Enterprising instructional initiative: Development of a human resource management major in the Middle East

Abstract

Enterprising higher education management with a focus on instructional innovation may help teaching universities as they confront the dynamism of the transnational higher education market. The present study is documentation of an enterprising process for instructional innovation at the American University of Kuwait. Information from the employment market was used to identify an apparent opportunity to offer a human resource management (HR) undergraduate major. Stakeholder engagement and benchmarking for shaping the program are illustrated as well as efforts to establish a reputation for quality. Freire’s theory of conscientization was applied to structure learning in the coursework of the new program. Critical factors enabling the enterprising initiative included use of business concepts in university management, program validation from reputable external agents, and stakeholder input.