Vision:

Develop the academic guidance program and uplift the targeted group to the highest levels up to the internationality in accordance with international quality standards.

Mission:

Provide all guiding, mentoring and administrative services to the student, overcome the obstacles and difficulties faced by the student in his educational journey, whether they are academic, social, moral, psychological, health or physical to reach his desired goal, develop the student's skills, encourage him to achieve academic excellence, creativity and innovation to obtain the necessary skills to increase his educational attainment and develop the student's academic and social abilities so that he can graduates during the identified period.

Objectives:

1. Prepare the student to know and adapt to the university life.

2. Raise the awareness and supply the student with the academic regulations and systems and help them to understand the study plans and regulations.

3. Help the student to enhance the academic attainment, raise his potentials and abilities, solve the difficulties he faces during the education and provide advice and assistance to them.

4. Relentlessly attempt to reduce the academic failing (preventive guidance).

5. Follow-up and care of the failing student, the students with low rates to develop them and give them the necessary skills to raise their educational attainment and improve their educational level.

6. Provide the academic, educational, social, psychological, health, moral and physical assistance to the students and identify the personal problems and obstacles that hider the student's ability to achieve educational attainment.

7. Encourage the talented and excelled students to additional attainment and guide them to better use the time and develop their abilities in the fields that meet their interests and preferences.

Thus, the Academic Advising Office includes, God willing, the preventive goals to avoid failing, the remedial goals and the developmental goals.

The action mechanism of the Advising Office:

1. Hold a meeting to introduce the Academic Guidance Office and its assigned tasks to the academic guides and students. The mechanisms of registration, deletion and addition will be explained. The tasks and the latest academic will be posted in the bulletin boards at the department, the college or on website of the department.
2. Hold an introductory course to make the academic guides familiar with the role of the academic guide and his assigned tasks.
3. Distribute the students to the academic guides, provide the academic guides with the names of the students who are going to guide, make the students aware of the academic guide assigned to each student and introduce the students to the role of the academic guide and their role towards their guide which makes the guidance courses easier and enhance the focus on the target group.
4. Emphasis on the academic guides to be present during the office hours and during the period of deletion and addition to sign the forms needed by the student and to guide him.
5. Submit a request to the department to provide the Academic Guidance Office with the results of the students so that the academic guide can follow-up the student.
6. Direct the academic advisor that he must prepare a file for each student which includes (identification card of the student to communicate with him and know his academic and social position to be completed by the student - a copy of the academic record - a copy of the student's quarterly notice - a copy of any decision taken against the student).
7. Direct the academic advisor to identify the remaining materials for the graduates and submit them to the committee so as to facilitate the coordination and arrangement for the department before the beginning of the following semester.
8. Direct the academic advisor to identify the names of the failing students and the number of times they have failed so as to be directed and guided to the office of scientific promotion and intellectual advancement at the Physics Department (remedial lessons).
9. Direct the academic guides to held regular meetings with their students at least twice each semester so that they can know the progress of the educational process, how the students are achieving progress, follow up the students, solve the problems that hinder the students, know the excelled and talent students and encourage and motivate them, urge the students of low levels to raise their levels, prepare a statistics of the levels of their students (the excellence percentage - the average rates percentage – the failing percentage and reasons for that) and provide suggestions which he considers effective to uplift to a better level.

 

Academic Advisor

The academic advisor is one of the faculty staff and the like, assigned by the academic advisory office to perform the functions of academic guidance for a group of students.

Characteristics of an academic advisor:

1. To be aware of curricula system and registration mechanism.
2. To play a vital role in academic guidance
3. To have the ability to conduct meetings concerning academic guidance
4. Must have the practical basic skills of academic guidance process
5. Must dedicate a part of his time to play his role effectively.

