Foundation-year programme in higher education institutions
MUSCAT -- The Ministry of Higher Education, Sultan Qaboos University and the Accreditation Council have launched a vital project to write standards for foundation year programmes in higher education institutions. Foundation programmes constitute a bridge between schools and colleges for students joining tertiary education. It is in these programmes that students learn the basic skills they need to survive in a college environment.
Currently, there are more than 30 private and public higher education institutions in the Sultanate and the number is rising. All these institutions have realised the vital role that foundation programmes play in preparing students for their college study and have therefore made these programmes as integral parts of their educational systems in one way or the other. However, there has been a great inconsistency among these institutions in their delivery of the programmes. In fact, sometimes it seems that there are as many different foundation programmes as there are educational institutions.
This lack of common ground has called for a need for a standardisation process. Therefore, the Ministry of Higher Education, in co-operation with Sultan Qaboos University and the Accreditation Council have taken the initiative to write these standards in order to create a common basis among all foundation programmes offered by all higher education institutions in Oman. While the organising committee planning the event is drawn from the three institutions that initiated the idea, the Academic Committee whose responsibility is the actual writing of the standards is composed of staff members from different public and private institutions including the Colleges of Education and Colleges of Applied Sciences, Majan College and Caledonian College of Engineering,Dhofar University and Health Institutes.
In their attempt to create common standards for foundation language programmes across all institutions, the members of the Symposium Academic Committee formed four main working groups, each focusing on an area of knowledge and skills necessary for the success of students in higher education. The groups are: the English language group, the study skills group, the math group and the computing group. These working groups aim to establish common standards in foundation programmes that will help achieve the following objectives:
1. Bridge discrepancies between foundation programmes in their provision of language instruction and other subject areas and help promote high educational expectations.
2. Ensure that all students receive the opportunities to develop their language and other skills and become lifelong independent learners.
3. Create a shared vision among students and providers about what students need and are expected to do in foundation programmes as part of their preparation for higher education.
4. Provide benchmark standards for the licensing of new programmes and programme accreditation.
To develop effective and feasible standards, the working groups are following these internationally recognised guidelines:
1. The standards must be based on the latest and most effective learning and teaching theories and approaches.
2. They must be based on the present and future demands and requirements of the country and literacy. They should specifically help the students prepare for their post foundation programme.
3. They should outline skills beyond the basic literacy skills of reading and writing such as computing, solving problems and researching.
4. They should reflect real life use of language and academic skills.
5. They should help students develop a variety of technological competencies that will help them succeed in their colleges.
6. The standards working groups should tab on findings from previous research studies on foundation programmes in Oman which might shed light on the students' levels, difficulties and expectations. They should also refer to the results from previous workshops and conferences.
7. The development of standards should be conducted in a cyclical process, involving all main stakeholders; that is, draft standards are formed by the standards working groups based on feedback from higher education institutions and previous workshops; the standards are then made public on a website and at the symposium for comments and feedback; and based on feedback revisions are made; another draft is sent for comments, and so on. Such a collaborative approach will facilitate this national dialogue and will help later in translating the standards into practice.
A symposium will take place on January 16 and 17, 2007 at Sultan Qaboos University to review and discuss the standards. The Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising (OEPPA), publishers of the Observer and Oman Arabic daily, is the media sponsor for the symposium.
© Oman Daily Observer 2006
