RIYADH, 26 June 2003 — Two well-known academic institutions, George Washington University of the US and the Multi-Media University of Malaysia (MMU) have launched special programs for Saudi students for this academic year.
GWU is creating special correspondence courses for some Saudi students who are wary of traveling to the US; and the MMU is promoting its campus courses in the Kingdom seeking to enroll more Saudi students, according to US and Malaysian sources.
Besides regular Saudi students currently on the rolls of GWU, some students under the new correspondence course program will be allowed to take standard GWU undergraduate course work adapted to an online format and possibly some classes taught by university faculty in Saudi Arabia.
“The university will also set up an administrator in Riyadh to oversee studies,” according to a report released by GWU here.
The GWU move has been welcomed by students since visa restrictions threaten to keep many Saudi students from traveling to the US. Of GWU’s nearly 2,000 international students last fall, 94 were from Saudi Arabia, the fifth most-represented nation.
MMU Education Officer Shushilil Azam said here today that Kuala Lumpur is now promoting its educational institutions in Saudi Arabia in a new move to attract students from this region.
He said that a 20-member education delegation from MMU concluded their visit to Saudi Arabia yesterday.
