FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR FINAL REPORT

RETURN TO:

J. W. Fulbright Commission COUNTRY: Czech Republic

Táboritská 23

130 87 Praha 3

fulbright@fulbright.cz

GRANTEE NAME Bruce Dehning

U.S. HOME ADDRESS 41 Iron Horse Trl., Ladera Ranch CA 92694

TELEPHONE NUMBER 949-218-5546

E-MAIL bdehning@chapman.edu

U.S. HOME INSTITUTION Chapman University

ADDRESS One University Dr., Orange CA 92866

TELEPHONE NUMBER 714-628-2702

E-MAIL bdehning@chapman.edu

CATEGORY OF GRANT LECT. x LECT./RES. o RESEARCH o

HOST INSTITUTION Tomas Bata University, Zlin (TBU), and Institute of Finance and Administration, Prague (VSFS)

FIELD OF SPECIALIZATION Accounting

PERIOD OF GRANT 4 months FROM Feb. 1, 2005 TO May 31, 2005

Instructions

Part I. Administrative

The information desired of grantees in Part I of this report pertains to the preparation for the exchange experience as well as the adequacy of administrative and logistical arrangements. Your comments and suggestions will be useful to the offices and agencies concerned with the operation of the program.

Part II. Educational Resources and the Academic Program of the Institution of Affiliation

The information desired of grantees in Part II of this report pertains to the academic conditions at the host institution. The information you provide will be of particular value to future grantees, particularly lecturers.

Part III. Professional Activities

The information desired of grantees in Part III of this report pertains to the exchange experience itself. The information you furnish on your teaching, research, and study will benefit the program administrators and future grantees.

Part I. Administrative

1. Selection and Notification: What improvement should be made in such aspects of the program as (a) preliminary announcements of the program information, (b) selection procedures, (c) notification of awards, and (d) general communications?

The selection process should take into account a better match between scholar’s proposal and placement within the Czech Republic. The commission made a mistake in initially placing me at Thomas Bata University (TBU) in Zlin. Luckily they were able to find a school in Prague (Vysoká Škola Finanční a Správní or VSFS) where I could also teach, so I was able to live in Prague and commute to Zlin for three days each week.

Living in Prague and commuting to in each week turned out to be a positive experience. Because I was in Zlin by myself for 3 days every week, I had to find things to do with the students to keep from getting bored. So on Monday nights I played basketball with students from the University, and every Tuesday evening had dinner with 6 of my students so they could practice their English conversation skills and I could learn more about the Czech Republic. We also did many fun activities together on Tuesday nights, including bowling and attending University functions. I was told by one TBU professor that I had become closer to my students in 4 months than any TBU professor had in their 4 years teaching this group of students.

In the past the Fulbright commission has resisted Grantees living in one city while commuting to another city to teach, but I think under the right circumstances it can work out fine.

2. Washington Orientation or CIES Information Packet mailing (if applicable): If you attend a predeparture orientation in Washington, what comments or suggestions do you have for improvement? Your reactions to printed materials are welcome as well.

N/A – I did not attend a predeparture orientation.

3. Transportation Arrangements: What comments or suggestions do you have with respect to transportation, baggage, or shipping of effects?

The rules regarding what type of transportation was allowed were unclear; who must fly on a US airline and so forth. The airline provided specific guidelines on baggage, and we shipped a large crate of items (100 cubic feet) via Rinkens International (www.rinkens.com) for $1200 door-to-door.

The “free” book shipping offered by the Department of State via the diplomatic pouch is not worth the hassle. The post office I tried to use was not aware of the rules regarding the size and weight of the boxes allowed, and one of the boxes I shipped via UPS was returned with no explanation given. The cost to ship them via diplomatic pouch was approximately $50/box, but directly to our address in the Czech Republic only $100/box. The extra $50/box is well worth it given that you can send any size/weight box, do not have to worry about what is in the box, and do not have to worry about picking it up at the Fulbright Commission office in Prague or asking them to deliver it somewhere.

4. Financial: Comments are desired on such items as (a) the adequacy of the stipend, (b) cost of living, and (c) local or other taxes on goods or income.

