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DEPARTMENT OF MODERN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES
QUALITY ASSURANCE REVIEW ASIAN LANGUAGES The Board of Undergraduate Studies conducted the second Quality Assurance Review (QAR) process of the Asian Languages in the Department on February 10 th to February 17 th . The Quality Assurance Unit coordinated a review of the Asian (Chinese and Japanese) which was still administrated virtually; however, a Local Professional of the Asian Languages Review conducted a one-day face to face site visit during the week of the Review. The DMLL thanks Ms. Grace Perez (Japanese instructor), Mr. Adrian Lindsay (Chinese instructor) and Mrs. Zhoyua Guo (Chinese instructor). The review team interviewed the HoD, the Campus Principal, Deputy principal and the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education. Other interviews were carried out to full time and adjunct instructors for Chinese (Mandarin) and Jap- anese, the Director of the Confucius Institute, Dr. Lei Feng, administrative and technical staff, students, and alumni. The team also carried out a virtual tour of the premises – offices and labs and a presential tour which included the visit to a face-to-face language class. Also, Mr. Tsubasa Katayama representing the Embassy of Japan as an employer of graduates of the Asian languages was interviewed. The week ended with a Public Lecture by Professor Andrew F. Jones, leader member of the Review Team. The team consists of Professor Andrew F. Jones, Dr. Li Renyan, Ms. Sauna Maragh and Ms. Sanya Compton. The Quality Assurance Review stated the following: The Team commended the Department, noting that the “programme is meeting the objectives stated in the departmental Self-Assessment, and contributes to the goals, of “access, agility, and alignment” of the UWI Strategic Plan. The Team further acknowledges that the Asian Languages, housed in DMLL, is the flagship programme for the study of Chinese and Japanese in Jamaica and across the Carib- bean. Unmistakably, dominant forces in the global economy are nations such as China, Japan and Korea which are remaking the geopolitical, technological and cultural landscape of today’s world. To be able to communicate in Asian Languages and understand Asian cultures is increasingly central to sustainable development and multilateral engagements. Therefore, the programmes in Asian Languages are of great value for the Caribbean Region and globally. The Team found that the Programme’s major challenge is to rely on instructors supplied on short term as it is unsustainable and goes against the practices at peer institutions. The UWI lacks any research profile in the field of Asian languages, literatures, and cultures. The main recommendation is that the University must invest in ensuring that there are sufficient full-time core staff in the DMLL to main- tain the programmes’ continuity instead of relying on the coordinate efforts and the funding of different entities namely the Confucius Institute and the Japanese
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