Skills an academic advisor must possess

1. Leading skills
2. Compassion skills
3. Planning skills
4. Listening skills
5. Decision making and problem solving skills
6. Time management and investment skills
7. Organization skills

Academic advisor tasks in general:

The role of the academic advisor is focusing on the university student performance since his admission to the university till graduation. It includes the following:

1. Student orientation as regards the elements of the study plan (basic and optional courses), their numbers and cognitive requirements, directing students to the best ways of making use of them, introducing students to the course of each major, the subjects within each major. He must not be biased for a specific major and he must link the major and labor market.
2. Introduce students to the names of buildings and lecture schedules and how to deal with the central library, especially new students.
3. Making sure to provide students with registration times concerning cancelling and adding courses, changing sections, dropping out from one major the right way by following regulations.
4. Teaching students how to calculate their scores manually, in addition to introducing them to subject grades and GPAs.
5. Conducting a study of the student’s academic record, including studied courses, his study plan and failure subjects and other data
6. Helping students in the selection and registration of courses in their study plan, based on their GPA.
7. Helping students to complete the form of Adding/ cancelling/Changing courses (so that the reasons for cancellation are discussed with students and they are guided to adding another course to replace the one cancelled). Also, directing them to the best course based on their academic records, capabilities and submitting them on time.
8. Making sure to conduct periodical meetings between the advisor and the student, through the advisor designating specific office hours or communication via email, to enable them to follow up their students and give them support, build a bridge of friendship between them and students, answer their inquiries and find solutions to difficulties and problems that they face in their education.
9. Developing reports and giving recommendations to students with low GPAs and provide the academic guidance office with these reports and recommendations.
10. Making sure to follow up the educational process of students in a good way and help them by introducing new sections according to their needs.
11. Defining the education courses that need to be introduced in the coming semester according to the needs of students and informing the academic guidance office of same.
12. Follow up the grades of students, encourage students with high grades and motivate them, offer guidance and advice to students with low grades and alert them as regards the followed procedures and holding extensive periodical meetings with them to help and guide them.
13. Motivating students to take part in academic activities and introducing them to how to make use of the King Abdullah University Library, how to manage their time and encourage them to make use of the available summer classes.
14. Maintaining confidentiality and mutual confidence between the advisor and the student as regards any information provided by the student to the advisor.

Amending the schedule:

The Vice Deanship of Registration Affairs registers students preliminarily before the beginning of the academic year, as it assumes that all students have passed their study courses successfully. If proven otherwise, at the conclusion of the academic year the system automatically deletes the registered curricula, the requirements of which were not fulfilled.

Hence the need for the registration amendment week, to enable students to re-design their preliminary schedule to be in accordance with their study plan and the number of hours they are allowed to register, subject to the approval of the department the student belongs to and the department providing the curriculum.

Adding a course:

1. A student may add any course to their schedule as per the following conditions:

• That the student has passed the course requirement successfully
• That the class a student wants to add is still available and has not already accepted the maximum number of students
• That the maximum registered hours in the student’s schedule after addition is less than or equal to the maximum hours allowed for a student to register.

1. If the subject required to be added belongs to the student’s department, the student must fill in Form B.
2. If the subject required to be added is mandated by the faculty or by the university, the student is to obtain the approval of the department offering the subject first, then go to the coordinator to fill Form A.
3. If the subject required to be added is an extracurricular one, the student needs to obtain the approval of their department first, then obtain the approval of the department offering the subject, then submit the form to the faculty coordinator.

Students need to refer to their departments, represented by the head of the department the student belongs to, to request approval of their application, in the following special cases:

• Introducing a subject or a major
• Requesting to exceed the designated subject after obtaining the approval of the subject professor
• Exceeding the required subject matter, in special cases that the head of department and student academic advisor decide
• Exceeding the load by more than 3 hours, subject to the approval of the department if the student was a graduate.

Students need to refer to the faculty coordinator in the following special cases:

• Registering from outside the campus the student studies at; for instance if a student from Jamoum University College want to study a subject at Al-Leith or other campuses (The authority of the faculty coordinator does not supersede that’s of the department offering the subject).
• Adding curricula from outside the faculty the student is enrolled in
• The faculty coordinator takes these cases together and coordinates with the Acceptance and Registration Deanship to execute them on a daily basis after ensuring that the student has obtained the necessary approvals to study the subject as per the Adding Subjects Form that can be found on UQU website, a copy enclosed herewith.