The stipend is OK for living expenses if you are careful, but the rents in Prague now far exceed the housing stipend. Our apartment is nearly 3 times the cost of the housing allowance. On average things cost about 1.5 times what they do in the US, except for food and labor. Food (groceries, restaurants) is about the same, and anything labor intensive (housecleaners, etc.) is much cheaper.

5. Logistical Arrangements Abroad: Information on the following items will be helpful to program officers and future grantees. Please comment on availability and adequacy of the items described.

A. Housing

There is plenty of housing available, but not furnished, not for a reasonable price, and not if you are unable to sign a one year lease.

B. Household Furniture and Furnishing

I have no information on the availability or adequacy of household furniture and furnishings.

C. Food

Almost anything and everything is now available in Prague. Every larger grocery store has a great selection, and the Trznices offer a less expensive option for fresh fruits and vegetables.

D. Schooling for Children (If possible, please provide address, telephone number, and fax number of the school(s) in which your children were enrolled.)

Our daughters attended the British International School of Prague (www.bisp.cz) and loved it. If you are looking for an academically rigorous school this is probably not it, but if you are looking for a good overall experience for your children this is a nice choice. Our daughter Michaela started attending the local elementary school but we switched her to BISP as well. I would not advise Grantees to enroll their children in Czech schools.

E. Local Transportation

We bought consecutive 3 month passes for the metro/bus/tram system and couldn’t have been happier. We bought a car for trips outside of Prague, but the intercity bus system is very good as well.

One nice thing about the British International School of Prague is that they have a bus service and will stop at your home for your children to go to and from school.

F. Clothing

Our luggage arrived a couple of days after we did, so we had to buy some clothing when we first arrived. Department stores and malls are very expensive so we shopped at the local Trznice. The prices were good and the quality adequate. I would not recommend buying clothes in the Czech Republic if you can avoid it.

G. Medical and Dental Services

We did not need any medical or dental services.

6. Suggestions: Discuss freely any administrative matters you may wish to comment upon and add any recommendations.

The Czech consulate did not have my visa ready when we left for the Czech Republic and that caused a huge hassle. I had to drive to the consulate to get my passport, and then once my visa was ready I mailed my passport back to them in the USA. Then the consulate mailed it to my family in the USA and they mailed it to me. Additionally frustrating is that the laws regarding visas are vaguely presented. I think part of that is because the laws themselves are possibly vague, but some additional clarification would be nice. For example, many Fulbright Scholars get very stressed about whether they will get their visa in time, but really they probably do not need any visa at all. Fulbright Scholars are not employed in the Czech Republic, and therefore do not need a work visa. It would be nice if every Fulbrighter knew that they can stay in the Czech Republic for 3 months on a tourist visa, so every three months they simply leave and re-enter the country and get a new stamp in their passport. I don’t think there is anyplace in the Czech Republic that isn’t within 2 hours of some border, so it is relatively easy to leave, see some sights somewhere and return with a fresh 3 months. The entire visa process should be presented as simply something nice to have, but not something to get stressed about if things don’t work out.

Part II. Educational resources and

the Academic Program of the Institution of Affiliation

1. Please comment on the availability of text and reference works for your course(s) of instruction. Book sources, including libraries, USIA, schools, or other academic institutions, should be mentioned.

I have no idea. I brought everything I needed with me.

2. Can books be ordered from the United States through local suppliers? What is the normal length of time from order to delivery?

I have no idea. I brought everything I needed with me.

3. Is the lack of textbooks a serious impediment to effective teaching? If so, what are the alternatives?

I did not want to deal with textbook issues so I made PDF files of all of my readings and made them available on a class website.

4. What should the visiting lecturer or teacher do before leaving the United States to meet his/her minimum book needs?

Bring everything with you and either put multiple copies on reserve in the library or distribute your readings electronically.

5. Please describe the availability and need for other kinds of educational materials, audiovisual aids, and laboratory equipment. Are local purchasing channels available and adequate for grantee needs?

At TBU anything and everything is available. They even bought me a scanner to use to make PDF files out of my readings and hired a student to do it for me.

