Inauguration of Dhofar University's IELTS Centre

Tuesday, December 8 2009

As Dhofar University (DU) strives to achieve excellence and quality in teaching, research and community service, it uses several methods to assess students’ academic performance according to international standards.  Given that the English language is the medium of instruction, the University started over a year ago applying the quality standards that were set by the Oman Accreditation Council for the Foundation Program. These standards include international standardized language tests mainly TOEFL or IELTS.

After a careful study, DU decided to use IELTS as a basic exit requirement for its Foundation Program students and an entrance university requirement for its academic programs.  IELTS is also an admission requirement to the Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction: Teaching English Language. Moreover, in line with its quality assurance plan, DU will require many of its staff and students to take IELTS. This comes as a result of both recommendations of DU's self-study and the quality audit visit by external reviewers from the Oman Accreditation Council.

Dhofar University has recently been approved by the University of Cambridge as an IELTS Centre (OM080). The centre is administered by Mr Rafa Al Heyali and assisted by Ms Safa Obaidoon.

The DU administration led by Vice Chancellor Muhammad Faour provided strong support which facilitated the establishment of the centre in accordance with the British Council's requirements.

Presently, the centre is offering this facility to DU students. In the near future, the centre will offer its services not only to the student community in Dhofar but also to aspiring candidates from other regions in Oman.