale among academic and administrative staff.  There is a strong sense of mission among faculty, staff and management to growing a new, responsive university through high quality education. The leadership at UBB is competent, ethical and committed. The results speak for themselves.

Gregory Brock, Ph.D.

Jeanette Coufal, Ph.D.

Mike Mann, M.Ed., MBA

Send letters to: [email protected] or PO?Box 146, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The Post reserves the right to edit letters to a shorter length. The views expressed above are solely the author’s and do not reflect any positions taken by The Phnom Penh Post.