VSFS is not as well equipped, but they went out of their way to get me everything I needed. One thing about both schools is how hard they tried to make my job easier.

6. Please comment on the administrative organization of the institution(s) you were assigned to for your grant (i.e., admission requirements, academic calendar, graduation or degree requirements).

TBU has 3 faculties, I was teaching in the faculty of economics and management. Admission appears to be based on an admissions exam. Students get a bachelors degree after three years and a Masters degree after five years. All of the students continue for all five years of school. The school year has two semesters, I taught during the “summer” term, Feb-May with June exams.

VSFS is a very unique institution in the Czech Republic because it is a private school, meaning they do not receive government money and students pay tuition (approximately $2000 per year). It is strictly a business school, and a teaching school rather than a research institution. The curriculum is strictly for the Bachelors Degree.

7. Please comment on the instructional organization of the institution(s) you were assigned to for your grant (i.e., academic departments, basic curriculum, special or unique educational programs).

Within the faculty of economics and management at TBU there are smaller departments, but I know only of the department of accounting and finance. The curriculum is very heavily financial in nature, with very few other business courses or liberal arts courses required. No particularly special or unique programs were apparent to me.

VSFS seems like just one large business department. They offer an American BSBA and MBA programs with a partner school in the USA, with the American school sending their faculty to teach at VSFS at nights and on the weekends.

8. Please comment on the organization of the department(s) in which you taught while on your grant. Discuss elements such as (a) departmental specializations, (b) courses offered in grantee’s field of specialization, (c) methods of instruction, and (d) examination requirements.

I taught in the Department of Accounting and Finance. Because the department chair was a finance professor she wanted me to cover primarily finance topics, but left the final decision up to me. No courses in my field of specialization were offered at TBU during the time I was assigned to teach there (the spring semester), so I basically taught an English course, giving lectures over material the students had previously had in the Czech Republic so they could learn the English terminology. Initially I graded the course exactly like I would have in the USA, a mixture of in-class assignments, homework, projects, and final exam. However the students could not (or would not) do the work outside of class so we settled on in-class assignments and a final exam.

I did not learn enough about VSFS to comment beyond what I mentioned above. It seems like the method of instruction and examination requirements are similar to TBU.

Part III. Professional Activities

1. For Lecturers or Teachers: Please describe in details the academic assignment. It would be helpful if you would include the organization of instruction, relation of your work to the curriculum, the role and status of the exchange lecturer or teachers. Specific comments are also welcome on preparation and level of students, size of classes, voluntary or required attendance, voluntary or examination courses, etc. The intent here is to provide information useful to future grantees offering instruction in the same subjects matter field.

At both schools I taught the equivalent of two sections of English for Finance and Accounting Managers. Basically I was supposed to get the students familiar with business English. I taught a variety of topics, most the students had before in Czech, and this was an opportunity to learn the English terminology.

The students overall were a good group, but their English skills varied considerably. The class I taught was an elective, and attendance was good (I told them it was required). They had no problem at all adapting to my style of teaching, and I got a lot of positive feedback about the course.

It was interesting comparing the two very different student groups. TBU is a public school, the students do not pay tuition, and are the traditional college age, continuing their university studies right after high school. The VSFS students were on average a few years older, and most of them were working in addition to going to school. The English skills of the TBU students were a little better, but there interest in the material was not. The VSFS students seemed to understand the relevance of what they were learning much better than the TBU students, who seemed primarily interested in just passing the class and perhaps learning a little English along the way.

One thing that I noticed at both intuitions and also talking to fellow Fulbright Scholars is that American teachers must adopt a 25% rule when teaching here in the Czech Republic. That means that first the professor must cut their course content in half because of the differences in the systems. Czech students take many more courses at once than their US counterparts, and are not willing to do the same amount of work outside of class. Then the remaining material must be halved again to account for the fact that the students are learning in a foreign language. Thus an American professor bringing a course with them to the Czech Republic should count on covering only 25% of the total material they teach in the equivalent course in the USA.

2. Do you feel you were able to accomplish the objectives of assignment? (Were the objectives clear? were you able to implement any innovative ideas?)

