The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the new private universities in Egypt by exploring the theory and practice involved in one of the four recently created private universities, Hope University. The study assessed the extent to which the University's operations reflected its intended contribution to Egypt's higher education. Also, the study attempted to project the ability of the University to sustain its intended performance based on its actual operation.
The study is primarily a diagnostic, descriptive case study that basically presents a picture of the status quo at Hope University versus its intended goals and the expectations of the students and their parents who are, in most cases, financing the education. The projection exercise occupied a small portion at the end of the study.
To facilitate the accomplishment of this study's objective, the Nadler-Tushman Model for organizational diagnosis was used as a conceptual framework that guided the collection, analysis and presentation of data needed for the study.
Also, to fulfill the purpose of this study, the researcher decided that a qualitative and hypothesis-generating approach was the most suitable. Accordingly, semi-structured interviews with selected individuals and groups using purposive and theoretical sampling, document reviews and persistent observation were the data collection methods used by the researcher, as they were believed to provide a deep and comprehensive understanding of the situation at Hope University.
Interviews were conducted in the Arabic language, which is the native language of the researcher and of the subjects, as this preserved the nuances of the responses and allowed the subjects to respond using the subtleties of their own languages.
According to the Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model, data were collected on the environment of Hope University, its internal processes and its outcome as represented by its students' progress toward their degrees and its effectiveness in meeting its mission and the expectations of its different constituents.
Applying the Nadler-Tushman Model, the study found that a fit exists between the University's mission and its environment, the way resources are allocated, the curricula, the qualifications of the faculty and organizational structure of Hope. Further, a reasonable fit exists between faculty, students' and parents' expectations and the processes or performance of Hope. The reasonable degree of students' progress towards their degrees also provides a fit between Hope's mission, processes and its output. These fits are considered as indicators that Hope was heading in the direction of its development.
The study revealed, however, that there are concerns that should be addressed by Hope's policy makers in order for Hope to continue to develop. These concerns are mainly the low level of external and internal trust in Hope's administration, the fact that existing facilities will not accommodate students in future years, the low quality of admitted students, the prevailing lecturing in the classrooms, the limited participation of students in the University's activities and the low quality of auxiliary services provided to students. The researcher provided recommendations for addressing these concerns and also for future research.
