Within the framework of DU message where it seeks to achieve quality in higher education, scientific research and community service in an open environment stimulating innovation, Prof. Dr. Mahammed Ali Faour, the vice chancellor, held a meeting with a number of officials and general directors as well as directors in both the public and the private sectors to be acquainted with the last developments and the aspirations of DU to serve the community and to do its best in its educational, social, scientific and intellectual responsibilities via meeting with different sectors in Dhofar governorate. The meeting was attended by Abdullah bin Taman Almaashani, the regional manager of Bank Muscat in Dhofar governorate, Hamed Qawooq, director general in Salalah company for sanitary sewage, Awad Al Shanfari, director general of Salalah Methanol Company, Abdul Hameed Al Shanfari from the directorate of Training and Rehabilitation in the Office of Dhofar Governor, Ahmad Qatan, director of  the Administrative Affairs in Fodder Dhofar Company and Maryam Balhaf, a Business Woman and owner of Shola Company for perfumes. Also present in the meeting were college deans and managers in DU.
Prof. Faour started the meeting by welcoming the participants and thanking them for their cooperation with DU initiative to integrate with the civic community. Then he gave a brief idea about DU and its commitments towards the community in which he said: “DU seeks academic excellence in all available specializations and seeks to enable students to discover their capabilities and benefit from the academic opportunities the university offers to prepare a generation that is able to serve the community. Prof Faour talked about standards of admitting new students and applying the standards of the Omani accreditation council and the graduation of well qualified students in addition to applying distinguished curricula and having well qualified teachers. He also talked about establishing a kind of funding for students in addition to encouraging scientific research in a way that suits the national strategic plan of scientific research. The meeting also included visits to the library, and the temporary premises as well as the new campus.
Self- Study and Academic Accreditation
Prof. Faour talked about self study and explained that the university is doing its best to achieve academic excellence and the best community service and to get the best equipments. That is why DU prepared a detailed self study according to the quality standards of the Omani accreditation council. The self study took more than one year to be prepared in which most faculties and staff participated. It also included questionnaires to students, the civic community and the companies in Dhofar. The self study deals with different aspects of the university life since the establishment of DU in September 2004 where the performance and activities of the university were amended in the following areas: governance and administration, student learning via academic programs, scientific research and consulting services, relationships with the civic community and businessmen and companies owners, supporting academic services, supporting student services, services for academics and staff and finally public utilities. This comes within the general framework of the strategic plan for the years 2008- 2013 that depended on the SWOT analysis of points of strength and weakness and the opportunities and challenges.
The self study is considered as a start for other achievements the most important of which is the quality assurance council. This council, after being reshaped by the vice chancellor, continues its performance in light of the results of the self-study in supervising suitable plans to implement the recommendations of the study in cooperation with the American university in Beirut. The latter continues to provide technical as well as administrative support to DU.
New Programs
Since September 2008 the university started introducing three programs licensed from MoHE: Diploma and Bachelor degree in chemical engineering with a sub-specialization in petroleum engineering, a master in teaching the English language and the third is a master in Administration. These programs aim at fulfilling the market demand in the Sultanate in general and in Dhofar governorate in particular. The university cooperates mainly with the AUB and other educational institutes in Canada and the USA. The first result was cooperation with the American institution World Learning in conducting an Arabic language program for non-native speakers of Arabic in Autumn 2008 which included a number of American students (65 students) from different well known universities. A number of Omani students contributed to the success of the program by playing the role of peer facilitators to enrich cultural and linguistic interaction with those students.
Center of Teaching and Learning
Within the framework of developing the teaching and learning process, DU was second to none in the Sultanate to establish a new center for teaching and learning aiming at supplying teachers with pedagogical resources and supporting them with training. The start was with the student centered teaching in a workshop presented during three days in January 2009 by Dr. Soma Bojouda, professor of education in the AUB. More than 50 faculties including the vice chancellor and the college deans participated in the workshop. The results were brilliant. The center continues to organize other workshops some of them prepared by experts from DU, others by international experts to be received shortly.
The center prepares to present workshops for students after finishing the established survey. Within its plan to develop faculty members, the center organized a number of workshops such as “Burnout in English Language Teaching: Recovery and Prevention” presented by Dr. Liz England, from Shenandoah University in Winchester , Virginia, USA and another was by Dr. Sumaya Faour, director of the center for teaching and learning and a third by Annie Lujian, Foundation center director; all dealt with learning the English language.
Increase in the number of Students
Students are increasing in Dhofar university; in the first term this year there were 2150 students in the foundation program and the four university colleges. His Excellency Dr. Yahya el-Muntheri patrons the graduation of the fourth pact of DU students in the 5th of last November in which 386 students graduated. The number of students in the foundation program also increased and the number in the college of engineering increased from 210 in 2007- 2008 to 300 in the first term of this year.
The New Campus
The building of the new campus goes on day and night, thanks to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Saeed. The council of trustees agreed to join the second stage of the building to the first one in building accommodations for female students and for the management of the university. In addition, an agreement has been signed to enlarge the Four Seasons building and currently they are designing a hall for celebrations.
The university prepared the required features of the furniture and the labs equipments and other utilities for the new campus in preparation of carrying out tenders.
As for the temporary premises, 20 teaching rooms were added and two large halls as well as a number of labs to serve the students of the college of engineering and those of the foundation program and finally, the cafeteria of the college of engineering was transformed in to a local restaurant to go with the increasing number of students.
Community Service
Due to DU’s belief in creating bridges with public institutions and services in the society and to activate its role as a distinguished educational institution in Dhofar governorate to supply the needs of the civic community, the office of Information and public Relations assigned a number of his staff to be the committee of foreign relations to function as a bridge between the university and the civic community and to discuss cooperation and the university possibilities to offer community services through these institutions. The community started its duty with a number of visits to explain the goals and the educational programs of the university to the civic community in particular and to the Omani community at large. DU started to activate its role with these institutions by inviting them to participate in the university Annual Book which includes activities from its establishment till the year 2007. A practical plan to implement all the agreement is being put and will be released shortly with the participation of the aforementioned institutions. The university also started actual steps for cooperation with Sultan Qabos Hospital by a campaign of charity donations for patients be they children or disabled in the hospital in addition to holding lectures in the university to raise health awareness among students. The university also signed an agreement with the general directorate of environment and climatic affairs to specify the cooperation framework such as lectures, symposia and offering consultations and participation in questionnaires and designing useful brochures. Currently, there are preparations to sign an agreement of cooperation and understanding with the chamber of commerce and industry, Salalah branch. The university also held a symposium entitled “together for the national team” last December under the auspices of Mr. Khalid bin Hamad albosaeedi, head of the Omani football union with the presence of a number of athletics within the campaign “Oman one pulse”.
The university plans do not stop here but there are many visits to study the local market demand to find out the chances of appointing DU gradutes and to know what changes to make to suit the needs of the market.
Every year DU honours the distinguished students in Dhofar governorate in coordination with the general directorate of education in Dhofar governorate in a celebration in April each year. The university is concerned in participating in all conferences and activities in Oman in general and in Dhofar in particular.
Lately, a workshop for deaf children was held in DU in cooperation with Social Loyalty centers to teach children painting and handicrafts in addition to a symposium concerning Omani industries and their future under the patronage of His Excellency engineer Ahmed bin Hassan el-Deeb undersecretary of the ministry of trade and industry with the participation of a number of officials and representatives of the community, companies and factories. The symposium also included holding a fair to introduce Omani industries with the participation of 18 companies and factories.