Policy One: Adoption of Effective Standards for Maintaining Education Quality

The student-to-faculty ratio in colleges is as follows:

• College of Engineering: (1:20)
• College of Health and Natural Sciences: (1:20)
• College of Business Administration: (1:22)
• Intermediate College: (1:24)

Maximum class size: no more than 26 students.

Academic-to-administrative staff ratio: (65% : 35%).

Ratio of PhD holders to Master’s holders among faculty in bachelor’s colleges: (80% PhD, 20% Master’s).

Policy Two: Admission of New Students

• Adherence to the annual standards of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research regarding high school GPA and type of diploma.
• Determining the required intake per college based on available capacity.
• Setting university-specific admission criteria per college according to the number of available seats.
• Selecting the best candidates, with priority given to first applicants until capacity is filled.

Policy Three: Faculty Performance Evaluation

• Conducting a Formative Evaluation during the first two weeks of each semester to verify the distribution of the course syllabus, exam schedules and formats, the prescribed textbook, content topics to be covered, course objectives, and expected learning outcomes — enabling timely corrections. This is carried out by a Quality Unit staff member.
• Conducting a Summative Evaluation at the end of the semester before final exams, to verify full content coverage and gather student impressions on teaching methods, exams, time management, teaching style, and activities. This is conducted by students through a specific mechanism.
• Requesting exam samples from each faculty member to verify alignment between questions, core content, and course objectives.

Policy Four: ZUST Graduate Outcomes and Areas for Improvement

Outcomes include:

• The graduate’s knowledge, abilities, competencies, skills, and behavioral conduct.
• Faculty research publications and the positive reputation they generate.
• Funded scientific research projects that contribute to global knowledge production.
• The university’s positive impact on its surrounding community.
• Development in the economic field and its effect on improving individual lives.

The focus here is on the first outcome: the graduate and what they have learned and acquired during their studies at Zaitounah University of Science and Technology.

To develop and improve graduate competencies, the university must adopt a Qualification-Based Learning approach and prepare Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) for each academic program and each course.

This will be the most distinguished and effective aspect of quality assurance and improvement, as it will guide faculty members in selecting course content aligned with the intended outcomes, and in shifting teaching and assessment methods toward approaches that effectively equip students with the targeted skills in all their forms.

A – Intended Learning Outcomes: Importance, Categories, Levels, and Formulation

Learning outcomes are defined as descriptive, anticipatory statements of the theoretical knowledge, understanding, abilities, cognitive, professional, practical, and general competencies a student may possess, the skills they can perform, or the behaviors and attitudes they may demonstrate upon successfully completing the learning process.

Despite being anticipatory, learning outcomes are of great importance — they provide a strong foundation for designing or developing the academic program, selecting course content, determining teaching and assessment methods, and fostering collaborative work among faculty within the program. They create a cooperative environment conducive to joint planning, follow-up, evaluation, and correction — all of which ensure quality.

They also give the academic program a distinctive identity in the community: students and their families will know what qualities the program aims to develop in its graduates, and employers will have information about the competencies graduates are expected to acquire, enabling them to assess how well these align with workplace needs.

If all programs are developed in this manner, the university will earn a strong reputation locally and academically at both national and international levels, enhancing its ranking among the top 100 in global university rankings.

Learning outcomes exist at multiple levels, ranging from broad to specific, aligned with the levels of university courses:

• General learning outcomes linked to university requirements
• College-specific learning outcomes
• Specialization-specific learning outcomes
• Course-level learning outcomes

A bachelor’s program is typically structured from four groups of courses:

• University requirements: no more than 5%
• College requirements: no more than 20%
• Specialization requirements: no less than 65%
• Elective courses: approximately 5–10%

Program-level learning outcomes are formulated through a collective, collaborative process involving all faculty members, as well as employers, alumni, experts, and consultants.

The formulation process considers the following:

Reviewing the general context:

• University vision and mission
• Required professional competencies
• Accreditation standards
• Learning outcomes of similar programs

Brainstorming questions:

• What knowledge should the graduate possess?
• What employment opportunities are available?
• What competencies do employers require?
• Is the educational environment appropriate?
• Are teaching and training resources available?

Drafting outcome statements according to Bloom’s Taxonomy levels:

• Remembering
• Understanding
• Applying
• Analyzing
• Evaluating
• Creating

Selecting appropriate action verbs for each level:

• Remembering: identify, name, recall
• Understanding: explain, clarify, summarize
• Applying: use, apply
• Analyzing: analyze, distinguish, differentiate

Ensuring sound formulation:

• Are the outcomes clear?
• Are they measurable?
• Are they achievable?
• Do they align with the university’s mission?

Reaching a final list:

• Preferably no more than 20–25 outcomes
• Each outcome should be capable of generating sub-outcomes

Learning outcomes shift from anticipatory statements to actual outcomes when genuinely achieved by graduates. To ensure this, outcomes must be embedded within courses and learning units, and linked to appropriate teaching, learning activities, and assessment methods.

This is achieved through:

• Defining comprehensive program content
• Deriving sub-learning outcomes
• Determining course objectives
• Defining the content of each learning unit
• Selecting appropriate teaching strategies
• Selecting appropriate assessment tools such as:
  • Written and oral exams
  • Presentations
  • Projects
  • Report and text writing

Each learning outcome is thereby linked to at least one course, and each learning unit is linked to a clear learning outcome.

Writing course-level learning outcomes follows a similar approach to program-level outcomes, but with greater precision and specificity.

Examples of course learning outcomes:

• Evaluate the effectiveness of web-based marketing methods
• Apply the R program in analyzing laboratory data
• Design an interactive social networking site
• Work within a team to complete a project

C – Using Intended Learning Outcomes as an Active Development Tool

A qualitative, “re-engineering” type of development in university outcomes can be achieved by leveraging intended learning outcomes at the program and course levels.

Every weakness identified in Palestinian university graduates — whether cognitive, professional, or general skills — can be transformed into program goals, formulated as intended learning outcomes, and embedded within courses alongside appropriate teaching, learning strategies, and assessment methods.

Dr. Fahum Al-Shalabi