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Dr.Taqi Bin Abdulredha Alabduwani
College Dean
taki1966@omantel.net.om
We thank you for browsing through the Gulf College website.
I welcome you on behalf of the academic faculties, administrative and technical staff of Gulf College.
We started providing human resources development programmes in 1991 and obtained the approval of the Ministry of Higher Education, Sultanate of Oman in 1996 for offering the Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA). We are the first Omani private sector institution to provide a Master’s degree programme in the Arabian Gulf region.
In December 2003, Gulf College got the approval from the Ministry of Higher Education to start ten different Bachelor’s degree programmes with honours through academic affiliation with Staffordshire University of the United Kingdom.
Gulf College is an academic institution specialising in higher education. It is located in the Muscat Governorate and works under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Higher Education. The medium of instruction at the College is English.
The College provides higher education programmes of high academic standards through internationally reputed universities of United Kingdom. The programmes are offered on both full-time and part-time basis. Currently, the College has academic affiliation with three U.K. universities which are:
- Staffordshire University
- University of Hull
- University of Reading
Gulf College offers Bachelors degrees with honours and Masters degrees in academic affiliation with these three U.K. universities through two different arrangements:
- Master’s degree programmes: The Master’s degree programmes are offered through International Outreach arrangement. This system has a tremendous advantage for the students as they get the same rights and privileges which a registered student gets at the University in U.K. Teaching is carried out in the Sultanate by the same academic faculty from the affiliated Universities in U.K. The faculty members come to Oman every 8 weeks to conduct teaching for 30 hours on each module or subject. They use the same academic material, evaluation and quality assurance process which are applied at the University in U.K. The only difference between a student studying at the University in U.K. and a student studying in Oman is the location.
- Bachelor’s degree programmes with honours: These programmes are offered at Gulf College in Muscat through Franchise arrangement with Staffordshire University of the United Kingdom. This system is similar to that of the International Outreach arrangement except that the academic staff members are appointed by the College after getting the approval from the University and the Ministry of Higher Education. The students at Gulf College follow the same academic approach for their studies as is being done by the students at the University in U.K. The modules or subjects for study, teaching methodologies applied and the assessment methods are the same at Gulf College as that of Staffordshire University in the U.K.
The Bachelor’s degree certificate is awarded to the students by Staffordshire University upon completion of their studies and achieving the academic requirements as set by the University. Students at Gulf College get all the privileges similar to those students at the University in U.K. and these include use of the University facilities such as the electronic library.
Gulf College is subject to the same quality assurance procedures as applied to the Staffordshire University by the higher education regulatory bodies of the United Kingdom.
In order to achieve a Bachelor’s degree students at Gulf College have to achieve the same academic standards as that achieved by students pursuing a Bachelor’s degree at the universities in United Kingdom.
The appointment of examiners by Staffordshire University to moderate the assessments at Gulf College is one of the criteria for maintaining high academic standards. The academic quality at Gulf College assures the availability of effective and appropriate teaching as well as support, assessment and effective learning opportunities.
Gulf College is subject to verifications by the Staffordshire University, a process to check the adherence of quality assurance procedures being applied at the University. The verifications are intended to enable the University to get assurance that its academic standards have been implemented.
External examiners from other universities (other than the Staffordshire University) are also appointed to oversee the adherence to academic standards by Gulf College. The appointment of external examiners assists the universities and colleges to compare their academic standards and get the assurance that the assessment procedures are fair and appropriate. The external examiners’ comments on the students’ achievements are in accordance to the set standards.
Gulf College is also subject to periodical reviews by the Directorate General of Private Universities and Colleges in the Ministry of Higher Education in Sultanate of Oman, which assures that the College is fulfilling all the criteria and quality regulations applied in Oman.
You are welcome to contact me or any other member of our team at Gulf College for any clarifications. I'm sure you will get the support and service you deserve.
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