Abdullah Al-Essa, director of the Saudi Electronic University, says the new university is a government institution that uses the newest teaching methods based on information and communication technology.

He told Al-Watan newspaper recently that SEU graduates are regular students, adding the university is not a typical distance education university.

He said: “It is rather a university that uses a new higher education method called combined-learning methodology. It combines traditional, electronic and distance education.”

He explained that the learning process at SEU is carried out through virtual classes and educational forums in addition to learning centers distributed in the Kingdom's cities according to student density.

According to him, these centers are not similar to regular classrooms in other universities. They allow students to perform tests, meet with professors and attend their practical sessions.

Bachelor’s students report to the centers once a week and Master’s students once every three weeks.

When asked what the learning mechanism was in the virtual classrooms and the ground centers, Al-Essa responded: “The teaching system in SEU is based on self-study. SEU provides all support to a student. He will then organize his schedule with his colleagues to attend virtual classes through websites the university uses along with other international universities.

“At the same time he will allocate some time once a week to meet with his professors and that can be done either face-to-face or online.”

He said SEU is currently providing bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in business administration only.

The university will soon offer courses related to e-commerce, accounting, IT and health informatics once the relevant faculties are opened, he added.

He said the certificates issued by SEU are regular student certificates and recognized by the Civil Service Ministry.

SEU is a government university and not different from any other in the Kingdom, he added.
He said classes are going to be in English and the first year focuses on developing English skills.

He added: “As for the Master’s students, they are required to score at least 500 in TOEFL, 5.5 in IELTS or equivalent from the National Center for Assessment in Higher Education.”
Admission will start in Ramadan, he said. Details will be available at www.seu.edu.sa.

Al-Essa said anyone wishing to enroll at the university would need a secondary school degree. “He can be of any major Shariah institutes, Qur’an schools, and commercial, industrial, health, agricultural or technical institutes. We don't ask for the graduation year or the GPAs.

“This university was established to help deal with national job market issues. It is a normal development project in the higher education system.

“SEU is also aiming to fill the education gap in cities without universities. SEU is going to cooperate with other universities to use their facilities in different cities.”

He said SEU would admit 7,000 students in the first year, equal to the total admission rate for six Saudi universities.

He added: “We allocated 60 percent of seats for women students and the rest for men. We expect to receive more than 6,000 applications. SEU has 100 teachers.”