Al-Marsad Newspaper: The Universities Affairs Council, headed by the Council’s Chairman and Minister of Education, Dr. Hamad Al-Sheikh, issued the list of study and examinations for the undergraduate level, and the regulation governing postgraduate studies in universities.
The purpose of the new regulations
The council aims to regulate the mechanism and procedures for study and examinations in universities and postgraduate studies, to raise the efficiency and quality of the educational process and academic procedures, and to keep pace with developments in them.
It also aims to contribute to achieving differentiation and competition between universities, as well as improving the quality of education outputs, and is in line with the requirements of national development and the future labor market.
Grants wide powers to universities
The two regulations grant wide powers to universities academically in accordance with a flexible institutional framework and governance as best practices in international universities, in order to achieve harmony and integration in the gradual roles in specializations and responsibilities.
These powers also enhance the efficiency of universities in performance and achievement and ensure the sustainability of their effectiveness, as a number of universities and specialists participated in preparing the two regulations, in addition to a number of government agencies.
The study and examination regulations for the undergraduate level contribute to creating a flexible study system that allows universities to choose the appropriate academic system, and the power to change the duration of the semester, level or academic year following the approval of the Council.
Obtaining more than one bachelor’s degree
It also provides the opportunity for the student to obtain more than one bachelor’s degree, and provides a different grading system compatible with the world’s leading universities, and supports universities’ recruitment of talented, distinguished, creative and innovative students.
It allows the approval of joint programs between universities and external educational institutions, the adoption of different teaching methods, the acceleration of the student’s educational journey, the possibility of calculating equivalent courses within the cumulative average, and granting those who have not completed the bachelor’s requirements a diploma.
Creation of inter-university programs
The regulation governing postgraduate studies enables the development of joint programs between universities inside or outside the Kingdom, and enables the student registered in postgraduate studies to obtain a scientific degree lower than the academic program in which he is registered.
It also gives the student the opportunity to join two programs for the same stage at the same time or a previous stage, and to issue a graduation document approved by two educational institutions with a joint program in between, and the possibility of calculating the internal and external equivalent courses within the cumulative average.
It is noteworthy that the regulations for studying and tests for the undergraduate level, and the regulations governing postgraduate studies in universities, will be implemented, starting from the beginning of the next academic year 1444 AH.