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Objectives:

The preparatory year program is a main foundation for students of engineering departments. It aims at helping them to choose the specialization that is suitable with their abilities through:

1. Developing students' skills and abilities to use English so as to be able to follow their studies of the courses of the academic plan.
2. Introducing basic courses such as mathematics and physics to students in a way that enhances their self-confidence and develops their abilities in learning these fields in English.
3. Introducing the students to applied courses to help them acquire skills and experiences by studying engineering workshops and engineering drawing courses.
4. Fortifying students with Islamic manners and principles through their studying of the Noble Quran and Islamic culture courses so as to be role models for others.
5. Giving students necessary guidance that helps them complete their education successfully.
6. Introducing the students to the different specializations in the college and helping them choose the field of specialization that is suitable for them. 
7. Giving the students an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the requirements of academic study and providing them with the academic acquisition skills, while emphasizing the necessity of maintaining all aspects of expected discipline.

Program description:

The preparatory year program represents the first and second level of the academic plans in all programs of the departments of engineering at the College of Engineering and Islamic Architecture. The courses cover:

1. University requirements (10 credit units): Noble Quran (1 and 2), Islamic culture (1 and 2), and English.
2. College requirements (23 credit units): Physics (1 and 2), Differential and Integral Calculus (1 and 2), English Conversation Skills 1, Engineering drawing 1, and Engineering Workshops.
3. A unified semester schedule is set for the groups of students admitted in the program. Students are not allowed to delete, add, or change the course details of the preparatory year so as to facilitate course registration, opening appropriate sections, and controlling the monitoring and supervision processes.
4. Six courses are studied during the first semester with a total of 16 credit units representing 11 lecture hours and 27 practical hours, with 18 hours thereof dedicated to intensive study of English. The same number of courses is studied in the second semester with a total of 17 credit units representing 11 lecture hours and 19 practical hours, with 12 hours thereof dedicated to intensive study of English. Details are as follows: 

Program duration:

 The preparatory year program lasts for one year of two semesters (and a summer semester if necessary).

The monitoring and supervision center for the preparatory year program:

 A full-fledged center was established to supervise students of the preparatory year and to implement the relevant program, as its program is fixed.

 The center is the responsible body in the college that is entrusted to directly supervise and monitor the implementation of the preparatory year program according to the plan developed for that purpose. This is done in collaboration with the Deanship of Admissions and Registration and the college and university departments that provide the program courses (which include the departments of Physics, Mathematics, Da‘wah, Quranic Recitations, English Language, and Mechanical Engineering). Colleges that take part in the preparatory year are required to provide necessary sections for all the admitted students to study courses of the preparatory year.

 Departments concerned with the program:

 The preparatory year program is applied to all students who wish to join the engineering departments of the College of Engineering and Islamic Architecture, namely electrical engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, and computer engineering.

 Conditions of admission:

 In addition to the university general conditions of admission, there are some specific conditions related to the preparatory year program:

1. Admission is available only once at the beginning of the academic year.
2. Applicants must be graduates of the branch of natural sciences at high school.

Passing the preparatory year:

1. To pass the preparatory year, students must pass all of its courses.
2. All students who have passed the preparatory year are accommodated and distributed to the different departments of the college based on specific allocations for each department. The rules of choosing specializations depend on the overall result.
3. Students who fail three or less courses (in both semesters) can restudy them during the summer semester that follows the preparatory year.
4. Students who receive a "debarred" grade for any course of the preparatory year will be considered to have failed the relevant course.
5. Students who fail more than three courses during the preparatory year semesters are considered to have failed the program.
6. Students can study the Level Two syllabi courses even if they have not passed the prerequisites, if any.
7. Students who receive an Absent grade in one or more courses at the end of the preparatory year are considered to have failed the preparatory year, unless the grade is amended in accordance with the university regulations of study and examination by the end of the summer semester at the latest.
8. Grades "P" (Postponed) and "C" (Continuing) may not be granted for any of this program's courses.
9. Students who fail the preparatory year may submit a transfer request to the Deanship of Admissions and Registration to choose other specializations in the university according to applicable university rules and regulations.
10.  Students who fail the preparatory year are not allowed to repeat the program.

Postponement and excuses:

Any student who applies for excuse from or postpones his studies, even if for one semester, will be considered to have withdrawn from the program and failed the preparatory year.

Final examinations and assessment procedures:

Final examinations are unified for all sections studying the same courses.

Procedures for choosing specializations after passing the program:

Students who pass the preparatory year program at the end of the second semester or at the end of the summer semester, are required to report to the preparatory year center at the College of Engineering and Islamic Architecture to choose the specialization and as the first step towards completing their studies and obtain the bachelor's degree in engineering in accordance with the following procedures:

1. Students who pass the preparatory year are to fill in a specialization choice form and specify three options for the desired specialization.
2. Students who pass the preparatory year are listed in descending order of GPA.
3. Students are placed in the departments they applied for according to their order on the mentioned list until the number of students for each department, as specified by the college council, is completed, provided that admissions do not exceed the number stated by the university council.
4. If it is not possible to meet a student's first choice of departments due to completion of the relevant department's quota of students, then their second choice is fulfilled. If this is also not possible for the same reason, then the third choice is fulfilled. If even is not possible, students are admitted into the fourth department that has vacancies.
5. If applicants to the same department have equal GPA's, then priority is given based on the marks they obtained in the differential and integral calculus 1 and 2 courses, then physics 1 and 2, then the English language and English conversation skills, then engineering drawing, then engineering workshops, and finally according to the alphabetical order of students' names.

Transfer procedures from other colleges or from the Department of Islamic Architecture to engineering departments:

As the continuation of studies in any of the engineering departments requires passing the courses of the preparatory year, students from other colleges or from the Department of Islamic Architecture who wish to join any of the engineering departments the College of Engineering and Islamic Architecture are also required to pass the preparatory year program according to the same regulations. If any of those students studied some of the preparatory year program courses before the transfer, then the mentioned regulations are applied to what they studied. Otherwise, they are required to fulfill the missing elements of the program in the semester following the transfer. Transfer applications are accepted once a year, that being after the end of the second semester, according to the following procedures:

1. Priority of transferring to the College of Engineering and Islamic Architecture is given to regular students of the College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, the College of Applied Sciences, and other scientific colleges to established in the future.
2. The transfer application to the engineering departments of the College of Engineering and Islamic Architecture, which is submitted by students of other colleges or of the Department of Islamic Architecture to the preparatory year center, is considered an application for admission into the college after filling in the transfer form.
3. Transfer to the preparatory year program is made available once a year, at which time transfer applications are accepted from students of other colleges in the university and from the Department of Islamic Architecture. The transfer period continues for the first two weeks after the return of faculty members from the summer holiday.
4. Students applying for transfer are selected based on their GPA.
5. Students from other university departments who have been transferred to the preparatory year program and have previously studied some of the preparatory year's courses are only required to study the courses they missed or failed.
6. Students who are admitted or transferred to the preparatory year program are placed under the specialization designation of "Preparatory Year of the College of Engineering and Islamic Architecture."

Procedure of changing specialization:

Students who successfully pass the preparatory year and were admitted to a department of engineering may move to another department of engineering after one semester. This is only allowed once and in accordance with the applicable procedures.

Passing the preparatory year qualifies students to start studying all the courses of the specialization in sequence, as proposed by its academic plan. Upon passing all such courses students obtain the bachelor's degree in their specialization, according to the student`s major.