JEDDAH, 14 March 2004 — The British Accreditation Council has recognized the Arab Open University’s branches in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain after approving their academic curricula and programs. It had earlier recognized the university’s six other branches in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Kuwait. The Arab Open University offers correspondence courses in computer science, information technology, English language, business administration and teacher training.
In a statement, Prince Talal, chairman of the university’s board of trustees, emphasized that providing quality education and extending suitable academic programs required by job markets in Arab countries were the AOU’s strategic objectives.
The AOU branch in Saudi Arabia has four regional offices — Riyadh, Jeddah, Ahsa and Hail.
Prince Talal, who is also the president of the Arab Gulf Program for UN Development Organizations (AGFUND), signed a memorandum of understanding to support the AOU’s academic programs with Sir John Daniels, vice-chancellor of the British Open University, in October 2000.
The BAC is a registered charity (non-profit-making organization), which was established in 1984 to act as the national accrediting body for independent further and higher education. A college that is accredited by the BAC undergoes a thorough inspection every five years, with an interim visit after two-three years. Until 2000, the BAC accreditation was only available to colleges in the United Kingdom, but there are now accredited colleges in the Czech Republic, Greece, India and other countries.
The BAC’s council includes nominees of a number of the major bodies concerned with the maintenance of standards in British education, including the Association of Colleges, the British Council, the Edexcel Foundation, the Council of Validating Universities, Universities UK, the Chartered Institutes, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education and UKCOSA.
Cooperation has been established between the Arab Open University and the British Open University. The British Open University is one of the oldest universities using open education. It is very successful and ranks among the 15 best universities in Great Britain. It also ranked first recently in the field of earth sciences.
The AOU will obtain a license during its first phase to use the educational materials of the BOU and will subsequently produce its own educational materials. The AOU will be seeking accreditation and validation of its degrees by the British university according to a system of accreditation that includes the control and evaluation of the academic programs through periodic field visits by BOU experts.
The Arab Open University seeks to use modern information and communication technologies, to make higher education and continuing education accessible to every willing and capable Arab citizen.
The university intends to provide additional scientific, technical and professional programs and specializations according to the changing requirements of the job markets in the Arab countries.
