UA-R-GC-1914-01-01-1966-03-11_Page-021

- 1 - The fourfold objectives set forth in the Profile of 1962 and its revision of 1965 have continued to guide the academic development of the University in the present academic year: provide liberal arts education on the undergraduate level; develop programs emphasizing graduate study, research and publication; shape existing and new programs toward service to the University's environment; and develop cultural and intellectual liaisons between the Arab World and the West. A. Curriculum Within this framework the University's academic program this year has shown growth in quantity and quality. As the attached tables (a, b and c) reveal, both student enrollment and faculty numbers have increased. More stringent admissions criteria at the undergraduate and graduate levels, refinement of programs and their attendant regulations, and the attraction to the campus of more experienced foreign and Egyptian faculty have contributed to a notice­able rise in quality throughout the University. The larger; improved physical plant has played a palMi in the general improvement, not only in boosting morale of students and faculty but in providing more adequate office and classroom space. The following key academic decisions during the current year il­lustrate- the University's efforts in refining and consolidating present programs! 1. General Requirements for the Bachelor's Degree: The -increased specialization demanded in each major program­leading to the bachelor's degree had in effect subordinated the liberal studies emphasis in the undergraduate program. -According­ly a study was begun wo years ago to re-evaluate the thirty to , thirty-six semester hours -of courses required of all undergraduate students. From the first, the objectives were to give each student an intellectual and cultural backgroUnd in Western and Middle Eastern thought. The new core curriculum (attachment 2) in essence required the following: Some Arabic language ana literature(with the provision that non-native speakers could elect to study colloquial Arab ic and read the literature in translation); English language skills; study of the Arab world; at least two courses in the humanities; 'at least three courses in the social sciences; arid at least two courses in science, one of these a laboratory science. The new requirements 1) relax the former requirement c that the non­native speaker learn classical Arabic; 2) require that all students study a laboratory science; and 3) provide students with more choice in each required discipline than was permitted in the former general requirements. 2. Criteria for Academic Deficiencies*: * In June of 1964 one undergraduate student faced disqualification as a result of his academic work; in June of 1965 fourteen students faced disqualification. Concerned about this increase in failing students, the Academic Board requested that an investigation be carried out to isolate the factors involved and that recommendations be ~de to 1) change the limits of academic deficiencies or 2) help improve the work of the The report accepted by the Academic Board is available upon request