Many faculty members from TBU and VSFS attended my lectures and asked for assistance with their courses. I don’t think I implemented anything particularly innovative, but I do believe that many of the faculty that attended my lectures are changing a bit more toward my style of teaching.

3. Please comment on you professional relationships with (a) the host institution, (b) deans and department heads, and (c) faculty associates.

I was treated extremely well by the school, the department chair, the other faculty, and the students. I would encourage the Fulbright Commission to place another Scholar at TBU, they went out of their way to make it a great experience. I was given a nice office with a computer, scanner, printer, copy machine, etc. The school scheduled regular social functions for me, and I arranged dinners and outings with my students.

4. What problems did you encounter that could also apply to future grantees? (For example, academic, language, research.]

I would not expect any business professor to work on any collaborative research projects with faculty here. Part of the reason is that the research here is primarily grant-driven and therefore the probability of an overlap in interests is small. The second reason is that the level of research is not very high. The papers that I read that were written by the TBU faculty were equivalent to an honors thesis by an undergraduate student in the USA.

5. Please recount occasions on which you addressed or spoke to local audiences, participated in cultural or professional meetings, or wrote for local publications.

I made a presentation to the TBU faculty on April 18, presented a paper at a conference sponsored by TBU on April 28 (Finance A Účetnictví Ve Vědě, Výuce A Praxi OR International Conference on Finance and Accounting in Science, Tuition, and Practice), and made a presentation at the University of Economics in Prague on June 8.

6. Please evaluate your experience in terms of the following: (a) professional value, (b) personal or social value, and (c) contribution to international understanding.

The professional value was not particularly high, except for the fact that I now understand much better the advantages (and some disadvantages) of the US educational system. The personal and social value was amazing. Because I was in Zlin by myself for 3 days every week, I had to reach out to the students to keep me from being bored. I have never gotten as close to any students in America as I did my students in Zlin. Several of them I actually consider friends, and I think many will visit me in the USA. Although I regret not getting to see more of Moravia, I am in Czech often enough to know I will be back to visit Moravia, and hopefully get together with some of my students.

There was also definitely a huge mutual contribution to international understanding for both me and the students and faculty at TBU and VSFS. Because I got so close to the students at TBU we were able to openly and honestly discuss any and all topics.

7. What new research interests have you developed as a result of your Fulbright experience?

none

8. What changes in your teaching responsibilities do you contemplate as a result of your grant (new courses, new material in courses, work on international activities on your home campus, etc.)?

I plan on getting more involved with international education at Chapman, and am going to try to arrange a study abroad course for our students in the Czech Republic. In addition I will probably return here to teach at some point in the future.

9. Do you expect your relationship with the host institution(s) to continue after your return to the United States? In what forms will they take place (e.g., collaborative research, assisting faculty and students coming to the United States, etc.)?

We are planning a cooperative course with Czech and American students as part of the study abroad course I am developing for my students in the USA, I am going to work on some collaborative research projects with the TBU faculty as part of a grant they have received, and we are going to try and work on a program to assist Czech students and faculty coming for visits to Chapman University.

10. What role will communications technology (e-mail, fax, etc.) play in sustaining the connection?

Everyone here, like the USA, uses email and that will be the primary means of communication.

11. Can you identify key people at the host institution in terms of the implementation of your assignment? Can you identify key people at the host institution in terms of faculty interested in working with foreign scholars?

At TBU the Department Chair, Drahomira Pavelkova (pavelkova@fame.utb.cz) took care of all of the major issues, and assigned a PhD student (Standa Palicka) and a Masters student (Zuzana Lackova) to assist me with details and any problems I might encounter.

At VSFS Professor Alan Krautstengl (alan.krautstengl@vsfs.cz) was my initial contact, but Iveta Jonásová (iveta.jonasova@vsfs.cz) was my contact for day-to-day assistance.

12. Do you have any comments on the Fulbright experience with respect to family members who accompanied you (activities, impact, etc.)? If you already addressed this in an interim report, do you have anything to add?

The experience for my family was fabulous.

13. Suggestions: Discuss freely any aspect of the grant, or the total experience, and offer any recommendations that you believe will enhance the program.