Al-Quds Open University/Curricula and Textbooks Department

Curricula and Textbooks Department

Department Establishment
Department Tasks
Department’s Structure
Mechanism for Preparing the Educational Curriculum
Mechanism for advancing the Educational Curriculum
Supporting Educational Multimedia

Preface
As one of the essential university departments, the Curricula and Textbooks Department supervises the preparation, development, and critique of educational specialties; where it follows the academic directorate in its structure and it has a direct link with the directors of academic programs, where it fully follows up with all that's related with the educational materials, including their preparation and enrichment with supporting multimedia and then its continuous improvements.

The department also has a link with the University's office in Amman; Department of Necessities, Purchases and equipments; as well as all Educational Directorates, the Department of Admissions and Registration, and the Media Production Center where it has a special coordination section for all that's related to the production and use of the supporting educational multimedia.

Department Establishment:
At the end of 1985, the university's temporary headquarters was inaugurated in Amman, where its work from 1985-1991 centered on preparing the educational plans and academic curriculum; approve the educational specialties as well as the production of educational material, especially the educational books that are uniquely designed for distance and open learning.

In 1991, the university undertook its initiatives to the implementation phase in Palestine, where it established six education regions and learning centers in major Palestinian cities; where the university’s office in Amman undertook the responsibility of preparing their educational curriculums and sending them to the university centers in Palestine until 1996.

Once the appointment of programs directors was finalized and the university witnessed an increase in human resources and learners, there was a need to the creation of a department that supervises the preparation and development of programs, curriculums and educational material, therefore the Curriculum and Textbook Department was created by a decision from the university’s council in its session number 99 on September 29, 1999.

Department Tasks:

Participation of the Department’s Director in the Academic Council’s meetings as an active member in the council. Where the council formats the general Academic Policy for evaluation and development of the academic affairs.
Cooperation with Academic Program Directors to prepare and develop educational material for the Academic Programs and Specialties.
Supervision the preparation of the university’s curriculum within a predefined mechanism.
Cooperation with Academic Programs Directors to verify procedures undertaken by the Ministry of Higher Education to enlist new academic programs and academic specialties.
Supervise the evaluation and development of the educational courses within a specified and standard mechanism.
Insure all courses are scheduled each semester and insure the proper and timely printing of their books in cooperation of the department of necessities.
Coordinate between the Media Productions Center, Programs Directors and educational regions concerning the production and utilization of the supporting educational multimedia.
Follow-up with improvements and developments to the university’s guide-book in cooperation with Academic Program Directors.

Department’s Structure:

Mechanism for Preparing the Educational Curriculum:
The course’s literature is carefully and uniquely prepared in a high quality manner that corresponds to the needs of the distance education learner as well as the quality desired by the university. The university utilizes renowned standards that meet international principles for such books, where the university reserves copyrights on all its publications.

The course’s literature is either prepared in QOU’s Amman office or in Palestine, in a pre-defined mechanism that starts with consultations between the Director of the academic program and the Curricula Department and QOU’s office in Amman, where then a decision will be taken on where it will be the literature will be prepared.

First: Preparation of the Curriculum in Palestine:

The Program’s Director consults with the Director of the Curricula Department and Textbooks in search for a qualified architect for a plan for the educational course based on the descriptive foundation that was placed by a professionals and experts in this subject matter.
Vice President for Academic Affairs delegates the winning candidate to prepare the curriculum’s plan, based on unique criteria and strategy developed for that specific curriculum.
The plan is sent to an arbitrator for his/her opinion, notes as well as suggested modifications; where latter it’s returned to the curriculum preparer for changes (if needed) and then once again to the arbitrator for approval.
An expert(s) is(are) delegated to prepare the units of the educational material for the curriculum based on Al-Quds Open University’s unique plans for preparing that educational item.
The complete set of units of that educational material is sent to an arbitrator for the curriculum for his/her opinion, notes as well as suggested modifications; where latter it’s returned to the curriculum preparer for changes (if needed) and then once again to the arbitrator for approval.
The arbitrated material is sent to the University’s office in Amman to edit the book and produce it in a manner that best suites the distance education learner, where then and there printing copyright actions are taken.
The final product in its final form (the book) is returned to the Curricula and Textbooks Department, where editing experts double check its content for lingual or printing mishaps; where then it is mass printed for use by learners.

Second: Preparation of the Curriculum in Amman:
Vice president for Academic affairs informs the Director of the University’s Office in Amman of the decision to prepare the curriculum in Amman, where he is asked to take proper and agreed-upon actions for its preparation, afterward to send it to the Director of the Curricula and Textbooks Department for revising then mass printing for use by university learners.

Mechanism for advancing the Educational Curriculum:
Not only does the university produce educational books, but continuously pursuits its evaluation and development on the basis of an independent mechanism that meets the general educational development. The process was organized in a manner where each educational curriculum (except the foundation curriculum) follows a specific academic program. All foundation curriculums for the purpose of continuous development and improvements a division of the Program of Education, except Computer Course 0102, it follows the Technology and Applied Science Program.

Process for developing the Educational Curriculum:

Program’s director chooses a minimum of three courses that follow his program at the beginning of each educational semester to define their need for development.
In choosing the courses, the following is taken into consideration:
- To be suggested during the semester it will begin.
- Have not been developed in the past five years.
- Suggestions had been presented for this course for development or acknowledged complaints from Academic Advisors.
- Presence of objective indicators that its’ educational content is need of modernization.
Program’s director forms an evaluation committee that consist of 3 academic advisors for each curriculum, where each advisor prepares an individual status report on the curriculum, then the committee meets to form a final and unified report that includes clear development suggestions which includes specified supporting educational multimedia.
The Director of Curriculum and Educational Specialties Department is informed of the curriculums that were chosen for evaluation and the names of the academic advisors that will embark on that process.
The vice president for Academic Affairs entrusts the above mentioned academic advisors to evaluate the specified curriculum within specified standards, and present a detailed report to the concerned program director after the end of the semester when it was taught.
The program’s director collects all the incoming reports within two weeks after the end of the specified semester.
The Curriculum and Educational Specialties Department and program’s director study the committees reports to tally the curriculums that will actually be developed, where the University’ s Office in Amman will be informed of the decision.
The Curricula and Textbooks Department facilitates with the Programs Directors to take the necessary managerial and Technical steps to develop the chosen curriculums based on needs and necessities.

Supporting Educational Multimedia:
The Academic Directorate undertakes high importance in the supporting educational multimedia for its educational significance in open and distance education. The Curricula and Textbooks Department beard through its director and supporting multimedia employee, by way direction and advising from the vice president of Academic Affairs the tasks of facilitating between the Ramallah and Amman offices of the Media Productions Center, as well as all the educational regions and directors of academic programs to provide each center with the latest multimedia productions, as well as following the facilitation mechanism for producing and presenting the multimedia productions and its utilization by the academic advisors and learners. The Department actively supported the facilitation process towards the creation Supporting Multimedia Facilities in three new educational regions, where this is an ongoing process until every educational region and center will have its own Supporting Multimedia Facility to serve the learners.