GPA Calculation

First: calculating the points of each course

Course is defined as a subject of the accredited study plan for each specialty during the semester. It is categorized by a number, symbol, title and description differentiating them from their equivalents in terms of content and level. 

Points of each course recorded in the student’s timetable are calculated by computing the course grade multiplied by the course credit hours.

 

Second: Calculating the Semester grades

The semester rating is calculated by the total of the semester course points divided by the total of the credit hours of the semester courses.

Third: Calculating the GPA

The GPA is calculated by the total of all the course points divided by the total of the course credit hours

Definition of Loads

Academic load: Total credits the student is allowed to register in a semester. The maximum and minimum academic loads are set according to the executive rules of the University.

Minimum Academic Load: the least number of academic credits that a student has to register to be in line with their GPA according to what the university board decides.

Defining Loads

The maximum academic load for normal-achievement students is not to exceed 15% of the study plan credits, maximum 21 credits.

The maximum academic load for non-achieving students in university is as follows:

• 12 credits, including subjects they failed in, for those whose GPA is less than 1.5
• 15 credits, including subjects they failed in, for those whose GPA is between 1.5 and 1.75
• 18 credits, including subjects they failed in, for those whose GPA is between 1.75 to 2.75
• 15% of the study plan for those with a GPA of 2.75 or more, with a maximum of 21 credits

 

Dropping Out From a Course

Why do you want to drop out from a course? If you have a problem other than your understanding of the elements of the course, please visit the head of department or faculty dean. You can also write down the problem you are facing in studying the course and go to the university Vice President of Educational Affairs.

Dropping out is not the only solution to overcome a problem, on the contrary, it is the last resort the system offers you, according to the following guidelines:

• The department approves the request and sends the student to the faculty coordinator, to whom the reasons of dropping out are to be explained.
• Students are to attend all classes until their drop out from a certain course is confirmed, as being absent from lectures is no excuse to drop out from a study course.
• In case the drop out is not executed, the student gets grade U in their academic record. This grade is not included in their GPA.

Drop out time:

The time designated for drop out requests is week 12, according to the university calendar.

• Students committed to a plan are not allowed to drop out from any study courses.
• That the study course the student wishes to drop out from is not equal to the student’s level or is less
• In case of a compelling excuse that necessitates dropping out, the student is to go to the department giving the course and explain to them the situation. If the department accepts the excuse, the student should ……..

 

Deprivation

Students are deprived of continuing to study their courses and sitting for their final exams (and the second semester in full year systems) if their absence rate (whether justified or not) exceeds 25% of the total lectures, scientific, field and clinical classes – according to the following schedule. Being deprived of completing a study course is equivalent to not passing it and students get grade F in their final result certificates.

Cancellation of Deprivation

The concerned Faculty council, or those whom they delegate according to a report submitted by the head of the department giving the course (or the academic office in case of full year system) may elevate the deprivation of a student if they submit to the head of department an excuse that the faculty council deems acceptable; however, absence rate is not to exceed 50% of lectures, practical classes, field and clinical classes designated for the course

 

Semester Suspension

The student submits the suspension request for the ongoing semester through the electronic portal according to the time announced in the university calendar, according to the following guidelines: that 3 semesters maximum are suspended.

As regards Full year students:

• The semester following the suspended semester will also be automatically suspended.
• A student is entitled to suspend either two consecutive semesters or three scattered semesters.
• It is not permissible to suspend two consecutive years.

 

What is meant by postponing study?

It enables students to postpone their studies, while not being considered to have failed the year. This can be done if they present a plausible excuse to the Admission and Registration Deanship within the first or second weeks of the school year. The postponed semester will not be considered in the required time till graduation.

What are the conditions required to accept the study postponement application?

• That the postponement is not for the first semester
• The student hasn’t postponed for more than 2 consecutive semesters and 1 separate semester (3 times during the total years of study at the university).
• Attaching the documents confirming the reasons for the postponement.

What conditions prevent the acceptance of the postponement application?

