1. Tertiary Education In
Jordan:
A Vision For The Future
Ministry of Higher Education
Vision Forum for Higher Education 1

2. What does a vision mean?
“ A statement detailing the desired
state of a sector at a future point of
time within a given environmental
setting”
Vision Forum for Higher Education 2

3. What does a vision
include?
 The scope where the sector should
operate
 The measured outcome and
competencies that the sector
wishes to achieve
 The required resources for
achievement of goals
Vision Forum for Higher Education 3

4. What happened to tertiary
education in the last decade?
 Understanding the significant role of
solid higher education in any economy to
sustain development
 The realization of the link between
economic development and the ability to
gain and apply knowledge
 Knowing that comparative advantages
come less and less from abundant
natural resources or cheaper labor, and
more and more from technical innovation
and the competitive use of knowledge (1)
Vision Forum for Higher Education 4

5. Previous Strategies Or
Position Papers
 Jordan higher education development project
 Economic Consultative Council HRD papers
 Vision 2020
 The R.E.A.C.H initiative
 YEA position paper on education
 The social and economic transformation
program
 Strategies for higher education 1997
 Higher education fora on quality and relevance,
research and finance 1998
 Financing higher education, Hauptman 1998
Vision Forum for Higher Education 5

6. Vision Forum for Higher Education 6

7. Vision Forum for Higher Education 7

8. Vision Forum for Higher Education 8

9. Where do we stand?
 Eight public universities with 80.000 students
 Twelve private universities with 30.000 students
 Twenty one community colleges with 29.000
students
 55% of students are females
 25% of total recurrent costs are recovered in
the public sector
 Spending on education relative to GNP is
greatest in the Arab world
 One third of educational expenditure is given to
higher education
Vision Forum for Higher Education 9

10. Current Problems
 Acute shortage of funds
 Low standards of graduates
 Non-relevance of programs
 Minimal accreditation standards
 Lack of quality control
 No emphasis on research
 Governance
Vision Forum for Higher Education
10

11. University Finance (1)
 Re-structuring tuition fees to recover
cost should start now over 5 years
 Scholarship funds should be established
to support needy students, excelling
students and special groups
 University debt should be wiped out
 Government should finance the
establishment of any public university
according to the master plan
Vision Forum for Higher Education
11

12. University Finance (2)
 Phasing out of government
financial support to university
current expenditure must go
hand in hand with re-structuring
 Government financial incentive
should be given to universities :
 Complying with accreditation
 Achieving excellence
 Demonstrating creativity and
innovation
 Supporting quality research
Vision Forum for Higher Education
12

13. Admission Policies (1)
 Admission should be open to all who are
able to satisfy the requirements
 A new national university admission test
(NUAT) which could be created by a
national testing center (NTC) should be
put in effect to replace the Tawjihi as the
tool for university admission
 The format of the Tawjihi should be
changed to reflect the above
Vision Forum for Higher Education
13

14. Admission Policies (2)
 Admission should be on competitive
basis
 Special groups could be dealt with
by offering financial aid rather than
university seats.
 The National Unified Admission
Office should be maintained.
Vision Forum for Higher Education
14

15. Universities and Programs
(1)
 Minimize the emphasis on
university student input as long as
they satisfy admission criteria
 Maximize the emphasis on
university student output by:
 tying it to university eligibility for
financial incentives and
 making it an integral part of the
accreditation criteria
Vision Forum for Higher Education
15

16. Universities and Programs
(2)
 Any restriction on establishing new
private institutions of tertiary
education should be lifted in the
presence of strong and active
accreditation policies
 All students passing the Tawjihi or
satisfying the criteria of university
admission should be given the
chance of tertiary education Education
Vision Forum for Higher 16

17. Universities and Programs
(3)
 The Council of Higher Education should
review all existing university programs to
abolish repetition and ensure excellence.
New programs should be examined
before licensing
 A new national electronic test (NET) of
university output should be introduced
 Financial incentives and re-accreditation
should take into account the results of
individual universities in the NET
Vision Forum for Higher Education
17

18. Curricula and Instruction
(1)
 Curricula must be revised to
ensure:
 Modernity
 Relevance
 Critical thinking
 Self learning
 Practical skills
 The revision must be completed in
one year and repeated every five
years Vision Forum for Higher Education
18

19. Curricula and Instruction
(2)
 Instructional methods should ensure:
 The use of new technologies
 The emphasis on self learning
 Critical thinking
 Mechanisms of students evaluation
should be changed to reflect the ability
to measure achievement of objectives
 An exit evaluation of programs should be
completed by graduating students
Vision Forum for Higher Education
19

20. Faculty and Staff
 A stringent policy of appointment
according to merit and with transparency
should be applied. In-breeding should be
stopped
 A major scholarship program should be
instituted in all universities
 In-house programs for rehabilitation of
staff should be activated or created
 Promotion should be linked to
performance
 Tenure should be replaced by contracts
Vision Forum for Higher Education
20

21. Accreditation
 The accreditation council should be
strengthened and its formation changed
to incorporate ALL stake holders:
 Universities
 Government
 Employers
 Professional bodies
 Accreditation should apply to ALL
institutions of tertiary higher education
 Financial aid to public universities should
be tied to compliance with accreditation
standards
Vision Forum for Higher Education
21

22. Quality Control
 The Higher Education Quality Assurance
Council of Jordan (HEQACJ) as an
independent national quality assurance
body should be created
 All programs must be evaluated in-
house and externally
 All programs and universities should be
ranked, this ranking should be made
public
 Financial aid should be tied to
excellence Vision Forum for Higher Education
22

23. Scientific Research
 Funds available for research should be
increased through the activation of
collection of the 1% allocated by the
companies law
 Research should be directed to serve
development plans and solve national
problems
 University scientific journals should be
unified
 Quality research only should be
considered for promotion of staff
 Universities should be rewarded for
quality research and its relevance
Vision Forum for Higher Education
23

24. Governance (1)
 University high officers in public
universities should be selected
through search committees
 Accountability should go hand in
hand with responsibility
 The ratio of administrative staff
should conform to international
standards
Vision Forum for Higher Education
24

25. Governance (2)
 University budgets and annual
reports should be made public
 The CHE should appoint an
external audit to look at university
finances annually
 Students should be given more role
in university councils and
committees dealing with students’
affairs
Vision Forum for Higher Education
25

26. Governance (3)
 Laws must ensure complete
separation between private
university ownership and
administration
 Non-profit tertiary education
institutions should be given
preference and incentive
Vision Forum for Higher Education
26

27. Legislation
 Laws to establish the following should be
enacted:
 The NUAT
 The HEQACJ
 A law to regulate the establishment of non-profit
entities
 The temporary laws of higher education and
public universities should be amended to reflect
the changes
 The temporary law of private universities should
be amended to reflect:
 complete separation between university ownership
and administration
 defining new rules for licensing of universities and
other tertiary education institutions
Vision Forum for Higher Education 27

28. University Programs
 A committee should be set up to
review all existing programs. New
programs should be subjected to a
process to ensure need, feasibility,
job opportunities for graduates
 The committee should be composed
of all stake holders
Vision Forum for Higher Education
28