I’m guessing that most of our readers are not familiar with the International University of Grand Bassam. In fact, I suspect many of you might not be able to place Grand Bassam on a map. Both were surely true of me several months back, but now I’m actually here in Côte d’Ivoire, the Ivory Coast. I arrived from Florence, Italy (read more here) and that’s the amazing thing about travel these days. Not to sound like an old geezer, but it feels surreal to literally travel from one world to another in a single day — and Florence and Abidjan are indeed worlds apart.
A few eye-opening facts about Cote d’Ivoire: With about 30 million people, it’s the third most populous country in West Africa. It lies on the southwestern coast of the bulge of Africa, with Ghana to the east and Liberia to the west. The country is religiously diverse, with equal numbers of Muslims and Christians, and although French is the national language, there are 78 local languages. (Given that my high school French is fifty years rusty, that’s 79 languages I don’t speak.) The Ivory Coast achieved its independence from France, peacefully, in 1960. Despite the recent decision to remove the French military, Cote d’Ivoire’s ties to France remain strong.
The country is described as relatively stable, despite two recent civil wars– one ended in 2007, the other in 2011. Its economy is one of the fastest-growing in Africa and indeed, the world: 7% annually for the last 25 years. Despite that, almost half of the citizens still live in poverty, and that economic disparity is evident everywhere in Abidjan, the economic and commercial hub of the country where I stayed. Politically, the country’s president, a graduate of both Drexel and UPenn, was recently elected to a third term, although his remaining in office beyond two terms has been controversial. At age 83, he is even considering a run for term four!
I was making an initial staff visit to the International University of Grand Bassam (IUGB) as the beginning of its path to US accreditation. The commune of Grand Bassam sits on the coast just west of Abidjan, although travel between the two can take more than an hour in traffic. (Actually, way more.) During the late 19th century, Grand-Bassam was briefly the French colonial capital of Ivory Coast, and because of its outstanding colonial architecture within a traditional village, the historic center of Grand-Bassam was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012. While the administrative offices of the university are in Abidjan, the campus where students study and live is in Grand Bassam.
IUGB was founded in 2007, inspired by then-Minister of Education, Saliou Toure, as the first American-style institute of higher education in Cote d’Ivoire. The government itself sponsored the creation of the university. Minister Toure, now President of the university, met the President of Georgia State University, Carl Patton, in Atlanta and through their developing friendship entered into a partnership where IUGB students spent their first two years in Cote d’Ivoire and their next two years at Georgia State. While that institutional relationship has changed as IUGB became a four-year university, the school retains close ties with GSU, and developed partnerships with 20 other colleges across the globe. On my first day, President Toure and his wife graciously invited me to their beautiful Moroccan-themed home for tea, which was a true honor.
On Day 2, I had the opportunity to meet with the current Minister of Higher Education and his staff. He was very interested in the process of NECHE accreditation and after discovering it was a multi-year undertaking, asked if we could accelerate it for IUBG (like every government official we meet). I explained that NECHE works closely with schools in their quality improvement process and that necessarily takes time. I think he accepted my explanation, but given that he was speaking French and I was using a translator, I hope the message was clear.
IUGB offers Bachelor’s programs in the School of Business and Social Sciences (BSS) and the School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Its University Preparatory Program prepares students for university-level work through courses in English, technology and mathematics, and The Center for Continuing Education in Abidjan offers English classes for the public.
IUGB enrolls 500 degree-seeking students and nearly 200 more in the preparatory program. Its competition is the public universities where tuition is just $50 a semester (versus $3500 at IUGB). And, while IUGB was the first college in the country to offer its curriculum in English, new English-based institutions have emerged. Still, IUGB expects its enrollment to grow to 1,000 as it continues to refine and add to its curriculum and offer graduate degrees. Despite this growth and a relatively steep tuition, IUGB’s resources and facilities remain limited and are reflective of a developing country.
My last day began with a campus tour led by two delightful students. It ended with a session with another dozen students, many of whom serve in the Student Government Association. As always, meeting students is the high point of any visit for me, and this remarkable group certainly did not disappoint.
Their optimism, high spirits and confidence were truly inspirational. When I asked the students if they had any complaints, college food and a slow internet were the only things they could conjure– confirming that students across the world are pretty much the same.