• Exceeding the allowed number of postponements (2 consecutive semesters or 3 scattered ones).
• Passage of the designated time for postponement.

 

Re-enrollment

The student enrollment is cancelled if they drop 4 consecutive semesters without filing a postponement or suspension application.

Requirements of Re-enrollment:

1. That the student completes 50% of the study plan subjects.
2. That their GPA when they quit was at least 2.00
3. That the study plan in which the student enrolled is still ongoing
4. Students of the preparatory year (regular) are not to be re-enrolled unless they obtain an approval of compulsory transfer to any department that does not necessitate to pass the preparatory year.
5. Students of the Community College and Continuous Education are not to be re-enrolled (Qualification Year/Preparatory Year).

 

Results:

The score of any exam is a quantitative indicator of the acquired knowledge.

Semester/annual classwork grades

Grade given for classwork showing the student’s achievement during a semester as regards periodic exams, researches and educational activities related to the curriculum.

Final Exam grade:

The grade a student earns in a curriculum in an exam he sits for once at the end of the academic year

Total grades

Total classwork grades and the final exam grade for each subject. The total of both grades is out of 100

The general mechanism for grade recording

• The staff member records all the results concerning him via his account on the electronic service portal at UQU website
• When the entry period of results set by the deanship ends, the result is automatically transferred to a pending state (P).

Absent (A) / Incomplete (I)

• Students submit an application for sitting for the alternative exam to the department providing the curriculum according to the period set in the university calendar.
• Acceptance of the department council to amend the result (I)
• Acceptance of the faculty council to amend the result (A)
• Submitting the amendment form with an official letter addressed to the deanship, indicating the session number
• Approving amending the result (I) by the subject teacher, the head of department and stamp it with the department official stamp
• Approving amending the result (A) by the subject teacher, the head of department, the faculty dean and stamp it with the faculty official stamp
• In case a semester passes without amending the result (A) and (I), it changes automatically into unqualified (U)

General mechanism (C) concerning cheating in exams:

• The Disciplinary Committee, Deanship of Student Affairs, agree to amend the result (C).
• Submitting an official letter addressed to the deanship, attached to which a copy of the minutes of meeting

General mechanism for remarking results

• Submitting a remarking request in an official letter addressed to the deanship (using the designated form).
• Approving the result by the subject teacher, head of department and faculty dean and stamp it with the faculty official stamp.
• Remarking applications are only acceptable during the semester following the semester in which the mistake occurred

General mechanism for pending results for individuals (P):

• Submitting a request for amending the result (P) addressed to the Admission and Registration Deanship (using the designated form).
• Approving the result by the subject teacher, head of department and faculty dean and stamp it with the faculty official stamp.
• Amending exam results applications are only acceptable during the semester following the semester in which the mistake occurred

General mechanism for pending results for groups (P):

• Submitting a request addressed to the Admission and Registration Deanship for the list of pending results, or obtaining it from the system by the head of department.
• The subject professor writes the results by hand in the original lists of pending results.
• Approving the result by the subject teacher, head of department and faculty dean and stamp it with the faculty official stamp.
• Sending the pending student result lists after approval to the Admission and Registration Deanship, Registration Affairs, to take necessary action.

 

Graduation:

The graduating of a student takes place after the graduation requirements are successfully met, and all the credit hours of each department are passed. The competent body awards the graduate one of the following ratings  

Requirements to be met get the graduation certificate taken out

• Finishing the graduation requirements successfully by cumulative rating no less than 1.00 out of 4.00
• Getting withdrawal form and disclaimer from the university ad getting them approved by the department, college, central library, student’s affairs deanship and admission and enrolment deanship

Honors

First Honors are awarded for the student earning a cumulative rating higher than or equal (3.75) when they graduate. And the second-ranked honors are awarded for the student earning a cumulative rating from (3.25) to less than (3.75) to (4.00), according to the following regulations and conditions:

• Student must not have failed in any of the courses they studied at the University or any other university
• Student must have finished all the graduation requirements within a period averaging the minimum and maximum of the period they spend in their college
• Student must have studied at the university from which they are to graduate no less than %60 of the graduation requirements