Dr. John Aydelott

The project, known as the University Preparatory Program (UPP), is intended to close the gap between traditional and modern education through a nontraditional learning method with emphasis on developing a spirit of research and inquiry among students, said Dr. John Aydelott, director of the program.

The program is being implemented under the umbrella of the King Faisal Foundation and is significant since Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has called for the raising of the level of higher education and scientific research in the Kingdom.

Spelling out the details of the UPP, Dr. Aydelott said the program would prepare high school students with high GPAs, TOEFL and SAT scores, either for admission to the Alfaisal University or other universities in the US. The program will mark a radical departure from the Kingdom’s conventional teaching methods in which students memorize notes given by teachers. The thrust of the new educational system is on developing the faculty of critical thinking.

For the time being, the preparatory program will operate from the King Faisal School in the Diplomatic Quarter before shifting to the Alfaisal University complex in the King Faisal Palace. “We have up to 250 seats this year. We are excited about being able to begin this year,” Dr. Aydelott said.

The UPP will collaborate with the American Middle East Educational Services Inc. (AMIDEAST) in developing the curriculum and faculties, and managing the program. The team, meanwhile, has developed the curriculum, ordered textbooks, hired teachers, and is in the process of preparing facilities for the September launch.

The King Faisal Foundation and the Alfaisal University have conceptualized the program, which will follow the American syllabus. The two educational bodies have brought AMIDEAST to discuss the kind of programs best suited for the Kingdom. The UPP will be a single-year program for students, who have finished high school and are preparing for admission to university. The project will comprise subjects like English, mathematics, science and computer as part of the course.

At Alfaisal University, there are four colleges — the College of Science, College of Medicine, College of Business and the College of Engineering. “We take students out of high school and put them through the same program. We prepared a curriculum that would prepare students for science, mathematics and other disciplines like business and engineering. So we combined science with medicine, engineering with physics, medicine and science with biology and chemistry, business with physics, language skills and other subjects to form a different package. In developing the syllabus, we looked at the contents of the books currently being taught to the students and analyzed the learning needs of the colleges,” said Dr. Aydelott.

He added that they have identified a gap “which we want to close by providing the knowledge and skills that the university needs. The whole idea behind this program is to prepare high school students either for admission to Alfaisal University or other universities in the US or elsewhere.”

The program is open to students of the King Faisal School and others so long as they meet the criteria. One of these is the TOEFL score with a minimum of 400. In other words, they should be able to speak with some fluency and write on their own.

“We take it from there and coach them up to a level whereby they can go through vast material and write independently... We also require that they have a GPA of at least 85 percent,” he said.

The program costs SR55,000 per year and SR1,000 application fee. “Next month we will open the orientation program for 27 new teachers who are all native speakers of English with Masters and PhDs to implement this program and interact with the students. We will offer courses in biological and physical sciences, English language (especially grammar, reading, writing and building vocabulary as part of an integrated course), mathematics, computer skills and academic study skills,” said Dr. Aydelott.

In this context, Dr. Aydelott said study skills is important, since it will initiate students into the finer points of the Western educational system, such as developing critical thinking, promoting a spirit of scientific enquiry, and putting them through simulation. In the process, they will learn to think out of the box.

He explained that students would undertake research through the Internet and through fieldwork in areas of interest to the Kingdom.