1. Equivalence of HE Degrees- The Case of Palestine Barcelona 22-23 November 2011 TEMPUS Palestine Dr. Nedal Jayousi/ TEMPUS NTO- Palestine Dr. Daoud Zaatari, President- PTU Dr. Michael Sansur- Executive Vice President – Bethlehem U Dr. Suhail Sultan/ Deputy Rector - PPU

2. CONTENT STRUCTURE RECOGNITION CRITERIA BY MOEHE TRANSFER CRITERTIA EQUIVALENCE OF GENERAL SEC. CERITFICATE EQUIVALENCE OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE EQUIVALENCE OF HIGH DIPLOMA, BA, MA, AND PH.D KEY NOTES CHALLENGES AND BOTTLENECKS RECOMMENDATIONS

3. FACTS 4.4 mPopulation 6,165 sq kmArea 14Universities 15University Colleges 20Community Colleges

4. RECOGNITION CRITERIA The educational institutions and its academic degrees must be recognized by the official authority in the respective country. The institution must be in the list of universities recognized by MOEHE. Students must first acquire the Palestinian General Secondary Education Certificate or its equivalence as certified by MOEHE: GCE, SAT, Baccalaureat, IB, Bagrout, etc.

5. STRUCTURE OF EQUIVALENCE IN PALESTINE HE UNIVERSITIES DIRECTORATECERTIFICATE EQUIVALENCE COMMITTEE REPORTS TO MINISTER ( CENRTRLIZED) COMPOSED OF HE EXPERTS. ACCREDIATION AND QUALITY ASSURANCE COMMISSION (AQAC) COMPOSED OF HE EXPERTS AND REPORTS TO MINISTER ( CENTRALIZED)

6. CONTINUE MOEHE considers (1)the effective educational system of the higher educational institution (2)the conditions of joining such institution and(3) the study period and program structure MOEHE considers certificates obtained through joint study programs provided that such programs are accredited in accordance with joint agreements made between such educational institutions.

7. TRANSFER CRITERIA Entrance examination scores (English, Arabic, Mathematics) Interviews for certain programs Applicants must earn a minimum GPA of “C” or 70% for courses to be transferable Courses to be transferred should be compatible with the courses offered at the said University

8. TRANSFER CRITERIA Where entrance examinations are required, no entrance examination required if an applicant has earned a minimum of 30 credits before transfer, although an English placement examination and/or examination in a specific course content may be called for before the applicant is exempted from the course.

9. ENTRANCE CRITERIA Students’ secondary education average must not be less than (80%) for the majors of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, doctor of pharmacy, and engineering, and (65%) for all other majors such as art, law, business.

10. THE EQUIVALENCE OF BACHELOR’S DEGREE A student shall first acquire the General Secondary Education Certificate or its equivalence, as it enables him/her to enroll in the relevant major. A student shall join the study for a minimum period of three years or fan equivalence of accredited study hours; however, the study period in the latter case must be three actual years at least.

11. CONTINUE Student who graduated from the faculty of medicine with a five ‐ year study period shall undergo an additional year of training in a hospital authorized for such purpose. Students who graduated from the faculty of dentistry with a four ‐ year study period shall undergo an additional year of training in a hospital authorized for such purpose

12. THE EQUIVALENCE OF COMMUNITY COLEGES Students who completed their study in an intermediate university college shall successfully pass the “Comprehensive Exam” (al ‐ Shamil).

13. THE EQUIVALENCE OF A HIGHER DIPLOMA Acquiring in advance the first ‐ level university degree. Attending the university for a period not less than one study year after acquiring the first ‐ level university degree.

14. THE EQUIVALNCE OF MASTER’S DEGREE Acquiring the first-level university degree. Attending the university for a period not less than one study year in the master’s program. Fulfilling university requirements for graduation, which include study materials, scientific researches, dissertations or all combined.

15. THE EQUIVALNCE OF Ph.D. DEGREE Students shall acquire the first ‐ level university degree The study period required to obtain the third ‐ level university degree must not be less than three years after acquiring the first ‐ level university degree. The certificate must be the highest ‐ level certificate or academic degree in the higher education system in the country of study.

16. THE EQUIVALNCE OF Ph.D. DEGREE Acquiring in advance the first ‐ level university degree and fulfilling the conditions for equalizing such degree pursuant to the provisions herein. Acquiring in advance the second ‐ level university degree and fulfilling the conditions for equalizing such degree

17. THE EQUIVALNCE OF PH.D. DEGREE The study period required to obtain the third ‐ level university degree must be at least two study years after acquiring the second-level university degree.

18. THE EQUIVALNCE OF PH.D. DEGREE Attending the university for a minimum period of three study years for the following majors: medical and pharmacy sciences, (complementary) applied medical sciences, basic and pure sciences, engineering sciences, applied sciences, agricultural and veterinary sciences, computer science and its branches. Attending the university for a minimum period of one year for all other majors.

19. IMPORTANT NOTE Certificates issued by educational institutions that provide non-traditional education are not recognized for the following majors: medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, medical laboratories, veterinary medicine, applied or complementary natural sciences, engineering, basic sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, etc) and other sciences that require laboratories and practical application

20. IMPORTNT NOTE MOEHE recognizes the type of education that is carried out using modern technological media, but does not include education by affiliation.

21. BOTTLENECKS Limited selection of majors Some paradigms do not take into consideration the sequence of the courses Some university requirement s are incompatible with some majors No free choices of courses Volatile operating environment

22. BOTTLENECKS Separation walls and check points restrict travel and limit student applications University fees less than a third of the costs of the student.

23. Cntd. University relies on donations that are to some degree uncertain posing difficulties in long-term financial planning Funding from the state comprises only 7% of the University’s operating budget.

24. RECOMMENDATIONS MOEHE IS IN THE PROCESS OF REVISING THE HE LAW (1998). THE EQUIVALENCE ISSUE WILL BE CLEARLY DEFINED IN THE NEWLY REVISED LAW THAT WILL COMPLY WITH REFORM UNDERGOING FOR EQUIVALENCE TO WORK AND COOPERATE CLOSELY WITH REGIONAL AND INT’L EQUIVALNECE NETWORKS THAT WILL REDUCE THE GAP AND PROBLEMS

25. THANKS GRACIAS MERCI شكرا