Taking courses outside their majors is crucial for students’ intellectual and personal growth, said Dr Rana Sobh, director of Qatar University’s (QU) Core Curriculum Programme (CCP).
All undergraduates of QU - regardless of their majors – are required to complete 33 credit hours of the CCP before receiving a baccalaureate degree. The new CCP degree requirements encompass a set of college-level courses drawn from different disciplines.
"We strive to offer a common academic experience that binds students from diverse disciplines together," explained Dr Sobh. "Taking courses from outside their majors is crucial for students’ intellectual and personal growth; it helps them become rounded and gain a broad perspective on life. Through learner-centric, digitally enriched and entrepreneurial approaches and a careful selection of courses, the CCP cultivates a range of skills, knowledge, values and dispositions that students need for their academic success, intellectual growth, and responsible citizenship.
“The ultimate goal is to prepare well-rounded and engaged graduates who are able to cope and succeed in an uncertain and ever changing world and in return bring about positive change in Qatar and beyond,” she said.
The CCP has undergone an extensive Academic Programme Review (APR) and a structured enhancement process resulted in many recent changes that led to “New Core Curriculum” degree requirements applicable to all students admitted to QU in Fall 2021 onwards.
“These changes will probably result in some implications on scheduling and sections’ offering by a number of departments," Dr Sobh pointed out. "The Dean of General Studies has formed a CCP Restructuring Implementation Task Force (CCP-RIT) to ensure a smooth implementation of changes that minimises any negative potential impact of these changes on students’ study plans and schedules.”
In collaboration with the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), the CCP has offered the Core Curriculum Certificate in Teaching CCP courses (CCC) to QU faculty members who are teaching CCP courses. The CCC is a prestigious professional development programme and a first-of-its-kind in the region.
“A total of 52 instructors have successfully completed the CCC in Cohort 1 and the CCP will accommodate the remaining instructors in the pool during Spring and Fall 2021,” said Dr Sobh.
To support the Education Excellence Themes Framework, the CCP recently launched a number of faculty and student awards. The ‘CCP Excellence in Teaching Award’ is designed to recognise faculty members teaching CCP courses, who demonstrate an exemplary implementation of QU Educational Excellence Themes.
The CCP also launched three student awards. The first recognises students who demonstrate exceptional abilities in innovation and entrepreneurship. The second award recognises students’ ability to integrate knowledge and communicate it through creative digital products. And the last award recognises students who stand out in their civic engagement and contribution to the Qatari community
The CCP is the connective tissue that binds all QU students and graduates together. “We encourage students to engage academically and socially. We inspire QU graduates to bring about meaningful change for the nation,” she added.
By adopting a student-centred approach in teaching and learning, the CCP provides students with the opportunity to explore a wide array of subjects beyond their field of study that broadens their knowledge and perspective on life.
“The journey has been challenging, yet very exciting and fulfilling. My mandate was to reinvigorate the Core Curriculum Programme to align it with the QU transformational strategy. The challenging part consisted of me trying to balance my desire to propose an ambitious model in line with the best practices in general education on one hand, and my determination to suggest something that would be easily implementable in our QU context,” she said
"We strive to offer a common academic experience that binds students from diverse disciplines together," explained Dr Sobh. "Taking courses from outside their majors is crucial for students’ intellectual and personal growth; it helps them become rounded and gain a broad perspective on life. Through learner-centric, digitally enriched and entrepreneurial approaches and a careful selection of courses, the CCP cultivates a range of skills, knowledge, values and dispositions that students need for their academic success, intellectual growth, and responsible citizenship.
“The ultimate goal is to prepare well-rounded and engaged graduates who are able to cope and succeed in an uncertain and ever changing world and in return bring about positive change in Qatar and beyond,” she said.
The CCP has undergone an extensive Academic Programme Review (APR) and a structured enhancement process resulted in many recent changes that led to “New Core Curriculum” degree requirements applicable to all students admitted to QU in Fall 2021 onwards.
“These changes will probably result in some implications on scheduling and sections’ offering by a number of departments," Dr Sobh pointed out. "The Dean of General Studies has formed a CCP Restructuring Implementation Task Force (CCP-RIT) to ensure a smooth implementation of changes that minimises any negative potential impact of these changes on students’ study plans and schedules.”
In collaboration with the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), the CCP has offered the Core Curriculum Certificate in Teaching CCP courses (CCC) to QU faculty members who are teaching CCP courses. The CCC is a prestigious professional development programme and a first-of-its-kind in the region.
“A total of 52 instructors have successfully completed the CCC in Cohort 1 and the CCP will accommodate the remaining instructors in the pool during Spring and Fall 2021,” said Dr Sobh.
To support the Education Excellence Themes Framework, the CCP recently launched a number of faculty and student awards. The ‘CCP Excellence in Teaching Award’ is designed to recognise faculty members teaching CCP courses, who demonstrate an exemplary implementation of QU Educational Excellence Themes.
The CCP also launched three student awards. The first recognises students who demonstrate exceptional abilities in innovation and entrepreneurship. The second award recognises students’ ability to integrate knowledge and communicate it through creative digital products. And the last award recognises students who stand out in their civic engagement and contribution to the Qatari community
The CCP is the connective tissue that binds all QU students and graduates together. “We encourage students to engage academically and socially. We inspire QU graduates to bring about meaningful change for the nation,” she added.
By adopting a student-centred approach in teaching and learning, the CCP provides students with the opportunity to explore a wide array of subjects beyond their field of study that broadens their knowledge and perspective on life.
“The journey has been challenging, yet very exciting and fulfilling. My mandate was to reinvigorate the Core Curriculum Programme to align it with the QU transformational strategy. The challenging part consisted of me trying to balance my desire to propose an ambitious model in line with the best practices in general education on one hand, and my determination to suggest something that would be easily implementable in our QU context,” she said
