Bahrain

NYIT Builds on Success in Middle East

After opening its first campus in the Middle East in 2003 with an initial enrollment of 17 students, the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) has already outgrown its campus and has announced plans to establish a new campus in the former U.S. Embassy building to accommodate expanding enrollment, which currently totals 600 students.

The private school is one of a growing number of U.S. universities that have responded to declining international student numbers in the United States – especially from the Middle East – in the post-Sept. 11 world by opening and operating campuses in overseas markets. NYIT currently operates campuses in the United States, Canada, China (3), Bahrain (2) and Jordan, where it is partnered with the Jordan University of Science and Technology and enrolls 700 students. A new campus able to accommodate 2,000 students recently opened in Jordan. NYIT also is working on plans to open a campus in Israel.

— NYIT news
May 11, 2005

Egypt

Now Comes Egyptian-Chinese University

The Egyptian government has continued a trend of recognizing foreign universities with its recent announcement that Egyptian-Chinese University (ECU) has received accreditation and will begin offering classes in 2006. The announcement comes hot on the heels of the 2004 accreditation of Canadian (see May/June 2004 issue of WENR), Egyptian-British (see January/February 2005 issue of WENR) and Egyptian-Romanian universities, followed by the more recent recognition of Russian-Egyptian University (see May/June 2005 issue of WENR). In 2003, German and French universities of Cairo were also opened (see May/June 2004 issue of WENR).

Huo Wenjie, first secretary at the Chinese Embassy in Cairo, told Egypt Today the idea had “been on the table for about a year.” The university will be located in Heliopolis and will be considered a branch campus of China’s Liaoning University. All teaching reportedly will be in English, although students will be required to study Chinese from their freshman year. Students also will have the opportunity to spend their final year in Liaoning. Those that do reportedly will be awarded with a double degree.

— Egypt Today
May 2005

Israel

Latvia University Operator Gets Jail Time for Selling Degrees

The head of an Israeli company that served as the Israeli branch of the University of Latvia and Burlington College was sentenced to 30 months in jail in July. He was accused of bribing members of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, and other public officials and also of selling degrees to public officials for promotion and pay-increase purposes.

— Haaretz
July 7, 2005

Foreign Branch Campuses Ordered to Reform

Advanced degrees earned in Israel from branch campuses of foreign universities will no longer be accepted for public-sector wage increases, says the Finance Ministry. Existing foreign institutions will be given the option – until June 2006 – of becoming Israeli institutions issuing Israeli equivalent degrees, reports Haaretz newspaper.

Foreign campuses must submit their full curriculum to the Council for Higher Education (CHE), a regulatory body, for approval by the 2006 deadline. The following institutions have already advised CHE of their intention to follow its new regulations: Derby University, Lesley College, and Israel College, which incorporates branches of Clark, Northeastern and New England universities and New England College.

Foreign campuses proliferated in Israel 15 years ago, when it was decided that they would be exempt from examination by CHE. All that the higher education regulatory body required was that the curriculum being offered was similar, on paper, to that of the home university. Many branch campuses then began offering shortcuts to an academic title in order to increase profits. In the 1990s, as a result, the number of students at foreign branch campuses soared from 1,000 in 1997 to 13,692 in 2001, and at one point a quarter of all degrees awarded in Israel were from foreign university branches. According to a recent police investigation some of these institutions were offering substandard programs or simply selling degrees (see above).

— Haaretz
July 24, 2005

Jordan

U.S. University to Open Branch Campus

Chicago-based DePaul University is set to open a branch campus in Jordan offering undergraduate and graduate programs in information and communications technology.

Beginning this fall, DePaul will conduct classes from its temporary location at Princess Alia University College in the capital, Amman. The university’s permanent location is under construction and will be completed next year. The branch campus is being established under a strategic partnership agreement between Al-Balqa Applied University and the private DePaul University.

— The Jordan Times
July 1-2, 2005

Kuwait

Ministry Looks to Foreign Providers to Bolster Private Sector

The Kuwait government agreed in May to establish a number of private universities and colleges in the country through collaboration with foreign institutions.

According to Imad Al-Atiqity, general secretary of the General Secretariat of the Private Colleges Council – a regulatory body – the government has approved the establishment of Middle East American University in affiliation with Purdue University and the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine. In addition, the council has given its initial approval to the Science and Technology College of Kuwait, which would operate in affiliation with the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, as well as to a Kuwait-based branch campus of Boston University.

— Kuwait Information Office
May 29, 2005

Saudi Arabia

Saudi-German Business School in Works

In an effort to diversify the kingdom’s educational base and reduce reliance on the United States and Britain as higher education study destinations, Saudi commerce and business interests have concluded an agreement with Bremen University of Applied Science’s School of Business and Management to establish a new college of business administration.

Working in collaboration with the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce & Industry, officials from Germany’s Bremen School of Business expect the new Saudi college to be operational by 2008. The college will be built on the grounds of an industrial estate in Sudair, 124 miles from the capital, Riyadh. Those involved in the project envision an eventual expansion of the college to university status.

— Arab News
June 1, 2005

Mergers Create New Universities

Three new universities recently were approved by royal decree in June. The newly approved universities join three new universities created through a process of mergers.

There are 11 universities in the kingdom, including new universities in Qassim, Taif and Medinah. Qassim University was established in 2004 through the merger of regional branches of Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU) and King Saud University. Regional branches of IMSIU and King Abdul Aziz University in Medinah were merged to form Taiba University, and the Taif branch of Umm Al-Qura University was developed into the new Taif University. The newly approved universities will be established in Jizan, Hail and Al-Jouf, according to Higher Education Minister Khaled Al-Anqari.

— Arab News
June 8, 2005

University of Sydney to Train Saudi Health-care Workers

The University of Sydney has agreed with the government of Saudi Arabia to train future Saudi health-care workers. Under the agreement, 60 Saudi students will travel to Sydney on full scholarships each year to study in various programs in the health sciences and science fields. Each student is expected to spend five to seven years at the University of Sydney, where their training will include an English-language foundation program, a bachelor’s degree and entry into a master’s program.

— University of Sydney news release
June 20, 2005

United Arab Emirates

Scottish University Stakes Out Knowledge Village

Edinburgh-based Heriot-Watt University will become the latest offshore institution to offer courses at Knowledge Village, a purpose-built education hub on the outskirts of Dubai that has been attracting a host of international universities and education service providers.

The Dubai branch campus of Heriot-Watt will offer various foundation, bachelor and master programs in management and information technology, with plans to expand into fields such as design and engineering. Classes are set to begin in September, and enrollment is already under way.

— Knowledge Village news release
April 18, 2005

New Private University Accredited

The Ministry of Education recently accredited Abu Dhabi-based Al-hosen University. The university’s three faculties – engineering, business and arts and science – will begin classes in September. The university, supported by the Abu Dhabi Holding Co., reportedly will seek accreditation from the U.S.-based Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.

— Dubai Photo Media
June 27, 2005