JEDDAH, 26 June 2007 — With an aim of making positive changes in society, Dar Al-Hekma College is to start a four-year bachelor degree program in law during the next academic year.

According to Suhair Al-Qurashi, dean of Dar Al-Hekma College, the program will cover several areas relating to international, criminal, civil, commercial and Shariah law.

The curriculum has been designed by law experts from local Saudi universities, Jordan and America’s prestigious Harvard University. The program has also been accredited by the Ministry of Higher Education and follows the accreditation standards set by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), an American accrediting body.

Dar Al-Hekma courses are generally conducted in English. However, knowledge of Arabic will be a requirement for students to enroll in the Shariah course, which will be taught in Arabic.

Speaking about Shariah course being taught in Arabic, Saleha Abedin, director of General Education, Academic Advancement and International Institutional Relations at Dar Al-Hekma, said, “We will still maintain our international standards of education. We want to prepare our students to be able to continue their postgraduate studies anywhere they want.”

She added, “News about the law program has so far attracted positive feedback from young women who are excited to join it.”

The Special Education program, a major currently offered at Dar Al-Hekma, is also to be enhanced to include more specialist information and courses. A new program on autism, and hearing and speech impairment are also to be soon introduced. “Students will be able to learn sign language and ways to communicate with people who have hearing impairments,” said Abedin.

The college is aiming to enroll 2,000 students in the future. The college’s administrators say all of its graduates should be able to meet local job market demands.

Sixty percent of students at the private college, including Saudis and non-Saudis, are on scholarships. A provision that, according to the college’s administrators, allows students from all backgrounds to access quality education at Dar Al-Hekma.

Last week 91 students graduated from the college in six majors.