JEDDAH, 12 August — Expatriate students can now obtain bachelor’s degree from King Abdul Aziz University here through part-time study.
Admissions will start next week to degree courses in business administration, public administration, Islamic studies, Arabic language, English language and sociology. The university also offers diploma courses for expatriates intending to join its evening classes on a full-time basis. Hussein Saleh Al-Badri, director of communications at the deanship for social service and continuous education, said the university expected at least 500 expatriates to enroll on a part-time basis for the bachelor’s courses offered by the Faculty of Economics and Administration and Faculty of Arts and Humanities.
"The university will charge fees ranging from SR14,000 to SR40,000 for the two-year diploma courses depending on the subject of specialization," Al-Badri told Arab News. He said the university was still to decide how many expatriates it could accommodate for full-time evening courses.
The university has already started admission procedures for Saudi students seeking to join the part-time degree program. It expects some 2,500 Saudi male and 1,000 female students to enroll.
"Expatriates will not be allowed to shift from part-time to full-time registration for degree courses," Al-Badri said. However, Saudis will have the privilege if they obtained a grade point average (GPA) of four or more in the first and second semesters.
The university will charge both Saudis and expatriates an admission fee of SR3,000 per semester for degree courses. "If a student drops out before the beginning of classes, 10 percent of the amount will be deducted. If he drops out during the semester, within two weeks after classes start, then 25 percent will be deducted and if he quits in the fourth week of the semester he will lose 50 percent of the fee. The student forfeits the right to any refund after the fourth week.
Expatriates seeking admission should have valid iqamas and have obtained at least 70 percent marks in the secondary school. Those with less than 70 marks will be admitted in accordance with availability of seats.
Part-time registration for expatriates is allowed for bachelor’s degree courses in business administration and public administration offered by the Faculty of Economics and Administration and in Islamic studies, Arabic language, English language and sociology offered by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.
Two other Saudi universities also offer part-time degree courses for Saudis this year, charging fees. They are Imam Muhammed ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh and Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah.
Yasser Al-Rasheed adds: A number of Saudi students have accused that King Abdul Aziz University is charging high registration fees (SR3,000 per semester) for part-time courses. The university started receiving applications from Saudis for part-time courses on Saturday. But the response was not encouraging due to high registration fees. Informed sources told Arab News that 120 students had withdrawn their applications.
One student who came to apply for a course said his tuition fees would work out about SR750 monthly. "Because of high fees, I will have to take up a job to pay the fees without affecting our family budget," he said.
Faisal Al-Ghamdi, a student who refused to join the university, said the high fees do not match the services offered by the university to part-time students. "These students are not attending regular classes. They just sit for exams conducted by the university at the end of every semester. The university reviews their performance and announces the results," he added.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Dubae, in-charge of registration for part-time courses at the university, told Arab News that some 300 students had registered on the first day of admission. The registration will continue until Wednesday. "The university plans to admit 2,500 boys and 1,000 girls on a part-time basis this academic year," he said.Referring to charges that the university was charging high fees, he said all Saudi universities were charging the same fees for the program.
